Credit Cards: Helpful, or a way to screw yourself?

[Robert]

In a year or so I'll be entering college, and as I've heard, credit card companies are quite interested in my age genre.

Honestly, I don't want to deal with credit cards at all. However it seems very convienent to have one if I don't have any cash on me.

Is it possible to get around without a credit card? If so, how? If not, what are the best ways to prevent myself from waking up at night wondering if how the heck I got myself into this mess.

Thank you in advance.

 

[CompuWife]

If you're not careful, you'll end up screwing yourself.
Make sure you have the cash (in the bank-where ever) to pay for what you purchase with your card.
Trust me, i've learned from experience...I owe MasterCard thousands

 

[JoeKing]

Im in college now, hehehe they give you free T-shirts when you fill out a CC application

But it is handy to have a credit card. For one thing you can start building your credit history. Also they are cool to have in case of an emergancy (I'm not talking about running out of pizza here....more like a midnight trip to Vegas )

I'd get one, but pick one that gives you bonuses or somthing. Pay with your credit card for books and stuff, pay it all off at the end of the month, and you've got all those reward points for free. Just don't get tempted to buy stuff you can't REALLY afford.

So if you trust yourself get one, if you don't debit cards also work....

 

[Cruisin1]

credit cards are very good... having many that is. When you go to buy a house or car and they look at your credit report it will pay off to have the credit cards. Don't get them to USE though... maybe two to use... but the rest DON'T use them.. just pay them off or whatever you have to do and it builds up your credit.

 

[JoeKing]

actually I heard that having to many credit cards can look bad on your credit report....

 

[RSI]

Credit cards are evil.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

I just recently got a cc, and I told myself this when I got it: don't spend more than you know you can pay off. Pay off the whole bill at the end of each month, because if you get into that habit of the minimum $20 a month you'll end up getting in debt.

 

[K_Factor]

Just ask yourself this simple question.
Are you responsible?
If the answer is yes, then having a credit card is a good thing.
If the answer is maybe or no, then stay far, far away from a credit card.

 

[PCAddict]

I had my own experience with credit cards that was less than good. I got carried away and got into the bad habit of just paying the minimums. Well, I've learned from that now. I am in the process of paying my Mastercard and Visa down. I throw like $400 a month at each one. I have only used American Express for the last few years. That forced me to be responsible.

 

[RU482]

I hate to hear about people who sign up for credit cards for a measly T-shirt. All that "traffic" on your credit report will hurt you in the future. Just a thought

 

[HaVoC]

I used to work for a credit card bank and had access to people's credit reports. Those here who are warning you about getting too many credit cards...THEY ARE RIGHT. Every time you fill out an app, it runs a credit report which shows up on there. These may hurt you when applying for credit in the future because the company thinks "why did you apply for so many credit cards?"

It takes ALOT of discipline to handle a credit card. I always pay my bill off every month. (I NEVER carry balances)Basically my CC is a debit card with the safety of a credit line. (for emergency...and no, that new Ski Doo is NOT an emergency)

That being said, keeping ONE credit card and regularly paying off the bill will demonstrate credit worthiness which will help you out when you graduate.

 

[Pretender]

I'm about 2 years off from this, but for general knowledge, how many would be considered too many? I'm guessing maybe 2-3, 4 at the very most?

 

[Bleep]

2 Cards are about right. 1 with a very low credit line 300 to 500 and a good one with a couple of thousand. Only use the low line one pay carefull attention to the interest rate, some cards will charge way over 20%. If you ever need to rent a car it is impossible without a credit card.
Bleep

 

[compuwiz1]

I dont see what's the problem...I've got about 20 of them, and who knows how many the wife has Lowest limit $4000 and highest is about $20000. But, they are only there for an Opportunity like a good investment, or emergency. We do NOT carry more than 2 apiece and what we do use we pay off each month. Having such large lines and using them responsibly has made it possible to borrow larges sums of money at time needed with no collateral, just a signature. Example, with those kinds of Kahonas, I can call a banker I know, borrow $10,000 with a phone call....pick up the money within 1 hour. Every bank is different, but I think you can establish yourself to a solidity where how many cards you have does not matter. Be careful of them, use them wisely and you will have outstanding credit.

