The Big DebateIf you feel the need to get your teeth stuck right into a heavy debate on a subject you feel really passionate about, then this is the place to do so. Post about religion, politics, laws and all things juicy like that here.
Just to kick-off, when I was young in the 60s 'lifestyle' purchases were just starting to affect our age group. Things like certain makes of motorcycles carried what we now call 'street-cred'. I soon realised that having a beer income and a champagne appetite did not go together. Answer, I rode less popular makes and owning a car before I was 25 was impossible. Tip No 1.....If you don't need it, don't buy it. Ignore lifestyle stuff, just marketeers advertising clap-trap.
Just to make my point, this really is 'my kind of girl' - initiative and social courage at its best.
The credit card thing is easy if you are clued up with your money and don't go over what you can't afford to pay back when interest is added on. We use balance transfers for any money we have on cards. I know when they finish and when interest is going to kick in , so then I arrange to transfer to another 0% interest card and continue to keep making regular payments and when we have a little spare I pay that off too. A lot of people are using cards now with no intention of paying the money back. Sadly I'm not like that, sometimes wish I was but have seen the mess it can make of peoples' lives when the debt spirals.
The wedding was cute, there's loads of bargains to be had on eBay if you look hard enough, but loads of families manage a relatively cheap wedding with family mucking in to do the cake, flowers and dresses and they have a beautiful wedding. That being said, mine was quite and expensive wedding by our standards, but we were very lucky that Harvs mum and dad helped a lot with the costs. It was a beautiful day and one I'm never going to forget.
so then I arrange to transfer to another 0% interest card and continue to keep making regular payments and when we have a little spare I pay that off too.
Just to kick-off, when I was young in the 60s 'lifestyle' purchases were just starting to affect our age group. Things like certain makes of motorcycles carried what we now call 'street-cred'. I soon realised that having a beer income and a champagne appetite did not go together. Answer, I rode less popular makes and owning a car before I was 25 was impossible. Tip No 1.....If you don't need it, don't buy it. Ignore lifestyle stuff, just marketeers advertising clap-trap.
Just to make my point, this really is 'my kind of girl' - initiative and social courage at its best.
The best advice I can think of is to marry some one rich.
borrowing can be effective but only if its something you need and it can save you money in the long run, like loft insulation for example, or youve got sufficient income to pay it off quickly.
The best advice I can think of is to marry some one rich.
borrowing can be effective but only if its something you need and it can save you money in the long run, like loft insulation for example, or you've got sufficient income to pay it off quickly.
Wrong on the first point, you may hate each others guts. Money won't solve that one.
Right on the second, good insulation is worth a fortune in the long run. Tip No 2...look up the local council grants that are now available for cavity wall insulation as well.
However, try not to overlook Sash's point about changing credit cards and getting the best of the offers available. Ultimately it's a bit of interest free money coming in your direction for a change
Think about it, every time we pay up-front for something that may take a couple of weeks to arrive, we are giving that company free money also. I always want their bit of free money from me taken off the price.
We call people like Sash credit card *****s in the banking world!
But it is a good way to save yourself on interest, most credit cards give atleast 12 months interest free on balances transfers, and usually a minimum of 3 months on purchases.
However you will usually have to pay around a 3% fee to transfer a balance so keep that in mind. As if you keep on increasing your credit card balance, and not really paying off big amounts, it will just keep mounting up.
The best solution is just to transfer it and and give it a good hammering, whatever money at the end of the month you have left over just chuck it on there. Maybe setup a Standing order for an amount you can afford as well as a direct debit to pay the minium.
The other option is a loan, if you are being refused a credit card, usually your bank will be happy to give you a loan to pay off a credit card even if you others refuse you, however it is a lot harder these days.
The good thing about the loan is you can match it to your budget, you know how much its going to be a month and when it will end, however it is more expensive than transferring a balance.
When used correctly credit cards are very useful. Whenver making purchases over the phone, the internet or abroad I would recommend using them, ill list reason.
