Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253175 times)

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3700 on: August 19, 2014, 09:12:53 AM »
Ouch, that's frustrating.

My CC utilization is about 30% of my credit limits, but that's because that's just about what I happen to spend each month.  The statement balances are paid in full every month, without interest, yet that's still being reported as my "utilization" because that's the balance as it reads on the statement.  Maybe try to use that example to help him?  It might make more sense to him...

My GF's sister used a similar "it's good for my credit!" reasoning as part of her rationale for financing a new car.... drives me batshit.

dycker1978

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3701 on: August 19, 2014, 09:15:54 AM »
Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

Because if you do any reading online this is what the so called experts tell you.  You need to pay intrest in order to build credit...

"Having a credit card balance isn't necessarily bad as long as you do it the right way. Pay more than the minimum each month to pay off your balance as quickly as possible. Avoid making late credit card payments and continue to keep your balance at a reasonable level (below 30% of the credit limit). If you follow these principles, carrying a balance won't hurt your credit. "

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3702 on: August 19, 2014, 09:16:45 AM »
people mix up needing to show activity with needing to maintain a balance. you can fake show a balance by just by using your card every month, but paying it down every month as well, to avoid financing fees.

 a 0% balance is worse than a 10% balance.

I disagree, and so does my credit score.

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3703 on: August 19, 2014, 09:22:03 AM »
people mix up needing to show activity with needing to maintain a balance. you can fake show a balance by just by using your card every month, but paying it down every month as well, to avoid financing fees.

 a 0% balance is worse than a 10% balance.

I disagree, and so does my credit score.

well i disagree.   i disagree on the foundation that i use a credit monitoring service, and when my balance is <30% but greater that 0% i see a raise in my score.
10% is the optimum level for a point increase.

Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

Because if you do any reading online this is what the so called experts tell you.  You need to pay intrest in order to build credit...

"Having a credit card balance isn't necessarily bad as long as you do it the right way. Pay more than the minimum each month to pay off your balance as quickly as possible. Avoid making late credit card payments and continue to keep your balance at a reasonable level (below 30% of the credit limit). If you follow these principles, carrying a balance won't hurt your credit. "


i have never heard an expert say you should pay interest.

every expert i read says wait until your statement is due and pay right after that.
 financing only applies to charges that are older than your grace period.

 basically i charge things in one month and pay them the next month. i have a balance but i never pay interest. i get cash back, my card doesnt have a yearly fee, so i earn 2% for doing nothing.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2014, 09:26:10 AM by vivophoenix »

Timmmy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3704 on: August 19, 2014, 09:40:16 AM »
Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate. 

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3705 on: August 19, 2014, 09:44:55 AM »
Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

+1.

I'm amazed at how much credit scores are discussed here. I know mine is high, but I don't care. Someone has in their signature a line something like this:

"A Banker is someone who will lend you money if you can prove you don't need it" and that about sums it up for me.

When I need any serious money, my assets will speak louder than my credit score. But, to each their own. If people want to worry about this it doesn't bother me, it just surprises me how much it's talked about here I guess.

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3706 on: August 19, 2014, 10:11:52 AM »
Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

My dad is still convinced of this. He told me it's terrible that I pay off my cc's in full every month because then the credit card companies are going to cancel my cards since they're not making money off of me, then my credit score will drop, and all hell will break loose.

A month after he told me that the first time, my bank sent me a letter saying they increased my limit (without me asking).

Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3707 on: August 19, 2014, 10:20:28 AM »
Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

My dad is still convinced of this. He told me it's terrible that I pay off my cc's in full every month because then the credit card companies are going to cancel my cards since they're not making money off of me, then my credit score will drop, and all hell will break loose.

A month after he told me that the first time, my bank sent me a letter saying they increased my limit (without me asking).

Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

My experience is the opposite -- I've never gotten a credit increase unless I had a balance near the limit

dycker1978

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3708 on: August 19, 2014, 10:22:10 AM »
Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

This is not completely true.  I used to run a business and alot of the profits for credit card companies is the 3.5% to 7.5% charge, depending on the card, to the business,  at the time of purchase.  Credit card companies allways make sure they get their share, even in the odd case(like us) where the balance is paid off every month.


Zaga

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3709 on: August 19, 2014, 10:22:33 AM »
Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

My dad is still convinced of this. He told me it's terrible that I pay off my cc's in full every month because then the credit card companies are going to cancel my cards since they're not making money off of me, then my credit score will drop, and all hell will break loose.

