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Replies: 29
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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Question.....financial stuff.
Apr 7, 2022, 8:18 AM
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So you're making a big purchase. Right at the top of your capacity to pay all at once. You can pay in cash, but you can get 15% off the already discounted sale price if you take out a line of credit to buy it.
So you take out the line of credit. They give you like $13,000 credit line for a $1,000 item, with a wonderful interest rate of 27%, lol. Pay 15% less for the item, so like $850. You immediately pay the balance on credit off the day the balance is posted. Then close the credit account as soon as the balance shows zero.
You then get an updated FICO score alert. For this proper management of credit, and instant elimination of $850 in debt, and closing out $13,000 of credit you'll never use, especially at 27%, your fico score drops by 100 FREAKING POINTS!!! And then the excuse (they always have them) is too high an outstanding balance to available credit? ###? It's all rigged.
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All-In [46825]
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Closing any line of credit hurts your credit score
Apr 7, 2022, 8:20 AM
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back when I was REALLY poor, I wanted to propose to my wife. So I found a 50% off diamond ring off of Amazon. Put it on the amazon store card which I got 12 months at 0% interest.
Paid it off in 11 months. When the balance went to 0 my credit score dropped 16 points.
Now I can't close the Amazon store card because it would kill my credit score due to length of credit or some ########.
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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I had an open HHGregg account for like 10 years
Apr 7, 2022, 8:31 AM
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Just sitting there with zero balance. Was told to close it. Score jumped 50 points.
I've come to the conclusion, the way to get a really good credit score is to let them make money off you, without you showing signs of going broke. That's "how it works" I think. Of course common sense says letting that debt run making minimum payments with 27% interest means you're stupid, and that's good for them, so they reward you, and will keep doing so until you're can't pay and are broke. People who have excellent credit scores have $5,000+ balances on their credit cards, and they carry that balance along, and the credit card company makes $600-$800 a year off them in interest each year. They have 800+ credit scores. Guy who pays his card off each month, they might make $20 a year if a balance is ever carried over, they have a worse credit score. Point is it's rigged.
Really could care less about my fico score. I saved $150. If everyone did that, they wouldn't offer discounts for credit.
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Lot o points [163012]
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I put most everything on one card, paying it off
Apr 7, 2022, 8:36 AM
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monthly. Credit score does not like this as the balance is always about the same. I thought about flip-flopping between two cards, but that is too much work.
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All-In [46825]
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I've looked into doing the whole credit card
Apr 7, 2022, 8:37 AM
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max out points system or whatever.
I just can't keep up with all that.
I do what you do. Put everything on the card, pay it off each month.
Take the cash back and buy Christmas gifts with it.
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Heisman Winner [135867]
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I did the juggling thing for a while
Apr 7, 2022, 8:41 AM
[ in reply to I put most everything on one card, paying it off ] |
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But now stick to one except apple
As long as they have 0% for 12 months on new purchases I’ll buy some piddling accessory every so often or a new phone when needed to have that carried debt with no interest. Doesn’t seem to matter that the debt is small.
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Lot o points [163012]
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Yep
Apr 7, 2022, 8:44 AM
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Apple for Apple stuff due to 3%.
Chase Amazon for Amazon stuff.
Verizon has a card that gives you a discount, so that for phone bill.
Citibank Costco card for Costco stuff.
I was using Citibank 2% card for everything else, but they pizzed me off recently, so I am back to Discover.
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Oculus Spirit [75717]
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I need to dive into the details and see when it is better to
Apr 7, 2022, 8:48 AM
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use card A for stuff and card B for stuff. These days it is pretty haphazard but at least I'm to a point where I can put groceries on a cash back card and not fear going overboard.
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Heisman Winner [135867]
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I used to have one card that gave more back on gas
Apr 7, 2022, 8:52 AM
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Another for retail etc but I can’t (don’t) keep up with which is which anymore
On a slightly related topic, is the old Diners Club card around? I vaguely remember it being a big deal that my dad had one but don’t know why.
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All-In [46825]
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I want to do that but I know for a fact my wife wouldn't
Apr 7, 2022, 8:54 AM
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use the correct card each time
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Heisman Winner [135867]
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You make your wife pump
Apr 7, 2022, 8:57 AM
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her own gas?
What kind of monster are you?
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All-In [46825]
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I'm an equal opportunity ### hole.
Apr 7, 2022, 9:15 AM
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and this isn't the 1950's
She has hands
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Lot o points [163012]
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"and she knows how to use them" - some SC trooper.
Apr 7, 2022, 11:14 AM
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110%er [7004]
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Re: I need to dive into the details and see when it is better to
Apr 7, 2022, 9:02 AM
[ in reply to I need to dive into the details and see when it is better to ] |
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I believe AmEx has a card that gives you 6% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. We use it and have been pleased.
CapitalOne Savor is 4% back of restaurants. Other than those categories we use a 2% cash back card for everything.
It all adds up enough to (mostly) pay for Christmas.
