"People who do math don't have credit card debt."

[Xist]

Not simple, duplicable, easy to describe, or successful?

I also asked what people liked about his advice. I am not sure I have really had any of that shared.

[oil pan 4]

I thought a good credit rating was for suckers too.
Then when we found a nice house in the country and couldn't get as many loan options because of my neglected credit.
So as long as you never want to buy a house then it's good.
The house we live in now is paid off but it's getting more ghetto here recently.
Lucky me I could use a veterans administration backed loan or we would be stuck in the ghetto.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

So where do you find a checking account that pays more than token interest these days?

Credit union rewards checking accounts. Google for the latest info on who has the highest interest rate. I had my money parked in Iowa for years, and I've never been to Iowa.

Originally Posted by Xist

They get a cash advance? Or just use it to invest?

I haven't fully researched this yet, but there are various ways to liquidate the credit that doesn't incur fees, or at least has a very small fee. For a while I was buying Amex gift cards with my credit card, then buying visa prepaid debit cards with those. The internet calls that "churn". Useful for meeting credit card spending requirements to earn their $500 bonus reward.

Robert wasn't specific on advice because the point is that being rich is a behavior, not a specific investment strategy. The whole point is to avoid liabilities and invest in things that will earn you money.

[Stubby79]

I got out of debt when I was 23. Haven't looked back since...

OK, well, there's the mortgage, but it's cheaper than rent and will be paid off in 6 years. I don't really look at that as debt, since the place is worth more than I've paid.

PS: we put everything on the credit card these days, and just pay it off completely every month. Have a stupid low interest rate, so it doesn't matter much if I get charged some here and there.

PPS: I do math.

[Xist]

Sorry I did not look up this earlier. 5% interest on their checking account for up to $10,000, as long as you direct deposit at least $100 and make fifteen transactions monthly: https://www.northpointe.com/banking/...timateaccount/

RedPoint, did we discuss this before? I remember something about 50¢ Amazon gift cards.

Prosper.com says they have an average return of 7.57%, the average credit score and annual salary is above the national average (better risk?), and have helped finance almost $10 Billion since 2006.

Huh.

This chart looks far better than the second image:




You know, I really like data, and I do not feel they are giving much of it. Percent of charge-offs per category would be very useful.

*Estimated returns are calculated by (i) taking the weighted average borrower interest rate for all loans originated during the period, adding (ii) estimated collected late fees and post charge-off principal recovery for such loans, and subtracting (iii) the servicing fee, estimated uncollected interest on charge-offs and estimated principal loss on charge-offs from such loans.

The easiest way for me to find information beyond their main page was actually to apply for a loan. I think they offered me $12,000 at 8.65%.

I can always try asking...

I had not seen this:

*For example a three-year $10,000 loan with a Prosper Rating of AA would have an interest rate of 5.32% and a 1% origination fee for an APR of 5.99% APR. You would receive $9,900 and make 36 scheduled monthly payments of $302. A five-year $10,000 loan with a Prosper Rating of A would have an interest rate of 7.69% and a 5% origination fee for an APR of 9.88% APR. You would receive $9,500 and make 60 scheduled monthly payments of $201.28. Origination fees vary between 1%-5%. Annual percentage rates (APRs) through Prosper range from 5.99% APR (AA) to 35.99% APR (HR) for first-time borrowers, with the lowest rates for the most creditworthy borrowers.

So, you could have perfect credit, and they still charge you 5.99% APR.

That does not sound great to me, but people are going for it.

[Xist]

Someone suggested paying all of your expenses with your credit card while your actual money earns interest, and then paying off your credit card each month right before the due date.

Since my savings account has 0.01% interest, no.

The Northpointe account would work. I am not sure what the best course of action would be once one has $10,000 in there, but at this point, for me, that is a "rich people problem," but you could always open as many checking accounts as you need, and purchase 50¢ Amazon gift cards.

This page is weird: 6 Major Credit Card Mistakes "Pay More Than the Minimum Balance." That should be phrased differently.

"Consider that a $3 gallon of milk purchased with a credit card can quickly turn into a $30 gallon of milk if you don't pay off the balance at the end of the month."

You can quickly become upside-down on milk?!

No, really. No.

It would take over eight years if you pay 36% interest after the minimum payment. That is quick on a geological scale or from the perspective of an Ent, but no.