1. If you have ordered a big item from a company, such as sofas, or even flights, on your debit card you will more than likely lose that money if the company goes into liquidation, on your credit card it will be refunded, examples of this are courts, MFI, XL any large items you buy put it in the credit card to ensure you wont lose out, if you havnt got the credit limit for it, you can put a "positive" balance on your credit card to pay for it.
2. Using your debit card over the internet, phone and abroad can be very risky, if it gets cloned or someone gets hold of your details and clears out your account, you will be left with no money to pay your mortage, your bills, feed yourself etc etc for a period of time.
However on a credit card theres no worries your current account is safe and the bank will have to deal with investigating and trying to get some of that money back while you carry on as normal.
Just to add you are usually covered agaisnt fraud on your debit card, however it takes a period of time before the bank will release any funds back to you while they investigate.
3. Car rental and hotels abroad will need a credit card as a "refundable deposit" to hire a room or car. You can use a debit card now, however the funds for the deposit will be frozen on your current, so you wont be able to use it,this can be as much as £250 sometimes more for a car rental.
4. Credit cards usually give up to 56 days interest free, so if you use a overdraft try using a credit card instead for your extra spending, just pay it back when you get paid and it wont cost you anything!
Overdrafts are charged daily so they cost you money.
5.Most obvious is dont go mad with them, be sensiable and realise you have to pay back that money you spend! And if your not clever those new shoes in the sale will end up costing you hell of a lot more than they would of been even if they hadnt been on sale!
Some good advice there Grael, I was about to post a few of those points myself but you've beaten me to it.
I struggled through my teens and most of my twenties carrying quite a lot of credit card debt and only paid it off a few years back. At worst I was paying effectively 20% of my wage on minimum payments even after taking advantage of the balance transfers like Sash mentioned.
I'm never going to go back down that road though - and even though it makes perfect sense sometimes to put things on the card for the protection it provides I am still loathe to do it.
I still have a couple of credit cards for emergencies but things would have to be pretty dire before I used them.
yeah our purchases have been in the main for stuff we really needed, washer, dryer, car maintenance, the only other we use is an mbna one for points but that is paid off in full every month. I'm lucky that if it gets too much for me I can get Harv to look at the finances as some things boggle me (mortgage). The credit cards, loans, all that other stuff I am fine with, but it's good to know you can ask someone if you need help. Luckily after working in debt collection I know my way around credit terms and such, unfortunately for others, they don't read the small print.
I think the main one for me is to do your research, before spending money. Theres cheap deals on everything everywhere and you can often get the same good products/services for a fraction of the price. A little research also shows up things like the loft insulation deal from the government, which is really worth doing.
On a similar note, not assuming is probably equally important. Balancing money and accounts is like a game and the rules can change, if you dont keep up you risk losing money. Like the houseprice fall was predictable, it had even been reported and people kept buying houses which were just about to lose tens of thousands of pounds of value.
Credit cards have their uses, but generally you shouldnt spend what you dont have, especially if you cant afford to pay it off. A friend of mine spent thousands on storecards/creditcards, decided to go bankrupt for the easy way out and racked up a few thousand more between finding out he could just go bankrupt and actually doing it. Doesnt seem to have affected him negatively either. :O
I think the main one for me is to do your research, before spending money. Theres cheap deals on everything everywhere and you can often get the same good products/services for a fraction of the price. A little research also shows up things like the loft insulation deal from the government, which is really worth doing.
On a similar note, not assuming is probably equally important. Balancing money and accounts is like a game and the rules can change, if you dont keep up you risk losing money. Like the houseprice fall was predictable, it had even been reported and people kept buying houses which were just about to lose tens of thousands of pounds of value.
