Comments on: State of My Credit Cards: Use Them, but Responsibly http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:09:54 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: (Not Exactly) The Price of Credit Card Arbitrage: Marching toward 800 | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-17736 (Not Exactly) The Price of Credit Card Arbitrage: Marching toward 800 | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:56:52 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-17736 [...] was in February when I almost didn’t have any borrowed money from credit cards. When I saw my FICO score from Experian at 769, it was really a pleasant surprise because it was the highest score I have ever [...] [...] was in February when I almost didn’t have any borrowed money from credit cards. When I saw my FICO score from Experian at 769, it was really a pleasant surprise because it was the highest score I have ever [...]

]]> By: Around the PF Blogosphere: May 25, 2007 | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-9919 Around the PF Blogosphere: May 25, 2007 | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing Sat, 26 May 2007 02:08:20 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-9919 [...] Tired but Happy is asking people to list their total number of credit cards and the overall credit limits. Tough one for me as I almost lost track of the number of cards I have. If I remember correctly, I have 20 cards with a total limits of more than $200K. [...] [...] Tired but Happy is asking people to list their total number of credit cards and the overall credit limits. Tough one for me as I almost lost track of the number of cards I have. If I remember correctly, I have 20 cards with a total limits of more than $200K. [...]

]]> By: Rebecca http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-8588 Rebecca Thu, 03 May 2007 15:25:45 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-8588 Sun: Very nice! Oh, how those banks and credit card providers hate you now. If everyone who uses a credit card learns to use it to his advantage the way you do, all those cash backs, and no annual fees, and low APRs that a Citi MasterCard or Chase business card or whatever offers would surely vanish. But while "big spenders" are still out there, then those benefits are staying. Jonathan: I guess we tend to spend more when using credit cards because we temporarily forget the value of real money, simply because it's not there and what we're seeing is plastic. We forget that $100 is equivalent to x number of hours of work. With a card it's just one swipe. Sun: Very nice! Oh, how those banks and credit card providers hate you now. If everyone who uses a credit card learns to use it to his advantage the way you do, all those cash backs, and no annual fees, and low APRs that a Citi MasterCard or Chase business card or whatever offers would surely vanish. But while “big spenders” are still out there, then those benefits are staying.

Jonathan: I guess we tend to spend more when using credit cards because we temporarily forget the value of real money, simply because it’s not there and what we’re seeing is plastic. We forget that $100 is equivalent to x number of hours of work. With a card it’s just one swipe.

]]> By: Free Credit Report and Fee-based Credit Monitoring Services | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-8537 Free Credit Report and Fee-based Credit Monitoring Services | The Sun’s Financial Diary | A Personal Finance Blog on Saving and Investing Wed, 02 May 2007 15:23:10 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-8537 [...] fees. For example, when I ordered my Equifax credit score from myFICO.com three months ago, I paid $15.95 for the report plus the score. If, however, you want to get your score at the same time you order your Annual Credit Report, you [...] [...] fees. For example, when I ordered my Equifax credit score from myFICO.com three months ago, I paid $15.95 for the report plus the score. If, however, you want to get your score at the same time you order your Annual Credit Report, you [...]

]]> By: The Sun http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-4796 The Sun Fri, 23 Mar 2007 04:36:24 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-4796 Jonathan: While I agree that the easy access of credit cards makes impulse shopping a lot easier, I don't have any comparison myself between shopping with cards and with cash since I almost charge everything with cards. It's true that we spent money on stuff that we don't use a lot, we try not to make our purchasing decision based on how easy we can pay the bill. I am interested in how you figured out you actually spent more when using credit cards. Jonathan: While I agree that the easy access of credit cards makes impulse shopping a lot easier, I don’t have any comparison myself between shopping with cards and with cash since I almost charge everything with cards. It’s true that we spent money on stuff that we don’t use a lot, we try not to make our purchasing decision based on how easy we can pay the bill. I am interested in how you figured out you actually spent more when using credit cards.

