The Great Credit Card Debate
January 7th, 2008 by Ana
And this round is in the books! Madison and I debated all weekend the pros and cons for and against credit cards, and today is the big wrap-up, the play-by-play game summary if you will. I didn’t change Madison’s mind, and she sure didn’t change mine LOL but we had great good fun and kept a controversial subject as a civil debate, which is not always easy. These little pieces of plastic can bring out some very strong feelings, as both of us found out on the social bookmarking sites!
I fired the first shot a day early with Dirty Credit Card Company Tricks, so Madison responded that day with just one “good” reason she loves her credit cards … and for the record she didn’t “bust” me trying to “slip” in an extra post: I posted the link on a message board we both frequent.
On the official start day of the debate, she posted her 25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards early in the morning to give me time to drink enough coffee to respond. Some are serious, and some are silly (#8 is actually both) but none of them are enough to convince me and it sparked a side debate about debit card protection with Eden on her HIS blog. I responded with Ways Credit Card Companies Separate You from YOUR Money and even the pro-credit card people have to agree…that list is pretty evil.
Saturday Madison posted early again (how early does she get up?? I am so not a morning person!) with her counterpoints to the dirty little games credit card companies play, and I had to ask the question: Can You REALLY Win with Credit Cards? because I honestly don’t believe it’s possible over the long run.
Yesterday, Madison pleaded Don’t Hate the Credit Card, to which I left a comment on her blog that I have been saying here all along: I have nothing against the actual cards themselves … but I DO hate the credit card companies! I didn’t post a reply yesterday, because I have had something very local that affects my finances in a huge way come to my attention (that is a separate post, and I still need to pry information from local governing bodies about it). Trust me, it has nothing to do with any inability to rant about credit card companies LOL I could do that for a solid month if I still had any making me mad…
Which brings me to Lynnae from BeingFrugal.net: during the Great Credit Card Debate she has been posting about her run-in with the Evil Citibank, and in fact it was her post that inspired me to start a day early. Here’s her saga:
- It all started with a mistake at Citibank which convinced Lynnae that Credit Card Companies want to Eat You Alive, something I’ve been trying to convince her of for a while;
- The pain and hassle continued when that mistake wasn’t fixed as promised by TWO “service” reps, and Lynnae spent the weekend still mad at Citibank (easy to do if you ask me!)
- and for Lynnae’s grand finale … (drumroll please) … SHE FINALLY CUT UP ALL HER CREDIT CARDS!!! She dedicated this post to myself
and GLBLGuy since we have tried for months to get her to do this.
What a great way to cap off the Great Credit Card Debate (in MY opinion), but it begs the question: If we EVER convince Madison to shred her credit cards…is there a shredder strong enough to handle all 89 of her credit cards?
Finally, the debate got some mention in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Mrs. Micah, where she spotlighted one of my posts, one of Madison’s post, and of course Lynnae’s rant about Citibank.
Keep the comments coming, folks, and I hear there are a few more bloggers preparing posts to chime in on the debate :)
Posted in Uncategorized |
January 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
This has been a great week for credit cards. Well, I suppose a bad week for them, but it certainly made it fun to organize the credit card part of the carnival!
January 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Thanks for drawing attention to my plight with Citibank! The debate was a lot of fun to read, too.
And I will never read a post from you again without hovering my mouse over the links. And I agree with you about Citibank.
January 7th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Wow, very interesting ‘debate.’ I definitely think the credit card laundering that Madison does is not for everybody. I would think the average user would end up getting burned badly. After all, most of us can’t handle the debt we have now; I can’t imagine how someone could handle that many credit cards and a ’spiraling’ total cc debt.
Now, any suggestions for getting my wife to read and internalize any of this stuff?
Thanks!
January 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Mrs Micah: You know how much I love to hate the credit card companies…and they make it SOOO easy to do.
Lynnae: No problem, and keep spreading the word about the Evil Empire..er…Citibank! BIG congrats again on cutting those bad boys up!
Mike: Give her the link to this blog
It worked on my husband…he finally got on board because of the stuff I have been blogging about.
January 7th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Ok, you’re right, so I didn’t bust you, but it was really fun to think I did;) Thanks for a great debate! I guess since Lynnae cut up all her cards you ended with a slight edge! Notice I didn’t say win though.
And I have two kids under the age of 2… that’s why I get up so early:)
Thanks again!
January 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
> Mike: Give her the link to this blog
Ha! I just subscribed her by email. Still, I don’t think she’ll ‘get’ it, but we’ll see…
January 7th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Madison: I don’t think there was a “win” in this debate, except for the fact we kept it very civil instead of rolling around in the mud (no guys there are NO pictures cuz it didn’t happen). And keep in mind, with Lynnae my side of the debate had some serious “help” from Citibank’s incompetence and LACK of service. In fact, if you ask me, LYNNAE won
Mike: Be sure to warn her you did that!
