How much has your credit card(s) cost you? Was it worth it?

[hammerdown10]

Originally Posted by abernja

I got my first and only credit card in August 2006. My credit line was/is $1,000. Two Jordan purchases (candy, soda, & fast food while on breaks) and 26 days later my card was maxed out. At one point I was $500+ over my credit limit. Up until last month the balance has not gone lower than $1,100.




The last purchase I made on the card was in Nov of 2007. I used $4.31 at Auntie Annes Pretzel shop in the mall. (I wonder how much that actually cost me?)

Between late fees, interest accrued, and over limit fees, on average I have given Citi Card $684.23 every year.

This is the same as burning $57 every month or flushing $26 of your paycheck down the toilet every two weeks.

Here's a breakdown year by year of what I paid in fees and interest per year.

1 - $540.34
2 - $904.47
3 - $581.88 + Avg of $26 interest from this months statement

Total - $2,052.69 down the drain.

Mainly I made this post as a way to show some of the younger guys what can happen when you get caught up in our twisted western civilizations way of life and by not making financially smart decisions. America teaches that we should live on credit. Yes credit is a good thing to a certain degree, but not to the extent that it's run rampant in America. Be wise in your decision and don't get caught up trying to "stunt" on people.

If I would have known I'd pay roughly $2,000 for two pairs of shoes, grails or not, I would have NEVER got this card.

Basically live within your means. Sure things are nice but be careful how you view others. You have no idea what type of financial pit they're in just to have something materialistic. It's always better to save or do without than to be hassled daily by credit card companies and carry the burden of your debts daily.

Through all of this it has taught me a valuable lesson. I'm reckless with a credit card. From this point I still owe a little over $600 but am on the road to being credit card debt free. I will have it paid in full before the year is over. I'm willing to bet the card company will offer me a substantial increase in my credit line which I'll have to decide if I want or not.

After my debt is paid I will begin to save for an emergency fund and only use the card if the emergency fund is not enough to cover something that comes up unexpectedly. If you can't pay with cash then you don't need it. Only thing purchased on credit should be your house.

To borrow and add to an old saying.
"A penny saved is a penny earned, but a penny borrowed is multiple pennies burned."

I got many buyout notices from them for up to 70% off of what my balance was. I decided to take the hard way out and teach myself a lesson I'll never forget. I got myself in this hole and I was going to dig my way out and repay every cent back. I've skipped out on things here and there and gone to the extent of only taking PB&J to work for lunch for weeks on end just to save. You look around at all the crap you've accrued over your life that you really don't need and I sold off some of that stuff too. These are only small sacrifices that were made but the outcome was worth all of it. I'm proud of myself for taking this debt by the horn and muscling it into submission.

Anyone who is DEEPLY in debt please do yourself a favor. Go out and buy (with cash) Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited book. This book teaches great ways to get out of debt and begin living financially secure again. You will need to be committed to being debt free though. Just buying his book won't solve your problems if you're not committed. Don't let money or debt rule your life.

All in all I thank God for just having a job in this economy and having the strength to get up for work everyday.

I saw this in someone's sig and really liked the quote.
Americanism: Using money you haven't earned to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't like.

That's really all I wanted to say. Questions, comments, and advice accepted from and for everyone.

the phrase "if you can finance it you can afford it" doesn't apply to sneakers and BS

never paid any interest on any of my CC's

only thing i'm paying interest on is my mortgage

my fiance's friend is paying roughly $300 in interest a month on her CC and she uses it for things like clothes and going out to the bar

 

[jthagreat]

im glad im good with my two credit cards. i have no kind of limit but then again i dont really need it. cash/debit for me which mean i have the money to spend.i guess im fortunate.

 

[hollywoodjose]

they havent cost me anything, i pay my balance off at the end of every month. I dont buy anything that i cant afford. There are many things I like and wish icould get and i have alot of credit cards with kind of large credit limits but i only use them in an emergency and then I plan on paying them off at the end ofthe month, since typically after using it i'll get at least 2 paychecks before the bill is due. Just my 2 cents

 

[th0mas cr0wn]

I feel you, credit card debt is no joke

 

[antbanks81]

Great post OP...let's just hope some of the youth on the board listen like we didn't

I got a Platinum Discover card in August of 2000 before my sophomore year in college. I had $10,000 in my hands.

I bought clothes, a big %@* chain and shoes and more shoes ( I worked at Footlocker) I even slapped down a down payment on my car, which I returned but lost 1kin the transaction.

That card and a $7,500 BoA card cost me a bankruptcy. In the end it was worth it because I learned how to responsibly use credit. I thank God I learned thelesson at a young age. It is very tough to get high limit cards now though.

 

[damnitzdom]

retiring mines as soon as i get a chance

 

[lilstarz07]

thats why i transfer my balance to a new 0% interest card every year ... ive never paid interest on any cc purchase

 

[physicx]

my bill this month is prolly about 1000 bucks. shoes, clothes, concert tickets, cds. i got a lil carried away. i made min payment last month

i bought my books one day only to come home to see a letter that my loan got disapproved. now i have to work sat and sun help me pay my cc, tuition and books

the bill this month is one hell of a burden. it makes the burden on my shoulders that much heavier

 

[riverxbear]

I owe about 650 and i have been over my credit limit for a year and paying the 20 bucks over the least you are aloud to pay.

on my next check im going to pay 220 bucks to get it at about 450 so i dont get the intrest and then im going to pay it off in full on the next
bill so i can build my credit back up and only use it for gas every other trip to the pump. because i have a feeling my credit is wack right now.

