Credit Cards and Store Cards

[polo_princess]

How many do you have?

You dont have to say limits/spends if you dont want to im just interested to know how much credit people actually have?

Everywhere you go people are offering you credit left right and center ... its a dangerous dangerous slope once you get on it if you arent smart about things.

For me i have 1 credit card alongside my normal bank account and thats it. I refuse to have anything more, i got myself into a bit of debt when i was younger and ended up with CCJ's so i learnt my lesson and now try to "live by my means"

 

[Christine33]

i have no store cards.....

i have one mastercard which i pay off in full every month. i hardly ever use it tbh. hubby has a mastercard and he pays if off in full every month too. other than that i/we have no credit. i don't even have an overdraft!

i like to keep on top of my finaces & don't like debt. i have always believed if i don't have the money for it i don't get it iykwim!

 

[ramblinhaggis]

we got into debt 2 years ago, some on credit cards, but mostly from a failed business of my dh's . We will be on a debt management plan till 2016, but at least we are paying it off, not going bankrupt like we were initially advised to do.

 

[Danilou1910]

We have got over £20,000 in debt. We were young and stupid at the time. We have 3 credit cards, a store card and a loan. We have coped ok and should have it all paid off in 3-4 years. But I would not recommend to any1, saving is the best policy

 

[faille]

We have an overdraft of £300 and one credit card for £1100 but we never use either.

It was sooo hard for me to get the credit card because I had no credit history. I used it a couple of times when we first got it to build up my credit rating and that was the only purpose of it.

I have to have a set amount in my bank at the end of every month... I'm so tight with money but these days you have to be and it stops me getting in trouble.!

 

[Pyrrhic]

I have one credit card, and I pay the full balance off every month.

I've never had a store card.

I have no debt at all to my name, and never have. Not even a phone contract.

OH is a different story though

 

[Kimboowee]

I don't have any at all. Though it is very tempting.

The amount of times i've thought 'oh if i sign up i get 10% off' I know what im like with money so i've got a bank account that has no overdraft, if i have no money i get declined, it has happened!

 

[princess_bump]

i personally have a few store cards, but they have only ever been used to get the discount at then beginning! mainly the mothercare one!

i do have a credit card, linked to james' account, had it before we had our joint account, and we've always paid if off in full.

the amount of credit they give is ridiculous! if i added up what they would give us if we took it, you're talking 20k

 

[Sarahkka]

We have three credit cards - one each from the three major companies. All balances are paid off in full every month (although - did you know that you will actually have a higher credit rating if you leave a small balance? The credit companies want to know that they can make some money off of you, so you would actually score higher if you didn't pay the balance in full religiously. Not worth paying interest on, in my opinion!).
One of the cards has quite a high limit and I use this one as an emergency card when I'm travelling.
Otherwise, we mostly use the cards for air miles and to build our credit.
I agree that they are a very dangerous product and have been terribly misused by many people. They can certainly put you in a hole that's not easy to dig out of!
EDIT to add that I would never have a store card- the interest rates on those are insane.

 

[WTTMommy]

I have one credit card connected to our bank account and that gets paid off monthly. I'm terrified of getting into debt to be honest.

 

[ames_x]

I have one Credit Card, never had a store card. I learnt from my friends mistake with her River Island card!

 

[Sarahkka]

i personally have a few store cards, but they have only ever been used to get the discount at then beginning! mainly the mothercare one!

i do have a credit card, linked to james' account, had it before we had our joint account, and we've always paid if off in full.

the amount of credit they give is ridiculous! if i added up what they would give us if we took it, you're talking 20k

I take back what I said in my previous thread - I did this once, too. I got a sizeable discount on some furniture and home delivery free by using the store card. I closed the account, though, after we paid it.
No way am I going to have a card that charges 28-30% interest, even if the balance is always paid.

 

[clairebear]

i have NO Credit or store cards.

 

[WTTMommy]

I've gotten one discount for applying for a store's credit card, not for using it. So when it came, I cut it up.

I don't want to get in the habit of applying for cards so it was only that on time. I hear applying for different cards lowers your credit rating, not sure how true that is?

 

[lollylou1]

i have nothing, no credit card or store cards. i did have a credit card as i was struggling to get a contract phone but used it a few times then i cancelled the account.

OH has a credit card he uses if we want to buy something that we cant really afford till following month then on pay day he pays it off!!

Lou
xxx

 

[Sarahkka]

I've gotten one discount for applying for a store's credit card, not for using it. So when it came, I cut it up.

I don't want to get in the habit of applying for cards so it was only that on time. I hear applying for different cards lowers your credit rating, not sure how true that is?

Yes, you can only have so many "inquiries" into your credit rating in a certain time period before the credit rating agency decides that you are shopping for credit and dings your score. It's also not great to open and close accounts too quickly. I left the furniture store account open for one year, then closed it.

 

[FEDup1981]

None anymore!! lol

Everywhere you go people are offering you credit left right and center ... its a dangerous dangerous slope once you get on it if you arent smart about things.

I totally agree, once u get above a certain amount, ur practically drowning and theres no way u'll ever get out of debt.

 

[Sarahkka]

What does everyone think regarding the current rate of personal and household debt in most households in Europe and N. America?
I think we live in a "buy now, pay later" society, myself. We just never seem to be satisfied and have lost the patience to wait and save for things. I know my mum finds consumer debt in young people really shocking. She said in the 60s and 70s, it was not easy to get a credit card. You saved up the money, and then you bought the desired item, or you went without.
Nowadays, it is unusual to meet someone who doesn't have credit cards. Or debt. Part of this is personal responsibility - we all have to be adult and manage our finances. No matter how it came about, we are the ones who spent the credit, we have to pay it back.
On the other hand, credit companies use the dirtiest tactics to get us all to spend and owe.
I myself have had my credit card companies up my limit without asking or informing me. Once, the limit on one card was increased by 500%!!!!
Or the fact that they target people who don't have much income and will have trouble paying it back - like students? My brother was approved for a computer store credit card upwards of $2500 when he was an 18-year old, fresh out of high school with no job. They knew his type - he wouldn't be able to resist the computer gear and he'd be paying them 28% interest on it for a long time. It makes me want to give my brother a slap upside the head, but it also makes me want to tell the credit company to back the hell off. It's positively predatory!
What do you think? Is it a case of people needing to be more responsible with credit or so we need better regulations to stop predator creditors?

 

[Pyrrhic]

You saved up the money, and then you bought the desired item, or you went without.

This is exactly what OH and I do now, and something I have always done. He used to be a very much 'buy now, pay later' type person though. Thankfully he's seen the light, but it will still be 2 years before all the debt is paid back (and we're paying it back at £1,500 per month!)

My only credit card is for emergencies, hence why I clear the balance each month.

What is annoying though, is that I have a really bad credit rating for being what I consider responsible and not having a lot of debt. I can't figure it out!

 

[Sarahkka]

Did you see my earlier post about credit rating actually going down for those of us who don't ever carry a balance?
I don't know how significant it is (like how many points you go down), but we are definitely more valuable to lenders when they see that they can make some money off of us.
The other thing they look at is debt to income ratio. So how much you owe compared to how much you make.
Rafwife, have you sent away for your credit check from any of the main bureaus? I do that once a year for the OH and myself. It's good to do because it lets you be sure that there isn't any fraud or anything going on. There could also be errors filed on your report and if you see that you can do something about them.