My own Badassity!

[startingover]

My guy is always saying, "How can I make $50 today?"  So I started thinking of that when I had the day off from work this week.  I started thinking of my "to do" list and realized that I could go to the local credit union, which I just joined, and try to get a cheaper rate on my Visa card.  I did that by signing up for their card, and putting the small balance from the other Visa onto it.  Saved 3% for every month!!  Plus, they were running a "special"  and I will get $50 at the end of the month!!  And on top of that, my guy gets $10 for telling me to go to "his" credit union!  I smiled all the way home from the bank!!
This is a good start to my starting over.  Thank you Mr. and Mrs. MM for inspiring me and my guy.

[Jamesqf]

Not bad for a start, but remember that the "savings" from lower interest rates on credit cards is an illusion.  You're not really saving anything if you carry a balance, you're just bleeding a bit less.

I do have to wonder how credit card companies manage to make money.  I've had just one card for 20+ years, and in all that time only paid interest on one month (pre-online banking, and I was in Britain when their Post Office went on strike :-() and get a few hundred in cash-back rewards every year.  So last week the bank that services my mortgage offers me $100 to sign up for their cash-back rewards card...

[grantmeaname]

James, I think part of it is that they need customers like you as well as delinquent customers because if they only have delinquent customers on their balance sheet, they're a much riskier investment on average. I don't know that that totally justifies the ridiculous incentives that smart credit users can get, though.

[Worsted Skeins]

I do have to wonder how credit card companies manage to make money. 

Swipe fees certainly add to their bottom line.  Don't they charge merchants about two percent of each purchase? 

One of the local gas stations use to give a discount for cash, but it has been a while since I have seen this sort of enticement.

[grantmeaname]

I thought it was a fixed cost of a few cents and not proportional to the amount being charged... around here, there are lots of independent businesses with "Cash only under $x" signs.

[vieja]

Its a fixed fee PLUS a percentage.   Amounts to about 50 cents on a $10 purchase.  My accountant keeps telling me that taking credit cards is a sure fire way to ruin my business.

We went through a phase where it definitely ticked people off that we didn't accept them as payment.  Recently I've heard that less and less placese are doing so.

[grantmeaname]

That's crazy expensive, wow!

[startingover]

Yeah, I know about the balance thing.  I'm going to use this option to pay off my other card and be done with credit cards!!
I love this forum shit!

[Paul der Krake]

That's crazy expensive, wow!

In Sweden, everyone uses plastic, which is very bad for businesses relying on small purchases (think coffee stand or newspaper kiosk) because of the CC fees. Paying for a moderately expensive ($150) in cash there is definitely unusual.

On a related note, when eating out tip your waiters/waitresses with cash. They'll love you for it.

[arebelspy]

It's not that bad.  I've looked into the ones that let you do it on your iPhone for various landlord and property management purposes.

Square (let's you swipe CCs with your iPhone) charges either a flat $275/mo and no percent, or no flat fee and 2.75% per transaction.

The break even point is if you have > $10k in CC sales.

If you have 20k, your effective rate is half that 2.75%

https://squareup.com/pricing

I'm sure larger businesses get better deals, and can negotiate directly with the CC companies.
 
And, IIRC, Square's competitor (name is escaping me) is slightly better on pricing.

[grantmeaname]

On a related note, when eating out tip your waiters/waitresses with cash. They'll love you for it.

I didn't understand this when I was waiting tables. If you're waiting tables, you're not really paying so much income tax that you need to claim things under the table, and if you're so bad with money that the issue is waiting until your next weekly paycheck to get paid you've got a serious problem. So to me, caring what you get tipped on just seems stupid. But I totally agree that it's the reality-- servers like cash tips better.

[Paul der Krake]

On a related note, when eating out tip your waiters/waitresses with cash. They'll love you for it.

I didn't understand this when I was waiting tables. If you're waiting tables, you're not really paying so much income tax that you need to claim things under the table, and if you're so bad with money that the issue is waiting until your next weekly paycheck to get paid you've got a serious problem. So to me, caring what you get tipped on just seems stupid. But I totally agree that it's the reality-- servers like cash tips better.

It varies depending on the restaurant. Every little helps! (tm). This link provides a good explanation:
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/tip-gratuity-cash-credit-card-1280.php

[Mrs MM]

Yeah, I know about the balance thing.  I'm going to use this option to pay off my other card and be done with credit cards!!
I love this forum shit!

Haha!  Great attitude!  Congrats and keep on going!