Poll do you have a credit card ?

Yes, I have one but I use it to send a small amount each month and pay it off each mnth. The interst rate is not good, so I use it to build my credit score (simply because I was such a bad girl in the past!).

A credit card is a godsend to a sensible person. I live on mine and then pay the balance in full every month so I pay no interest charges.
I wouldn't recommend one for someone who is going to be silly and run up debts with their head in the sand.

quote:Originally posted by Zeus
A credit card is a godsend to a sensible person. I live on mine and then pay the balance in full every month so I pay no interest charges.
I wouldn't recommend one for someone who is going to be silly and run up debts with their head in the sand.

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can I ask why if you don't mind - if you pay it off in full then you have the money to buy it outright - not being rude just don't understand the concept

I have cut mine up too so i can start to get out of debt, if its an emergency i use my mums and pay her back in a lump sum when the bill comes , if its something that can only be paid for by cc like flights or something or if i need to book a hotel , i know this way i only spend what i need to iyswim


i am useless with money

quote:can I ask why if you don't mind - if you pay it off in full then you have the money to buy it outright - not being rude just don't understand the concept

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My purchases are insured by the credit card company if I buy them with my card.

If you pay it off in full each month, not only do you get purchase protection but you also save money (assuming you have the money you otherwise would have spent in an interest-paying account). You get more than a month's interest free credit - the money leaves your account much later than it would if you paid for your purchases in cash or with a debit card.

It's also invaluable for travelling abroad - Maestro doesn't work in all the places that Visa does. That said, you can get a visa debit card.

Of course, it still might not be worth the risk. Far better to spend a few extra quid if that's going to stop you building up debt and paying loads in interest.

When we lived in England we used our credit cards all the time. we used them for everything, and paid them off in full each month. For us it was just easier to keep track of our spending that way, the money stayed in our account until up to two months after the purchase (if we bought something just after the most recent bill was printed) we had the security of the card company's guarantee, we got points/air miles etc.

Now we just use them for online purchases from UK companies, and for any large purchases here. We don't have Swiss ones.

I have a joint Amex with my OH. We pay off the balance every month. We also earn air miles and if we spend enough in a year, we can buy one flight (with air miles) and get another one free. This is how we will pay for our honeymoon flights to South America, and means we will be able to fly business class ?

I've never had one. We changed my H's to 0% balance transfers for 9 months so we could pay off his debt without paying extra interest. They can work to your advantage.

quote:Originally posted by Zeus

quote:can I ask why if you don't mind - if you pay it off in full then you have the money to buy it outright - not being rude just don't understand the concept

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My purchases are insured by the credit card company if I buy them with my card.

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Ah ok - don't normal Visa debit cards have this ??

Neither of us have one and never have.

Nope. I can't be trusted with them, which means no credit cards, no store cards, and only my debit card in my purse.

I'm in a lot better financial shape than some of my friends because I'm aware that I'm crap with money, and they are not.

H has a credit card - uses it for business trips abroad only and claims the whole lot back on expenses. It's easier for him to keep track of his expenses if it's the only thing on that card.

Nope. Went a bit silly with them when I was younger and although I do trust myself with them now I don't see any need for one, and I'm fortunate to have enough savings behind me to cover me for any emergencies - and I'm less likely to fritter that away than I am credit card money.

I can see the benefit of payment protection but it's never bothered me enough to apply for one.

Neither of us have a credit card. In fact we don't even have an overdraft facility on our bank account. We just don't need either.

Yes, I have one. I use it to pay for big purchases, furniture, electrical equipment, holidays etc, but always pay it off every month. I do it this way for a two reasons, firstly as I get free extended warrenties on electrical goods but mainly I use it to save the loyalty points I get which I can exchange for Saunsbury's, Boots, John Lewis etc vouchers. I save them up and use them to do the big Christmas food shop each year. I got about £200 worth last year which was great!

I've not got one and never had one

quote:Originally posted by Zeus
A credit card is a godsend to a sensible person. I live on mine and then pay the balance in full every month so I pay no interest charges.
I wouldn't recommend one for someone who is going to be silly and run up debts with their head in the sand.

id="quote">Same here. I have a John Lewis mastercard, and everything (food, petrol, even the odd coffee) goes on it, and it gets paid off at the end of the month. I have money in my bacnk account for longer earning interest, and I get a few hundred quid in vouchers for John Lewis every year to help with Christmas.

I've got one and since having it we've managed to fill it twice but thankfully pay it off twice. I refuse to get into that situation again though so only use it now for some purchases were it's safer to use it and I know that the money is in my account so I can pay it off straight away.

And thankfully this post reminded me that I had some to pay off as because I use it so infrequently I forgot [|)]?

I've never had one and never will. My H has one and pays it off without having to pay interest. Having said that, he really only uses it to pay for hotel bookings, holidays etc. Everyday stuff comes off our debit cards.

I have 2 which I finished paying off last year. Best feeling in the world.

I still have them and have used them a couple of times for the odd bits (which to be honest weren't imperative purchases!) but have paid them off in full as soon as I got paid.

