how many people are currently in debt

[Exile]

I can appreciate the advantage of earning points from using a credit card, but I have a hard time believing that when most people go shopping with a credit card that they limit themselves to buy only what they need. Merchants and card lenders depend on shoppers' yielding to temptation to overspend.

I carry my credit card and debit card with me in case of a true emergency. Because I live outside the U.S. a big disincentive for me to use them is that I would get whacked with a 3% currency conversion fee by my card issuer which would more than offset my rewards points. So by carrying cash instead--and not very much due to safety concerns, my shopping is limited to the money that I have on hand.

Points? Cash back? Who needs them? When you don't use plastic, the items that you once thought are must-haves often become non-essentials. And you wind up with a 100% discount by not purchasing them in the first place.

[lovcom]

I can appreciate the advantage of earning points from using a credit card, but I have a hard time believing that when most people go shopping with a credit card that they limit themselves to buy only what they need. Merchants and card lenders depend on shoppers' yielding to temptation to overspend.

I carry my credit card and debit card with me in case of a true emergency. Because I live outside the U.S. a big disincentive for me to use them is that I would get whacked with a 3% currency conversion fee by my card issuer which would more than offset my rewards points. So by carrying cash instead--and not very much due to safety concerns, my shopping is limited to the money that I have on hand.

Points? Cash back? Who needs them? When you don't use plastic, the items that you once thought are must-haves often become non-essentials. And you wind up with a 100% discount by not purchasing them in the first place.

I think most people are much more likely to spend that wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. For me personally, it doesn't matter. And to use cash means you have NO LEVERAGE when you buy that bum TV or PC or other high priced electronic gizmo or gadget. Cash shows no audit trail.

There are just too many reasons to use the credit card. But to be fair, I know there are those that are vulnerable to getting into trouble when using credit cards because one does not "feel" the loss as much with a card then if they had paid cash...but that is them, not me :-)

[lovcom]

Points? Cash back? Who needs them?

You mean you don't want a free round trip ticket to Europe? Free car rentals, upgrades, etc?

[ActYourWage]

You mean you don't want a free round trip ticket to Europe? Free car rentals, upgrades, etc?

Econ 101 -- There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[Exile]

Free round trips, lovcom? You mean you really didn't have to spend anything to qualify for those goodies? Wow! Where can I get a deal like that?

[Exile]

I think most people are much more likely to spend that wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. For me personally, it doesn't matter. And to use cash means you have NO LEVERAGE when you buy that bum TV or PC or other high priced electronic gizmo or gadget. Cash shows no audit trail.

There are just too many reasons to use the credit card. But to be fair, I know there are those that are vulnerable to getting into trouble when using credit cards because one does not "feel" the loss as much with a card then if they had paid cash...but that is them, not me :-)

Assuming that you're referring merchandise disputes, lovcom, if I use my U.S. issued credit card for purchases outside the country, I have no leverage. That protection applies only to items bought in the U.S.

I found this out the hard way when I bought a cell phone that turned out to be defective. The store wouldn't accept a return (customer satisfaction is an almost unknown concept here in the Philippines), and I had to fight tooth and nail for the card issuer to issue a credit which they finally did but only as an exception to policy. with the understanding that the adjustment was a one-off.

[lovcom]

Assuming that you're referring merchandise disputes, lovcom, if I use my U.S. issued credit card for purchases outside the country, I have no leverage. That protection applies only to items bought in the U.S.

I found this out the hard way when I bought a cell phone that turned out to be defective. The store wouldn't accept a return (customer satisfaction is an almost unknown concept here in the Philippines), and I had to fight tooth and nail for the card issuer to issue a credit which they finally did but only as an exception to policy. with the understanding that the adjustment was a one-off.

Your case is a rare exception because most American card holders use their cards in the USA. Perhaps you should buy state side? If there's a problem, a relative can do some of your bidding, or better yet, ask a state side relative to make the purchase on their card and you reimburse him/her.

