Household saving is down

[grenfell]

Don't get me wrong I can understand the argument . Payment at the end of each month , no debt and all those wonderful benefits , it does seem a win win situation. But I suppose I have this niggling voice in my mind that says "it's not quite , well , right " . I'm sorry I can't articulate the feeling better. Then there's always the feeling that however savvy one is all it might take is an unforeseen bill , car accident , redundancy or whatever and a payment is missed. As plymtom says use when you can afford not to

[jansman]

Even though I abhor debt,I have a credit card,and use it only online,and ALWAYS pay it off.Indeed, when we use it we put the cash in an envelope ready to pay at the end of the month.I have had an issue in the past that the card company have had to stand.It does give you protection( over a £100 I believe and only for the cardholder NOT a an additional holder),but there is a little known protection for debit cards too.I believe it is the 'Payback' scheme,and bank staff rarely know of it.

That said,credit cards are misused by many.The problem is with society now,that we think we NEED so much 'stuff',when in reality all we need food,shelter and warmth.When folks can't afford the latest shiny shite,they put it on the card.

[Deeps]

I think I get what they're saying. There are reasons to have a credit card, and to use it, that have nothing to do with spending money you don't have - i.e. borrowing money and getting into debt. Yes that's what the banks want you to do because that's the way they make money off you, but that's not necessarily the reason you may have a credit card. I too was brought up with the concept of cutting your cloth to match your income, yet I have a credit card. However I don't use it to borrow money and buy stuff I can't afford, I use it as a convenient method of payment with added benefits. Like it or not having a good credit rating can be important. It is certainly important if you ever have to apply for any sort of credit - e.g. apply for a mortgage. Not many people can save up the required amount of money in ready cash before buying a house. It's also important if you have security checks done for whatever reason: job application, renting agreement etc.. A lack of a credit rating is viewed almost as suspiciously as a bad credit rating because you are an unknown quantity. One easy way to get a good credit rating is to have a credit card and make the full payments at the end of each month. The other reason mentioned is insurance. Purchasing something on a credit card means that those goods are insured should something go wrong which isn't the case if you write a cheque or pay with a debit card. Just because you use a credit card doesn't mean you intend to live beyond your means, and it can have other benefits too. However, if you're concerned that you will be tempted to just "stick it on the card" and worry about how you're going to pay for it later, then you definitely shouldn't get a credit card.

Kind of how I see it, we often talk of the 'better to have and not need' approach for our prepping, CC's are just the same, you need to keep it ticking over and what better way to spend it on shiny prepping toys and having a level of security doing it. Win/win I reckon. As you say though, if you think you might be tempted then probably best to either do without or to have one locked away for emergencies rather than do what I do and carry it in my wallet. I do get the appeal of a late night 'half squiffy' Amazon purchase though.

[ukpreppergrrl]

I do get the appeal of a late night 'half squiffy' Amazon purchase though.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. None. Nope. Never ever. Not me. Don't drink and surf people!

[grenfell]

Quite embarrassingly I genuinely have no idea what a "late night half squiffy " actually is.

[pseudonym]

Quite embarrassingly I genuinely have no idea what a "late night half squiffy " actually is.

Between 2300hrs - 0300 hrs

More than a few glasses of wine/spirits/beer imbibed.

HTH

[yorkshirewolf]

Even though I abhor debt,I have a credit card,and use it only online,and ALWAYS pay it off.Indeed, when we use it we put the cash in an envelope ready to pay at the end of the month.I have had an issue in the past that the card company have had to stand.It does give you protection( over a £100 I believe and only for the cardholder NOT a an additional holder),but there is a little known protection for debit cards too.I believe it is the 'Payback' scheme,and bank staff rarely know of it.

That said,credit cards are misused by many.The problem is with society now,that we think we NEED so much 'stuff',when in reality all we need food,shelter and warmth.When folks can't afford the latest shiny shite,they put it on the card.

agreed, I have a credit card and I use it, but the cash for each purchase is in an envelope! Now that may seem pointless to some but credit cards do offer a few benefits over cash, buyer protection and proof of purchase being the main ones of use to me, on a few occasions I've returned faulty goods under warranty and have used the statement as proof and date of purchase.

The old saying 'learn the difference between need and want' is something I try and stick to.

I agree that financial problems on a big scale lie ahead, all the powers that be did in 2008 was to kick the can down the road, putting bad debt in different accounts or inventing new 'bad banks' does not solve the problem - people owe money and they can't pay it back.
It will get worse and it will lead to another crash, but luckily most people have the perfect solution:

download.jpg (4.24 KiB) Viewed 5485 times

[Deeps]

Quite embarrassingly I genuinely have no idea what a "late night half squiffy " actually is.

Quite embarrassingly I genuinely have no idea what a "late night half squiffy " actually is.

Between 2300hrs - 0300 hrs

More than a few glasses of wine/spirits/beer imbibed.

HTH

Yup, the wonderful world of drunk is a marvellous place.

[pseudonym]

Yup, the wonderful world of drunk is a marvellous place.

Shouldn't drink halves; or shorts

[Deeps]

Yup, the wonderful world of drunk is a marvellous place.

Shouldn't drink halves; or shorts

A bit heightest