Your total balances on credit cards only?

clevohardcore - 7-15-2005 at 11:11 AM

I'm not tryin to get into your private shit or anything. I just want to know get an idea of where everyone is financially. If my amount of extended credit is normal or am I in scary shape.

I got between my wife and I about $20,000 in credit cards only. I fucking hate this and I got to figure out how to eleviate it and the interest they carry. I got to make some major payments becasue of my little one on the way.

JawnDiablo - 7-15-2005 at 11:14 AM

As of today I have $519... that i used on tires last week...but that's just now.
It took me years to pay off the debt i went into when the boy was born...i was in $5600 to discover alone....
Now the $519 is everything i owe since the car is paid off...
But honestly from what i was reading , the average married couple had aroung $20K in credit debt.. whatever you do dont do the cash advance shit..the interest is enough to make you drink

hollymaconmovies - 7-15-2005 at 11:18 AM

Get a consolidation loan. You'll likely get a much better interest rate. Cancel all but one card, and put that one in a bucket of water, freeze it and thaw only in emergencies. And don't memorize the number first. That's cheating.

And congrats on the the little one on the way.

clevohardcore - 7-15-2005 at 11:49 AM

I can't get a consolidation loan apparently because I do not have enough equity in my home yet. I find it hard to believe but can't I get a personal loan or something from a bank. I have tried but they will not do this for credit card debt consolidation. The reason is what if I take the loan and then charge up the cards again. I WOULD NOT DO THIS, but I find it very hard to believe that their is NOTHING I can do.

And congrats on the the little one on the way.

^^^^ Thanks. We are excited but stressed about money.

XHonusWagnerX - 7-15-2005 at 12:13 PM

Not sure how good your credit is, but I just got a discover card because the offer was no interest on any transfered balances untill July 2006. That gives you quite some time to be paying on the principal only.

I just bought some stuff so I think my credit card bill is about $1000-$1200 right now, but generally its only a couple of hundred at the most. I hate carrying a bill from month to month so I try to pay it off as fast as I can.

BDx13 - 7-15-2005 at 12:27 PM

five or six years years ago, around the time we got married, we were a good 10k in credit card debt. i just kept moving the balance from one 0% interest card to another until it was paid off. surprisingly, this did not affect my credit rating a bit.

now a days, we usually have about $1200 a month on our card, but that's mostly business expenses and it gets paid every month.

really, the whole thing is a game, you just have to figure out the best way to play. unfortunately, that's not equally easy for everyone.

clevohardcore - 7-15-2005 at 12:34 PM

Ya it is a game. However as recently as 6 months ago it got alot worse for ANYONE even oens with good credit to get better interest rates and if your late 1 time they raise it to the max now. Also they will not decrease the rate unitl after 1 year of no overlimits. I fucking hate CHASE credit. FUCKING ASSHOLES. My with had transferred about 10 thousand onto it at 0% until 1 year. It was great. We both lost our jobs and I found work before she did. Once we got back on our feet she missed 45 days late on the bill. We caught it up and even paid an extra 100 dollars. They still raise dthe interest to 29.49 and it's been their fro 1 year. AND THEY STILL WON'T LOWER IT. I have the balance down to $1000 and it will be paid off next week. FINALLY!

THOSE FUCKERS CAN ALL DIE!!!!!!

BDx13 - 7-15-2005 at 12:38 PM

god, that sucks. bank of america tried to do that to my wife once years ago. we were out of town for like three weeks, and her payment was like two days late, so the hit her with a fee and a higher rate. the next payment they got from her was a balance transfer check. ...and a firmly worded letter! i'll never bank with them again. although, if they keep acquiring other banks, i might not have a choice.

defstarsteve - 7-15-2005 at 12:51 PM

0.....
well not really probably around 7 or 8 large, and then a car...
prabably 20 total...
damn ex wife...
fuck it
who needs credit
I have a house, a business, and a good family....
cash for everything

Discipline - 7-15-2005 at 01:08 PM

I just used a payout from workers comp to pay of all my shit but up until yesterday I owed 24 grand.

clevohardcore - 7-15-2005 at 01:10 PM

"cash for everything "

^^^ That is becoming harder and harder these days. Also Duane you are right. Bank of america is fucking huge. Same wiht Chase who I believe connected to Bank of America in some way.

Anyway. I hope all of you are able to keep credit.

