Overheard at Work

[Basenji]

CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

O_O

I could live very well in Thailand for A YEAR on 4500GBP if all flights and hotels were already paid for.

Yikes, scary. But maybe he'll join a Buddhist monastery haha

[eyePod]

CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

Oh my. That's more than I spent on my entire honeymoon @.@ And we even flew!

Did you got to Thailand for your honeymoon too? We had such a blast over there.

[kyanamerinas]

Is this the longest internet thread ever?

Has someone tried to press print to see if it stretches to the moon and back?

i visit another thread on another forum which is over 750 pages and i'm sure there are longer. but this is pretty good!

[Threshkin]

CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

Oh my. That's more than I spent on my entire honeymoon @.@ And we even flew!

Looks like this 18yo may be planning multiple "honeymoons!"

[stevedoug]

two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars.
I also have 2, and am ok with this. Both are all season

Well, this makes perfect sense. Allows one to still be able to get around when car #1 is under an underpass under three feet of water and now two feet of mud.

Exactly! (Flood jokes aren't easy to make)!

I know the 2 car thing blows people's mind on this board, but it is like any other hobby. Everyone has their hobbies, someone could say anyone with a guitar is insane for having 2 guitars (YOU CAN'T PLAY THEM BOTH?!).

As long as it is within reason, and a person understands the financial costs, and understands that those metal objects are stealing away FI, then why not.
Personally I am willing to lose a bit of freedom to have 2 (and possibly more) cars in the future. Remember: to many people cars are more than an appliance for transportation

[Nudelkopf]

One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

[tariskat]

One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....

[Anatidae V]

One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....

Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.

[Dr.Vibrissae]

One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....

Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.

In the US it's ton as in butt-ton or shit-ton or fuck-ton.  Really, I've heard lots of iterations using various metrics, or non-metric tons as it were.

[seanc0x0]

In the US it's ton as in butt-ton or shit-ton or fuck-ton.  Really, I've heard lots of iterations using various metrics, or non-metric tons as it were.

My favourite emphatic unit of measurement is "metric boatload".

[Nudelkopf]

One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....

Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.

LOL I thought it should be "losing butt-tone" by taking a cab and not biking.

Haha, also losing butt tone while costing a butt tonne.. that's a good one :P

[mm1970]

Was just chatting with our local Fedex guy. Talking about the perks my office provides... one of them is that our company buys us lunch every day (very very awesome for my grocery budget). He said that, even on a good day, he "can't" spend less than $10 a day buying lunch, and that $50 a week and $200 a month just on lunch really sucks! Tried to convince him to start brown-bagging it, and he laughed it off saying he can't do that because he's a bachelor and doesn't have a wife to do that for him.

I think my tongue is bleeding from biting it so hard...

That's funny.  My husband packed his own sandwiches for years.  Then he got sick of them, and he started competing for the dinner leftovers.  Then I just started packing his lunch for him, because I was already packing mine and our son's.  Then I stopped, because I realized I was packing three different things and that was too much - my son's which needs to be somewhat shelf stable (no fridge), mine which is a multi-component salad, and my husband's, which was a sandwich or leftovers.  So now I make sure we have food for him, but he makes his own lunch.

My friend though used to make fun of her coworkers 20 years ago at Texas Instruments, whose wives packed their lunches.  I said "well, I pack Mike's!"

Anyway, it's an interesting dynamic.  By packing his lunch or making sure we have yummy ingredients, I save us money from his eating out.

[Zikoris]

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?

[mm1970]

... two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars. ...

I... what? I've been some places, I don't get culture shock much but... ... what? How...? I mean... I'm trying to even think of an analogue to this, like owning more than one suit, but unless cars or your passion, or you're just rolling in dough and have summer homes upstate etc. - how often can you use more than one vehicle? Do people just alternate days or ...?

My neighbor (single male in his 50's) has a Toyota 4Runner, a Porsche Cayenne (to replace the Boxster that got run over by a mini when it was parked out front), a motorcycle, and a 2-door old Mercedes.  He also had a convertible that he bought for his daughter who didn't even have her license.  But she eventually got her license.