A month after he told me that the first time, my bank sent me a letter saying they increased my limit (without me asking).

Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!
Not true, they make money off of you still by charging merchant fees for each transaction.  No, you don't make them a ton of money, but you do make them enough for them to keep you on.

Alex321

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3710 on: August 19, 2014, 10:23:56 AM »
"is the cost of repairs for the two vehicles you are driving into the ground, worth not just selling one of them and sticking with your mini van?"

The cost of repairs is mostly a function of total miles driven. Driving the same number of miles on fewer cars is not going to reduce the cost of repairs.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3711 on: August 19, 2014, 10:25:13 AM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

I've seen my boyfriend try to get food from a pot onto a plate. It's not pretty. I'm not sure he would be capable of dishing out leftovers into tupperwares, let alone cooking the food to begin with. I don't mind though, he does enough chores I hate to make up for it.


I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.


He built the house, and mostly, I clean it. He hunts, I gather (literally). He's the one who carries anything over 50 pounds. I pack his lunch, because otherwise he would forget, and he's too cheap to buy even the school lunches, so he'd come home with a headache.


I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

I like to imagine you're both dudes. That way you're knocking down even more stereotypes!

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3712 on: August 19, 2014, 10:26:55 AM »
Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

This is not completely true.  I used to run a business and alot of the profits for credit card companies is the 3.5% to 7.5% charge, depending on the card, to the business,  at the time of purchase.  Credit card companies allways make sure they get their share, even in the odd case(like us) where the balance is paid off every month.

True that, forgot about that aspect.  I should say they're not making extra money off of me.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3713 on: August 19, 2014, 10:35:06 AM »
A coworker mentioned he was almost late for a credit card payment, so then we started discussing credit cards.  He said he likes to keep his balance around 30% of his credit limit.

Me: What?! That's crazy dude, that is costing you so much!
Him: I need to build credit.
Me: Maintaining a balance doesn't help with that.  I've never had a balance in my life and my credit score has been over 800 for as long as I can remember.
Him: Yea I heard it's good for building credit though.
Me: Well, it's not.  You'd be far better off maintaining a zero balance.  You would keep so much more of your money. 
Him: Yea but i'd like to maybe buy a house one day and I need good credit for that.   Plus I defaulted on a student loan for 3 months like 6 years ago.
Me: Dude, you don't need good credit to buy a house.  They let dead beats buy houses.  Plus any amount of savings you would see by raising your credit score is going to be dwarfed by paying insane APR on a huge balance on your credit card.  And that student loan black mark will be off your credit score by the time you buy a house.   They don't actually care what balance you maintained on your credit cards, it's more about if you are reliable and make payments on time (or late).  It's just some algorithm that spits out a credit score, and keeping a balance on your card actually hurts that score, and your past balance is irrelevant.
Him: Yea, but I need to build credit.


Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance).

I have been in the opposite situation. My wife and I never had credit cards throughout college. She had all the bills in her name, and had no loans. I had loans for my last year of school.

When we did try to get credit cards (since we wanted some credit score for when we were going to purchase our house), she couldn't get one without me being attached to the account. EVEN the pre-payed ones (where you put $500 down and a one time $50 fee). That was a long time ago, but was still a PITA.

Now we have excellent credit, have always paid our bill every month, and just got a mortgage which actually upped my credit score. How the f does that work? "Oh, this guy has to shell out more money every month or he defaults, let's give him the ability to have more debt!"

nawhite

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3714 on: August 19, 2014, 11:03:59 AM »
Now we have excellent credit, have always paid our bill every month, and just got a mortgage which actually upped my credit score. How the f does that work? "Oh, this guy has to shell out more money every month or he defaults, let's give him the ability to have more debt!"

It works when you have so few accounts to your name that the bank sees you as a big unknown. I bet you could sign up for another credit card and up your score too at this point just by signing up. The bank sees it as, "oh this person has figured out how to use credit. Before they were still figuring it out."

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3715 on: August 19, 2014, 11:08:57 AM »
Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

jordanread

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3716 on: August 19, 2014, 11:21:56 AM »
Now we have excellent credit, have always paid our bill every month, and just got a mortgage which actually upped my credit score. How the f does that work? "Oh, this guy has to shell out more money every month or he defaults, let's give him the ability to have more debt!"