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Heisman Winner [135867]
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About the same
Apr 7, 2022, 8:48 AM
[ in reply to Yep ] |
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And payoff everything but Amazon card through PayPal which goes to that card too to get all that sweet free Amazon stuff
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Heisman Winner [135867]
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Yeah it’s rigged
Apr 7, 2022, 8:22 AM
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Just throw that card in a drawer somewhere and don’t close it
The system is skewed toward tempting folks like FBC to open and then use it, not toward good stewards.
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All-In [46825]
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Re: Yeah it’s rigged
Apr 7, 2022, 8:25 AM
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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It's amazing just how much we prosper on irresponsibility
Apr 7, 2022, 8:52 AM
[ in reply to Yeah it’s rigged ] |
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and bad decisions. I'm convinced this is why financial management is not taught in high schools. Just think of all the benefits we collectively share and enjoy based on other people making poor decisions. Tigernet, for example. We all enjoy this website. It runs on internet ads. Google (everything), we all enjoy Google FREE because people click on internet ads. If people didn't click on them, Google wouldn't exist. The internet wouldn't exist. If people didn't respond to TV ads, TV wouldn't be free. And, if people didn't max our credit cards and pay a ton of interest to lenders, credit would not exist and I would have had to pay full price. Payday loans? Then there's Las Vegas. Great place to visit. They literally thrive on financially irresponsible behavior. And you can go there, not gamble, and enjoy a magnificent hotel room cheap. And they used to have super cheap food, all this was in the past though.
Las Vegas reminds me of something else that's interesting. Was reading an article in a local Vegas paper when visiting. Seems they no longer make as much money on gambling as in years past. MUCH less profits in gambling compared to the past. As such, they've jacked the prices of everything else up, shows, food, entertainment, rooms, etc. I remember visiting Vegas as a kid, and the room was dirt cheap, meals were awesome, and cheap, everything was cheap, because they made bank on the gamblers. Today, millennials (and beyond) have gotten smarter, and they don't gamble as much. As such, the casinos had to adjust to make other revenue streams (increased room, food, and entertainment prices). And yes, after my last trip to Vegas, I doubt we will go back. We couldn't find a meal for less than $100 in any casino restaurant. The cheapest place (burger place) was over $100 for our family. It was $30 a day to park your car in the casino/hotel parking lot. None of that existed 40 years ago in Vegas.
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Hall of Famer [22314]
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Because back when "the boys" ran Vegas and it was Sin City,
Apr 7, 2022, 10:47 AM
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it was more attractive to serious gamblers, high rollers, hell-raisers, and dudes flush with cash... mob guys, drug dealers, etc. Now it's more like Disney World West and geared towards families. And families for the most part live within a budget. Dad will go down to casino while the kids are taking a nap... lose $200 at the roulette wheel in an hour... and is satisfied that he "went to Vegas and gambled".
Millennials aren't smarter, they're broke, that's why they still live with their parents at age 30.
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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Either way, people aren't gambling.
Apr 7, 2022, 11:18 AM
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And lord knows there are a ton of rich people today, far more than back when the "the boys" ran Vegas. Probably because they make money in a different casino.
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Hall of Famer [22314]
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Well, it depends on how you define "rich"...a husband & wife
Apr 7, 2022, 11:30 AM
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can be pulling down $400-500K a year if they both have good jobs. But they dropped a couple mil on that fancy house in an upscale neighborhood, and have big fat mortgage payments. And they have his&hers top end SUVs in the garage, and 3 kids in private school. On paper they may be "rich" and have nice 401K balances... but they don't have that much "disposable income". They can't afford to gamble away a couple hundred grand in one weekend...
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All-In [42868]
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Oculus Spirit [75717]
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Yeah, I don't think it took very long for the sports betting
Apr 7, 2022, 11:39 AM
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rule to impact Vegas. I am still taking a trip out there soon, but this is my first trip since 2016. Part of this is having to save up so we could afford Sharkgirls ticket, part was the pandemic squashing plans, but a last section is I can just drive up to Cherokee and get my fix.
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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Well, was about 3 years ago, but that last trip to Vegas
Apr 7, 2022, 11:59 AM
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is probably our last, unless something changes. Took $300 to gamble. Ended up not gambling at all after $1,000+ in food, hundreds on shows, and $200 to park, and whatever else. The $15 drinks, the $5 cokes, the whatever else....just turned me off to gambling.
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Oculus Spirit [75717]
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Did this happen long enough to see how quickly it will
Apr 7, 2022, 8:31 AM
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recover? I've considered applying for new cards that have a "$200 back when you spend $1000 in the first 3 months" or "Get a #### ton of airline miles for signing up." Never have pulled the trigger due to concerns over the credit score taking too much of a hit and it costing me big time later.
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Oculus Spirit [83116]
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Why would you care what your credit score is at this point?***
Apr 7, 2022, 8:41 AM
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Lot o points [163012]
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Some insurance companies use it to determine rates
Apr 7, 2022, 8:45 AM
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or at least Travelers used to.
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Oculus Spirit [97716]
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Oculus Spirit [83116]
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Sure. I cared 40 years ago.***
Apr 7, 2022, 8:57 AM
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All-In [31891]
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How long has it been?....
Apr 7, 2022, 8:51 AM
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that will normally correct itself in a couple of monthly cycles.
Assuming you have other credit lines open with a long history.
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Replies: 29
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