If you only paid the minimum on your $10,000 balance, it would take you 452 months (over 8 years!) and cost you over $19,000 in interest alone.

https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.co...doesnt-matter/

Which would be a $3 gallon of milk slowly becoming a $5.70 gallon of milk.

This calculator has links showing:

I wonder where they get those numbers. This page says that I personally cannot negotiate for a raise. Negotiating my APR could not possibly save me $2,000 a year because I would only accrue $452.43 in interest if I did not make any payments, and I am making as many payments as possible!

I found something! According to The Penny Hoarder, you can get PayPal MyCash cards and pay a $3.95 fee per $500, although they limit you to $4,000 a month, and some say they PayPal suspended or closed their account, claiming they abused the system.

$7.90 for $1,000 is 0.79%.

They also mention stores offering discounts on pre-paid debit cards, where you can actually purchase them for slightly less than their cash value. Unfortunately, I did not see any on Slickdeals.com.

[JockoT]

Originally Posted by Xist

Someone suggested paying all of your expenses with your credit card while your actual money earns interest, and then paying off your credit card each month right before the due date.

My brother has a mortgage account (believe they started in Australia) where the balance in his bank account is offset against his mortgage, It is called an Offset Mortgage I believe. So he leaves money in his account, it is subtracted from his mortgage debt, he pays literally everything with his credit card, then pays the card off before the due date.
If you have a £100,000 mortgage and £20,000 in linked savings via an offsetting arrangement, you’ll only pay interest on £80,000. This means you could pay off your mortgage more quickly.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Xist

Sorry I did not look up this earlier. 5% interest on their checking account for up to $10,000, as long as you direct deposit at least $100 and make fifteen transactions monthly: https://www.northpointe.com/banking/...timateaccount/

RedPoint, did we discuss this before? I remember something about 50¢ Amazon gift cards.

I had my wife open her own credit union checking account to double the limit for the high interest accounts. We're just above those limits now, and the solution would be to open a 3rd account somewhere else, but I'll have my roof replaced and have a new fence put in that will bring us back under that limit.

A couple days ago I made a few 50 cent Amazon credit reloads using my debit card to meet the transaction requirements.

My CCs are on autopay with my checking account, so I don't even have to bother making the payment on time to avoid interest charges.

I've considered refinancing my 30 year mortgage into a 15, but I'm already 7 years into it, and I consider my locked in low rate to be a hedge against rapid inflation, which I suspect will happen sometime during the length of the loan.

BTW, my plan is to never sell property that I purchase, but instead to rent them out when I leave. Zillow says my house has a rental value of $2,000/mo, and my total monthly cost is $1,200. I've already broken my ownership strategy since selling property in Enid, OK that I was co-owner with a friend on. It was just easier since he wanted to be done with the hassle of being a slumlord for a property that is far away.

[Xist]

I need to set up an alert for pre-paid debit cards. My new credit card arrived at Mom's house right after I left last weekend. I did not trust the Page Post Office and perhaps I was right to, the first part of my Amazon order disappeared, I called Amazon twice and told them they were sending my stuff to the wrong address, and I am still waiting on stuff I was supposed to receive a week ago.

I just found this:
20 Credit Cards with No Cash Advance Fees

Some of them offer 0% introductory APR on balance transfers, but not on purchases, so if you wanted to weave a tangled web, you could get one card with 0% introductory APR on balance transfers, another card that does not charge extra for cash advances, advance cash, transfer it to the other card, and then put it somewhere that will accrue interest.

This is still free money, right? It seems like a great deal of work!

I ran across second-chance checking. You know how I have crazy stories that do not make any sense?

My friends have worse stories. One of them does not have a bank account because of [macguffin] and her life is always complicated by it. I asked her if she had heard of second-chance checking and she responded "Ugh. I have, but I don't need one."

Finally, someone who understands needs versus wants?

[Tyler569]

Credit cards if used correctly, are an excellent asset to your credit score. For instance, if you used a credit card to fill your gas tank once a month and immediately paid it off. Just use the cash you would have used anyway, and there won't be an issue.

If your credit card has rewards, like 1% cash back or so. You are making money with your card. In addition, you tell the credit bureaus that you can take out loans and pay them off. So, your credit score will skyrocket. Let them work for you.