Over the next few days I will be sharing with you sections of the TMM Top 20 Dumb Credit Card Rumors. At the end of the week, I’ll do a round-up of each section for the ultimate list.
All in all, these are the worst dumb rumors and wild misconceptions that I have heard about credit cards. Thus, I thought that it would benefit everyone if I were to share them (even if it’s just for a good chuckle).
Yes, you will laugh. Some of you may even cry at the fact that you believed some of these rumors. But consider it a lesson learned. So here it goes:
Common Misconceptions About Credit
1. “It’s ok to only make the minimum payment.”
Do not kid yourself. Making the minimum payment on your credit card every month (lets assume you pay on-time and it’s about $30) will take you… oh on average about 7 to 10 years to pay off.
What? Don’t believe me? Think about it. It does not take rocket science to figure out how many months that you would need (paying the minimum of $30) to pay off your balance.
Yes, some of you have lower balances so it will take you less time to pay off (maybe a year), but that is not counting how much interest you will have to pay in addition to your balance. Hint: Make sure that you pay at least double the minimum so you can take a nice chunk out of the balance and pay less interest over time.
2. “It’s ok to miss a couple of payments and then pay a large chunk off of your credit card.”
What a mess. Paying a chunk off of your credit card after skipping payments will not help you. NEVER miss a payment. If you do, not only do you incur a late fee (usually around $30) but your interest rate will also skyrocket and you will have a “missed payment” ding on your credit score. Not cool.
3. “It’s ok to have a lot of credit cards.”
The average American has five credit cards and is $20,000+ in debt. Does that sound good to you? No. But it is very easy to do when you accumulate more than a couple of credit cards. You charge for things and forget it. Then you get the bill(s). Not fun. Besides that, it looks terrible on your credit report when you apply for a loan. A loan officer will see that you are becoming over-extended in debt. Can you explain why you have that many credit cards and still need a loan? Didn’t think so.
4. “It’s ok to have no credit cards.”
This is funny because it’s a “Catch-22” scenario. Some people get by without having a credit card. My boyfriend does not have one. But he also has a crappy credit score.
Reason? The credit bureaus make it a perpetual pain in the a$$ to maintain good credit. If you do not have credit, they penalize your score… but if you do have credit (especially a new, low balance credit card) they boost your score. Go figure.
Some people open a credit card with the strategy to never use it. And it works, to an extent. But unless you have enough cash to pay for things up front (including big purchases, like a car or house), then you will need a credit score that will help you get a better interest rate on a loan. And in this case, the only way to really build your credit is to have credit. True, you can also build credit by having a small loan (like a personal loan, or student loan), but if you start out with no credit you will probably have a high interest rate and that may cost you a lot in the long run.
5. “It’s ok to close all of my credit cards after I’ve paid them off.”
Closing all of your credit cards does not wipe your credit clear. Remember: they will stay on your credit report for a long time, along with all of your “late payment” and “over credit limit” dings. Not only that, but your credit report takes a hit when you close a card. So rather than completely messing up your score (if it isn’t messed up already) do yourself a favor and close one or two, then cut up the rest. You won’t be able to use the cut up ones and the open accounts will help repair your score over time.
Check back tomorrow for #6-10 and throughout the week for our full Top 20 list!
~K
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Those who are having a hard time with the rumors try this.
Debit cards yes you read right,After all theres no bills and I can spend
only what I have.And can be a good way to get your spending habits
in control.THINK ABOUT IT IF I SPEND HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO SPEND?
My comment is on #’s 4 and 5. You don’t need credit!! You can get anything you need without it. You just have to save up and pay for it. There is an idea. You can save up for anything and pay cash. Yeah, I know. A home is a lot to save for. So in that case lets find a mortgage company that does more that credit score lending. It is called manual underwriting. They look at more than just your debt, uh I mean credit score. If you have some money to put down and have been good on utilities and rent, you can still get a good rate
Number #5, If you do Close credit cards because you are over loaded make sure you don’t close the one you have had the longest. Close the stupid I saved 10% at this home store on my purchase but don’t live near there anymore cards. The length of time you have had credit with a company is also Calculated in your credit score.
