How many credit cards?

[anykey]

I'm not sure what you mean by this and how it is relevant. Do you mean that you have been trying to get "cash rewards" by using your credit cards? That's fine, but only buy what you would normally buy in cash and have the discipline to put the cash aside immediately after every charge so you can pay the credit card bill in full when it arrives. /snip

I wont deviate off topic too much here- but I took advantage of capital one 360- opened a checking account- if I use the debit card 3x and what ever else- I get $50. So that is in progress. There is $25 if I had $250 in a savings- but I missed that one. Now I found a bank called Niagara- I can "earn" $250 by opening a checking- bill pay 5x, debit card 10x and direct deposit with in 60 days. ////////////////// The $50 check that is being mailed I pursued a similar offer which as it turned out- was not a good deal- so I asked that credit union to return my $50. I dont need points or miles. The offer has to be decent for me to jump thru all the hoops. I also switched my electric company- and a 2 year rate lock- in 6-8 weeks I will be getting a $50 prepaid visa. Now- the thing is- use it up on necessities per fees. Also my cousin gave me a dorm size refrigerator as a gift. I am not sure that it falls into the PPL rebate thing- but I sent in the form anyhow for the $25 prepaid card. These offers- you have to keep in the back of the mind-

I am on this forum now 5 years- you are one of the helpful posters here. I see that the bottem line is- my standard of living has to be less then the total actual income.

Surely it is easy to fall in the trap again.

I must consider the big picture- and that is that in 2 years- if I so chose to move and get a new mortgage- I want that option. I do not need to go to the mall- redecorate- get a new car- so the standard of living I lived in the lull between the spending party- and the bust and the discharge.

This year is crucial- because if I rack up a debt higher then $800- I could easily be behind the 8 ball in less then 6 months.

[LadyInTheRed]

Hello Lady in Red.

Hi!

On the $800. $400 of that I re-affirmed when I filed chapter 7. That does not account for the newer $400 tho. I pondered that maybe capital 1 might combine 2 of the cards? I dont know..

I saw that $400 was pre-BK debt. But, that doesn't change the fact that you should get it all paid down asap. Use your tax refund to do that. Capital 1 will charge you for a balance transfer. So, it could cost you more in the long run to do that.

I been trying to qualify for bank rebates- $50 was to put into an account- but I cancelled that and a $50 check is in the mail...

I'm not sure what you mean by this and how it is relevant. Do you mean that you have been trying to get "cash rewards" by using your credit cards? That's fine, but only buy what you would normally buy in cash and have the discipline to put the cash aside immediately after every charge so you can pay the credit card bill in full when it arrives.

What I dont like is all of the actual credit cards carry interest rate that is too high....

Not an issue if you don't carry a balance.

The one credit card- the minumin interest is $2. So lets say I owe 14 cents- they have the nerve to charge $2.

So don't use that card. Or accept the $2 as the cost of rebuilding. You'll still pay less than a $39 annual fee.

I get my tax refund on July 2- that is $650. I it possible to zap it by July 2....

That's what I'd do.

One thing that-- eats at me- I recently got close to my cousin. She sent me an easter gift $53 popcorn thing- not counting shipping. Meanwhile I spent $33.11 on the yard- if there was a way to cash that gift in I would have.

===> cost of produce is noticably higher. It now makes sense to garden when 5 years ago produce was so cheap is hardly paid. I bought 3 blueberry bushes, and 2 blackberry bushes each cost $5.99. They are all planted now. Then Hit the dollar tree for potting soil, a pack of flower bulbs, and special stake ties for tomatoes. A 4 oz pack of blueberries costs around $3 now. The $33 I spent will pay for itself. My point is- my cousin is a bigger part of my life now- will my tightwad ways rub off on her- or will her wild spending ways rub off on me. She treated me to a day at the spa. Poof $100 she spent on me.

I have family members who treat me to things I can't afford. I am very clear on what I can and cannot afford to do with them. There is no reason the spending of people around you have to rub off on you. If your cousin invites you to do something without offering to pay, just tell her that you can't do it. Maybe suggest an alternative activity that costs less. When she does offer to pay, graciously accept it and enjoy the treat rather than wishing you could have the cash instead.

I garden too. I always at least plant tomatoes. The initial costs payoff. But, you need to budget for them all year round, so you have the cash when you need it. When you are harvesting berries and tomatoes, put what you'd usually spend buying them in savings. That should more than pay for the following year's planting expenses.

I could talk in circles for hours- what I do know is come Jan 1- 2015- I do not want to have $800 in credit card debt.

With that tax refund, you will be well on your way!

[anykey]

Hello Lady in Red.

On the $800. $400 of that I re-affirmed when I filed chapter 7. That does not account for the newer $400 tho. I pondered that maybe capital 1 might combine 2 of the cards? I dont know.