It works when you have so few accounts to your name that the bank sees you as a big unknown. I bet you could sign up for another credit card and up your score too at this point just by signing up. The bank sees it as, "oh this person has figured out how to use credit. Before they were still figuring it out."

I just got an offer from American Express for a "No Interest Credit Card" (since you pay off your balance every month). Couldn't find the interest rate anywhere in the documents, so apparently there is now a card type where the balance is due every month.

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3717 on: August 19, 2014, 11:27:55 AM »
Now we have excellent credit, have always paid our bill every month, and just got a mortgage which actually upped my credit score. How the f does that work? "Oh, this guy has to shell out more money every month or he defaults, let's give him the ability to have more debt!"

It works when you have so few accounts to your name that the bank sees you as a big unknown. I bet you could sign up for another credit card and up your score too at this point just by signing up. The bank sees it as, "oh this person has figured out how to use credit. Before they were still figuring it out."


not new,  this is called a charge card

I just got an offer from American Express for a "No Interest Credit Card" (since you pay off your balance every month). Couldn't find the interest rate anywhere in the documents, so apparently there is now a card type where the balance is due every month.

Dr. A

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3718 on: August 19, 2014, 11:38:53 AM »
not new,  this is called a charge card

Correct. General-purpose charge cards actually pre-date credit cards by a few years, and store-specific charge cards are much older.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_card

Charge cards require payment in full each month. Somewhere along the line credit cards, which allow you to carry a balance, became vastly more popular because.... well, I guess no one needs to explain to anyone in this particular corner of the internet why credit cards became more popular...

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3719 on: August 19, 2014, 11:39:58 AM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

jordanread

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3720 on: August 19, 2014, 11:47:33 AM »
not new,  this is called a charge card

Correct. General-purpose charge cards actually pre-date credit cards by a few years, and store-specific charge cards are much older.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_card

Charge cards require payment in full each month. Somewhere along the line credit cards, which allow you to carry a balance, became vastly more popular because.... well, I guess no one needs to explain to anyone in this particular corner of the internet why credit cards became more popular...

Gotcha. I suppose that means that not knowing about that is a win!!

Timmmy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3721 on: August 19, 2014, 12:46:26 PM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

Sir, I'd like to inform you that your hair is indeed, on fire.  Please proceed to the nearest money source and extinguish your flaming scalp quickly.  Once the smell of burning human hair dissipates you will find that your credit score will already be in good shape. 

Be careful on the refinance.  A "refinance" of student loans is usually just a consolidation and doesn't help, but in fact hurts you.  They get consolidated with a weighted average interest rate and you end up paying the same interest.  You would be better off rapidly paying off the one with the highest interest rate while making minimum payment on the rest.  This will usually save you more interest. 

MrsPotts

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3722 on: August 19, 2014, 12:47:05 PM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

I've seen my boyfriend try to get food from a pot onto a plate. It's not pretty. I'm not sure he would be capable of dishing out leftovers into tupperwares, let alone cooking the food to begin with. I don't mind though, he does enough chores I hate to make up for it.

I do all of the dishing up at the Potts house, no matter who cooks, for the same reason.

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3723 on: August 19, 2014, 12:56:55 PM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

Sir, I'd like to inform you that your hair is indeed, on fire.  Please proceed to the nearest money source and extinguish your flaming scalp quickly.  Once the smell of burning human hair dissipates you will find that your credit score will already be in good shape. 

Be careful on the refinance.  A "refinance" of student loans is usually just a consolidation and doesn't help, but in fact hurts you.  They get consolidated with a weighted average interest rate and you end up paying the same interest.  You would be better off rapidly paying off the one with the highest interest rate while making minimum payment on the rest.  This will usually save you more interest.

a) guess what? some people were stupid in their former lives, so they arent going from good to great.
 
b)i am very aware my hair is on fire. treating my debt like an emergency is still going to take years. and if in those years i can refinance at a lower interest rate. that is still saving me money and deaccelerating exponentially  the amount of time till debt free

C) that is not true.

a refinance through the government with the federal loans is an average weighted loan.

a refinance of my private loans based upon my credit score alone could range from 3- 7% interest.

this response merely highlights my complaint that everyone comes from different backgrounds, and people dont seem to respect that

hernandz

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3724 on: August 19, 2014, 12:59:36 PM »
Quote from: Rural link=topic=2540.msg374295#msg374295
I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

Before I joined this forum, I would never have known (or considered)  someone so bad-ass as to have their own backhoe.  Let that be a lesson that we should both test drive the backhoe before purchase.

