$$ Question

[Deleted]

Hi ladies...I generally post on ML when the mood to participate strikes me, but I think my question might be better directed to you.

When purchasing F&B items, do you ever carry a balance on your credit card? I'm not saying run-up-debt-type balances, but if a great deal comes up and you know you can pay it off in a month or two, do you buy?

My husband and I were debating the wisdom of carrying a balance on a cc (any amount) vs. waiting until you have the cash. What say you?

[littlemermaid]

We actually charge almost all of our monthly purchases on our CC card(grocery store, gas, monthly household purchases). Our cc cards gives us reward points for our purchases, plus it's interest free if you pay it off. So we just pay it off monthly. We would never charge a purchase that we could not afford to pay off.

If you can't pay it off when the bill comes, then don't purchase it. Nothing is worth paying interest on.

[mrst2]

Jun 20, 2012 11:01:08 GMT -5 littlemermaid said:

We actually charge almost all of our monthly purchases on our CC card(grocery store, food, monthly household purchases). Our cc cards gives us reward points for our purchases, plus it's interest free if you pay it off. So we just pay it off monthly. We would never charge a purchase that we could not afford to pay off.

Same for us- we use our Amex for everything, but pay it off at the end of the month no matter what.

[sailorgray]

Jun 20, 2012 11:00:07 GMT -5 v said:

NO WAY.

There is nothing F&B-related that is such a great deal or so necessary that it is worth paying interest on. Bad bad idea.

Exactly. My card is used for the rewards and paid off monthly.

[Deleted]

If you can't pay it off in one month, you cannot afford it. Consumer credit card debt for non-essentials is a very slippery slope.

[nsl]

We never carry a balance. I spend a lot on F&B, but always within a pre-determined monthly budget precisely because we never want to have credit card debt.

[Deleted]

It's interesting to read everyone's responses. That's our stance (we have only AmEx so we pay in full every month) but we've noticed in our circle it's not common. Lots of friends commenting on their cc experiences when we asked what rewards card they used and the topic of interest came up.

[Deleted]

Like the others we charge virtually everything for the rewards and I have never paid a penny in interest to a credit card company in my life. I think it's a slippery slope that once you start it's hard to stop. I will say that out of my 3 sisters, parents and inlaws we are the only ones that don't regularly carry a balance so unfortunately it's more common than some people think.

[AngGee]

Wow I'm very happy to see how many of you young ladies are SO against carrying balances on your credit card. (as are my daughters and I"m thrilled) You gals must make a ton of money to buy all these beauty items with cash money. :Y:

We've gotten in over our heads with credit cards years ago and took us a LONG time to get out of it but we did, chipped away at it and eventually paid it all off but....

I am guilty of carrying a balance from time to time, thank goodness for low interest rates as it never adds up to much and I try to pay it off at least once a year if not more.

And I blame ALL OF YOU LADIES for this! LOL
(kidding of course)

[mrssavy42112]

You’re friends are doing this because that’s what the average American does. Spends far above their means and then gets in debt. It’s a vicious cycle. The interest keeps piling on & then they’ve dug themselves into hole.

[mrssavy42112]

Jun 20, 2012 11:36:39 GMT -5 AngGee said:

You gals must make a ton of money to buy all these beauty items with cash money.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that I do NOT make a ton of money & my DH even less. It's all about prioritizing & spending wisely. When you see someone post that they bought $200 worth of dresses, you really know nothing about their financial situation, how they paid for it, how long they saved for it...etc. You don't have to make a lot of money to have nice things. I can speak for experience on that.

[nsl]

Jun 20, 2012 11:36:39 GMT -5 AngGee said:

You gals must make a ton of money to buy all these beauty items with cash money.

Or we save/budget/skimp in other areas.

[narockshard]

We only have 1 credit card and it's only for emergencies, we rarely use it, but if we do it's paid off immediately. And I have a Kohls card that I use at the store and then hand them a check to pay it off (I just use it for the discounts). If you don't carry a balance now, don't start, based on what PPs said. No F&B purchase is worth it, as hard as it can be! Willpower!

[h]

No! Under no circumstances should you charge more F&B items than you can pay off that month. Barring an emergency where you have no choice but to charge food, shelter or medical care, I don't think anyone should be paying interest on anything short of a house, a car, or post-high school education.

[babygirlpriest]

Like most everyone else we dump EVERYTHING on cc (even cars - put the max the dealerships allowed on cc) but pay it off entirely every month.

And to carry a debt on a F&B item seems really strange to me.

[karebear304]

Jun 20, 2012 11:06:07 GMT -5 @mavjen said:

With respect to fashion and beauty items, no.

With respect to everything else purchased on a credit card, no.

The only and rare exception is when 0% financing is available for big ticket items (car, electronics, furniture). We could afford to pay in cash for the big ticket stuff, but we use the interest-free loan the store is offering with their zero interest for whatever months they're offering. We pay the entire remaining balance off the card right before the interest-free duration expires.

