Credit Cards are deadly.

Just thought I would share that as I pay mine

Ya' gotta admit they're interesting, though...

You always make me laugh Phawgg. Thanks.

I like to use the prepaid credit cards when making purchases online. This way, I do not really have a bill that I pay every month. I put a balence on it before the purchase, and use the majority of it almost immediately. Some do have monthly surcharges, but it is nominal comparing the alternative possibilities.

I don't have any credit cards!!

I'm afraid of what I might do with them.

WOW! JE, that's a great idea! My goal is to get them paid off in '05...and ultimately to live debt free. Believe it or not, many people are accomplishing that. The only ones I've heard about are doing it by faith.

Captital 1 whats in your wallett(I could not resist!)

Better than getting cash from money places they I heard charge up to 200% interest! It was on the news!

Capital One...hmmm...I've heard a lot of horror stories about them IF you have problems making a payment. And whatever you do, don't stop altogether paying. A close friend had problems and he was terrorized, tormented, harassed, threatened, and haunted by the ones who, year after year, kept buying his old account. And, in case you didn't know, a lot of these credit card companies are getting away with too much. A friend of mine had a Visa card from 1992 when they fell on hard times and found themselves laid off; their account went on their bad credit almost right away. They must've sold the account a few times because they continue to harass her, at home and at work, 12 years later!!! Remember, a paid off debt can only remain on your credit report for SEVEN years.
For anyone who might be fighting such garbage, be sure to visit the FCC's website. I think they are the ones who handle such things. Make a note of the consumer's rights and the creditor's rules that they MUST adhere to. Just because we put our signature on the credit card application does NOT give any of them the right to harass us should we fall on hard times. These bloodsucking leeches work for about minimum wage to torment people and can only get away with it if we all allow it.
Okay, that said, I only have THREE credit cards. One gas card, one Visa, and one Mastercard. I'd rather donate blood, plasma, saliva, hair, teeth, nails, and skin for money than to put up with that harassment.
Thanks y'all for putting up with me, as always, lol....
~67~

it's the fTc ...the federal trade commission..and not the fCc..the federal communications commission, that regulate the nasty bill collectors! although, you'd swear they're in cahoots...as fast as word gets around when you miss a payment!

and, although they call it the FAIR credit reporting act, i have never quite figured out why. there's nothing fair about it. they can put anything, at anytime, on your credit report...but never take anything off...they simply mark it "paid in full"...as if the damage weren't already done. nor does anyone EVER ask YOU about the debt BEFORE it goes on your credit...hmmm, do you think, if they did, they just MIGHT discover there's more than ONE john doe in america? our son turned 18, applied for his first credit card, and was turned down. seems his debt to income ratio was a bit upside down...since he had a $350,000 mortgage in its 5th year. HELLO!!! and it certainly wasn't ours, put there by accident...wish i COULD afford to have that kind of mortgage!

good to see you again, ta!

Just wanted to add that the collection agency's are not allowed to call you at work. Or contact nieghbors or friends. I believe it is a FCC ruling. If this happens to anyone they should contact and discuss this with the FCC.

LOL.. I have NO credit cards. I had a phone call the other day from a Mortgage company. He wanted to know if we would like to refinance. I told him no.. we only have a few more years on our mortgage. It wouldn't be worth it. Then he asked me if we had credit card debt. I says "no, we don't have credit cards". He says, "You don't ? Well God Bless you then. You have a good night". He was laughing as he hung up. lol It was a funny conversation. No I shudder to think of the trouble I would be tempted to get into if I had a card. hehe No way. Best not to go there. I would be buying on-line all the time I am sure. I can see myself buying groceries and Christmas presents and anything else that struck my fancy.

U R 1 Smart Cookie.

LOL Scarlett.. Just don't want to borrow that kind of trouble. hehe And besides it is the hub who is the smart cookie.. He knows me too well I guess.

Thanks for clearing that up, nmdamgud. I was lmao reading your post. When I turned 18, I went to a local bank to open up my very first savings account.
I was there nearly 2 hours because the lady I got in New Accounts told me no bank in Texas would allow me to open an account. As it turns out, a woman with my EXACT name (first, middle, AND last name) opened an account at a branch of the very bank I was attempting and was in all kinds of trouble with fraud, hot checks, etc... After phone calls to the big guys and re-entering my SS# half a dozen times, they took my money to open the account LOL. Geez.

BTW - Scarlett is right. There are A LOT of rules these harassing groups MUST adhere to BUT sadly, many don't abide by them. NO phone calls before 8am or after 8pm and they MUST use those guidelines according to where YOU are located, not where they are. NO work calls, family calls, neighbor calls, etc...Also, once you tell them not to call you anymore, BY LAW, they CAN'T!!!
So, yes, if you or anyone you know are being harassed, go to the website and file complaints. It's our only defense and it's not much of one, but anything is better than nothing.

Okay, I'm taking deep breaths and stepping aside, lol.

P.S. Is anyone else hearing the words to "The 12 pains of Christmas" in their heads or is it just me? LMAO

well .... I'm guilty cause we have 4 CC's 2 "major" and 2 "department store" plus I have my E-gold and Pay-Pal thats verified meaning its funded by my bank acct,

right now we have a credit our my Radio Shack (whoooooooot) and a *fairly small* balance on our other

the 2 "major" cards are in use prolly weekly but paid off every payday actually we have had the MC 1 for about 12 yrs and Iv never used it lol

my E-gold is pretty bleak but its funded solely from my search page and goes to the local SPCA
Pay-pal is for most of my on-line stuff and I usually have a credit balance of about 15.00
(except this time of year lol)
and only once did I resort to using funds from the bank act to buy something



BUT TIS THE SEASON! and who know what will happen

getting back to the credit cards...when i first got online, i of COURSE discovered e-bay... but they're wonderful for finding unusual items. all 3 of my kids collect something..and after 15 years, it's getting tough to add to them without duplicating..and e-bay solved that! however, i was TERRIFIED of someone getting my cc # and creating trouble..i had that happed with a "check by phone" and more than 50 checks went thru my account...the overdraft fees alone were over $600...which, fortunately, my bank dropped.

what i did was got a cc to use ONLY for 'net shopping..and the limit on it is $300; that way, if someone DOES snag it, they won't get far! and since it's at my local bank, i can just go in and pay it off so i can continue using it, or i can up the limit for a special purpose.

the other option, of course, is to open a specific account for a debit card, using the same principles as above.

happy christmas shopping!!

damgud

BTW Zone Alarm (firewall) has online fraud protection. Which warns you if you try to submit your E-Bay password to a fake E-Bay site. It can be configured under the Preferences Tab.

Jason, or anybody...I was wondering about the prepaid credit cards you use online...Can you make any recommendations about which ones are best (least costly)?
And how do you go about getting them?

Thanks

The prepaid one that I use has a maintenance fee on it. It is linked into all of my accounts at my Credit Union, so as long as I keep a balance over a certain amount (which I always do), then there is no fees with any accounts.

Typically, there is a one-time charge of ~$10-15 to activate the card. After that, you can add as much as you want. Monthly charges should be less then $5. Any more then that, I would shop around a little bit. I think some department stores even do it too like Dillards or Sears. You can get gift cards at any store, but I think they are testing out in limited markets, to have a Visa or Mastercard logo on them. I would snag one of those up as soon as they become available. The chances of them having a monthly fee would be very low.

Thank you, Jason! I appreciate the info!
Hope your holidays are great.