--still mostly a city girl, but starting to lean a little bit country--

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3725 on: August 19, 2014, 01:29:11 PM »
@ Timmmy 
Quote
This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Sorry, tested then confirmed your point, did not intend it to come off as disagreeing.  Have read else where there is a diminishing returns curve on credit score - this all seems to support that.

100% agree; there is very much a point to going from less than good to good.

dycker1978

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3726 on: August 19, 2014, 01:47:34 PM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

Sir, I'd like to inform you that your hair is indeed, on fire.  Please proceed to the nearest money source and extinguish your flaming scalp quickly.  Once the smell of burning human hair dissipates you will find that your credit score will already be in good shape. 

Be careful on the refinance.  A "refinance" of student loans is usually just a consolidation and doesn't help, but in fact hurts you.  They get consolidated with a weighted average interest rate and you end up paying the same interest.  You would be better off rapidly paying off the one with the highest interest rate while making minimum payment on the rest.  This will usually save you more interest.

a) guess what? some people were stupid in their former lives, so they arent going from good to great.
 
b)i am very aware my hair is on fire. treating my debt like an emergency is still going to take years. and if in those years i can refinance at a lower interest rate. that is still saving me money and deaccelerating exponentially  the amount of time till debt free

C) that is not true.

a refinance through the government with the federal loans is an average weighted loan.

a refinance of my private loans based upon my credit score alone could range from 3- 7% interest.

this response merely highlights my complaint that everyone comes from different backgrounds, and people dont seem to respect that

+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3727 on: August 19, 2014, 01:50:30 PM »
You are thinking real working apron - think "hostess apron" and pearls.

It's all in the apron and pearls - June cleaver would be so proud!
The sad truth is that any activity that calls for pearls decidedly does not call for an apron, and vice versa. :-)

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3728 on: August 19, 2014, 02:01:05 PM »
+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

+1
The point of this site is to educate and help people achieve FI.  At times this is done by face slaps regarding ongoing or planned spending choices.  But many people come to this site carrying a lot of financial baggage from previous bad decisions. 

Beating someone up over events in the past only makes the poster feel superior.  Advising someone in a hole on how to stop digging and to get out of the hole adds value to our group as a whole.

Timmmy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3729 on: August 19, 2014, 02:11:39 PM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

Sir, I'd like to inform you that your hair is indeed, on fire.  Please proceed to the nearest money source and extinguish your flaming scalp quickly.  Once the smell of burning human hair dissipates you will find that your credit score will already be in good shape. 

Be careful on the refinance.  A "refinance" of student loans is usually just a consolidation and doesn't help, but in fact hurts you.  They get consolidated with a weighted average interest rate and you end up paying the same interest.  You would be better off rapidly paying off the one with the highest interest rate while making minimum payment on the rest.  This will usually save you more interest.

a) guess what? some people were stupid in their former lives, so they arent going from good to great.
 
b)i am very aware my hair is on fire. treating my debt like an emergency is still going to take years. and if in those years i can refinance at a lower interest rate. that is still saving me money and deaccelerating exponentially  the amount of time till debt free

C) that is not true.

a refinance through the government with the federal loans is an average weighted loan.

a refinance of my private loans based upon my credit score alone could range from 3- 7% interest.

this response merely highlights my complaint that everyone comes from different backgrounds, and people dont seem to respect that

+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

You said yourself you made poor choices.  Those poor choices dragged down your finances and your credit score.

I was stupid and had a metric crap ton of debt.  I also had a crappy credit score.  I started making smart choices, paid off my debt and my credit score went up.  I didn't make a single decision based on what it would do to my credit score.  I made every decision based on the fastest way out of debt.  Credit score going up was just a byproduct. 

Also, you can't refi your way out of debt. 

@AlanStache

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3730 on: August 19, 2014, 02:15:43 PM »
Quote
You said yourself you made poor choices.  Those poor choices dragged down your finances and your credit score.

I was stupid and had a metric crap ton of debt.  I also had a crappy credit score.  I started making smart choices, paid off my debt and my credit score went up.  I didn't make a single decision based on what it would do to my credit score.  I made every decision based on the fastest way out of debt.  Credit score going up was just a byproduct. 