Ungodly - 7-15-2005 at 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clevohardcore
Ya it is a game. However as recently as 6 months ago it got alot worse for ANYONE even oens with good credit to get better interest rates and if your late 1 time they raise it to the max now. Also they will not decrease the rate unitl after 1 year of no overlimits. I fucking hate CHASE credit. FUCKING ASSHOLES. My with had transferred about 10 thousand onto it at 0% until 1 year. It was great. We both lost our jobs and I found work before she did. Once we got back on our feet she missed 45 days late on the bill. We caught it up and even paid an extra 100 dollars. They still raise dthe interest to 29.49 and it's been their fro 1 year. AND THEY STILL WON'T LOWER IT. I have the balance down to $1000 and it will be paid off next week. FINALLY!

THOSE FUCKERS CAN ALL DIE!!!!!!

Congrats on getting it paid!

All the credit card companies do that now, they raise the rate for any excuse they can find. There was a really good Frontline on them a few months ago. It's in their interest for you to mess up, b/c they don't make any money on people who pay off their balances every month.

Mine was way worse at one point but I have it down to just a couple G's and I plan have that and my car, which is about the same as its blue book, gone by Sept 06.

I definitely work the 0 and low interest offers- you just have to watch if they have transaction fees and, I don't use any cards, but if you do, don't use that card after. They will make any higher rate purchase sit there and accrue and your payments will only go to the low-interest part.

Also this is interesting about credit scores- a big factor is your "debt-to-credit-limit ratio." That means if you pay off a debt, obviously, your score will go up. If you close the card/account afterward, however, it will go down, because your credit limit went down. Of course it seems like the better thing to do to close them and be done, but I leave them open for now. I dunno what my score is but when realtors run my credit they are like "WOW, you have a great score."

My mom filed bankrputcy once, that sucked. I wish I never got credit cards at all. Other than a mortgage, debt is the worst.

bystanderfanzine.com - 7-15-2005 at 01:18 PM

5 grand i think

BDx13 - 7-15-2005 at 01:36 PM

my fist card was a citibank card i got about 15 years ago cause my parents wanted me to start working on my credit. i didn't use it for years, then it was my primary card for while, but it's been locked up for some time now. anyway, about twice a year, they'll credit my account with $25 just to get me to use it. so, naturally, i do. i buy something for 30 bucks, pay the difference when its time, and then the card goes back under lock and key!

CR83 - 7-15-2005 at 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hollymaconmovies
Get a consolidation loan. You'll likely get a much better interest rate. Cancel all but one card, and put that one in a bucket of water, freeze it and thaw only in emergencies. And don't memorize the number first. That's cheating.

And congrats on the the little one on the way.

This maybe the best or smartest post I have ever seen on the internet. We luckily don't have a balance on our cards. We pay it off everymonth. Not my doing. Mrs Reed83 is Queen of that.

BDx13 - 7-15-2005 at 01:44 PM

crazy thing is, i actually know a chick who does freeze her card. genius.

XHonusWagnerX - 7-15-2005 at 02:09 PM

It amazes me the ammount of credit the companies are willing to give out. I have a pretty good jobm, but Im not rich by any means and I get "Pre-approved" applications every week.

About 8 years ago I was applying for any card I could to get the free stuff they were giving away. I never activated them so I didnt think it was a big deal. Then I was getting ready to buy a car and somone said that any card you have is credit that you have extended to you and if you have to much credit extended to you it can effect a lone. So anyway, I canceled about 15 cards and I kept track of the limits on each card I canceled. When it was all over I had canceled over $65,000 in credit. I kept one card because it has a $13,000 limit on it and I figure there is no emergency that I cant get myself out of with a card like that.

Now I have 1 or 2 cards I use, but I mainly use my dept card for stuff.

moron - 7-15-2005 at 02:29 PM

Im at about 3-4k. Hopefully I can get that down once Mrs. Moron graduates and gets a job. She can start off making twice as much as I do now so I'll make her give me a little bit of money towards my credit cards.

KyleOz - 7-15-2005 at 04:51 PM

None, credit cards would be the end of my perfect credit/loan history.

When I have a real fulltime job with benefits instead of working fulltime hours but making part timer pay and no benefits.

hollymaconmovies - 7-15-2005 at 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clevohardcore
I can't get a consolidation loan apparently because I do not have enough equity in my home yet. I find it hard to believe but can't I get a personal loan or something from a bank. I have tried but they will not do this for credit card debt consolidation. The reason is what if I take the loan and then charge up the cards again. I WOULD NOT DO THIS, but I find it very hard to believe that their is NOTHING I can do.

And congrats on the the little one on the way.

