The Briefing Room
Briefing Room Polls (Guests Welcome!) => The Briefingroom Polls => Topic started by: Skeptic on December 17, 2018, 07:49:41 am
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I don't like financing except with a renters agreement because I don't own my own house. Other than that though, I don't do finance contracts. If I can't afford something with one payment I go without. How about you?
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I run up big debts and then try to convince other people to pay them off (and vote for Bernie).
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Other than my house, furniture for the house(1 time) and for 3 vehicles, I've paid cash for everything else.
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Paid cash for house and car; the rest is little stuff on a card or two.
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There are occasions when financing makes sense. I've bought tractors and other equipment with a manufacture's 0% interest rate (5 year) that included replacement insurance on the equipment.
I've bought trucks with an interest rate below the CPI.
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Just bought new living room furniture and carpet earlier this year. Wanted to just write checks for both. Oh no, I was told. I had to finance the purchases. Went through all the rigamaroll to get credit approval and set up the account, then when the bills came, I wrote the checks and sent them.
What the H is wrong with a check these days? I can see no one wants to deal in large sums of cash, but if the check is valid, why can't I just make the payment on the spot? Maybe save time, effort and trees.
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We are almost total cash up front now.
This Christmas we agreed to NOT put anything on the cards. Just a couple of lingering credit cards that have 2 or 3 payments left on them. Three years ago, the wife and I went to a church sponsored Dave Ramsey course. It took some effort and some self discipline, but the effort is worth it. I highly recommend the course. Also recommend getting a software package to manage your money. That really helps control the spending. A couple of unexpected surgeries and an Obama recession lay off set us back on our plan but we are closing in on our stage 1 - all cash, no credit cards, no car payments and only mortgage / student loan.
Once that is done, next step is to finish schooling and bump up the salary. Then it is working paying back the student loans and pay off the mortgage. Going to be a few years but by retirement, we should have the house paid off and no debts. The plan is to sell the house and move out to the country (already own the land), build a house and put the difference into retirement.
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We have been debt free since 2001. We use credit cards for a lot of purchases but pay them off in full every month. Our cards have no annual fee and great points / cash rebate programs.
A couple of times per year we travel to countries where, even though we have travel insurance, if something bad were to happen and we would need medical or medivac, we would have to pay up front and then get reimbursed later by the insurance. Cards with a high available balance come in handy in those types of situations.
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Cash on the barrel head.
I owe a mortgage on my house (about a third of it's worth), and that is it. And I bought it for a song, damaged, and repaired it.
I have never owned a new car, and I never will. I have had exactly two loans for vehicles in my entire life. Car loans are for suckers.
The only thing I bought new that I can think of in the last ten years is a Lazy Boy chair... And that was on a clearance discount... I prefer used, and used and broken even more... But then I am well tooled, and fairly handy, so fixing most things is just a matter of time, and just what I do - I am a tinker by trade, and a son and grandson of a tinker.
Credit is a monster. Life is hard, and you WILL get into a trick bag... When that happens, your payments will destroy you. Work hard and save your money... When you want something, wait... It'll come along... And you will pay pennies on the dollar. Learn to fix things, and wear them out. And live well below your means. You'll be surprised at how much easier it is.
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'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.'
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Always pay cash or my atm card. Save up for big ticket items. Credit card is for emergencies.
I use it once a year on something small around ten dollars or so just to keep it active and pay it off immediately.
If I use it for Amazon I call the credit card company immediately and pay right then.(it’s the time of year to ship amazon to a couple of friends)
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Both. I hate debt, but some things like a car are a rather big purchase and the interest you pay on a car note is less than the return you can get investing that.
IE, if I buy a car and finance at 1% interest versus take out $40K that I'm earning 11% interest, I am actually in the net positive by financing. I will then try to pay it off faster off that note but always balance where the money earns the most.
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Always pay cash or my atm card. Save up for big ticket items. Credit card is for emergencies....
@Freya
I have the opinion that I do not use an ATM card for any purchases that involve handing that card to someone else or entering the number into an internet transaction.
While both have similar fraud protections, when I dispute a charge on the credit card, it is before them money comes out of my bank account. When I dispute a charge on my ATM, it is AFTER the money was taken out of my bank account.
I had an engineer working for me that only used her ATM card and kept the Credit card for emergencies. On business travel, she had someone in hotel run up $15,000 in fraud charges. She was able to cover it, but it took several months before the funds were restored.
my 2¢
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@thackney I was using my atm card every time I went grocery shopping.
When they put the little chip in I started writing out checks.
That little chip makes me nervous. Just my two cents, I had to get an RFID wallet a few months ago.
Now my phone says I can pay with Apple Pay. I don’t even want to know what that is.
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@thackney I was using my atm card every time I went grocery shopping.
When they put the little chip in I started writing out checks.
That little chip makes me nervous. Just my two cents, I had to get an RFID wallet a few months ago.
Now my phone says I can pay with Apple Pay. I don’t even want to know what that is.
My opinion, not criticizing yours...
I feel safer with the protection of the chip over the magnetic strip storing similar information being entered directly into the stores system.
https://squareup.com/townsquare/why-are-chip-cards-more-secure-than-magnetic-stripe-cards
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/emv-migration/how-do-emv-transactions-differ-from-magnetic-stripe-transactions/
But I am not going to give the ATM card to a server who takes it back to the cash register out of my sight.
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Paid cash for house and car; the rest is little stuff on a card or two.
Exact here too. Use CC considerably so I can get cash back bonuses too.
I take miserly to Level 10.
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@thackney I was using my atm card every time I went grocery shopping.
When they put the little chip in I started writing out checks.
That little chip makes me nervous. Just my two cents, I had to get an RFID wallet a few months ago.
Now my phone says I can pay with Apple Pay. I don’t even want to know what that is.