 

[trmiv]

I have two cards that I got when I first started college. Of course, I quickly maxed them out on stuff I had no chance of affording. I finally got tired of paying the min every month and started paying them off. Now that I have both payed off I have vowed to never use them again. The credit card companies love to try to suck you back into using your card though. When I payed off one of my cards with a big balloon payment, they instantly raised my limit by $1000.00, and now they call me at least once a month trying to offer me incentives to use the card again.

You've just got to be careful with them. Don't buy anything that you can' pay off quickly, and don't be late with payments, because a lot of companies don't do grace periods anymore.

 

[BoberFett]

When I first got married I had a low-paying job and my wife was school. We basically lived off of credit cards for a couple years. Several years later and we've about paid everything off. We'll be down to just the mortgage and a single car payment within a couple months. Woohoo!

The key is responsibility. Many people here have said it, but it deserves saying once more. We bought many things on plastic when we were poor, and we've been paying for it in more ways than one ever since.

 

[Napalm381]

Not having a credit card will make it difficult to buy stuff off the web. That and with a CC you don't have to carry large sums of cash with you for large purchases.

I got a Discover Card when I was 18. It's a pretty good one, you get money back, they have a good grace period, and you can pay online so you don't have to worry about sending a check in the mail. Personally I've never carried a balance from month to month, it's a very easy way to get yourself in some deep sh!t.

 

[kranky]

Listen to what Havoc said. Too many cards is bad. A couple cards is not a problem - IF you can discipline yourself not to go into debt. Do you know why banks are so eager to push credit cards on college students? Because many of them will run up big debt. If you get a card while in college, and don't pay the balance in full each and every month, you better take a long look at your spending habits.

Those low minimum payments are for the bank's benefit, not yours. If you have a $1000 balance at 18% with a minimum payment of 2.5% of the balance, paying that off at the minimum payment is going to take 12 years and 9 months. Total interest paid? $1115.41.

And it's not just college kids who have trouble with credit cards, either. I just read last month about a dentist with a annual income of $150,000 who ran up $200,000 in credit card debt.

That being said, having a credit card in case of a true emergency is not a bad idea. Here's a link to some more information about handling credit cards. They also have calculators to figure out how soon you can pay off a balance. http://thewhiz.snap.com/1999/12/991221a.asp

 

[oldandquitemad]

they are eeeeeeeeeeeevil!
pay cash. screw the system.

 

[mpitts]

Credit cards can have an adverse affect on your buying decisions in the future if you are not careful. Be sure to be prompt in payment. Bad credit makes it difficult to buy houses, cars, etc.

 

[mosdef]

If you can, stick to debit cards, they are much safer.

-mosdef

 

[kranky]

I'd advise against debit cards when buying online, though. If you have a problem, your money is already gone and you have to fight to get it back. With a credit card, you can dispute the charge before you pay.

I just read the other day (maybe it was over in HD) about someone who was trying to order from an online site and the site hung twice before it went through. It turned out that actually all three orders went through and since a debit card was used, the money for all three orders was taken from the debit card. Sure, it will probably get straightened out eventually, but until then the money is gone.

 

[CyberSax]

IMO, people who owe any kind of interest on their credit cards are idiots. Banks are for loans, not credit cards.

I've had my CC since I was 16, and I use it for practically every purchase (saving the cash for emergencies). Never had any trouble with it.

 

[Silencer]

If you want a credit card "just to have one", make sure that it has no monthly rate. I have a Debit/Check Card and it works the same way as a credit card. I also have another credit card with a low limit and no fees for emergencies (Like flat tire and I have no case)

Don't be stupid, or you'll throw away everything because of it!

 

[Silencer]

Krankey: Yah, that was me with the debit card experience!

Actually, I have online banking, so I know when charges go through. I usually takes a few days for each to go through, and before that they're just pending. Luckily I caught it before the charges solidified!

Another note: Online banking is a must!