[Miz Pat]

I used to have six cards, but I got rid of them all except two. One is a chase card (it used to be a shell card) that gives me 1% off on purchases (3-5%on gasoline purchases - they keep changing it). The other is my MBNA card, which had a lower interest than the other.

The 1% on purchases is a good money manager (as long as I always pay off the balance). I paid $7000 to get the new roof with the credit card and then immediately paid the balance. I got $70 back on the next bill - that's a lot of groceries or gasoline.

I'd like to think I'm making the system work for me and not me for the system, but it takes discipline. I never leave a balance on the card (which has two tiered interest rates anyway), I never pay membership, I save on writing checks, and over the years I think I've gotten about $1,800 back in tax free money. Every little bit helps.