This article in my newsfeed this morning and the below quoted blurb led me to wonder how others manage their debt...
"Credit card balances surged from July to September as Americans continued to sink deeper in debt amid rampant inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday."
My method of controlling personal debt is probably a little austere to most people, but once I got accustomed to it, it became manageable, and allows me to live within my Social Security income...I have zero ongoing debt in that my home is mortgage-free (not even a HELOC), and my truck was paid for before I drove it home that day...I use credit cards for whatever merchants and vendors will accept them without penalty...I've never had a debit card of any kind...
My five credit cards are "reward" cards which pay me a percentage of whatever I charge every billing cycle...None of mine have any annual fee or other associated use charges...If the balance is paid in full at the end of each billing cycle, there is never an interest charge...I use cash only at gun shows and garage sales when the occasional bargain surfaces, and the occasional lottery quick pick when the jackpot is big enough to catch my attention...
Each card issuer has it's own hook to justify its use...For instance American Express pays me 3% for whatever I buy at grocery stores...Two of my VISA's pay 4% at gas stations (even for a Slurpee) and 3% at restaurants including the fast food joints...My other VISA pays in "points" which equates to 2% of all charges which I apply against the monthly billing balance...My Discover Card (my very first credit card which I've had for 36 years) pays me 5% on certain categories which change quarterly...For instance I get 5% for Amazon buys right now, so I usually wait until this time of year for most of my planned Amazon expenses...
Therefore the CC companies pay me to use their services, and the only money they get is in merchant fees (which I fully understand is paid indirectly by us, the consumer)...But unless there's a cash discount by the merchandiser, there is no point in my paying cash...It's been many years since I carried a balance into another billing cycle on any of my cards, the last time in memory being when my ex-wife charged her divorce lawyer's fee on my Discover Card as a parting gift on her way out of my life...At that point I could not find the means to pay the balance in full, and was forced by the circumstance to pay the usurious monthly percentage for a short while...Since then, they've gotten nothing from me but the monthly balance...
So referencing the above news article, I see only misery in the future of those individuals and families trapped into carrying a balance on their credit cards...I know why they do it, and I also know what it will take for them to be released from the self-induced debtor's prison in which they reside...I also foresee the day when CC companies will get tired of people like me who contribute nothing to their bottom line, prompting them to eventually do away with paying cardholders anything...I'm curious how my readers here manage debt, and why your method works for you...Let me know in the comment section below...
