How many credit cards do you have?

[The Dude]

I dont have any...... (Ah man!!)

[Ancient Dragon]

If you are unmarried and/or have no children to support then you don't need credit cards. But if you live in USA you will eventually join in the Great American Dream and get up to your eyeballs in debt. Almost nobody lives in this country debt-free and credit-card-free.

[Squires]

I got 4, 5 if my debit card counts(works like a credit, minus the "debt" part).

2 cards with no balance, 1 card with some balance that I don't use, just a matter of paying it off. And the 4th is a work credit card that I only use when I travel for work.

I'm pretty good with my credit cards. Ran them up a bit during college to survive. Rarely use them now. I use my debit card, that way I know when I buy something I already have the money for it.

[thunderstorm98]

I dont have any...... (Ah man!!)

Same here..:|

[jwenting]

Just one, which I use mainly for online purchases and gas (which is reimbursed by my employer at the end of the month, so why pay for it in advance :) ).

For online purchases, a CC is almost a requirement. PayPal is unreliable (they're fraudsters), IMOs are slow and reek of fraud as there's no safety built into the transaction, and international bank transfers are slow and expensive (and hardly any online store will deal with them).

[Dave Sinkula]

I think an interesting corollary to this question might be, "How much credit do you have (supposedly) at your disposal?" There are several piles of plastic I have no intention of ever using lying around, for example.

[twomers]

I just have the one which I got a few months ago. I don't really use it much and I guess it's there just incase I need it ... and cocaine of course. How else can I break it up?

[Lardmeister]

I am strictly a cash person! Credit cards are evil, an easy way to trap stupid people!

[twomers]

Meh. You don't have to be not-stupid to keep yourself out of debt.

[jbennet]

If you are unmarried and/or have no children to support then you don't need credit cards. But if you live in USA you will eventually join in the Great American Dream and get up to your eyeballs in debt. Almost nobody lives in this country debt-free and credit-card-free.

Im 17. I dont have any credit cards, but i have a debit card (need for college etc...). Debit is better IMHO as you cant get in a huge amount of debt and there is no interest and it goes right to your bank account

[jwenting]

If you have a decent creditcard it is charged to your bank account every month, and has a low limit that's no more than you can (normally, if you don't do stupid things) pay off each month.

Yes, many people get tons of credit cards to lead a high life on credit until the creditors catch up with them (at which point they have themselves defaulted, washing all that bad credit away instantly).
That shows it's too easy to get multiple cards, not that the cards themselves are "evil".
They serve a purpose, and most people can handle that purpose without getting themselves into trouble.

In the more than a decade I've had a creditcard I've never once been unable to settle the account before interest charges began (so always at the end of the running month).
That takes just a little bit of discipline, and just a little bit of common sense in your spending patterns.
Don't treat that credit limit as extra income (as some people do), treat it as a deduction from your income. Effectively treat your creditcard as pulling money out of your bank account immediately without it effecting the interest you earn on that bank account.

[Lardmeister]

You are a wise man jwenting, but 95% of the people on this earth are not that wise!

[Ene Uran]

I am too paranoid to have one. I am afraid someone else would abuse it and I get the bill.

[jwenting]

that's where creditcards are better than debit cards...
The CC company insures you against that (minus the first few hundred dollars usually), a bank doesn't insure you if someone plunders your bank account.

[Dave Sinkula]

Revolving credit:
Get several accounts that have similar maxes and free balance transfers. Pay one with the other and keep the cycle going. ;)

[twomers]

Hahaha. I like it, Dave.

Oddly enough I got an email today from 'Paypal', asking me to 'Verify my account' with them... However I have never used their service so, obviously I didn't reply or do anything with it. Anyone ever have this happen to them. I wonder if this thread told some phishers/spammers that I have a credit card ...

[Ene Uran]

Don't answer the Paypal thing, it's a scam!

[twomers]

Wasn't planning to, but thanks for the advice.

[Ezzaral]

If you have a decent creditcard it is charged to your bank account every month, and has a low limit that's no more than you can (normally, if you don't do stupid things) pay off each month.

Yes, many people get tons of credit cards to lead a high life on credit until the creditors catch up with them (at which point they have themselves defaulted, washing all that bad credit away instantly). That shows it's too easy to get multiple cards, not that the cards themselves are "evil". They serve a purpose, and most people can handle that purpose without getting themselves into trouble.

In the more than a decade I've had a creditcard I've never once been unable to settle the account before interest charges began (so always at the end of the running month). That takes just a little bit of discipline, and just a little bit of common sense in your spending patterns. Don't treat that credit limit as extra income (as some people do), treat it as a deduction from your income. Effectively treat your creditcard as pulling money out of your bank account immediately without it effecting the interest you earn on that bank account.

++

Exaclty. Used responsibly, credit cards are not evil at all and have many benefits over cash.

[Narue]

>I am strictly a cash person! Credit cards are evil, an easy way to trap stupid people!
I think that makes you a stupid person. You have to build good credit if you want to buy a car, or a house, or rent an apartment. An easy way to do that is to get a credit card and pay it off in full every month. If you find that you can't pay it off every single time, you're abusing the card and need to adjust how you use it. Simple.