I been trying to qualify for bank rebates- $50 was to put into an account- but I cancelled that and a $50 check is in the mail.

What I dont like is all of the actual credit cards carry interest rate that is too high.

The one credit card- the minumin interest is $2. So lets say I owe 14 cents- they have the nerve to charge $2.

I get my tax refund on July 2- that is $650. I it possible to zap it by July 2.

One thing that-- eats at me- I recently got close to my cousin. She sent me an easter gift $53 popcorn thing- not counting shipping. Meanwhile I spent $33.11 on the yard- if there was a way to cash that gift in I would have.

===> cost of produce is noticably higher. It now makes sense to garden when 5 years ago produce was so cheap is hardly paid. I bought 3 blueberry bushes, and 2 blackberry bushes each cost $5.99. They are all planted now. Then Hit the dollar tree for potting soil, a pack of flower bulbs, and special stake ties for tomatoes. A 4 oz pack of blueberries costs around $3 now. The $33 I spent will pay for itself. My point is- my cousin is a bigger part of my life now- will my tightwad ways rub off on her- or will her wild spending ways rub off on me. She treated me to a day at the spa. Poof $100 she spent on me.

I could talk in circles for hours- what I do know is come Jan 1- 2015- I do not want to have $800 in credit card debt.

[LadyInTheRed]

I get a tax refund July 2- (real estate) of $650. (I pondered zapping my credit card balance- however I need to make a trip that will cost $240)

Absolutely pay down as much of your credit card debt as you can!

Since I got the new actual credit in January- I can not say my spending has increased. I shop at thrift stores- aldis, discount places. I keep my bills as low as I can. I wont say- there will never be temptation- but....

... but you are carrying $800 in credit card debt.

I sort of like having more then one institution, in case the computer goes down- and I am out of state and need an emergency car repair.

Credit cards should not be your emergency fund.

One way I feel I am making a mistake is the unsecured credit card fees are too high

Since you don't have annual fees on most of your cards, I assume you mean that the interest rates are too high. If you weren't carrying a balance, that wouldn't be an issue. You are making a mistake by carrying $800 in credit card debt and by maxing out your secured card (at least I'm assuming it is maxed out since you say closing it will cost you $400).

Maybe someone can offer input--- help

Get that $800 paid down as soon as you can. Then, never use a credit card to pay for anything that you can't pay for with cash. Build a savings so that you don't have to rely on your credit cards in an emergency.

I would cancel that most recent card rather than pay the annual fee (maybe wait until you have your balance paid down so that your overall utilization is as low as possible). That will leave you with 3 unsecured cards and 1 secured card, all with no fees. That is plenty of credit cards. Use them sparingly and pay them off every month. If you believe the theory that you have to carry a balance every month*, then make that balance extremely low and always have savings that exceed your credit card balances. For best results, never exceed 10% utilization on any one card or on all cards.

* I don't believe that theory because the credit card companies report your balances as of your statement date, so your credit report will still show balances even if you pay your cards off the day after the statement comes out. Experian says the same thing: http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-ex...credit-scores/

[anykey]

secured no fee- MANY years- line of $400, interest rate 9.9% ( credit union)

(re-affirmed this in my chapter 7- late 2013 discharge)


then in January I got no fee visa line $500 (? bank)
and no fee MC $2000 (cap1)
and no fee Business visa $1000 (cap1) , the business card has 1% rebate.

=============================
So until the other day $3500 limit- and $400 (secured) for $3900 limit

=============================

My total balance is $800

This week I got approve for visa(cap1) $2000 $39 fee, but no interest until Jan 2015.



All 4 (unsecured) CREDIT card interest rates are 23-25%,



So this makes 5- the oldest card (min 2009) is a secured card of $400.

If I closed that out- it would leave $400 that I owe. But I don't want to hurt my score.

The 2 capital one cards told me- that after 6 months I would see $500 credit line increase.

I have a mortgage- I have never-ever had a car payment, dept store or gas card.

I get a tax refund July 2- (real estate) of $650. (I pondered zapping my credit card balance- however I need to make a trip that will cost $240)

Since I got the new actual credit in January- I can not say my spending has increased. I shop at thrift stores- aldis, discount places. I keep my bills as low as I can. I wont say- there will never be temptation- but....

BTW_ the entire goal of filing chapter 7- was to be able to move to a new house where I could get a mortgage. I have a perfect payment record with the PHFA (State FHA), now entering my 8th year at this address.

I am a portion of a year into the 2 years - as I was discharged in late 2013.

I sort of like having more then one institution, in case the computer goes down- and I am out of state and need an emergency car repair.
.................................................. .................................................. ........
One way I feel I am making a mistake is the unsecured credit card fees are too high
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Maybe someone can offer input--- help

[justbroke]

unsolicited advice: I'd get rid of those annual fee cards posthaste. No reason at all to pay an annual fee. Go secured if you need to, but get rid of them.