January 7th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
[…] The Great Credit Card Debate […]
January 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Thanks for the correction on my name. As I’m sure you can imagine, you weren’t the first person to do that…I get mail all of the time to Ms. or Mrs. Eden. Story of my life!
January 7th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Agreed, it is Lynnae who won!
January 7th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
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January 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
[…] though, I need to announce the winner of the credit card debate. For those that need a refresher, Ana of DebtFREE-Revolution and Madison of My Dollar Plan had a debate as to whether credit cards are good or bad. After the […]
January 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
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January 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
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January 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
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January 19th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Almost every one of us has accumulated a significant quantity of credit card debt.
All of us have heard that several times that someone can be crazy with his or her high credit card debt. But don’t be so much upset to file for insolvency. You should always remember that the creditors will gain the most advantages if they work with you in order to bring things back into the correct track. So if you are anxious about managing your credit card debt, then this article is a must read for you.
The most important thing is to get connected with the credit card issuer company. Tell them about the current status of your finances. Ask them to lower the interest rate of your credit card, or apply for a lowered payment plan due to repay. Most of the time people forget to ask for this kind of benefits because they are usually polite. But you can get more benefits from your politeness when talking with your credit card provider. Stay rigid, and respectful, but behave in a manner that expresses that you know unerringly what you want and you expect to get it. If you are in confusion about what you should be asking for, you are recommended to visit a reputed credit counselor’s office. You can find plenty of honest firms that will help you working with your credit card issuers.
Many people think that they can lower their credit card debt by stop using the credit cards. They think they may tear the cards or put them into shredder just to make sure that they will nerve come back in their purse or wallet. They think if they allow them back, they will create more lure for using them again. In fact, thinking or acting like that would be the most difficult technique to reducing you credit card debt. If you have developed a habit to spend money that you don’t actually have, you have to change this habit as soon as possible.
Try paying more than the least payment every month. In fact, this amount is designed to keep you imprisoned for longer. You have to remember, credit card companies are not in business for loosing money. They will get the most advantage if you pay less for a longer time. But paying the minimum amount is better than skipping the payment.
Many people have just started to reduce their credit card debt by following these steps. Start today and you will also success very soon.
January 19th, 2008 at 1:13 am
The usefulness of credit cards has always been a clouded issue. There is a misconception on people’s minds, that credit cards are more secure than any other modes of payment.
Is that so? Let’s find out. Suppose you have decided for a holiday to another country then this is where a credit comes in handy. It is much safer to use a credit card, than carrying all the money or travelers cheques and finding the place for cashing them etc.
Credit cards are safe if you happen to pay the dues on time. But the fact of the matter is that the credit card companies favor those people who purchases more and delays payment. So many people are scared to a great degree at the very notion of making a purchase online with a credit card. The very idea of a burglar attempting to steal your credit card information is frightening.
This is where credit cards having disposable numbers happen to be more popular among consumers and also to businesses. The companies that issue these cards create random numbers, which are meant for onetime use. Their validity will be within the websites from which you make purchases and they will be valid only for a short time period.
This increases the difficulty to robbers, as obtaining this information will be of no particular use to them. Online retailers and consumers are both benefited by the safety offered by disposable credit cards. There is a reduction of risk where a burglar can obtain information relating to an individual regarding a transaction or account details of a number of people from databases. A retailer can carry out instant verification and validation of a transaction. There will be no need for charge backs related to fraud.
The main draw back of a disposable credit card will be that they will not be feasible for certain transactions. Most of the retailers require the card to be shown when an item is retrieved from them after purchasing. This is the case with airline and theatre as well as car and hotel rentals. The card number would have expired when it will be required for another payment. For most of the people card numbers that are disposable will lead to safer shopping online. Necessary precautions need to be taken for making your experience for shopping online enjoyable and safe.
Interest Reduction of your credit card: The Methods.
One thing that we hate most regarding a credit card will be the interest. Interest will be added to the account for each month, which is being charged for provision for borrowing.
It is a way of making lot of money by the adding of interest to card account holders, without which they would fail to make any money.
But the interest of credit cards for the consumers can really be hitting hard. Paying even the minimal amounts can be very difficult for some people at times. Hence rising of interests can become a real concern. Negotiating with the provider may lower the interest rate or a low interest credit card may be applied for and your balance may be transferred over.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:35 am
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March 24th, 2008 at 10:21 am
[…] this before, for those of y’all who were reading back at the beginning of the year for my great credit card debate. For me, the big money mistake started when I was a naive 18 year old college freshman with only […]
July 4th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Credit cards are safe if you happen to pay the dues on time. But the fact of the matter is that the credit card companies favor those people who purchases more and delays payment. So many people are scared to a great degree at the very notion of making a purchase online with a credit card. The very idea of a burglar attempting to steal your credit card information is frightening.