Smart Credit

You know what's almost as bad as having bad credit??? Having no credit at all. We learned that the hard way back in the days when we thought paying cash was the only way to go. My thinking goes something like this..."If we can't pay for it cash, we might as well not buy it". Or "if there's something we really really want, we need to save the money first then buy it". I swore off credit cards even before I got the chance to have one. I didn't like it because I've seen a lot of people get in trouble because of it. When you are careless, you'll find yourself in deep waters where there's no other way out but to apply for bankruptcy. For some, credit card consolidation is the salvation. Apropos consolidation, Mint credit card is offering 0% on balance transfers until 1 December 2008 (2.5% balance transfer fee),0% on purchases until 1 May 2008, and 0% bonus offer until 1 August 2009 on balances transferred during February 2009 (2.5% fee). Visit their website for more details.

Anyway, one particular incident that changed my way of thinking happened in 1998 on our very first military move from Germany to Ft Stewart GA. Our flight arrived in Savannah late at night, and the person who's supposed to pick us up was late. We were tired and impatient so we figured we'd just rent a car and drive ourselves to the military installation. Well, we didn't get that far. The airport car rental office wouldn't allow us to rent a car because we didn't have a credit card. We had more than enough cash but it didn't matter. Rental vehicles are secured by credit card. To make the long story short, we waited for hours for the driver to show up. I was very cranky, more so than Alexis who was just a little toddler at that time.

Needless to say, I've learned my lesson. I am now a proud owner of a platinum credit card. But I'm still playing it smart. I still pay cash whenever I can. When I charge on my credit card, I make sure I pay it off within the grace period so it doesn't incur interest. It's there to build up my credit and not to ruin it.