Credit cards have their uses, but generally you shouldnt spend what you dont have, especially if you cant afford to pay it off. A friend of mine spent thousands on storecards/creditcards, decided to go bankrupt for the easy way out and racked up a few thousand more between finding out he could just go bankrupt and actually doing it. Doesnt seem to have affected him negatively either. :O
Ye shop around is the best way really! And find major stores like halfords, focus, B&Q etc anything for your house or car avoid major stores and go for the smaller ones, its SO much cheaper.
Going bankrupt is not a good idea, he wont be able to get any credit or mortage or anything for the near future, def in this times as finance companies are ever more fussy.
Wrong on the first point, you may hate each others guts. Money won't solve that one.
hmm, howcome when i make a silly humourous point theres always someone takes it seriously lol.
in todays eco climate I only buy stuff at half price, well anything i dont actualy need desperatly anyway, like my 42" ful hd tv at half price on boxing day, although i doubt il be able to get my i7 system at half price unless anyones seen any stupidly good deals ?
I need a new sofa but cant find one thats still comfortable at 50% off.
I havent read the string so forgive me if i repeat what others have said. You should never take out credit unless you can afford it and then some. You have got to make sure that you can meet the payments and any extra for contingencies.
I have struggle for a couple yrs with mine, but i've made sure that i pay more than the minimum required, and if interest rates go up i can still cover them easily because of my overpayments.
I think that if you need credit you have got to be able to easily afford it, otherwise save up until you can.
The only time when you need a lot of credit is when you really need something not because you want it it my opinion.
Oooops, thought I'd put this thread in the 'Serious Debate' section
Moved to the appropriate section.
My thought on the entire thing of finance, loands, debt, credit cards....
If you can afford to pay for something with your own earned money then it is your right to have and enjoy your purchase. If you can't afford it, go without until such time as you can afford it. (house buying being the exception for obvious reasons).
If you can afford to pay for something with your own earned money then it is your right to have and enjoy your purchase. If you can't afford it, go without until such time as you can afford it. (house buying being the exception for obvious reasons).
Solid stuff. Then having bought a house or rented, look at the advantages and disadvantages of having a water meter fitted. Following this, rig up a water butt for washing the car and watering the garden. We have 5 old plastic dustbins linked together by short bits of hose that fill up in turn from all gutters. Last year's water bill was £180 and we do have visitors and family staying quite regularly.
Last edited by Detomah; 28-07-2009 at 21:28..
Reason: fixed a broken quote tag, nothing else edited, changed or anything.
OTher food for thought is if you have a credit card with a £1000 pound on there and you always pay the minimum payments, it will take you around 30 years to pay it off!
Let's not forget that careful management of debt (not minimizing it - managing it) can be a forceful tool in growing you personal economy. Businesses large and small could not operate for long without loans and rotating credit to help them manage inventories and expansion.
Let's not forget that careful management of debt (not minimizing it - managing it) can be a forceful tool in growing you personal economy. Businesses large and small could not operate for long without loans and rotating credit to help them manage inventories and expansion.
Not that lots of people don't mess it up.
Without business debt, businesses would have to work within a proper budget and not play with other peoples money as if it has no meaning. A lot of the reason the country is going down the pan at the moment is down to business screwing the banks over on finance borrowed and not repayed.
The world survived quite well before the times of living on the never never and so did business.
The sad thing is, is that we live in a society where people live on their overdraft, on playing a balancing act with multiple credit cards, on borrowing from other people, from loans, from IVAs, bankruptcy and on generally living life in a completely irresponsible fashion. People in general need to start actiing responsibly, taking account of their won actions, living in a manner that is actually within sustainable means, stop being so greedy, so being so selfish,careless and thoughtless, people need to start actually using their brains properly in a way that doesn't involve screwing others over, in every area of life, not just financially.
People in general need to start actiing responsibly, taking account of their won actions, living in a manner that is actually within sustainable means, stop being so greedy, so being so selfish,careless and thoughtless, people need to start actually using their brains properly in a way that doesn't involve screwing others over, in every area of life, not just financially.
if thats what we need to get out of this then thats it weve had it !
have we ever been more screwed !
Credit Card Debt
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