 

[maddenfan04]

i can only laugh at people with credit cards and then only paying only the minimum
but people will learn the hard way
i have absolutely no feelings towards people in THOUSANDS of dollars of debt UNLESS it was an emergency such as hospital bills, or something of that nature , AREAL EMERGENCY... buying shoes? the hell are people thinking

 

[abernja]

Originally Posted by damnitzdom

retiring mines as soon as i get a chance

Why wait? Take it to the nearest shredder and be done with it.

 

[dendanskesimon]

never had a CC, dont want one, just use it to buy stuff online and pay everything off o ntime

 

[mychenny]

i use a debit card so i never use more than what i have

 

[datztoothless]

I can't even GET a card. The only one I was able to get was the #$%@%%*# FIrst Premier Bank Platinum w 250$ limit. Like what's the point, I always havemore than that in my account so I could just as easy use my atm/debit card. It has a great rate only 9.9% and 25 day grace period, but they hit u with 179$ inbogus fees right off the bat so it's only 71$ until you pay that off, take 8 days to post updates to your account after you pay it (so if I only had 10$ incredit left then I paid 240$ from my checking to get it back to 250, I would still only have 10$ until about 8 days later, and yet still it instantly debitedfrom my checking account so it's like money is in no mans land for a week)then they make up more fees like it costs 9$ to pay your bill, 7$ a month,I'm about to just cancel it and likely pay a hefty cancellation fee.

What is a card that you can get with no credit history besides anything from First Premier?

I literally applied for every company, every card (and I hear that is bad for your credit) and kept getting denied. I even had one response that said MyExperian had too many inquiries in it as the reason I was denied.

 

[kaygeedagr8]

so you can negotiate how much you wanna pay the cc companies or is that when you dont even pay them for months?

 

[nothing yet]

Originally Posted by DatzToothLess

I can't even GET a card. The only one I was able to get was the #$%@%%*# FIrst Premier Bank Platinum w 250$ limit. Like what's the point, I always have more than that in my account so I could just as easy use my atm/debit card. It has a great rate only 9.9% and 25 day grace period, but they hit u with 179$ in bogus fees right off the bat so it's only 71$ until you pay that off, take 8 days to post updates to your account after you pay it (so if I only had 10$ in credit left then I paid 240$ from my checking to get it back to 250, I would still only have 10$ until about 8 days later, and yet still it instantly debited from my checking account so it's like money is in no mans land for a week)then they make up more fees like it costs 9$ to pay your bill, 7$ a month, I'm about to just cancel it and likely pay a hefty cancellation fee.

What is a card that you can get with no credit history besides anything from First Premier?

I literally applied for every company, every card (and I hear that is bad for your credit) and kept getting denied. I even had one response that said My Experian had too many inquiries in it as the reason I was denied.

Capital One dude. They give one to everybody. It was my first card when I had zero credit.

 

[NewZ05]

but nah i owe a few thousand from a couple $500 cards...i jus dont have money while im at school so i pay on it when i can & yes i do regret it

 

[bgl2687]

I have no debt at all

. I spend what I can pay off in full at the endof the month. I don't even bring my credit card when I go shopping only cash to avoid impulse buy.

 

[datznasty]

Originally Posted by Nothing Yet

Originally Posted by DatzToothLess

I can't even GET a card. The only one I was able to get was the #$%@%%*# FIrst Premier Bank Platinum w 250$ limit. Like what's the point, I always have more than that in my account so I could just as easy use my atm/debit card. It has a great rate only 9.9% and 25 day grace period, but they hit u with 179$ in bogus fees right off the bat so it's only 71$ until you pay that off, take 8 days to post updates to your account after you pay it (so if I only had 10$ in credit left then I paid 240$ from my checking to get it back to 250, I would still only have 10$ until about 8 days later, and yet still it instantly debited from my checking account so it's like money is in no mans land for a week)then they make up more fees like it costs 9$ to pay your bill, 7$ a month, I'm about to just cancel it and likely pay a hefty cancellation fee.

What is a card that you can get with no credit history besides anything from First Premier?

I literally applied for every company, every card (and I hear that is bad for your credit) and kept getting denied. I even had one response that said My Experian had too many inquiries in it as the reason I was denied.

Capital One dude. They give one to everybody. It was my first card when I had zero credit.

which card in particular? Because I know they denied me for one of the rewards cards

 

[bostonthreeparty]

Straight Cash FTW

 

[pushak513]

Bank Of America got me worse than anyone but it was my fualt...not even purchases..cash advances, yes I know how stupid that was. I been payin em and there cutup now.. Imma try to settle both of em soon. Anyone with experience settling em for a low number shoot me a PM er somthin let me know how that goes down

 

[jdb1523]

Anybody know any cards they give to almost anybody?

My credit score is 'Fair,' due to never establishing credit during my undergrad and also paying a few bills late during undergrad also. Now I'mlooking for a card and most places are being super strict (understandable).

I read on a site that the Discover Platinum Plus card is given out to those with Good-Fair credit scores...I'd apply but I already got denied oncerecently.

Any recommendations? Thanks guys.

 

[deletedelete]

capital one gives cards to everyone

 

[kingof3rdstrike]

word im glad im smart enough not to fk wit credit cards 21 ftw debt free.

 

[deletedelete]

^ or you could be smart and responsible and pay them off in full every month and have good credit facilitating things if say you want to buy a house/car