Unless those old cards are actually what are giving yu a good Average Age of Accounts (AAoA). I have an old low limit card that I have not closed because it is the oldest card that I have. It's a tough choice.

[TXskyblue]

All 3 of my cards have an annual fee, I keep getting an offer from Capitol One with no fee. I really don't want a 4th card if it wont help my credit but I do like the no annual fee, would it hurt my credit to close an account and add a new one?

It will temporarily hurt your FICO score because the new account will lower your average age. The effect is likely to be minimal.

unsolicited advice: I'd get rid of those annual fee cards posthaste. No reason at all to pay an annual fee. Go secured if you need to, but get rid of them.

[Pjmax]

It's not really a negative. It's just that Fico likes to see card use. Best utilization is somewhere between 1-10%. If your total available credit is $1000, $10 reporting would be 1%, which a lot of folks recommend. I played with it myself for awhile, and given no other changes, MY best scores were at 4%, but everyone is different. I don't pay that much attention to it anymore.

[PhillyGuy]

well here's what i found out. it's GOOD to carry a balance they like to see you make timely payments NOT pay them off. they are checking to see if you can do this and then it pops up your scores. i watched carefully . when we got a wells fargo account i made sure and max'ed out the 3k. it had no interest for a year. but i paid if off in 6 months. for the past 3 years before that i was paying them off in full each month, my scores were not moving. so, when i closed banks like orchard, and one other of our very first cards we rec'd after our bk, i opened more legit companies like cap one and wells fargo i utilized the no interest options, OH! and also my best buy card it always gives you options for no interest payment on certain purchases. well, when i started do that this past year i found my credit scores jumped up into the middle and most high 700s. i just checked it out because i'm not getting all these loan offers, with large amounts. also offers for mortgages from boa, wells fargo and quicken loans!

I now agree with Tobee43 and the above statement.

I just pulled all three FICO scores, two went down and one went up. Nothing has changed in my reports, i checked them all. I have made my house, car and store card payments early, paid off the store card.

The reports stated as a new negative, credit card (Store card) shows no current activity, because I paid it off before the next billing cycle. The dip wasn't much, a few points (EQ and TU down and EX up), but a lower score is a lower score.

I have charged a few items and will spread out the payments over three months and see if that helps. I will let you know.

PG

[Pizza]

We put the electric bill on our credit card, wait until the statement date closes, then pay it off in full. That way revolving activity shows on on our CR but it is also paid off with no interest going forward each month.

[tobee43]

it is said that it does effect your credit when you close an account. but orchard bank in one year never reported us and i offed them. we use CASH most of time with debit cards. however, when for example i pay for a service like plumper, or getting the car fixed i use the charge in case i have to stop payments. our debt card they do it, but not to the extent of the CC companies. i can dispute something easier.

[tigerman]

All 3 of my cards have an annual fee, I keep getting an offer from Capitol One with no fee. I really don't want a 4th card if it wont help my credit but I do like the no annual fee, would it hurt my credit to close an account and add a new one?

[tobee43]

well here's what i found out. it's GOOD to carry a balance they like to see you make timely payments NOT pay them off. they are checking to see if you can do this and then it pops up your scores. i watched carefully . when we got a wells fargo account i made sure and max'ed out the 3k. it had no interest for a year. but i paid if off in 6 months. for the past 3 years before that i was paying them off in full each month, my scores were not moving. so, when i closed banks like orchard, and one other of our very first cards we rec'd after our bk, i opened more legit companies like cap one and wells fargo i utilized the no interest options, OH! and also my best buy card it always gives you options for no interest payment on certain purchases. well, when i started do that this past year i found my credit scores jumped up into the middle and most high 700s. i just checked it out because i'm not getting all these loan offers, with large amounts. also offers for mortgages from boa, wells fargo and quicken loans!

[CCsAreEvil]

I really don't know if this actually counts at all in the FICO scoring model.. but one thing I noticed as a "negative" on one of my reports is when your average CL is below $2k (across your CCs). Again, my guess is, if it has an affect at all, it's very minor.

The only reason you'd need more cards is if you plan to carry some balance.. which we shouldn't be doing. Opening more cards would help your utilization ratio. So, there really is no reason to open up more credit cards. I have 3 and am pretty much done with applying.

Although, I have one last CC that has < $500 CL. I keep it open only because there's no annual fee. In the next year, I'm hoping to land another "no annual fee" credit card with a much higher CL to replace this one.. although, I may just keep this line open to help my AAoA.

[tigerman]

The only reason I have 3 is to help my score. All of them are under 10%... Thanks