Hi,
Longtime reader, first time poster. My wife and I used the plastic while we were younger (grad school and postdoc years) to take a number of fabulous European and other vacations (we're happily child-free!) that we couldn't really afford. Yes, I know it was not the best decision, but I am glad we spent the money on travel instead of a bunch of consumer items. Then, we moved to Canada (Vancouver) for my postdoc, and it was extremelyexpensive (more plastic). Even in my younger, less financially responsible years, I knew better than to use credit for consumer goods, entertainment, or living expenses--therefore our debt was not too bad. I had a small student loan that I paid off in full several years ago.
In any case, I read Your Money or Your Life many years ago, but recently (re)discovered it in my garage and decided to read it again. Then I started to get religion about our finances and life goals--one of which is financial independence and the freedom to travel.
After not too much sacrifice, but much better planning than previously, I paid off our two cards. Both had pretty low interest rates but I became motivated to obliterate the debt asap! Now, we have a Chase "Slate" and a Citibank "Diamond Preferred" (whatever that means, LOL) card with zero balances.
So, now I am wondering what to do with them:
I would like to cancel one--probably the Chase--and keep the Citi (which I have had for longer) for emergencies. (Yes, we are building up an emergency fund/savings!) However, I know that the overlords like to punish the little people for acting responsibly and this will ding my credit score. I would also like to never use either of them again, even if I will pay the balance in full every month. But, I realize that they will probably start bugging/threatening me to use them or my acct will be canceled.
I have heard some people say that it is best to carry a small balance and pay it off over time, but I refuse to carry a balance ever again.
I have thought of asking for rewards cards as replacements (Chase Sapphire?), but I would prefer to get an AMEX gold card for larger purchases/travel (fairly frequent for us) and an AMEX cash rewards card (6% back on groceries) for groceries, gas, etc. I like using AMEX for a variety of reasons (no interest, ever), and we have a long record of on-time payments with the standard green card.
Any ides as to what I should do here would be appreciated.
Thanks!
PS: Am a fan of The Big Lebowski (and also dislike golf for many reasons), hence the username.