^^^^ Thanks. We are excited but stressed about money.

Look around, some banks are more flexible than others. Sometimes they are more willing to give the loans if you cancel the cards. Also, I think someone mentioned getting the 0% promo deals and switching money around, which also works well if you're carrying a balance. Every penny counts even if it's only a short promotional period. And I know you said they won't decrease the limit, but sometimes just telling them you're going to transfer the balance to another credit card company encourages them to become more flexible. It does depend on how good your credit is, but sometimes playing hardball with them helps. One thing to be wary of though are those so-called not-for-profit credit management/repair companies. A lot of them are scams and are being investigated by the govt.

And now for some unsolicited advice:
Thanks. We are excited but stressed about money.

^^^ It's good to be aware of your financial situation and take steps to correct any problems. But don't let it overwhelm you. I don't know if this is your first child or not, but the baby's coming either way now. A lot of big changes are ahead, and new stresses of parenting. Try not to let the financial issues consume too much of your energy. You're going to need all the energy you can muster for midnight feedings and crying jags. Enjoy being a parent to be. I'll all work out eventually.

hollymaconmovies - 7-15-2005 at 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisReed83

Quote:

This maybe the best or smartest post I have ever seen on the internet. We luckily don't have a balance on our cards. We pay it off everymonth. Not my doing. Mrs Reed83 is Queen of that.

haha Thank you. But I can't take credit. This little nugget of wisdom comes from a TV commercial I saw. Somebody, guy/girl don't remember, is watching a QVC type deal and runs to the freezer and pulls out a block of ice with the credit card inside and start hacking away at it with a sharp object. Time runs out before they can get to the card to buy the completely useless item they deeesparately needed. I think the commercial was in reference to managing your credit.

Dave - 7-15-2005 at 10:19 PM

183.00$

that's it

XHonusWagnerX - 7-16-2005 at 08:40 AM

I just looked into exactly what I owe and the balance is $1107.58, not to bad. Since July has an extra week I should be able to pay more on it this month. IF (and its a big IF) I dont buy anything else expensive for awhile I should be able to pay it off in a few months.

JawnDiablo - 7-16-2005 at 11:47 AM

i'm trying to reserve my plactic for only when the car hakes a shit on me, or when the boy needs school clothes or something important. done are the days of best buy shopping sprees and car parts spend a thons....and i will not use em for a bar tab like i see lots of fuckers doing all the time...although as tempting as it is , allot of tattoo shops in this area accept plastic and i really want this shit finished one of these days.
credit is a monkey on the back of many young people. i look at my parents and i dont think they owe shit on plastic. if they use it it gets paid off right away..my brother uses it for everything and just pays it off monthly because he gets mega cash back incentives but to me nothing feels as good as touching cash...cash is cool, just look at hip hop videos...day ain't flexin dare masta card yo

Shane - 7-16-2005 at 01:14 PM

$0

I can't even be approved for a $100 gas card. I have no credit and no way of establishing it. Sucks too because I'm 22 and can't even move out if I wanted to because of this.

BDx13 - 7-16-2005 at 01:52 PM

incentives are rad. thanks to business expenses and travel, i've easily got 250,000 continental frequent flier miles.

JawnDiablo - 7-16-2005 at 03:51 PM

holy shit!

BDx13 - 7-16-2005 at 04:11 PM

i've been saving them up for about eight years now. i've only cashed them out once - 70,000 for two tickets to aruba. it adds up pretty quickly if you stay within the network of companies. figure, about twice a year i fly from NYC to SF, rent a car, and stay in a hotel for a week. that's...

2500 miles for the flight out
1950 miles for the hotel stay ($130 * 6 nights * 2.5miles)
500 miles for the car rental
2500 miles for the flight back
-------
7450 miles

AND that all gets charged to my chase/continental card, which gives me two miles per dollar spent ON TOP OF the miles earned from the partner company. that trip can easily run $1500 for just the flight/hotel/car, so that's another 3000 miles for the actual expense, bringing the grand total for a week long business trip to over 10,000 miles.

during the dotcom heyday five or six years ago, i made this trip at least once a month, hence the huge balance. like i said, it's all a game, and i try REAL hard to make sure i'm winning!

clevohardcore - 7-16-2005 at 05:42 PM

0

I can't even be approved for a $100 gas card. I have no credit and no way of establishing it. Sucks too because I'm 22 and can't even move out if I wanted to because of this.