Also, you can't refi your way out of debt. 

@AlanStache

kudos to you

but that was your way of handling your debt.

my way is different


no you can not finance yourself out of debt, but you can use it as a tool to decrease the amount of money  used to pay back this debt.


how is this any different than refinancing a mortgage?

people get told to do this all the time, but its ignored for other types of debt?


dycker1978

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3731 on: August 19, 2014, 02:17:28 PM »
My credit score has been over 800 for years and with work travel I run LOTS of transactions on my personal cards.  Typically I pay off the balance every week or two - could not tell you when the closing statement date is.  I will also blip over 50% utilization a few times per year for a week or two.

"who cares?"  lets see, from zillow for a 300k loan, 30% down, 30 year fixed, with no extra payments.
4.093 with a score of 760 or higher: total interest paid - 154,991.05$
4.119 with a score just under 700: total interest paid - 156,131.71$
5.691 with a score 600-619: 228,351.64%

So yes it seems going from 'great' to 'good' credit does not change much (~1.1k over 30 years), but lower scores will hurt.

This is my point exactly.  Just by not being stupid you end up with a good credit score, and a good score will land you with a good rate on a mortgage if you have a good down payment.  Seems like a lot of work to save ~$3 per month in the scenario above.  I guess if your life is that optimized and you want to put the effort in to that, good on you.  I've got bigger fish to fry in my life.

Who gives a crap about optimizing your credit score?  We are Mustachians!  Our credit scores will be good enough for what we need it for without even thinking about it.  We pay our bills on time, don't have maxed out cards or massive amounts of other hair on fire debt.  That alone will get you a decent credit score.  We also don't borrow money for clown cars so the only time it really matters what your credit is like is when you buy a house.  The important thing about your credit when you buy a house is to not have bad credit.  If you have a decent downstroke and credit that isn't "bad" you will get a good interest rate.

personally i care because while my goal is to pay down my student loans asap, i also hope to refinance them at a lower rate.

everyone isnt at the same place in life.

that is one of the things i rather dislike about these forums, is the assumption that everyone is at the same place financially.
being on this forum doesnt mean everything is followed religious.

 im doing the best i can with what i have.

Sir, I'd like to inform you that your hair is indeed, on fire.  Please proceed to the nearest money source and extinguish your flaming scalp quickly.  Once the smell of burning human hair dissipates you will find that your credit score will already be in good shape. 

Be careful on the refinance.  A "refinance" of student loans is usually just a consolidation and doesn't help, but in fact hurts you.  They get consolidated with a weighted average interest rate and you end up paying the same interest.  You would be better off rapidly paying off the one with the highest interest rate while making minimum payment on the rest.  This will usually save you more interest.

a) guess what? some people were stupid in their former lives, so they arent going from good to great.
 
b)i am very aware my hair is on fire. treating my debt like an emergency is still going to take years. and if in those years i can refinance at a lower interest rate. that is still saving me money and deaccelerating exponentially  the amount of time till debt free

C) that is not true.

a refinance through the government with the federal loans is an average weighted loan.

a refinance of my private loans based upon my credit score alone could range from 3- 7% interest.

this response merely highlights my complaint that everyone comes from different backgrounds, and people dont seem to respect that

+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

You said yourself you made poor choices.  Those poor choices dragged down your finances and your credit score.

I was stupid and had a metric crap ton of debt.  I also had a crappy credit score.  I started making smart choices, paid off my debt and my credit score went up.  I didn't make a single decision based on what it would do to my credit score.  I made every decision based on the fastest way out of debt.  Credit score going up was just a byproduct. 

Also, you can't refi your way out of debt. 

@AlanStache

Agreed with this almost 100%

But when you owe(much like I did 4 months ago) $60,000 ar 19.9% refi helps to atleast make progress on the debt.

I now owe $80,000 and all of it is below 10%.  Not great but much better.  Al least now I can make some progress and get this shit gone.

So yes still in debt after refi - but in a much better place to pay it off.

dycker1978

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3732 on: August 19, 2014, 02:18:14 PM »
Quote
You said yourself you made poor choices.  Those poor choices dragged down your finances and your credit score.

I was stupid and had a metric crap ton of debt.  I also had a crappy credit score.  I started making smart choices, paid off my debt and my credit score went up.  I didn't make a single decision based on what it would do to my credit score.  I made every decision based on the fastest way out of debt.  Credit score going up was just a byproduct. 