Oh, and a couple of bicycles - he's an avid cyclist.   He works <2 miles from home, drive the 4Runner.

I can never tell if he has money (he's a small business owner/ chiropractor who trades services a lot) or just lives like most Americans.

[mm1970]

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?

Yes.

[Lis]

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.

[Zikoris]

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.

[Rural]

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?

[solon]

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?

This is brilliant. A simple recognition that there can be a division of labor, but that in itself is not a sexist thing.

[Lis]

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?

This is brilliant. A simple recognition that there can be a division of labor, but that in itself is not a sexist thing.

This. +1!

And Zikoris, I'm with you on that!

[Ascotillion]

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

I had to do this too! When my last boyfriend moved in, I told him straight-up that I didn't want to fall into the nagging, fastidious, sitcommy stereotype of a gay man while he embodied the schlubby couch-and-vidya-games one. A few months later we had an argument when we got in that exact situation, and he pointed out that I like doing the cooking and lunch-packing and other domestic goddess-like chores. I sat back and thought about for a bit and realised he was right, but I was so obsessed with not being a stereotype I had failed to see it!

Now, I enjoy being a '50s housewife stereotype :P


_{just leave out the jelly and tuna salads}

[Rural]

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

I had to do this too! When my last boyfriend moved in, I told him straight-up that I didn't want to fall into the nagging, fastidious, sitcommy stereotype of a gay man while he embodied the schlubby couch-and-vidya-games one. A few months later we had an argument when we got in that exact situation, and he pointed out that I like doing the cooking and lunch-packing and other domestic goddess-like chores. I sat back and thought about for a bit and realised he was right, but I was so obsessed with not being a stereotype I had failed to see it!

Now, I enjoy being a '50s housewife stereotype :P


_{just leave out the jelly and tuna salads}

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. :-)

[Sarita]

A former direct report had 150k in student loans- for her undergraduate degree (fancy university in Boston for two years + even fancier one in Paris for the final two years).   She worked at our non-profit, refused to take on any 2nd job and regularly went out for wine and cheese nights in NYC.  Her mother worked at a fashionable clothing store and regularly sent her new clothes-- packages arrived every week.  She complained regularly about never having any money.  At that time I only knew about Dave Ramsey--- MMM was still unknown to me-- and her eyes glazed over when I encouraged her to check it out.  She eventually left for another job with somewhat higher pay.  And promptly rented a huge new apartment since she could 'afford' it now.   Just thinking about it still makes my heart and head hurt.

[Alex321]

I'm not sure I'm replying in the correct manner or spot. We have three cars, and only my wife and I are drivers. I don't think this is particularly crazy or hedonistic. We had two cars, then we were expecting a third child and so we decided to get a minivan. Our two older cars were well-maintained, but significantly depreciated by age. I figured that it made sense to keep these two older cars and drive them both "until the wheels fall off," as people on here like to say. 

Having a third car also allows me to use my local, independent mechanic for the occasional repairs that might take a couple of days to get the correct parts rather than spend Saturday afternoon in the dealership waiting area, or renting a car to get to work. So this allows me to squeeze more miles and value out of older cars than I would be able to if I only had two.

Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.

[frugledoc]

Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.

3 kids and 3 cars where does the madness stop you evil polluting bastard!

[vivophoenix]

I'm not sure I'm replying in the correct manner or spot. We have three cars, and only my wife and I are drivers. I don't think this is particularly crazy or hedonistic. We had two cars, then we were expecting a third child and so we decided to get a minivan. Our two older cars were well-maintained, but significantly depreciated by age. I figured that it made sense to keep these two older cars and drive them both "until the wheels fall off," as people on here like to say. 

Having a third car also allows me to use my local, independent mechanic for the occasional repairs that might take a couple of days to get the correct parts rather than spend Saturday afternoon in the dealership waiting area, or renting a car to get to work. So this allows me to squeeze more miles and value out of older cars than I would be able to if I only had two.

Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.

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?

also my family was a family of six  and the biggest car we ever got was a station wagon.

[frugalnacho]

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). 

[vivophoenix]

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). 

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.

[ketchup]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[Timmmy]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

"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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.