Feel addicted to credit

Sncjw

What is your income level.

K80_Black

I'm similar, in that getting new credit is exciting and fun. I have 5 cards currently too, and don't see any harm in collecting credit for 'emergencies' that will likely never come, as I have a savings pot too. If you're not carrying debt on your cards, I don't see the harm in continuing to get more credit - if you're looking at a mortgage or other large borrowing soon, you should probably take advice on what lenders look for, but otherwise... whats the harm in having a little collection of cards?

As for the feeling of being addicted - I'd talk to your GP, especially if you are on any medication already. I was on a medication for about 2 years that hugely increased my desire for instant gratification and reckless compulsive behavior - I've only been off it for a few months, but I've already noticed a change. It's worth mentioning it to them if you feel out of control, even if you don't take any medication currently. It may be an early sign of mental illness.

As addictions go, getting more credit that you don't use isn't the worst!

A4445

!!! wrote: »

Well for a start £500 isn’t a decent sized overdraft.

And £3400 isn’t a large total limit to have.

Simply stop applying for them

Sometimes the advise you give isn’t very good. For his age that is a decent limit on a overdraft. If someone is addicted to something it’s not as easy as stop applying. Addiction comes out in many ways. Would you tell an alcoholic to just stop drinking?

unmonied

chattychappy wrote: »

I can relate to the way you feel.

I was obsessed with money/saving from an early age, opening a "national savings bank" account at the post office as soon as I was 7. I once withdrew all my savings in the morning just so I could look at it, before redepositing it in the afternoon. It was the first time I had seen a £20 note (one with Shakespeare on it, still perhaps the nicest BoE notes ever issued IMHO).

I got a girobank account at 15 because that was the fastest way of getting a chequebook. They gave me a guarantee card soon afterwards (despite not being 18) and I loved the idea I could write out an entire cheque book of guaranteed cheques, even though I didn't have the money. The spending power was great. But I also liked the "business" of it all... the way the cheques looked, the watermark, the cheque card design etc.

I had two credit cards when I was 18 and several more as years went past. I got a buzz out of the spending power - the idea I could walk out of my home and spend thousands on "stuff". This was the era of posh American Express adverts and Alan Whicker's Barclaycard "replies". Google if interested. Credit was more glamorous in those days IMHO and the possession of a gold card impressed others.

BUT, I never did "go mad". I lived within my means and always paid the balance in full. I've grown out of it, though I still like to have lots of credit available "just in case".

So unless it's causing you to spend more than you should, I wouldn't worry!

Serious question but what's glamorous in 2018 on MSE in your view?

My view is that it is now all the metal cards from the fintechs (N26, Revolut) and in America (Chase Sapphire Reserve, metal AMEX cards), but love to hear what you think as I wasn't around in the era where AMEX was glamorous and not mass-market.

dave1345

Bloopyboy wrote: »

Hello to make it short. I feel addicted to credit and love the feeling of getting new credit cards. ... I do not abuse my credit limit nor make purchases I can’t afford on them but I keep having the desire to get more and more. May not seem like an issue really but maybe someone has some advice on how I can break from the attraction of credit cards

Maybe the act of applying and being granted credit is some kind of validation of you being worthy of trust? I can relate in part to what you are saying, and applying and getting something is usually a pleasant feeling.

Perhaps you/we are addicted to "validation"

sourcrates

Its the lure of easy credit, back in the 80`s/90`s banks literally threw money at new customers, leopards, it seems, don`t change their spots, once hooked, its a customer for life, or until they go bankrupt, then if they still haven't learnt there lesson, they start all over again.


Take this from someone who has been insolvent twice in his life, credit is fine, if you manage it well, and if circumstances favor you, unfortunately, that is not always the case, the fact you have 5 cards at your tender age sets of alarm bells for me.


Instead of using your income to live on, you find it all goes on credit card and loan payments, and after a while, this seems like the norm, but it isn't, so you try to get every 0 % deal you can, fine until the offers run out, then your next brainwave is to consolidate your debt, but in 12 months you've run it all back up on the cards, and you literally don`t know what to do now.


Finally the credit bubble bursts, and bankruptcy stares you in the face.


Nightmare scenario maybe, but reality for lots of people, including me, i`d get off this train before it crashes if i was you, as these things tend to spiral out of control very quickly, and very messily.


Try paying off these cards and living within a budget, save for what you want, you really don`t want the alternative i describe above, trust me on that one.

ViolaLass

OP, if you're not in debt, what's the problem?

Terry_Towelling

ViolaLass wrote: »

OP, if you're not in debt, what's the problem?

The problem is nothing to do with debt - per se - it is the potential for this behaviour to become an addiction that is the problem. It's probably nothing to do with money and shouldn't really be aired on a money saving forum but should be discussed with a doctor/counsellor - as suggested by others.

You asked for advice on how to break the attraction. I don't really know but why not try to understand your motivation by scrutinising the reward you feel. The need for 'validation' mentioned by dave1345 may be down to that old chestnut, 'self esteem'. The cards and their potential to provide access to value might be making you feel worthwhile - so, not to put too finer point on it, what is it about your life that is making you feel undervalued and worthless?

If your answer is, 'nothing' then think a bit harder, or the bells I hear might just be because you have decided to pull the other leg.

fozmcfc

It could just be, because like a lot of young people when you were 16 or 17, you craved being able to do what adults do, such as drinking, gambling etc...

Maybe once credit was possible, you had craved it so much, you just went out and got as much as possible.

There will come a time, when you won't be able to get anymore, because either you will be seen to have too much credit available to you or because you run up too much debt. Hopefully it won't be the latter.

I would be content with what you have, don't use the cards unnecessarily, but use them wisely. Credit can be useful for purchase protection etc...but can quickly become a problem.

Samsung_Note2

!!! wrote: »

Well for a start £500 isn’t a decent sized overdraft.

And £3400 isn’t a large total limit to have.

Simply stop applying for them

Im in my mid forties...have several credit cards with limits totalling £18,000 and only a few weeks ago did Halifax agree to give me a £100 over draft :eek:

Mortgage and steady job..held just about every bank account (switching Tart) and no one would give me an over draft...id say £500 is pretty good,evil things if your not careful mind.