Credit Cards?

[fearforyourlife]

I don't agree. Some business credit cards like capital one are offering 0% for 12 months. 0% is a far cry from 29%! The APR after the initial 12 months is at 12% I believe. I think it is a good idea to use it to boost your capital. If it were at 29% I would agree it is a bad idea...

[BrotherMysterio]

I don't agree. Some business credit cards like capital one are offering 0% for 12 months. 0% is a far cry from 29%! The APR after the initial 12 months is at 12% I believe. I think it is a good idea to use it to boost your capital. If it were at 29% I would agree it is a bad idea...

Well, you'd think so, yet crushing credit card debt is a major epidemic in this country. Believe me, what you described is precisely where my issues with credit card debt started, and where millions of people's problems started as well. Trust me when I say that we were all pretty much frightfully too clever for our own good. Like I said, "playing with the bank's money."

Unless you pay it all back, at 12 months and 1 day, that 29% interest rate comes crashing down on you like an Acme Anvil in a Roadrunner cartoon, and midwife's you into a whole new world of hurt. When you see first time haunters idly musing over whether or not to spend $10K or $20K or more on their haunt, much less some $8K on one room, then that is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Consider, if they had the money, they wouldn't need to use the credit card, yes? Well, what? Are they going to have a spare $20K lying around in 12 months and 1 day that they can use to pay that debt off in full? Are they planning on winning the lottery about that time? Did they already take out a second mortgage on their home to cover expenses, and are pretty skint as it is? What if they face a financial crisis? Based on real world results, if they didn't have it at the start of the year, they probably won't have it at the end of the year either. I know I didn't.

These are all realities that regular people face, even without taking on something as risky as a haunt. I don't know how much credit card debt you have, but I know from my own experience and the experience of millions of other people, this is a risky game to play.

(Now, that being said, a few thousand in available credit for incidentals during a successful run, that might be more tenable.)

C.

[scottylmt]

I agree, IF you're going to use a card, keep it at a manageable amount. Part of the reasoning here is if you ever need a serious loan for real world problems, high amounts of revolving (cc) debt is the worst thing you can show; that will make you a much higher risk to the bank, so you'll wither need to pay more money down or a higher interest rate.

If youre not getting a loan, Another option is to get a LINE OF CREDIT through your bank. This will have a slightly higher interest rate, but like a cc you only pay for what you use. An added benefit is you will develop a deeper relationship with your bank, which ultimately leads to waived fees and better/faster service. But keep in mind that a LOC is also revolving debt..

Again, avoid unmanageable amounts on any credit card, unless you have a foolproof schedule of payments based on a fixed amount, so that you pay it off before that 0% goes away. There's also the balance transfer game but let's just not go there lol.