I am moving from a flat to a house next month so due to mortgage doubling I will definitely be cutting up the credit cards as I personally find them too easy to give in to.

I have one. I don't live beyond my means and am not tempted to use the card for things I can't afford, so it's not a problem for me.

I tend to use the card for buying things online, paying for things on holiday etc.

Credit cards are fab if you use them sensibly.

I have a Tesco card which I pay off every month. It gives me loads of Tesco Clubcard points and points mean freebies! I use it for the majority of our purchases, but track my spend on line

It's also good for protection on bigger items, and I took out another card for an interest free "loan" but split the payments equally over the 9 months so it didn't cost me anything

I have a credit limit of £17K on one card which scares me a bit, but I don't use it, although I keep it as it's Visa and my Tesco is Mastercard so travelling abroad I have both if one isn't accepted or gets lost/stolen

quote:Originally posted by hope

quote:Originally posted by Zeus
A credit card is a godsend to a sensible person. I live on mine and then pay the balance in full every month so I pay no interest charges.
I wouldn't recommend one for someone who is going to be silly and run up debts with their head in the sand.

id="quote">

can I ask why if you don't mind - if you pay it off in full then you have the money to buy it outright - not being rude just don't understand the concept

id="quote">

I have one and pay it off in full. The reason for me, is that items are better protected when bought with a credit card, and I preceive it be safer to use a credit card rather than a debit card on line.

I had a dispute with an elecrical on line retialer last year, and ended up taking them through the small claims court. As it happens we never reached the court hearing as my credit card company acted as mediator and reached a settlement with the company out of court.

Their input was invaluable and I would now never buy a large purchase in any other way than on my credit card.

I have two that are maxed out. They'll be repayed by the end of this week and then I shan't use them again. OH is keeping one for emergencies only.

quote:Originally posted by AllyDrew
I have one. I don't live beyond my means and am not tempted to use the card for things I can't afford, so it's not a problem for me.

I tend to use the card for buying things online, paying for things on holiday etc.

Credit cards are fab if you use them sensibly.

id="quote">We have a direct debit for the total balance, so we know that the money is coming out of our account anyway (just later than if we'd used a debit card). It means if we put big purchases on it (like my husband's travelcard, which is over £2k) we have to make sure to transfer some money into the current account to pay for it.

And meant to add, I have a Visa and an AmEx and try ot use AmEx whenever I can (not everywhere takes it) because I get 1% cashback with them.

I think the question is more why WOULDN'T you use a credit card? Unless you can't trust yourself with running it up, I can't see why people don't take advantage of these benefits, tbh.

I have several, and use them all the time. I also pay them off in full every month. My reasons are these: I get cashback when I use my cards, so it reduces my costs. It keeps cash in my bank account longer so I earn more interest. I have had my debit card cloned twice, and it's a pain in the ar$e to get that all sorted out - cancel a debit card and it's not easy to get cash out or pay by cheque, you have to claim the money back and you only know once the money has left your account. With a credit card, you know before the money leaves your account, and you can still use your debit card to get cash out etc while waiting for new cards. Also, purchases are protected with the credit card.

I can't understand why people DONT have them!

I don't have one, I can't be trusted based on my past behaviour ([:I]. I just have a Solo card, although it seems that almost everywhere - except Monsoon - seem to accept it now so it doesn't restrict my spending the same it used to.

For me it means I have to really think about if I want something and actually save up for it, which normally means when I've reached the amount I needed to save I don't want to spend it as I like seeing it in my account.

H has got one which he put a really low limit on (£500) and he overpays it if we are going to use it for a large item.

quote:Originally posted by jelly baby[H has got one which he put a really low limit on (£500) and he overpays it if we are going to use it for a large item.

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See, I don't get this either - why overpay it? It gives the CC company your money, which they earn interest on instead of you! Why not get another CC with a higher limit which you ONLY use for large purchases? Ideally one with cashback...

Haven't got one, never have had. MrSC has had several on 0% over the last few years, one of which currently has our wedding debt on it. I'm in charge of paying them off as I'm the one that has more flexible amounts of money in my account and also because he's not that good at money things. The minimum amount comes from his bank account and then I overpay to get them paid off. I monitor what's spent on them as well because he has had some bad debt in the past - he rarely uses them now except to pay his car insurance. If we had a big item to buy he'd buy it on credit card and then we'd pay it off immediately though, so we'd get the protection. From my point of view my issue has always been with remembering to pay things. I prefer to have all my money going in and out of the one account so I know what's what. I have issues paying off my Next account because I forget it's there!

I think we'll always keep a credit card once we've paid off our debt, probably an Egg one as they often give anniversary deals and seem to have a low rate and good terms, but we'll try not to use it.

Nope, no credit card here, savings or overdraft.
I was bad in my early 20's with money which has left me with bad credit and knowledge not to have extra money available to me. If i could turn back the clock!![V]

So I literally live off my wages each Fri and my Husband's wages each month.

I don't have one, I cut it up a few years ago when I got into debt. I'm now coming out of the hole I was in and I have no intention of getting another one. My H has one but it's not been used in months, it's for emergencies only.