No Bank Cards

[oceanlovin'ea]

We use credit cards but pay them off every month. Most everything is put on Discover and now we have started paying things like the cable bill on discover. It took a long time to convince my husband that it was easier to just have to write one check every month than the 10 at the grocery store during the month. Now he even pays discover online. Discover cashback paid for part of our cruise in December. YAA!!!!!!

Car loans are a necessity at times. My husband will retire in April and he wanted us to have 2 newer cars that would last for quite a while. So we have had car loans for the last 3 years probably. House is paid off. So when he retires, the only monthly bills we will have will be the necessities.

It is nice not to pay interest on credit cards. But for some young families that are struggling to get by, they have been a necessity, but still with draw backs.

Linda

[veritas]

Respectfully disagree

We use credit cards but pay them off every month. Most everything is put on Discover and now we have started paying things like the cable bill on discover. It took a long time to convince my husband that it was easier to just have to write one check every month than the 10 at the grocery store during the month. Now he even pays discover online. Discover cashback paid for part of our cruise in December. YAA!!!!!!

Car loans are a necessity at times. My husband will retire in April and he wanted us to have 2 newer cars that would last for quite a while. So we have had car loans for the last 3 years probably. House is paid off. So when he retires, the only monthly bills we will have will be the necessities.

It is nice not to pay interest on credit cards. But for some young families that are struggling to get by, they have been a necessity, but still with draw backs.

Linda

On car loans. You should pay cash for what you can afford.

No one struggling should have a credit card. They will only struggle more.

[appelman]

Freeloader!

At the payment screen, it asks you for credit card information or echeck information.

Although I used my credit card, I would assume you could enter your bank RTN/DAN and the $64.25 would then be debited from your account, in the same manner as future estimated tax payments you can set up when you efile your annual tax return.

BTW: How do you ever rent a car without a credit card? Or make any online purchases and/or reservations???

I don't even know what cash is any more, and I wrote less than six checks last year....BUT I've never paid 1¢ in credit card interest/fees. (I'm sure the banks positively hate me! - but they still make their fees from the merchants.) It's all a matter of how you manage your personal finances.

FE

You and I and those like us are what the banks call "freeloaders!"

[oceanlovin'ea]

In theory, I agree with you. My husband is making large payments on the car loan. It will be paid off when he retires. So that bill will be gone. Wish we had cash to pay but just middle class people.

I too agree about credit cards. This is not an easy world for young families with children to raise. Central Florida is difficult right now....unless you work at Disney or somewhere like that. Our unemployment rate is still unusually high. We are not rebounding like some other areas of the country yet.

Linda

[WhiteOleander]

There are no areas rebounding. That's just an urban legend.

[taxmandan]

There are no areas rebounding. That's just an urban legend.

I think it's called a dead cat bounce. With another 1.2 million homes about to be foreclosed on and the banksters getting ready to dump the inventory of forecloseures into the housing market, I don't think we're very close to a rebound. But what a good time to buy!

[oceanlovin'ea]

Flint Michigan

My aunt lives in Flint Michigan...outside the city on the east side. There was a house across the street from her that was for sale. Her daughter was thinking about checking into it so she would be close to her mom. It was a foreclosure. Before she got a chance to call, it sold...........for $10,000. Can you believe that!!!!!