^^^^^ That's what is the most messed up thing about credit. Getting it is hard and trying to get rid of it is even harder. It is a very good idea to get some credit however you can but BE EXTREMELY careful..

good luck.

clevohardcore - 7-16-2005 at 05:56 PM

Also thanks for the kind words Holly.

They are taken to heart. You are right I should begin to focus more on my boy even before he's born. To be honest. I have been so stressed and working like crasy to make as much money as possible to pay on bills and create some sort of savings for him is hard. Money will always be an issue in our society for better or worse whe it comes to a growing family. Our boy will be our first. So it's a rollercoaster of emotions lately.

Let's just say I invested $8.99 4 days ago on the movie WALLSTREET after previous thread on THORP got me in the mood for it. The speech in the movie where Michael Douglas says "Greed is good".

Honestly that is EXACTLY how the creditors of banks and financial institutions must believe. Nothing wrong with that I mean it's a business. But damn Mr Discover card! If your going to fuck me at least make me breakfast in the morning.

THORP - 7-17-2005 at 10:35 AM

A good thing to do is to go to one of those Consumer Debt Counseling agencies, they can close all your accounts, negotiate lower rates (they got me down to 6% on mosty cards) and then you send them a money order every month and that's it.

BUT - only do this if you don't plan on taking out other loans until the cards ar epaid because it will be on your credit score until you are done with the agency.

this helped me save thousands in interest.

as for Credit Cards in general, THORP RECORDS would not exist without them.
The entire label was started by my maxing out 8 cards. Right now I am juggling about 30 cards to fund the label. ALL WORTH IT. And because i have never been late, about 15 of my cards are 0%. That's free money for a year on all of them - hence so many releases this year. ha

Credit Cards are like a knife, they can kill or spread butter!! I prefer butter.

-THORP

clevohardcore - 7-18-2005 at 12:22 AM

Credit Cards are like a knife, they can kill or spread butter!! I prefer butter.

-THORP

^^^^^^ Nice!

clevohardcore - 7-18-2005 at 10:57 AM

That seems like a magical place or an island oasis or something. Damn I wish one day I could say that. "Never been in debt in my life". Jsut typing that feels good.

clevohardcore - 7-19-2005 at 11:23 AM

Along with being in debt. My motherfucking basement just flooded this weekend. Now I have more debt. SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!

Thats Life - 7-19-2005 at 12:26 PM

Luckily i stayed away from credit cards and now my credit is just so bad they don't even offer them to me at all so i dont have the temptation.

clevohardcore - 7-20-2005 at 01:27 AM

I have jsut paid off my wifes CHASE card. They increased her limit to 10,200 but they will not lower her interest rate of 29.49%

even though we have brought the balance down from 9,000 to 0 in 1 year. FUCKING ASSHOLES!!!

XHonusWagnerX - 7-20-2005 at 01:39 PM

I have mine under control, but it never really seems to end. I need a new windshield for my car & I just bought $82 worth of records.

clevohardcore - 7-30-2005 at 12:36 AM

FUCKERS STILLL WILL NOT LOWER THE INTEREST RATE. 0 FUCKING BALANCE AND WILL NOT LOWER IT. from 10,000 balance too 0 in one fucking year. NEVER LATE AND ALWAYS PAID WAY THE FUCK MORE THAN ASKED TOO.

Anyway. We will keep that card and NEVER use it. Apperently that stuff about closing cards really is a big no no. So hey maybe this way we will use them. I have visions of destroying creditcard companies. FUCK THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GabeTexasGAMC - 7-30-2005 at 05:13 AM

i refuse to answer the question.

Discipline - 7-30-2005 at 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clevohardcore
I have jsut paid off my wifes CHASE card. They increased her limit to 10,200 but they will not lower her interest rate of 29.49%

even though we have brought the balance down from 9,000 to 0 in 1 year. FUCKING ASSHOLES!!!

How the fuck can they charge 29.49% interest? The highest I've ever paid on a card was 18.99%. I'd never get a card with interest that high. That's fucked.

clevohardcore - 7-30-2005 at 03:05 PM

It's a new law that they can legally charge the max if they chose any reason too. Our reason for this is last year my wife was laid off at work and for 2 months had no job. Then got one but during that 2 months we they were without payment for 45 days. YES Just 45 days. Never been late EVER and had a great creidt rating. Every other card worked with us but they refused to. And have fucked with the wrong people. Finally we have them paid off and will never give them anohter dime. FUCK YOU CHASE and I am well aware you guys just bought up BANK ONE so I will never do business with you fuckers either. FUCK CHASE!