Money Saving Habits

[Nutria]

I can't speak for all stores, but we build the 3% into our price. Otherwise it comes off our margin and those are razor thin at it is. If we had to eat the 3%, we would lose a lot of money.

I'm sure that different industries handle things differently. We competed with Home Depot, for example.

What about cash discounts?

[sv2007]

BTW No such thing as free money.

Correct, there's not free lunch.

The free money comes from cash users who pay the same price as CC users (as I've pointed out in my post on this thread). This used to not be the case as "cash discounts" were common, but not anymore. You buy something at the grocery store, you'll pay the same whether you use cash or CC. So, as a cash user, you are making up for some of the cost of that store's CC fees. ... and here's the kicker, that CC fee is later given back to CC users as rewards.

So, it is "free" money for the CC users-- unless we all go back 25-30 years when cash discounts were a more common sight.

BTW, cash discounts are allowed, but not CC surcharge for CC accepting merchants !

[Nika]

Go read it. ALL of it.



If you are not rolling in with Cash, so why charge it AT ALL that put in debt--if you don't pay on time interest charges starts accruing. Interest charge & Principal must be paid back eventually. So it's NOT free money at 2%, or 1.9% as you put it.

Credit Card companies relies on math-hoping that people don't pay their bill ON TIME. That's the rub. It's nothing but the exploitation of the masses.

But if you know how the game is played, it takes discipline to win OPM. You can be the few people that pays on time, charge it, win points, then fly free to Hawaii. But be discipline enough to keep paying the balance every month to avoid interest charges. That same effort takes as much discipline to pay cash for things you want versus charging CC and paying on time, all the time.

Life catches up to you. Eventually Credit Card companies know you will make mistakes (market crashes, unemployment, medical health, divorces, failed business venture, etc) that puts in bad financial shape if you don't have your finances in order. If you have a fully funded EF, Savings, Retirements with NO debt, the chances are you will be fine than most in similar situations.

A co-worker of mine for 7 years/friend became alcoholic, eventually loss his job and marriage. A very sad thing to ever happen to someone close to me. Eventually had to file bankruptcy in-out-of-rehab. Made good income and was good in finance, but he had the credit cards on him, swipe it day and night drinking away. He would come to work every morning as if he just came from the bar. Its a sad story all the way around.

Why leave the money on the table? Free first and business class tickets to Asia and luxury hotels in Europe are not something to sneeze at, and I have gotten numerous ones from CC offers and use. 5% in certain categories for cashback... Even now, after using up massive amount of points on our last year's trips, I still have enough points to fly my family at least in business class to Asia again and stay in 5 star hotels there for probably 2 weeks. I previously managed to arrange 1 month long luxury vacation that would cost around $40,000 if I had to pay for these things with money, and I ended up paying like $3,700. And no, we don't pay interest. There is just a massive mental block against it (that is why we have a healthy EF).

[sv2007]

The most terrible thing today is gift cards.

Many people buy them at a significant discount; making the non-gift card users pay more. I might feel better if I'm on the other side, but since I don't use gift cards, it annoys me : )

This is truly a time waster, way better to use 1 card for all stores vs a specific card on each. Crazy, I hope this fad goes away soon.

[tripods68]

Correct, there's not free lunch.

The free money comes from cash users who pay the same price as CC users (as I've pointed out in my post on this thread). This used to not be the case as "cash discounts" were common, but not anymore. You buy something at the grocery store, you'll pay the same whether you use cash or CC. So, as a cash user, you are making up for some of the cost of that store's CC fees. ... and here's the kicker, that CC fee is later given back to CC users as rewards.

So, it is "free" money for the CC users-- unless we all go back 25-30 years when cash discounts were a more common sight.

BTW, cash discounts are allowed, but not CC surcharge for CC accepting merchants !

I like when we bought our furniture last year. The guy was offering 10% MORE in credit card purchase. But if we pay cash, no sales tax. Cash is King as they say.

[corn18]

But if you know how the game is played, it takes discipline to win OPM. You can be the few people that pays on time, charge it, win points, then fly free to Hawaii. But be discipline enough to keep paying the balance every month to avoid interest charges. That same effort takes as much discipline to pay cash for things you want versus charging CC and paying on time, all the time.

Pshaw. Just set up autopay to pay the balance due every month and you'll never be charged interest. I haven't paid interest in 2 years. It's not that hard.

[corn18]

You know perfectly well that if credit cards magically disappeared tomorrow, nobody is going to lower their prices 3%.

I would drop our prices 3% the same day. I would take market share in the short run until my competitors dropped their prices 3% as well. And the ones that stay high had better have some sort of value proposition to offer the consumer to convince them their product is worth 3% more than mine. But you are right, the CC fee is here to stay.

[tripods68]

Pshaw. Just set up autopay to pay the balance due every month and you'll never be charged interest. I haven't paid interest in 2 years. It's not that hard.

