There is an ad for a credit card on TV right now. It shows a woman
hanging up her credit card bill on the fridge using a magnet. The
printing on the bill changes to iron filings that are drawn towards
the magnet. In the end, all that is left is the "total" which has
been miraculously changed to "zero dollars." Then the ad goes on to
say that one lucky cardholder will have their balance dropped to zero
everyday. Golly, how generous – one person out of how many millions
and millions?
Since the rest of us don't have a magic magnet, I guess we are going
to have to work a little harder to bring that total down to "zero."
Before I go on, I will tell you that my husband and I have two credit
cards. We use one card regularly during the month (my husband travels
a lot, so the second card is used as his backup for travel expenses).
When the bill comes, the entire amount is paid off. I have no idea
what the "minimum payment" is because our "minimum payment" is always
the total bill. I don't track credit card interest percent because I
refuse to pay interest to a credit card company. Blech! We watch what
we BUY and pay for it when the bill comes in. As a result of always
paying our bill in full, we have never had credit card debt that
caused us financial problems.
The first step is to ensure you do not have more credit available to
you than you need (or can handle).
We don't have a magic magnet, but we have three magic words we use to
keep our credit cards in OUR control. These three words are your
strongest weapons in this quest to make your finances come alive.
The first time I ever use these words (to a credit card company) was
on my very first day in university. I was a bright, eager, and very
naive 18-year-old gal beginning one of the greatest adventures of my
life. And waiting for me was this gorgeous guy offering to sign me up
for my very first credit card. I was shocked! How could they offer me
a credit card? I didn't have a job. Apparently that wouldn't be a
problem. I just needed a signature from my parents. Well, that was
NOT going to happen. University was INDEPENDENCE from my parents. The
last thing I wanted was to become more dependent on them because of a
stupid credit card. So I spoke those very magical words:
"No, thank-you."
The guy walked away and headed towards his next "target" (he was just
as gorgeous from behind). That was over 20 years ago.
I can see how easy it would be to develop long-term difficult credit
card debt. Since we always pay our bill in full, the credit card
companies continuously try to increase our credit limit. At one
point, I think we could have purchased a new car on one of our cards
(can you imagine – a new car at over 19% interest? YIKES!). It was
getting to the point where it was stupid, we didn't want that much
unused credit associated with our names, so we asked them to drop the
limits to more reasonable amounts. Now, our standard reply is:
"No, thank-you."
Then of course, there are all the credit card offers that come pre-
approved (almost) in the mail. These get shredded and tossed out.
"No, thank-you."
Now they call us at home. "Cindy," they say, "you have been pre-
approved for a new XYZ gold-something-or-other credit card!"
I have a pre-amble to my standard reply, "Is the card pink?"
"Pink?" They are stumped now LOL. "You want a pink card?"
"Yes," I say, "once I get a pink card I will have the complete set."
By now I have totally blown them off their script. They have no idea
what to say. One fellow even put me on hold to ask his supervisor if
the card came in pink. Then I let them off the hook (literally). "No
thank-you. No matter how good the deal, I do not need another credit
card. I am your worst customer. I use the card and pay it off every
month. You do not make a dime of interest off of me. Plus, if I can
get a better deal paying cash, then I pay cash. And even if you found
a pink card, the answer would still be the same."
"No, thank-you."
This is an update to my "pink credit card". Today, I no longer ask if the card is pink. While I still don't like these phone calls, at the other end of the line is simply a person trying to make a wage. By extending the call longer than I have to, I am making it difficult for them to do their job. Today I simple say, "No, thank-you" and then gently hang up the phone. If you are getting many of these unwanted calls, check out the Do Not Call Registry. The link is posted on our Great Links Page.
And lastly there are all the credit card offers that come to you
while you shop. A friendly gal will greet you at the entrance of the
store. "Save 10% today when you sign up for our store credit card."
No thank-you. And if you do happen to purchase something, like $10.00
worth of socks you get it again, this time by the cashier. "Would you
like to save 10% on your purchase by signing up for a store credit
card?" I am getting a little ticked-off by now, so I ask whether that
is 10 percent before or after taxes. "Before taxes," they reply.
Sheesk! This store is willing to hold up the entire line while I
spend 10 minutes filling out forms for a credit card just so I can
save 87 cents? Good grief!
"No, thank-you."
(Side note: I did fall for the store credit card offer – once. My
husband also fell for it – once. In my situation, I just purchased
some furniture for our bedroom. The furniture was already marked down
to a great price and we could save an additional 15% by signing up
for a store credit card. So the plan was to get the card, get the
deal, get the furniture, pay the bill, and cancel the card. It didn't
work that way. We got the card, got the deal, got the bill, but no
sign of the furniture. I made a polite phone call and was told to
wait a little longer. Still no furniture. So I waited until the next
bill. Then I got the first interest payment. Then I got mad. After
several more phone calls, we located the furniture, settled the bill,
paid the bill – minus the interest, and then finally cancelled the
card. Never again for me!
My husband's story is even better. He saved 10% off the price of a
dog kennel when he signed up for the card. Duh! However, due to a
computer glitch, while my husband was being assigned a credit card
number, an identical number was being assigned to another shopper
2000 miles away. When we got our first bill, it also had the other
shopper's purchases on it. I can handle a computer glitch. But I
couldn't handle the store manager who had the nerve to ask, "Are you
sure you were not 2000 miles away in the other store making these
purchases?" Think about the timing. We bought a kennel at 10:00 in
the morning. Five minutes later, 2000 miles away, another $200 worth
of stuff was put on the card. There was no way we could have
accomplished that. It took them six months to finally clear the
purchase and cancel the card. And, we returned the kennel; it was too
big.)
"No, thank-you."
As you continue on this journey to make YOUR finances come alive,
remember those three magic words that keep your credit card(s) in
YOUR control.
No, thank-you. (These words are handy while you are shopping too.)
Take care of you,
Cindy