The chip is extra security. It is physical encryption that helps prevent your card from being copied or even scanned. Checks are one of the most insecure transactions you can do. Anyone with access to your check, especially in this day when everyone has a camera on them, can just print out fake checks on their computer. I'm actually surprised how many places still take them. I have a box of checks I probably ordered 4 years ago that I barely have made a dent in.
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Just bought new living room furniture and carpet earlier this year. Wanted to just write checks for both. Oh no, I was told. I had to finance the purchases. Went through all the rigamaroll to get credit approval and set up the account, then when the bills came, I wrote the checks and sent them.
What the H is wrong with a check these days? I can see no one wants to deal in large sums of cash, but if the check is valid, why can't I just make the payment on the spot? Maybe save time, effort and trees.
Because the furniture co gets a kickback from the finance company. My wife bought a new GMC truck and the salesman figured the very best price with financing. My wife said she was going to write a check for the purchase and he backed off the deal. Salesman said most people do not write a check out for 35K
We got the general manager to intervene and honored the quoted price. I was told the dealer would get approx $1000 from the finance company.
@Applewood
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My opinion, not criticizing yours...
I feel safer with the protection of the chip over the magnetic strip storing similar information being entered directly into the stores system.
https://squareup.com/townsquare/why-are-chip-cards-more-secure-than-magnetic-stripe-cards
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/emv-migration/how-do-emv-transactions-differ-from-magnetic-stripe-transactions/
But I am not going to give the ATM card to a server who takes it back to the cash register out of my sight.
Thanks for the links. I was told just the opposite that the old fashioned way was better than the chips.
Got some reading to do. Thank you all, 888heartkitty
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@thackney
That little chip makes me nervous. Just my two cents, I had to get an RFID wallet a few months ago.
We use RFID sleeves for all of our cards and passports. All it takes is someone walking by you with a scanner and they can lift all that info off of the chip without even having the card in their hand or even seeing it..
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We use RFID sleeves for all of our cards and passports. All it takes is someone walking by you with a scanner and they can lift all that info off of the chip without even having the card in their hand or even seeing it..
The chip in credit cards isn't RFID. RFID is a separate feature built into some cards. This chip is a physical encryption that can't be scanned using NFC. It was added to cards to protect against exactly what you described. Now, transactions where the 'card is not present' are flagged- ones where the chip wasn't physically part of the process.
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Because the furniture co gets a kickback from the finance company. My wife bought a new GMC truck and the salesman figured the very best price with financing. My wife said she was going to write a check for the purchase and he backed off the deal. Salesman said most people do not write a check out for 35K
We got the general manager to intervene and honored the quoted price. I was told the dealer would get approx $1000 from the finance company.
@Applewood
@mirraflake
Thank you for the explanation. Now I know better.
True story: Years ago, my Dad wanted to buy a brand new Pontiac Bonneville right off the showroom floor. He was going to pay for the car on the spot, but the salesman tried to tell him it would be cheaper to finance the car. Now back then, there were no 0% interest deals, so how this guy figured paying for the car plus interest was cheaper than just paying the purchase price was beyond Dad's comprehension and mine. After the two went around and around on the subject, Dad finally demanded to see the owner of the dealership, who let my Dad pay for the car right then and there.
I guess now I understand. Dad messed up the arrangement between the dealer and the finance company. LOL
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Cash. I just bought a Castle with that stuff.
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FOr those of you who use credit, I do loan sharking on the side. I'm a point below usury laws!!!!
Running Christmas specials this year too!!! Borrow 2 grand, get the 3rd grand for the same rate!!!!
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FOr those of you who use credit, I do loan sharking on the side. I'm a point below usury laws!!!!
Running Christmas specials this year too!!! Borrow 2 grand, get the 3rd grand for the same rate!!!!
"He who understands 'interest' profits from it." Guess what you are doing when you buy Bonds? You're buying debt! And you are on the sweet side of the credit system.
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Just bought new living room furniture and carpet earlier this year. Wanted to just write checks for both. Oh no, I was told. I had to finance the purchases. Went through all the rigamaroll to get credit approval and set up the account, then when the bills came, I wrote the checks and sent them.
What the H is wrong with a check these days? I can see no one wants to deal in large sums of cash, but if the check is valid, why can't I just make the payment on the spot? Maybe save time, effort and trees.
I am experiencing similar issues with writing a check. Big brother wants people to put everything on a card or use a debit card. They are pushing people to get away from using cash, and writing a check.
I went to write a check at the pool equipment store and the sales clerk made the remark that she had to figure out how to process the check because no one writes a check anymore and asked if I could just put it on my credit card.
We wanted to write a check to purchase our family room furniture. If we wrote a check we would have to wait an additional week or so. If we put it on our credit card or financed the purchase they would deliver the next day.
Supposedly there is too much fraud with checks. IMHO I've had more trouble with our credit cards. We've had to shut down our accounts several times and get new cards due to attempted fraud.
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I don’t know if this is on topic but had anyone tried paying with their cell phone?
Apple Pay or google pay?
I’m seeing it in stores, in coffee houses, fast food chains....my sister uses it at Starbucks and swears by it.
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I don’t know if this is on topic but had anyone tried paying with their cell phone?
Apple Pay or google pay?
I’m seeing it in stores, in coffee houses, fast food chains....my sister uses it at Starbucks and swears by it.
I use it everywhere. Gas pumps, grocery stores, auto parts stores. It's awesome. Easy and secure.
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@thackney I was using my atm card every time I went grocery shopping.
When they put the little chip in I started writing out checks.
That little chip makes me nervous. Just my two cents, I had to get an RFID wallet a few months ago.
Now my phone says I can pay with Apple Pay. I don’t even want to know what that is.
The chip is much safer than without.