Otherwise we treat every single credit card like Amex and pay in full every month so as not to carryforward a balance due.

We are this exactly. My car is the only debt we carry right now and that's only because it was 0%.

A few years back we did make some large furniture purchases on our low interest credit card and took longer than planned to pay those back. So stupid - I think we paid for the furniture twice. I just wanted to decorate our new house full out and should have waited to get everything piece by piece. Learned my lesson there for sure!

I do put F&B purchases on credit cards - love the BR one, Target, & I have a JCrew one, but I pay them as soon as a balance pops up. There is not one item that I could think of F&B wise that I'd carry a balance for. Not one single item.

As for non F&B it would have to be some sort of huge emergency that made me carry a balance on any credit card. As in like some giant ass medical bill or something unexpected that was a true emergency - not a skirt that I thought was cute at the time.

[AngGee]

Jun 20, 2012 11:46:28 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

Jun 20, 2012 11:36:39 GMT -5 AngGee said:

You gals must make a ton of money to buy all these beauty items with cash money.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that I do NOT make a ton of money & my DH even less. It's all about prioritizing & spending wisely. When you see someone post that they bought $200 worth of dresses, you really know nothing about their financial situation, how they paid for it, how long they saved for it...etc. You don't have to make a lot of money to have nice things. I can speak for experience on that.

You are definately right Mrs. but I see lots of $200 worth of dresses bought over and over and over! Heck I know what "I" spend and my house is paid for, our cars are paid for and I have ONE credit card and still carry a balance from time to time.

I am a Director of a huge real estate company in my city and my husband is an engineer so we both make very decent salaries as we've both been working for a LONNNNGGG time and we DO both have 401K's, have helped our children (as much as we could) through college yet I don't pay cash for everything.

But ya know, my MIL is a millionaire and NEVER EVERpays full price for anything!!! (never has)

[anaps28]

In the past when I was younger I 100% charged things I couldn't afford to pay in full, lesson learned the hard way. Now everything is on my Amex and paid in full every month.

I can bet that people who aren't paying their cards in full right now will not be responding to this post for the most part.

[karebear304]

We don't have children yet, so for awhile it's been just H and I with two incomes. That has helped BIG TIME. From where we were in 2008 when we got married to where we are now is a big difference. In 2008 we didn't even have a savings account.

I'm interested to see how we'll do going from 2 incomes, no kids to 1 income and a kid. I think we've really gotten into a saving groove though, so hopefully it stays that way! If we fail completely I'll end up going back to work.

[AngGee]

Jun 20, 2012 13:03:54 GMT -5 @mavjen said:

I saw on MM that it costs $235,000 to raise just one child from birth to 17 years of age these days.

I have no children, so maybe I should increase my S&B budget ASAP. lol

Whoa Mav really?!?!

And I've raised 4 of them!! And helped 3 through college. Of course, I only helped a little as all 3 of them had scholarships but wow, those numbers are astounding.

ETA: that's 1 mil I could've spent on S&B!! Or in this case should be BS!

[mrssavy42112]

Jun 20, 2012 12:56:15 GMT -5 AngGee said:

But ya know, my MIL is a millionaire and NEVER EVERpays full price for anything!!! (never has)

That is probably one of the many reasons that she got there. Spending wisely. Also remember that just because someone buys $200 worth of F&B, doesn't mean they spent that much. Most of the ladies here are really good with shopping sales & know how to get a good deal. I don't pay full price for anything else, F&B or not.

[AngGee]

Jun 20, 2012 13:07:03 GMT -5 karebear304 said:

We don't have children yet, so for awhile it's been just H and I with two incomes. That has helped BIG TIME. From where we were in 2008 when we got married to where we are now is a big difference. In 2008 we didn't even have a savings account.

I'm interested to see how we'll do going from 2 incomes, no kids to 1 income and a kid. I think we've really gotten into a saving groove though, so hopefully it stays that way! If we fail completely I'll end up going back to work.

You'll manage Kare! I was a SAHM until my son (youngest) was in elementary school. Of course we didnt' have the savings we do now but we had what we needed. And even sometimes when money was tight we provided and my kids NEVER did without!

It's funny but somehow it all works out.

[AngGee]

Jun 20, 2012 13:08:45 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

Jun 20, 2012 12:56:15 GMT -5 AngGee said:

But ya know, my MIL is a millionaire and NEVER EVERpays full price for anything!!! (never has)

That is probably one of the many reasons that she got there. Spending wisely. Also remember that just because someone buys $200 worth of F&B, doesn't mean they spent that much. Most of the ladies here are really good with shopping sales & know how to get a good deal. I don't pay full price for anything else, F&B or not.

Yea probably true again Mrs. but I've seen her use her credit card on many occassions. Of course, I never asked her if she carries a balance. LOL

[babygirlpriest]

Jun 20, 2012 13:11:23 GMT -5 @mavjen said:

No kids = lots of $200 dresses or whatever else.

Exactly!