[Exile]

Your case is a rare exception because most American card holders use their cards in the USA. Perhaps you should buy state side? If there's a problem, a relative can do some of your bidding, or better yet, ask a state side relative to make the purchase on their card and you reimburse him/her.

I received my U.S.-issued Mastercard years before I moved to the Philippines, and after all, aren't these cards supposed to be convenient for making purchases worldwide? Why on earth would I have a Stateside relative do my shopping for me when almost anything that I need to buy is right here in Metro-Manila, and where most major retailers accept credit cards? That being said, I still do most of my shopping here with cash.

[lovcom]

I received my U.S.-issued Mastercard years before I moved to the Philippines, and after all, aren't these cards supposed to be convenient for making purchases worldwide? Why on earth would I have a Stateside relative do my shopping for me when almost anything that I need to buy is right here in Metro-Manila, and where most major retailers accept credit cards? That being said, I still do most of my shopping here with cash.

You need to tune in! ;-)

The reason I speak of a state-side relative is so that if your state-sdie purchase goes south, you have recourse because the store you purchased the product at is an American store and they will be forced to issue a refund....and of course your card works all over the world! But you yourself said that stores in the Philipines don't exactly work the same way stores do in the USA....here you can get your money back if you use a card. Of course even in the USA some stores will post a sign "all sales final" but even then, if one uses a credit card, they can still get the refund and often times it is out of the stores hands...AMEX, VISA, MC will force the refund regardless....I've been there a few times.

[Nodebt13]

Debt very good plan I do the same

what tools can you share so we teach other people to do the same.

To stay our of interest so all our Money goes to principal.

[disneysteve]

Points? Cash back? Who needs them? When you don't use plastic, the items that you once thought are must-haves often become non-essentials. And you wind up with a 100% discount by not purchasing them in the first place.

Econ 101 -- There's no such thing as a free lunch.

I use my CC to make lots of purchases that I would be making no matter what. For example, I pay the landline phone, cell phone, auto insurance, gas, alarm fee, internet service, cable, Netflix, auto service, auto registration, professional licenses, medical and dental expenses, newspaper and magazine subscriptions and many other bills that would be the exact same amount regardless of how I paid the bills.

By paying with a credit card, I don't have to write a dozen or more checks each month or do a slew of individual online banking transactions. I do one transaction to pay the CC bill and that settles multiple merchant accounts. Plus, I get 1-5% back in rewards. Sounds like a free lunch to me.

[Inkstain82]

It's free for you

They just that for every customer like you, they'll get five who thought they'd be like you but get sucked into debt.

[Exile]

It's free for you

They just that for every customer like you, they'll get five who thought they'd be like you but get sucked into debt.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Exile]

You need to tune in! ;-)

The reason I speak of a state-side relative is so that if your state-sdie purchase goes south, you have recourse because the store you purchased the product at is an American store and they will be forced to issue a refund....and of course your card works all over the world! But you yourself said that stores in the Philipines don't exactly work the same way stores do in the USA....here you can get your money back if you use a card. Of course even in the USA some stores will post a sign "all sales final" but even then, if one uses a credit card, they can still get the refund and often times it is out of the stores hands...AMEX, VISA, MC will force the refund regardless....I've been there a few times.

But why would I even consider putting a Stateside connection into the inconvenience of shopping for and then sending product(s) to me? Then there are shipping charges, time consuming cargo transit delays, and CUSTOMS duties to contend with. The latter fees alone can be outrageous, often more than the value of the merchandise itself.

So just who needs to tune in?

[disneysteve]

Because I live outside the U.S. a big disincentive for me to use them is that I would get whacked with a 3% currency conversion fee by my card issuer which would more than offset my rewards points.

I just read an article explaining how Americans can get hit with the 3% conversion fee even when making a charge here in the US. It happens in the travel industry. If I go to a US travel agent and purchase a travel package in US dollars for travel outside of the US, the charge might actually be processed through a non-US provider, thus triggering the conversion fee. What a rip off!