AOPA credit card --- WARNING.

"Chuck" wrote in message
om...

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Chuck" said:
"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you
know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead
of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.
If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of
tools,
I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have
the
tools if I want the job.

And if you get a bank loan instead of carrying it on your credit card,
the
interest rates will be *much* lower and won't go up on a banker's whim.

That's what I did when I needed a $5000 computer to set up my computer
consulting business right out of college. Ok, initially I was stupid and
used a credit card, but I changed to a bank loan as soon as I could get
one.



That's fine, but what if my credit is poor and I can't get a bank loan?


Then you pay a high rate because you are a poor risk.

Keep in mind that this discussion was started by someone with an AOPA card.
Presumably he is a pilot and managed to pay $5K for flight training.

Mike
MU-2

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Chuck wrote:



Maybe I am in the wrong newsgroup to be discussing this. I would imagine
that most people in this newsgroup make damn good money and can afford
to
have a nice chunk of change in the bank.

Unfortunately, I am not in that situation.

Actually, it has little to do with how much you make, at least once
above a truly subsistence income level, which varies by locale. Someone
below this level, truly has no options, but running up credit cards
doesn't help. They need to seek help from a charitable agency, etc.
until they can restore sufficient income to live on.

snip

Remember, each situation is different...

As embarrassing as this is to say, but I will say that it wasn't our fault,
we had our electricity disconnected almost 2 years ago.

It is a long story, but my wife's best friend passed away suddenly and our
thoughts were with her family. We did receive a termination notice, but
again, we were with the family. We realized the notice and paid the bill *in
full* over the internet *before* the due date. We were still terminated
because they didn't *post* it before the termination date. They admitted it
was there but wasn't posted. They refused to re-instates service until we
paid over $800 that we didn't have (including a repayment of the bill that
we had just paid)(Thanks for the loan, Mom).

I am not saying this was 100% the utility companies fault, we never should
have let it get to a termination notice (but we didn't have the money for
the payment at the time), but I feel that they should have worked with us on
this, especially since they did admit their mistake. Also, it was a day that
was below freezing and we had a dog, a cat and a bird along with our young
son (which made no difference to them).

Anyway, they suggested that we call a help agency. OK, I am in a bind, so I
did call all 3 of the agencies they suggested. Not any of them would help
us. Said that we didn't qualify. I try my hardest not to be a prejudice
person, but at times like this, I wonder if I am just the wrong color...
(Sorry if I offended anyone)

So... help agencies aren't always the answer...


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"John Galban" wrote in message
om...
Jay mentioned that he hasn't payed card interest since 1985. It
appears that YOU are the one who supports legalized loan sharking.
You support it with cash out your pocket.


Actually it isn't MBNA that is getting his money...its me! Somebody has to
underwrite my $250 annual rebate and it is people who carry a balance. I
talked to an MBNA manager at AOPA expo and asked him how many cardholders
only used to card to make purchases qualifying for the rebate and not
carrying a balance. He said that it was a "pretty high percentage". The
rate on the card is not just a function of MBNA's cost of funds, it is also
default rate and the cost of paying the cards "perks".

Mike
MU-2

"John Galban" wrote in message
om...

snip

I've almost never kept a balance on a credit card. If I can't get a
real loan (i.e. bank loan with reasonable terms), then that means I
probably can't afford whatever it is I want to buy.


Must be nice... I don't have the option of very many luxuries, so I need
credit from time to time for necessities...


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"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:Fuspd.85361$V41.50473@attbi_s52...
One lesser known fact about credit card companies is that they will
screw
the VENDOR far more readily than they will their customers.

has American Express or Diners Club done the same to you?
(just curious)

We'll never know -- I threw BOTH of them out right after we opened, after
they tried to charge us 5% for each transaction. (The other cards --
Visa, Mastercard & Discover -- charge us "only" 4% for the privilege of
"working" with them.)

Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover? Everyone else charges to use their cards, while Discover
actually PAYS you to use their card -- yet they are a distant third or
fourth in the industry.


Because there are cards that give more valuable rebates than Discover. I
have an REI card that pays 1% on every purchase starting from the first
dollar.