In regards to all the so called “debt”, and so called “money”. When you go to the ATM, bank or whatever what do they give you? Cash, right? Wrong!!! They give you Notes, in fact Debt Notes!!! Check it out take out any “bill” you have on you… now I usually get people to hand it to me and I say, “If I can prove to you that this is not money then I get to keep it, deal?” They always say yes. Now look and read at the very top front, the very top, what does it say?
Go do some real homework!! Start with the video mentioned above, it explains it slowly and methodically so you won’t have to “think” too much. But you will see things very differently once you do. Please know that there are simple solutions but you first have to face the problems. If there is enough response to this then we will be glad to share the solutions. If not then I guess we’re just yelling at the fish to turn around and get out of the net…… In love as always and truth. All rights reserved. Truthmonger
FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE.. That’s right it is a “Note” Just like the one you signed. Not Money! Now look at who signed that note.. the Secretary of the treasury of the United States. Ok, so the United States backs up this note just like you back up your note. Now Look up United States in the US CODE: Title 28,3002. Definitions (15) “United States” means —
(A) a Federal corporation;
(B) an agency, department, commission, board, or other entity of the United States; or
(C) an instrumentality of the United States.
Now we all know that the United States is trillions and trillions of “dollars” in Debt. Right? So those note your holding in your hand is actually a note representing a debt, isn’t it? Not having any value at all! In fact it is “negative money” isn’t it? It was all done with “fractional lending”. to find out more watch the video “money masters” by going to Google search. It is 216min long and worth more than all the wasted money on public de-education.
I am concerned that people who put themselves on a pedestal to give advice, though I am sure well intentioned, do not feel compelled to research and tell the truth. Yes they tell the truth about how their enslavement system works and how to play within your little cell, but wouldn’t you rather be free and have little then have a lot? “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul?” And for all you who think you own property, do you pay taxes on that property? Then you don’t “Own” it, do you. Bet you think you own your car… because you have a “title” right? Check it again, it is not a title!!! It is a “Certificate of Title”. Ok, last one for today, to all those people who ever believed in Santa Clause, only to find out that everyone you trusted was lying to you… it has happened again. I bet you think the Constitution sais “We the People, of the united States,” it doesn’t!!!!! Go now, look it up on line. It says “We the People of the United States,” like as in “We the people of Microsoft,” and we already know who this select group of people are right? Now you know it is not you, unless you are a part of the Corporation. Remember a Corporation is only interested in itself!! Not you, not the environment and not the future except how much more profits and power and control of the market it can have. There have been lots of free and clean energy devices out there for a long time but the corp. have bought and buried of simply killed the inventors. As a result there is global warming, dependency on fossil fuel, etc. Ever wonder how they can afford to put expensive cameras and motion sensors at almost every light, but can’t figure out how to time them out so people won’t have to stop 100billion tones of mass, wait for 5 min and then waist fuel to get 100billion tones of mass back up to speed, only to stop again at the next red light?? Thus pumping billions of tons of pollutants into the air as a result? Simple, they make a lot of money on waist.
What the hell good is all the great credit going to do you if your city is under water? Or on fire, you can’t breath… argggg, wake up people! It is not too late!! Just start bartering and stop using their system to their advantage!!
You want math? If you have 8hrs to make $1,000 or save $1,000, which would you do? Most would say make it so they can spend it. Wrong. Go make $1k now how much of it will they actually give you to spend? That’s right about $450 and then you’ll pay another fee when you spend it bringing it down to about $425. Now I would save $1k, so how much did I earn? That’s right about $2,200! Cause that is how much you would have to make to be able to spend $1k
Oh, and saving money in a bank (different from the “saving” above) makes no sense either. You put $10k into the bank and earn what 2%, maybe 3%? But inflation or rather deflation of the $ is at a rate much higher. So five years from now you can’t buy even a tank of gas, a steak dinner, or that engagement ring that was half the price when you started saving.
Well, I’m sure your mind is about to explode. First time you have had to use it in awhile. “Know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. Sticking your head in the sand is just getting your ass burned