Also, you can't refi your way out of debt. 

@AlanStache

kudos to you

but that was your way of handling your debt.

my way is different


no you can not finance yourself out of debt, but you can use it as a tool to decrease the amount of money  used to pay back this debt.


how is this any different than refinancing a mortgage?

people get told to do this all the time, but its ignored for other types of debt?

+1

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3733 on: August 19, 2014, 02:19:22 PM »
+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

+1
The point of this site is to educate and help people achieve FI.  At times this is done by face slaps regarding ongoing or planned spending choices.  But many people come to this site carrying a lot of financial baggage from previous bad decisions. 

Beating someone up over events in the past only makes the poster feel superior.  Advising someone in a hole on how to stop digging and to get out of the hole adds value to our group as a whole.

Yes and I think the point of the discussion was to use credit cards to buy what you need, then pay it off in full every month (and NEVER carry a balance) and you will end up coming out far ahead of actively trying to game your credit score to get lower interest rates on loans. 

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3734 on: August 19, 2014, 02:22:43 PM »
+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

+1
The point of this site is to educate and help people achieve FI.  At times this is done by face slaps regarding ongoing or planned spending choices.  But many people come to this site carrying a lot of financial baggage from previous bad decisions. 

Beating someone up over events in the past only makes the poster feel superior.  Advising someone in a hole on how to stop digging and to get out of the hole adds value to our group as a whole.

Yes and I think the point of the discussion was to use credit cards to buy what you need, then pay it off in full every month (and NEVER carry a balance) and you will end up coming out far ahead of actively trying to game your credit score to get lower interest rates on loans. 

and the point i was making was that i do pay my balance every month.

pay no interest

gain 2% cash back

and I still use my cc to game the credit score system, so that i cab get a good interest rate.

so that is why talking about credit scores is valuable to some people.

it may not be valuable to you, but for me it is.

AH013

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3735 on: August 19, 2014, 02:24:39 PM »
Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

This is not completely true.  I used to run a business and alot of the profits for credit card companies is the 3.5% to 7.5% charge, depending on the card, to the business,  at the time of purchase.  Credit card companies allways make sure they get their share, even in the odd case(like us) where the balance is paid off every month.

This is actually very accurate.  I remember a news report where they interviewed some high level executive of one of the major credit card carriers, and the subject came to those people who pay off their balance in full every month.  The news reporter had it in her mind that these must be the worst customers for the credit card companies since they don't pay any finance charges, and the exec dropped some knowledge on her.  He gave her a look of WTF?!? and informed her that these were actually the BEST customers of credit card companies, and ones that they heavily targeted in marketing.  The reason being, they were collecting the same merchant fees off of their usage (more so, since more of their disposable income could be used for new spending rather than paying interest), and they rarely if ever had to worry about default, which was a huge impairment to profitability.

He ran the math for her and proposed 2 people*:
'Pay in Full Guy' with a $5k credit limit spending $1k a month, paying it in full, paying no interest, but generating $360 a year in merchant fees ($12,000*3%) and a 1% chance of defaulting on $1k ($10 expected loss)
'Max My Balance Guy' with a $5k credit limit, a $4k balance, $1k spending a month, generating the same $360 a year in merchant fees but also paying $720 a year in interest ($4k*18%), but a 5% chance of defaulting on $5k ($250 expected loss).

'Pay in Full Guy' generates more income per $1 at risk than does 'Max My Balance Guy', which means for every $1,000 of capital a bank is willing to risk, they can have 100 'Pay in Full' Guys generating $36,000 a year, or 4 'Max My Balance' Guys generating $4,320.  From there it was pretty obvious why 'Pay in Full' was awesome and you want the most of them you can get.

*I forget the actual numbers, but you get my point

FIPurpose

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3736 on: August 19, 2014, 02:25:43 PM »
+1 to this

This is a great fourm, and MMM is a great site.  It has made me think alot about my poor choices and where I can cut back in order to get my hair to stop burning.

People on this site, however, need to realize that their position is not the same as everyone elses.  I have debt, and a lot of it.  I have paid off $20000 in the 4 months since I found this site, some because of better managment, some because of a windfall in cash. 