]]> By: Jonathan C http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-4774 Jonathan C Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:36:01 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-4774 Sun, For you and me, the issue isn't about whether we carry a credit card balance. That is simply a no-brainer. What interests me is how my spending habits *do* change when I (or my wife) use credit. We spend more. Not so much as to get into debt, it just makes it more difficult to meet our savings goals. Thus, even despite all the cash-back rewards (2%, 5%, whatever), I find that we do better financially using cash only. Of course, I take out the occasional 0% balance transfer offer to make some interest income on the side... :) Jonathan Sun,

For you and me, the issue isn’t about whether we carry a credit card balance. That is simply a no-brainer. What interests me is how my spending habits *do* change when I (or my wife) use credit. We spend more. Not so much as to get into debt, it just makes it more difficult to meet our savings goals.

Thus, even despite all the cash-back rewards (2%, 5%, whatever), I find that we do better financially using cash only. Of course, I take out the occasional 0% balance transfer offer to make some interest income on the side… :)

Jonathan

]]> By: Carnival of Credit Report Stories #3 - Millionster.com - Personal Finance, Business, Investing and Life http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-3638 Carnival of Credit Report Stories #3 - Millionster.com - Personal Finance, Business, Investing and Life Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:04:48 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-3638 [...] all the balances by the end of 2006 … my score will be between 750 and 770.â€? Sun presents State of My Credit Cards: Use Them, but Responsibly – The Sun’s Financial Diary – Accumulating… posted at The Sun’s Financial [...]

]]> By: Posts I Enjoyed Last Week - The Sun’s Financial Diary - Accumulating wealth is like building The Great Wall, one brick at a time http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-2400 Posts I Enjoyed Last Week - The Sun’s Financial Diary - Accumulating wealth is like building The Great Wall, one brick at a time Mon, 12 Feb 2007 04:03:22 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-2400 [...] last week, I checked the state of my credit cards and one conclusion I got is using credit cards responsibly,then the credit score will take care of [...] [...] last week, I checked the state of my credit cards and one conclusion I got is using credit cards responsibly,then the credit score will take care of [...]

]]> By: The Sun http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-2290 The Sun Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:56:57 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-2290 A perfect score certainly looks nice, but when it comes rates that based on the credit score, it will make no difference at certain level. That being said, I still like to see my score goes above 800. That would be cool! I used to use UPromise card a lot until I got the Fidelity card which pays more cashback than the UPromise card. But whenever I shop online, I check the online shopping at Upromise first see if I can find the retailer on their list. That could give me both the rewards from the card and from shopping through Upromise. It's always good to see the rewards add up and get automatically invested. A perfect score certainly looks nice, but when it comes rates that based on the credit score, it will make no difference at certain level. That being said, I still like to see my score goes above 800. That would be cool!

I used to use UPromise card a lot until I got the Fidelity card which pays more cashback than the UPromise card. But whenever I shop online, I check the online shopping at Upromise first see if I can find the retailer on their list. That could give me both the rewards from the card and from shopping through Upromise. It’s always good to see the rewards add up and get automatically invested.

]]> By: The Digerati Life http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-2281 The Digerati Life Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:01:42 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-2281 Wow! you're in really good shape! :) You really got your finances going gangbusters here. I also have a Upromise 529 which I am very happy with. My husband and I both have cards so we double the rewards. The account has grown very well and the best things is how automated it is! I can't recall my credit score now but I think it's also in the 700's.... Great post! Wow! you’re in really good shape! :) You really got your finances going gangbusters here. I also have a Upromise 529 which I am very happy with. My husband and I both have cards so we double the rewards. The account has grown very well and the best things is how automated it is! I can’t recall my credit score now but I think it’s also in the 700’s…. Great post!

]]> By: moneymonk http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/comment-page-1/#comment-2258 moneymonk Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:11:32 +0000 http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/2007/02/07/state-of-my-credit-cards-use-them-but-responsibly-2/#comment-2258 769 ! very good Sun. I think it's almost impossible to have a perfect FICO score. Because it changing sometimes almost daily. Just by opening a new account or having a creditor pull your credit can sometime make a FICO score bounce down. To me above 725, anyone should get a good rate on a loan. CC's are okay to use, but as you said use them responsible! 769 ! very good Sun. I think it’s almost impossible to have a perfect FICO score. Because it changing sometimes almost daily. Just by opening a new account or having a creditor pull your credit can sometime make a FICO score bounce down.

To me above 725, anyone should get a good rate on a loan. CC’s are okay to use, but as you said use them responsible!

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