Have you sworn off credit cards??

[TheBajan]

Just curious how many people have completely sworn off credit cards after BK. Is there a moderator that can turn this into a poll? I think it would be an interesting sticky. Regardless of if you have chosen to rebuild credit and use cards again or whether you choose not to, let us know what your take is on this!

Cheers!

[tradinglife]

Yes, I can't undertand some people celebrating when they get a credit card after bk with a $300 limit and a $150 a year fee, lol. They would have been better off to be turned down. Never again will I be a slave to a credit card company or line their pockets, sorry.

[Drazil65]

We will not be using a CC anytime soon, we are on a cash only basis plan. We will have a cash stash, we will be renting so no big house ticket items and we are very content with what we have in life. We welcome the simple things like quality family time and less stress. Its all good...

[MSbklawyer]

I've sworn them off for purposes of buying things that I don't have the money for. I keep one for my law office to order supplies and to file cases electronically. I keep another one with about a $1000 credit limit for pay-at-the-pump, booking hotel rooms and rental cars. And pay them off religiously in full each month.

[despritfreya]

This is a very touchy subject for me.

I do not believe in the myth that we should buy items "on time" and pay for the privilege. But for my home (there are still some tax advantages to paying interest on a mortgage) I do not finance anything. If I cannot pay cash for it I simply do not buy it. Yes, I do have credit cards and they have large credit limits. However, I only use two of them and they are paid off each month. I do this not because I am a bk attny. I do this (and have done this all of my credit-worthy life) because I simply do not believe in paying for the use of someone else’s money. I much rather use someone else’s money for short period of time and keep mine in the bank. I make money off of the credit card companies.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand the need to have a credit card for things such as renting a car, reserving a hotel room and the like. However, it amazes me when I see posters on this forum and others wanting to jump right back into the credit scene. I suppose obtaining a credit card post bk is fine if you can control one’s use of the card and not buy things unless you can pay the account in full within the grace period. Anything else makes little sense to me and it certainly makes no sense to obtain a credit card that has an annual fee.

Des.

[sofarsogood2]

Have not sworn them off as they weren't the problem that caused our BK. Have always used them in moderation, paying off monthly or at most over a couple of months if it was larger purchase.

[NoMoreCards]

As my name indicates clearly, my intent was to swear off them completely. However I wanted to add a different spin, food for thought I suppose.

After discharge, I wanted and needed out of my very underwater, mold filled house. To make a long story short, I pulled funds together from every available source and paid cash for a house. 11.5K of those funds are on a credit card from NFCU. Although I never again wanted a credit card, I never wanted a mortgage even more. Worst case senerio, I lose my job and default on my card and I will STILL have a roof over my heard. I should have this card paid off in about 1.5 to 2 years, and that will be the end of a high balance credit card. The original house, is still waiting for Sheriff sale and my daughter is enjoying living there rent free until that happens. She is also saving to purchase a house for cash.

Anyhow, I know this is a different perspective so I wanted to throw it out there.

[747LUVR]

We got one secured card with first tech fed, no ann fee/1% cashback, we use it as a debit card., even though its a visa....we just pay it off in full. We have sworn off credit cards, we have no car loans, just the mortgage.....so we kinda swore off cards, but it helps to rebuild wisely too. We'll never be the slaves to the banks again., no way is it worth it!

[DYLAN150]

I just use my debit card and social security express card.

[JessMN]

Have not sworn them off as they weren't the problem that caused our BK. Have always used them in moderation, paying off monthly or at most over a couple of months if it was larger purchase.

+1

[mountanddo]

As my name indicates clearly, my intent was to swear off them completely. However I wanted to add a different spin, food for thought I suppose.

After discharge, I wanted and needed out of my very underwater, mold filled house. To make a long story short, I pulled funds together from every available source and paid cash for a house. 11.5K of those funds are on a credit card from NFCU. Although I never again wanted a credit card, I never wanted a mortgage even more. Worst case senerio, I lose my job and default on my card and I will STILL have a roof over my heard. I should have this card paid off in about 1.5 to 2 years, and that will be the end of a high balance credit card. The original house, is still waiting for Sheriff sale and my daughter is enjoying living there rent free until that happens. She is also saving to purchase a house for cash.

Anyhow, I know this is a different perspective so I wanted to throw it out there.

Just curious that if the house is full of mold how in the world is your daughter enjoying living there? That stuff can cause health problems for life. I don't care if someone was paying me I wouldn't live in a house full of mold.

[NoMoreCards]

Just curious that if the house is full of mold how in the world is your daughter enjoying living there? That stuff can cause health problems for life. I don't care if someone was paying me I wouldn't live in a house full of mold.

The house has mold in the basement, not in the upper levels (the house has 4 levels) . It is possible for a house to have mold issues, and still not be dangerous to live in (yet). Over time, the mold will get worse and I was/am not in a positiion to rebuild the house to fix/prevent future mold issues. The sheriff sale should be any day, and then she has 6 months to move. So yes, actually she is enjoying living in a rent free house and she will enjoy even more having no mortgage when she buys her own with cash.

The bottom line really is, you do what you have to do. There is a huge difference between mold, and the "black mold" you hear about on TV.
No mold is healthy, but there is a huge difference in the types of mold and the effects on health.

[andy158]

Wife still has a corporate cc for her traveling. We will not have another personal cc. Our credit union debit card functions as a cc in every way our other pre bk cards did and you can't go over limit or be charged a late fee.

[jst4f]

CC's were not the cause of our BK so I don't worry about having them. CC's are handy, and we always paid them off each month. Airfare, hotels, etc where cash is a hassle. Post-BK we each have a CC for $1K each with no annual fee and sours us just fine.

[tradinglife]

Don't think I have ever heard anyone claim to have not paid off their credit card in full each month, even on this forum. Oh well I must be the only person to ever carry a balance and run mine up to the limit when a crises came. They say statistically you spend more when you use a credit card for purchases. Logically if you could use one like a machine and always pay off, never go over, it may be ok. Of course it appears all posters use credit cards that way, I find that odd since this is a bk forum. Anyway I do not use them now period, emotionally for me it is liberating to not own any, maybe thats just me.