I watch my credit score closly, because I have goon from bad to ok... on my way to good.  This allows me to refinace my debt at better rates and pay more efficantly on my debt, so yes this is important. 

Sometimes people need to stop and think that not everyone on this site is in a good place.  Some of us came here to get out of debt and be smarter with our money and find it somewhat dicouraging when I have a credit score of 616 and someone quotes that "just not being stuipid you end up with a good credit score..."  I think MMM set up this comunity to help people not discourage...

Rant over

+1
The point of this site is to educate and help people achieve FI.  At times this is done by face slaps regarding ongoing or planned spending choices.  But many people come to this site carrying a lot of financial baggage from previous bad decisions. 

Beating someone up over events in the past only makes the poster feel superior.  Advising someone in a hole on how to stop digging and to get out of the hole adds value to our group as a whole.

Yes and I think the point of the discussion was to use credit cards to buy what you need, then pay it off in full every month (and NEVER carry a balance) and you will end up coming out far ahead of actively trying to game your credit score to get lower interest rates on loans. 

and the point i was making was that i do pay my balance every month.

pay no interest

gain 2% cash back

and I still use my cc to game the credit score system, so that i cab get a good interest rate.

so that is why talking about credit scores is valuable to some people.

it may not be valuable to you, but for me it is.

Why would this be valuable to you if you never pay interest? For an emergency?

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3737 on: August 19, 2014, 02:28:09 PM »
and the point i was making was that i do pay my balance every month.

pay no interest

gain 2% cash back

and I still use my cc to game the credit score system, so that i cab get a good interest rate.

so that is why talking about credit scores is valuable to some people.

it may not be valuable to you, but for me it is.

How do you buy what you need (and no more) and maximize the efficiency of getting CC rewards, but also game the credit score system without manufactured spending?

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3738 on: August 19, 2014, 02:30:06 PM »
Quote

Why would this be valuable to you if you never pay interest? For an emergency?

I'm sorry i may have not been clear.

information about raising credit scores, as well as, actively trying to improve my credit score is valuable to me.

some people believe this knowledge isnt worth worrying/talking about

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3739 on: August 19, 2014, 02:30:17 PM »

Why would this be valuable to you if you never pay interest? For an emergency?

He pays interest on student loans.

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3740 on: August 19, 2014, 02:40:37 PM »
and the point i was making was that i do pay my balance every month.

pay no interest

gain 2% cash back

and I still use my cc to game the credit score system, so that i cab get a good interest rate.

so that is why talking about credit scores is valuable to some people.

it may not be valuable to you, but for me it is.

How do you buy what you need (and no more) and maximize the efficiency of getting CC rewards, but also game the credit score system without manufactured spending?

well first off, i use a rewards card with no annual fee.

I put the following on my card, which are auto billed and constant each month:

 cell phone
 internet
 charitable giving
 public transit pass

 im not usually even carrying the card around with me. (limits spending more than needed)


this use of cc accomplishes the following:
A)its real spending

B) these are real budgeted utilities that i have the cash for already, so i do not over spend, I usually pay my cc off the same day i make a charge. if i ever notice the amount approaching over 30% for example i took a vacation, i will pay it before the high balance is reported.

C) what happens to be 'owed' on my credit card the day the company reports to the bureaus is then shown on my credit report
 
D)which shows that i am an active borrower, and also because these utilities cost very little in comparison to my credit line, i have a low rate of utilization.

D) as i continue to build a positive credit history that is active and also low utilization, this credit card will also be aging on my credit report. as it ages it will raise my score because it will be a credit card that is old with a perfect history of payment.

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3741 on: August 19, 2014, 03:05:35 PM »
Of course the bank isn't making money off of me. But by increasing my limit, they're hoping I'll say "oooh look at all the pretty things I can buy now!" and mess myself up. Nice try, banks. I'm onto you!

This is not completely true.  I used to run a business and alot of the profits for credit card companies is the 3.5% to 7.5% charge, depending on the card, to the business,  at the time of purchase.  Credit card companies allways make sure they get their share, even in the odd case(like us) where the balance is paid off every month.

This is actually very accurate.  I remember a news report where they interviewed some high level executive of one of the major credit card carriers, and the subject came to those people who pay off their balance in full every month.  The news reporter had it in her mind that these must be the worst customers for the credit card companies since they don't pay any finance charges, and the exec dropped some knowledge on her.  He gave her a look of WTF?!? and informed her that these were actually the BEST customers of credit card companies, and ones that they heavily targeted in marketing.  The reason being, they were collecting the same merchant fees off of their usage (more so, since more of their disposable income could be used for new spending rather than paying interest), and they rarely if ever had to worry about default, which was a huge impairment to profitability.