You and other are the very few who are discipline. I have a lot of our bills on autopay.


But what about those who are just living pay check to pay check trying to ends meet. Like to show off keep up with the "joneses". If you don't have enough money to cover your regular bills, rent, groceries, electric, often times, then what? They have to decide whether to pay the bills in full or make partial payment, or skip at all. Many gets behind.

[sv2007]

I like when we bought our furniture last year. The guy was offering 10% MORE in credit card purchase. But if we pay cash, no sales tax. Cash is King as they say.

Yes, certain things still carry a cash discount, and when it is better than CC rewards, I'd also just pay cash for them. But a lot of everyday things cost the same whether cash or CC.

I'd say, excluding cars, our CC spending is way higher than cash spending-- and like I mentioned, we'd pay cash when it is a better deal.

Actually, after thinking a little bit, even including cars, our CC spending is way higher than cash.

[sv2007]

You and other are the very few who are discipline. I have a lot of our bills on autopay.


But what about those who are just living pay check to pay check trying to ends meet. Like to show off keep up with the "joneses". If you don't have enough money to cover your regular bills, rent, groceries, electric, often times, then what? They have to decide whether to pay the bills in full or make partial payment, or skip at all. Many gets behind.

How about YOU?

If you are paying cash, why not save that cash and use CC, then pay it off. With auto bill pay, you don't even need a stamp or check.

CC also gives you an easysafety net against unscrupulous merchants selling you falsely represented items.

[Gailete]

Tripods - you are beating a long dead horse. This was an interesting conversation until you started trying to convert everyone to your way of thinking and it just isn't going to happen. Most of the folks on this thread are the ones that do have their financial house in order and whether someone has the discipline to charge their monthly costs and reap the reward from their cards or pay cash is their own decision and it is obviously working well for them. Unless he has been lying for these many years, DisneySteve is the most with it person about his personal finances I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

I agree MOST people can't handle credit card debt, but those most people aren't on this board and if they might be lurking and not commenting, they got what you are saying the first hundred times you said it!

This thread is more about MONEY SAVING HABITS. What are those little things or big things that can help you accumulate more cash. I'm on Medicare and although I hate any kind of automatic withdrawal from my checking account, I have made sure that the monthly cost for my supplemental policy is automatically with drawn every month. Why, I get a $2 a month discount for doing so. Chicken feed some may say, but it has saved me almost $300 at this point. Same with IRAs since we choose to go paperless my husband and I have saved $50/years for quite a few years. I pay most bills on line to save the price of a stamp. Those sorts of things over the course of time will add up to over $1000. Not chump change at all when you are as poor as we are! These are ingrained habits that I don't have to think about anymore. They take place and the money is saved.

Find 20 ways to save $50 every years and that is an easy $1000 assuming you are in a money bracket that you haven't already cut back as much as possible. When you don't have cable you can't cut it out for savings. So many lists of things to save are pretty much the same 10-20-30 things rehashed up and served over and over again. I love hearing new interesting things that people are doing. I don't have to swear off Starbucks as I don't drink coffee. I do eat chocolate so am working hard to control both the eating and the spending on it. I have set myself rules to 'abide' by. Is it tough, yeah. but I'm feeling better and I don't feel like I'm wasting money. When I do buy it, I get it on sale at CVS and it counts toward my quarterly cash back bonus.

[Nutria]

But what about those who are just living pay check to pay check trying to ends meet. Like to show off keep up with the "joneses". If you don't have enough money to cover your regular bills, rent, groceries, electric, often times, then what? They have to decide whether to pay the bills in full or make partial payment, or skip at all. Many gets behind.

Why in the buggering hell should I base my life choices on how they live?

That's just STUPID!!

[disneysteve]

The most terrible thing today is gift cards.

Many people buy them at a significant discount; making the non-gift card users pay more.

I don't understand what you're suggesting here.

If I buy a gift card at a discount, how does that affect what you pay?

That discounted card that I'm buying doesn't come from the merchant. It comes from the secondary resale market where someone had a card they didn't want and sold it at a discount. It has no impact on what the company made. They sold the card originally for face value.

[disneysteve]

I don't have to swear off Starbucks as I don't drink coffee.

I don't drink coffee either but ironically one of the survey companies I do work for has been paying me in Starbucks gift cards. At the moment, I've got $60 worth of credit stored on my Starbucks account.

My wife does drink coffee, so when we're out together, I can pay if she wants something. And my plan is to use that credit when we go to Disney World next month since there are locations in the Disney parks now. I can use it to get soft drinks and snacks, not just coffee. Since a bottle of Diet Coke is about $4 in Disney World, it will help defray the food costs for our trip.

[tripods68]

Why in the buggering hell should I base my life choices on how they live?

That's just STUPID!!

Oh Grow up!

It is dead horse, people comments and make strange remarks and compelled to comment on things not address to them and be all mad! Really...that makes you feel good. That's just stupid!