Mike
MU-2

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
news

snip

Keep in mind that this discussion was started by someone with an AOPA
card.
Presumably he is a pilot and managed to pay $5K for flight training.


I remember that... That means he has more money than I do to be able to get
flight training...


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Using the wrong excuse to invade Iraq.

mike

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
news:4PIpd.53
What screw-up?

"Chuck" wrote in message
news

I've almost never kept a balance on a credit card. If I can't get a
real loan (i.e. bank loan with reasonable terms), then that means I
probably can't afford whatever it is I want to buy.


Must be nice... I don't have the option of very many luxuries, so I need
credit from time to time for necessities...


Is your computer a luxury or a necessity?

"mike regish" wrote in message
news:%ZNpd.149478$HA.64434@attbi_s01...

Using the wrong excuse to invade Iraq.


Many reasons were given for invading Iraq. Which were wrong?

Chuck

I feel for you man ... I hope this turns around for you soon...

My theory is that peoples complete financial future can be determined to
some extent by their financial start. You can start out the plus side or the
negative side of it . And it can all be changed by the opportunity you were
given in business, maybe by the help your parents gave you when you were
young ( helping you to buy your first car, etc..)
or on the flip side by any bad turn of events that might have happened to
you along the way.

Everyone can tell you how foolish it is for you to use a credit card but
from your description of your situation it is understandable that you do
what you have to do... It is easy to tell other people what they should do
but until they are in the same exact situation as you it doesn't carry as
much weight.

I have been very lucky to have been given a few breaks when I was young that
allowed me to start out on the plus side of the money curve. And I have made
sure that I thanked both of my past bosses for the break / opportunity that
they gave me back then.

Good luck and take care.

Jon






"Chuck" wrote in message
...

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Chuck wrote:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

In a previous article, "Chuck" said:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a

sucker.

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you
know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead
of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.




Ya know... I didn't say that paying the balance off was a bad thing. I
guess
what kinda ticked me off about your post was you said that people were
idiots or suckers for not paying the balance. I merely pointed out
that
some
people can't do that.

If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of
tools, I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have
the
tools if I want the job.

That is exactly why any financial advisor worth their salt recommends
that you save an amount equal to 3 - 6 months of expenses as an
"emergency" cash fund. Yes, it takes time to do this and a lot of
self-control, which most Americans no longer have, but that eliminates
the need to ever use a credit card for a situation like this ... or a
transmission failure in your car ... or a leak in your roof, etc.

Rather than save, most people use credit as their emergency fund. And,
as Paul said, that is a sucker play.


And some people like me are financially strapped and do not have the money
to save after the bills are paid. In fact, I was putting $20 a paycheck
into
the credit union at work trying to save a little bit and had to stop
making
that deposit because I needed that $20 per pay period just to make bills.
In
the last 3 years, our health insurance at work has gone up 135% and
co-pays,
etc have risen also. I have 3 prescriptions, my wife has 5 and our son has
one. That's around $150 per month or a little more. Both vehicles are paid
off, so no car payments. We rent a house and it is actually about $100
below
the going rate for our area. Electric bills are out the roof. Do I need to
keep going? In otherwords, by me living paycheck to paycheck, and my
yearly
raises at 3% if I am lucky that don't even cover cost of living, I am
doing
everything that I can to stay afloat and will resort to whatever means I
have to to provide for my wife and son. I wish that you people that make
$100,000 a year, own airplanes, drive Lexus and Mercedes and live in half
million dollar houses could understand...

When I got married, my wife got hurt and we ended up getting behind on
bills
because she couldn't work for almost a year. Everytime we see daylight,
something happens and we get sucked back into the hole again.

The point that I keep trying to make is that some people are not able to
save because of their financial situation. It seems that most in this NG
don't seem to understand that.

I understand what yall are saying about the 3-6 month cushion, and that is
great if you can afford to do so. I wish that I could. If so, I would have
a
cushion in the bank.

I do take offense to being called a sucker and an idiot because I have 1
credit card that I am paying interest on. In my situation, I have no
choice.

If you want to call people who have 15 credit cards with balances and they
buy big screen TV's, stereos, jewelry, etc on credit, I will agree with
you
then, but think about the persons situation before you call people
names...


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