He ran the math for her and proposed 2 people*:
'Pay in Full Guy' with a $5k credit limit spending $1k a month, paying it in full, paying no interest, but generating $360 a year in merchant fees ($12,000*3%) and a 1% chance of defaulting on $1k ($10 expected loss)
'Max My Balance Guy' with a $5k credit limit, a $4k balance, $1k spending a month, generating the same $360 a year in merchant fees but also paying $720 a year in interest ($4k*18%), but a 5% chance of defaulting on $5k ($250 expected loss).

'Pay in Full Guy' generates more income per $1 at risk than does 'Max My Balance Guy', which means for every $1,000 of capital a bank is willing to risk, they can have 100 'Pay in Full' Guys generating $36,000 a year, or 4 'Max My Balance' Guys generating $4,320.  From there it was pretty obvious why 'Pay in Full' was awesome and you want the most of them you can get.

*I forget the actual numbers, but you get my point

Aah... you learn something new every day! Next time my dad harps on me for paying my card in full each month, I'll show him this. Thanks!

solon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3742 on: August 19, 2014, 04:08:24 PM »
People! People!

Did you overhear all this at work?

Gray Matter

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3743 on: August 19, 2014, 05:25:32 PM »
People! People!

Did you overhear all this at work?

Well, in a way, since I was reading it at work.  Does that count?

Rural

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3744 on: August 19, 2014, 05:33:08 PM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

I've seen my boyfriend try to get food from a pot onto a plate. It's not pretty. I'm not sure he would be capable of dishing out leftovers into tupperwares, let alone cooking the food to begin with. I don't mind though, he does enough chores I hate to make up for it.


I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.


He built the house, and mostly, I clean it. He hunts, I gather (literally). He's the one who carries anything over 50 pounds. I pack his lunch, because otherwise he would forget, and he's too cheap to buy even the school lunches, so he'd come home with a headache.


I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

I like to imagine you're both dudes. That way you're knocking down even more stereotypes!


Heh. Okay, then, if it makes you happy, go for it. I'm the short dude with the old lady haircut.

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3745 on: August 19, 2014, 11:15:16 PM »
People! People!

Did you overhear all this at work?
Oh, great.  More on-topic police.  You guys should create your own forum for exclusive on-topic posting.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3746 on: August 19, 2014, 11:19:47 PM »
People! People!

Did you overhear all this at work?
Oh, great.  More on-topic police.  You guys should create your own forum for exclusive on-topic posting.

A guy at work keeps interjecting off-topic nonsense, so I'm technically on-topic here. 


The guy is me

jordanread

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3747 on: August 19, 2014, 11:25:00 PM »
People! People!

Did you overhear all this at work?
Oh, great.  More on-topic police.  You guys should create your own forum for exclusive on-topic posting.

A guy at work keeps interjecting off-topic nonsense, so I'm technically on-topic here. 


The guy is me
Ha! And honestly, could you imagine how boring consistently on topic comments would be?

Now, I didn't hear this at work, but I've always found it funny running into mustachians elsewhere on the internet. I remember reading a comment where somebody said something like "and I bet he had a leaf blower too! Ha!". The resulting vitriol was amazing. I just nodded to myself and kept reading.

gooki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3748 on: August 20, 2014, 02:09:22 AM »
But when you owe(much like I did 4 months ago) $60,000 ar 19.9% refi helps to atleast make progress on the debt.

I now owe $80,000 and all of it is below 10%.  Not great but much better.  Al least now I can make some progress and get this shit gone.

So yes still in debt after refi - but in a much better place to pay it off.

Sounds like you got front loaded with $20,000 additional debt to save 9.9% interest.

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3749 on: August 20, 2014, 05:03:53 AM »
I think going OT is all about content, interesting discussions of debt, cc's, mortgage rates and credit scores is nice.  Three page mud slinging fests about multi-level marketing... less so.  But interesting content is in the eye of the beholder.

Really what we need to be focusing on in this thread is airplane fuel costs per passenger mile!!!
« Last Edit: August 20, 2014, 05:07:30 AM by AlanStache »

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!