Quote Originally Posted by Panman View Post
Credit cards are a fact of life. They are here to stay and whether or not you have one you are paying for the privilege of credit card use. The merchant has to jack up the price as he has to pay the credit card company a fee on every credit card sale. So you are indirectly subsidizing the credit card business when you pay by cash or check or with a debit card.

As I see it you must be able to handle your money/credit in such a way that it works to your advantage and not theirs. How do you do this: Get a credit card that has no annual fee and gives you something back for each purchase and then be 100% sure and 100% able to pay off your balance each month on time so you don't pay them any interest.

My poker playing buddy buys as I stated above and him and his wife went to Hawaii on the frequent miles program. I just take cash back and got enough back last year that I could have bought a high end fly rod. Neither of use payed a dime in interest.

The choice is yours. Shop smart.
Tim
Tim,
Your correct about paying off the balance every month. Here is some advice I found, an answer to a Student's question; Discipline is the key. The student must discipline themselves to act and charge responsibly. Unfortunately, we humans are weak when it comes to discipline. That is why there are so many bankruptcies. In many cases, people didn't discipline themselves with their use of credit. The next thing they knew, they were overextended in credit and couldn't afford to repay their debts. They then looked at bankruptcy as a solution when in actuality, disciplining themselves on the wise and proper use of credit was the solution.

My advice to any student would be this; Discipline yourself to use credit responsibly. With credit cards, charge no more than what you can afford to repay when the monthly statement comes in." End Quote.
Discipline.
Doug