No kidding. It's almost fashionable to be up to your eyeballs in debt. How are today's parents supposed to explain to the younguns that credit cards are not the answer when a tank of gas will eat their entire paycheck for the week?

It's as if our society is now taught to posture ourselves most advantageously for a future of insurmountable debt!

I have one card I use for most times when I need a credit card. It's from my credit union and has a very low interest rate with a small limit on it. I pay it off monthly.

BUT, I have 5 of those no limit cards in the safe. I take each one out once every three months on a rotating basis and charge something small on them. This keeps them in the mix, if you don't use them they get cancelled.

When the old man was waiting for disability to kick in and he had no medical coverage, these cards saved us. We bought meds, paid doctors, paid the child support, and used them for when we absolutely had to pay a bill or needed groceries.

When his disability kicked in we paid every one of them off and put them away.

I may be careful with credit but I realize the value of having good credit. My FICO is close to the top of the scale and I intend to keep it there, just in case I'm next. I want to be able to tap home equity without any problems, and have money if and when I end up waiting for disability to kick in. I have a disability policy, but after everything I read about people filing for their short and long term disability and being on hold for over a year or the insurance company refusing you after taking your money for so long, it's always good to have a backup!

I use the same system, RW. Also, when I want a big ticket expenditure, I call each one until someone gives me a year of 0% on a transferred balance. Keeps me in cars and computers.

Scary!

~ Faith

RW, they don't get canceled if you don't use them....unless you signed something to that effect....unused credit cards stay on your record until YOU cancel them.

This thread has been a real eye opener and a warning for all of us.

I really appreciate it.

But the really neat thing is it is inspiration to get out of debt. And I bet that never occurred to you Vic! Thanks for being inspirational!

Since Vic has given the opening, here is a link for anyone interested in debt-free living guidance. Dave Ramsey is kind of the resident hero in this department, he's a real champion for the cause.

http://www.daveramsey.com/


It's all on the up and up, Ramsey is also a Bible believer and incorporates faith into much of his financial guidance.

My sis and BIL have been following his advice for several years now and just installed their custom-designed inground swimming pool. It was their mutual reward for a job well done. I won't lie, my BIL is a good earner, but they also had got themselves wrapped up in credit cards and mortgages, robbing Peter to pay Paul, if you will. They got serious about it when they finally realized how much $$ they were donating to the big interest machine.