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Do you pay your credit cards in full every month?

 

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David
said

I always pay them off every month. It's foolish to do otherwise. However, if all the people paid them off, the credit card companies wouldn't have any business and the cards would cease to exist. We need the people who like paying 25% interest of their debt... Weird huh?


Alan
said

This is a no-brainer. If I don't got it, I don't spend it, card or no card.


stuart
said

This is the wrong time for any credit card company to raise their rates. They make enough money with where the rates are now. It could a very fast way for a lot of people to default on their balances.


Joyce T.
said

I don't have ANY credit cards for the sole reason of their exorbitant interest rates! However, there are many things I cannot do without a credit card (i.e. rent a car) and cash is NOT king in our society. The current economic status is only a mere excuse for banks to raise rates/fees to their customers. Maybe if people stopped using credit so much, cash would become king and the banks would have a few billion less in profits



Angus
said

Do you think people will honestly answer that. HAHA. Just like the people who always got the best deal etc., or who sold their car for more than they paid for it.


Elizabeth, Ontario
said

Credit card interest is already too high (in the 18-19% range). Shame on this chartered bank for raising it even higher. I do pay my credit card each month however I know there are many young families, particularly self-employed, that rely on credit cards and do carry balances. Our government needs to move to restrict credit card companies from charging interest at these excessively inflated rates.


Bonita Johnson
said

My son was 21 years old and had 3 major credit cards PLUS a line of credit below prime with NO assets. He paid off VISA with BMO Mastercard. He paid BMO Mastercard with another company's Mastercard. Then he used his line of credit to pay off the last Mastercard and start the cycle again. Since he paid off the cards each month, the credit card companies kept raising his upper spending limits.

His major purchase was a Sony VCR machine and Play Station. At 21 he owed $15,000 and went for credit counselling. He could have declared personal bankruptcy but instead choose to pay it off.

Last week eight years later, he made his last payment. He's now debt free and has *ONE* credit card. Asked if he will get in debt again, ;he said "Are you crazy? I've had no fun, movies for 8 years!"



Robert
said

My heart really goes out to folks caught in the vicious cycle of credit card debt,(been there,done that.)There's all kinds of help out there,most of it free!Take advantage of it and take your life back.Sure,it's going to hurt for a while,but short term pain for long term gain makes it all worth it.There's also great satisfaction when you shred all those credit card applications that choke your mailbox,too.Besides,if banks think they can make money off you,they've got real short memories,just don't do it again.Fool me once,shame on them.Fool me twice,shame on me!


David Chan
said

Someone in an earlier posting mentioned that this is a 'no-brainer', I suggest that this is an understatement. Why on earth would anyone carry a balance on a credit card at credit card interest rates!? I guess no-brainer tells it like it is.


Joe
said

I would have to be in one mess of trouble, like a health problem before I would carry a balance on my card. More often than that I figure it's the scourge of sheer vanity that prompts folks to behave in this manner. No pity!


Heather
said

WOW! 25% interest? I have one that's 12.5% and the other is 11.5%. Why would anyone agree to a 25% interest rate card???


AB
said

"If I don't got it, I don't spend it, card or no card" BINGO! On talkback toronto today a caller said they think it's not right to say someone is living beyond their means if they carry a balance because they need the money for groceries, etc. Well, obviously you can't afford to live your current lifestyle with the expenses when your current income is less than your expenses!!
I pay my balance every month. I once under paid my bill by accident, and ended up paying something like $5 for a measly $40 balance - you're definitely in trouble if you're carrying thousands over every month.

Why people carry the balance is beside the point - why are the interest rates so high? They should be lowered. Don't forget that this isn't the only source of income for the credit card companies - they take 3% of every transaction from the retailer. So this holiday season when Visa comes out with their statistic of so many thousands of transactions per minute that means they just pulled out their money rake!