People who ask "should I get a credit card?".

leeroy2009

BillJones wrote: »

You don't seem to understand that you'd be better off not paying interest on your cards, and foregoing the interest earned on the equivalent amount in your current account.

You seem to be arguing otherwise.

for the love of god, I fully understand that I would be better off and make more interest in the current account and not pay interest on the credit card.


the interest I gain from my current accounts is free money, if I buy a jar or coffee or pay a few quid for borrowing money RATHER then use my own money then who cares?


£300 a week wages for example im not using my own money to pay for the credit card interest, im using the free money the banks gave me on my current account interest to pay for my borrowing, and still making a profit of £30+


as stated before unlike some I don't have a problem with buying money, id be better off as well and make more money if I didn't eat bread, or run a car. the interest I gain is disposable income, that pays for any borrowing I wish to make. keeping my cash reserves intact and still continuing to grow

Hooloovoo

leeroy2009 wrote: »

the interest I gain from my current accounts is free money,

No it's not. It's almost the exact opposite of free money.

The interest on your account ideally compensates the loss you make through inflation. If inflation is 3% and you get 3% interest, then you're "standing still" financially.

By spending your interest you may well end up with the same amount of capital, but your buying power will have been eroded.

Interest is there to be compounded and ensure the value in your account is worth the same today as it was yesterday.

the interest I gain from my current accounts is free money, if I buy a jar or coffee or pay a few quid for borrowing money RATHER then use my own money then who cares?

You should care. If you can do something a cheaper way and get exactly the same result, why would you deliberately choose a more expensive method?

Your arguments are baffling.

Forget credit for the moment. If you were buying that jar of coffee, and when you got to the till they asked you - "Would you like to pay the listed price, Sir, or would you prefer me to add an extra £2 for no reason?" - which would you choose??!

Norvegia

credit cards are good , its the people that are bad,
As goldie lookin chain pointed out
"guns dont kill people rappers do"

Norvegia

1
Using cash :

If you go to currys buy a tv and walk to your car fall over and smash the tv, bad luck your loss.


Using credit card :

If you go to currys buy a tv and walk to your car fall over and smash the tv, turn around go back to the store and get another tv free of charge.


2
Using debit card:
buy something off the www, mail order etc , doesnt work your loss

Using credit card:
buy something off the www, mail order etc doesnt work , seller or CC will pay

3
Credit cards offer interest free lending or extremely cheap lending
( BT fee) for stoozing

or cashback/rewards

I have thousands of pounds of debt that i transfer continuously once the 0% runs out have done it for years.

I also have a Santander 123 CC, I pay £2 pcm fee. however, i get cashback on groceries, fuel and general spending in certain stores, the balance is cleared IIIIIIIINNNNNN FFFFFUUUUULLLL every month.
the cash that i am not using to purchase these items outright is earning interest in a current account, Some people use their children's accounts.
The cashback is more than the fee charged and interest is earned on cash in the bank,

FREE MONEY

Norvegia

sorry to go on but i've just noticed that near the top of the screen is the Barclaycard balance transfer deal, 33 months at 2.99% fee,

For arguement's say lets round the time frame up to 36 months, ( 3 years )
and the fee to 3%
That is a 1% interest rate per year.
Rather than pay off the debt, save the money and make more money, earn while you sleep.
Its down to the individual with restraint not to spend the cash though,
they are the weak link not the credit card.

Hooloovoo

Norvegia wrote: »

Using credit card :

If you go to currys buy a tv and walk to your car fall over and smash the tv, turn around go back to the store and get another tv free of charge.

I'd like to see you try that.

Certainly some credit cards come with additional insurance facilities, but it doesn't quite work like you've said.

2
Using debit card:
buy something off the www, mail order etc , doesnt work your loss

Nonsense. The seller is liable under the sale of goods act regardless of the method of payment.

I'm totally down with credit cards, but a lot of what you've just posted is utter rubbish.

eskbanker

Whiner wrote: »

People who ask "should I get a credit card?".

Can't help thinking the answer to this is always "no".

Thoughts?

To go back to OP's question, it would seem that the answer is "only if there is a grown-up around to help with basic maths" (great news, I've earned 60p in interest and only had to pay £1.80 to get that!)

Hooloovoo

eskbanker wrote: »

To go back to OP's question, it would seem that the answer is "only if there is a grown-up around to help with basic maths" (great news, I've earned 60p in interest and only had to pay £1.80 to get that!)

Exactly.

I think this is really the OPs point.

I actually agree with the OP, even though most people on this thread do not.

If someone isn't capable of doing their own research and understanding whether any one particular card would benefit them or not, then they're unlikely to have the financial acumen required to make responsible use of that product.

Whiner

I probably wasn't really expressing myself clearly when I wrote the original post, but what I was getting at is that if someone has to come onto a forum to ask random people if a credit card is a good financial idea for them, then in all reality they probably don't need it.

If it WAS a good idea, they'd probably already have one. Thats all I was getting at really.

Hooloovoo

Whiner wrote: »

I probably wasn't really expressing myself clearly when I wrote the original post, but what I was getting at is that if someone has to come onto a forum to ask random people if a credit card is a good financial idea for them, then in all reality they probably don't need it.

Just because you don't need something doesn't mean it can't or wont be an advantage for you.

If it WAS a good idea, they'd probably already have one. Thats all I was getting at really.

I don't think that's the case at all. If you don't know about something then, by definition, you can't already have made any decision to have it or not.