Since We’re Talking About Credit…
What fun it is to follow up a post about nuking all my credit card debt with another post about a new credit card that I just applied for. Am I schitzophrenic? Maybe.
I have decided to start living off a credit card. This idea came from the same friend who pointed out my bad math skills--which is credited as to why I was comfortable living with 7% APR credit card debt while my savings account grew at a pithy 5.05%. Yay -2% net gain! But I'm not just going to live off any credit card. I'm going with the ones that give me free stuff =D.
There are current "best cash rewards card" on my list is Chase Manhattan's Freedom Card. Most cash rewards cards have great rewards programs, and very crappy APRs. However, the point of using one of these cards is to get free stuff right? So that means that we cannot afford having any finance charges on the card whatsoever--else we totally destroy the net gain and defeat the whole point of having the card. The APR of this category of cards is so high that one finance charge can destroy an entire month or more of gains, so the balance of a card like this must be paid off before any finance charges are accumulated.
Chase Freedom Card
APR: 14.24%
Membership Fee: none
Rewards: 3% on Gas and food for up to $600 in purchases, 1% otherwise.
Introductory APR: 0% for a year
Rewards Cap: No limit
Rewards Distributed Upon request
Additional Features: Can switch between points or cash back instantly
Overall I like this card because it fits in well with how I spend money. I buy groceries, lots of gas, and the occasional lunch at Moes or Chik-Fil-A. After looking into my montly expenses in each of these categories, it fills out to less than $300 a month. Paying this card off every won't be a problem at all =).
Finally, there is always the chance that these credit card companies are going to shut down a particular card, change the terms, or do something nasty to try and recover from smart people like you and I taking the free stuff that they are offering. This is another critical reason why a card such as this should never carry a balance. You can close the account if they get snippy with you and never look back.
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August 20th, 2007 - 20:01
I just happened to check my balance on my WaMu Visa, which 0% intro interest rate just ended, and the normal 11.99% takes over. I had a $3,500 credit limit, with about $2,150 on the card, and just now when I checked it, my credit line is $5,000. So I’m doing something right. Though the very least I’ve ever paid was $150 a month.
August 21st, 2007 - 10:41
Then when you turn 30, you’ll be looking for every way imaginable to free yourself from the servitude of credit cards all together; trust me! They’re a double-edged sword.
ps…check out the cats pictures page on of my students posted on my blog comments…funny stuff…
August 21st, 2007 - 11:13
icanhascheezburger is where I was getting all my daily lolcat pictures I was sending you guys =).
The whole point of the several times italicized don’t keep a balance on these cards–or really any credit card at all–was to illustrate the point my dear sister just made. Don’t let the balance on these things get so high that it takes you 5 years plus to pay it off. I was lucky enough to be able to completely pay off my credit card debt at the ripe age of 24, and I intend to not let it come back. I’ll have to re-pad my impending disaster savings account because of my decision, but I think being totally free of credit card debt is well worth it.
Remember, irresponsibility killed the lolcat…