To ask how much you owe on credit cards ?

[anxiousmotherof1]

Getting to the end of maternity leave and i just realized i owe quite a bit on credit cards ! Dont think is that much but my husband is of the opposite opinion !
So how much you currently owe ?

8k on 0% interest for 2 year. Worked out I'll have it paid off before the 2 year is up so I'm not worrying about it yet. Just cant wait for it to be gone.

The insurance thing doesn't always work as others have already said. Also, the cash back thing.

It does always work though if you are paying for goods between £100 and £30,000 as others have already said. Those that think it doesn't work either don't have a credit card or they are taking about a circumstance when the consumer credit does not apply.

Most cards give a real pittance so unless you are spending a LOT on your card, the amount you get back is really negligible. To get one that gives decent cash back, you have to pay a monthly fee (such as Amex, which a lot of places won't accept) which negates what you earn on cash back.

Not true at all. I only pay a yearly fee to Amex and it is much less than the cashback even taking into account that not everywhere accepts it. Other cards don't charge any fee and whilst the rewards are not that huge, turning down a a few hundred pounds a year because you are scared of debt does not actually suggest that you are good at managing money.

I used to work in financial services btw, and know all about cards.

Obviously not based on what you have stated. Perhaps your knowledge is out of date.

Oh, "ridiculously poor" is obviously in comparison at the time. We didn't know anyone else without a phone and I never had any new clothes bar school uniform once I went to secondary school. Everything was jumble sales (whatever happened to those?).

You must have lived in quite a well off area then because even in 1984, not having a landline was not unusual. It cost quite a bit to put one in. I didn't have one until the 90s.

Of course it's true because it all depends how much you spend @dungeon. Amex does pay 5% cash back on an annual fee of £300 but as I say, lots of places don't take it. Many other cards only give you 0.5% or even less cashback. If I put £600 on my card per month at 0.5% that would be £3 cash back. That's £36 per year. Turning down "hundreds of pounds" would be stupid. £36 a year? I can live with losing that.

£120

And the 5% Amex only applies for the first three months and then drops to 1.25%. So you still have to put a lot on your card to really get "hundreds of pounds" cash back.

Which someone earning £20k per annum simply won't ever do!

Since 2nd August I've earned £12 cashback. It may not be much, but better than the £0 I'd earn using my debit card (and I pay fees on neither account). I still have to buy the stuff, may as well earn something for buying it.

I use quidco to get cash back using my debit card. You don’t need to use credit cards to get cash back from places ROFPMSL

I got £80 cashback on my credit card last year. I probably also got about £300 interest on the offset balances and a fair few quid in discounts due to my M&S card. Also probably saved £100-200 in currency exchange fees by using a Halifax Clarity card to spend overseas compared to buying currency in the UK (and it's a lot safer).

None of the amount are life changing, but together they add up to a fair amount, that's worth doing for little effort.

I get Quidco cashback on top of all the credit card cashback pookie ROFPMSL.

@overagain

I’ve earnt hundreds from quidco in cashback in one year. Last week I earned £74 in one day. I also have an NHS related card you load and then spend in store. No need for credit card. Plenty of cashback options unrelated to credit cards FYI

@BarbaraofSevillle why is this impressive. Oh no it’s not

I use quidco and topcashback as well @PookieDo, so double cashback for me - I get whatever on the cashback site AND then buy it on credit card. Made around £50 on quidco and £124 on topcashback in the last 12 months. I also do online surveys and make £50 every 18 months that way. I just don't understand why you wouldn't take advantage of ALL cashback and other free money available. In the 17 years I've had a credit card I can count on one hand the times I've paid interest, and that interest totals about £12 in that whole time. I've made £100s in cashback in the same time frame from credit cards and then more from other cashback sites.

My biggest CC is 0% for 3 years, so I've popped all that in to a high interest savings account and will make somewhere in the region of £200 in interest in that 3 years. The money on that CC was bought on my cashback one then transferred over (no transfer fee) so I will have made cashback twice and then interest on the savings account, 3 x free money.

Unless you cannot manage your money and are at risk of getting in to unmanageable debt, I don't see why you wouldn't do it.

Of course it's true because it all depends how much you spend @dungeon. Amex does pay 5% cash back on an annual fee of £300 but as I say, lots of places don't take it.

Did you just pick the highest cost card from their website. They have a lot and most charge a lot less than £300! I pay about £25 and get 1% cashback which is about £250 pounds a year. The first year I got a lot more and that is true with other cards too. I find that large proportion of retailers seem to take it now e.g. supermarkets, amazon, restaurant chains etc. It may not be worthwhile for people on a low income but there are plenty of cards which don't charge a fee. Even if it is only £50 it is better than nothing if someone is on a low income surely?!

Plenty of cashback options unrelated to credit cards FYI

You can use both though can't you so it's not a reason to avoid credit cards.. i.e. if you use a credit card on a cashback site you increase the cashback.

I can understand why even cashback doesn't tempt people to use CCs.

I could save money switching about lots of things at home but I just cannot be bothered to do so. However, I like air miles and we get really cheap flights with them so I can be bothered to get the best deal with a CC.

It’s perfectly normal not to want a credit card. And they aren’t the only way to magic up free money you know
Stop basically plugging CC’s to the thread - people are allowed to choose and insinuating (or blatantly saying) that we are all too fucking stupid to manage a CC is patronising. I have one for paying unexpected car repairs and that’s it. My choice.

@BatsAreCool
Agree
There are various reasons why people don’t like them which is fine. And not even cashback can tempt everyone. But the patronising and mean comments towards people ‘who obviously can’t manage their money’ isn’t going to help. Go enjoy all your smug cashback and leave everyone to make their own decisions!

@dungeon Huge apologies! I did Google what is the best paying card at present and that Amex at 5% dropping to 1.25% was the best available at present. But like a total pillock I misread the fees as being £25 monthly not annually! Obviously then it makes sense. But if the card is a 0.5% and I'd only get back £36 per year, while yes it's better than nothing, it's far from being earth shattering and doesn't automatically mean I can't manage my money. There are current accounts that would work out far better for me than having a credit card.

A Santander current account that I pay £1 per month on would make me £70 per year with their cashback on my mortgage and household bills. One that I paid £5 per month on would make me £97 per year. Again, that's better than I would get on the Amex deal.

And by moving my savings around I can get fairly good deals. I pay £300 per month into a First Direct regular saver linked to a current account which gives me £97.50 over the year.

So, for lower earners, credit cards really aren't necessarily the best way of managing our money at all.

Probably about £50 at the moment. I always put something on it every month and pay it off in full, just to help maintain a good credit rating.

I spent the first few years of my twenties paying off a student overdraft and when I think of all the fees I paid, it makes me sick. Never again!

I think it's fine to use a credit card for emergencies, but using it for every day expenses, holidays or treats when you can't afford to pay it off is just irresponsible. I'd rather do without than be in debt.

Stop basically plugging CC’s to the thread - people are allowed to choose and insinuating (or blatantly saying) that we are all too fucking stupid to manage a CC is patronising.

I don't think it's stupid to not have a CC. I is stupid to think that everyone who has one is unable to live within their means as has suggested by many posters on this thread.

A Santander current account that I pay £1 per month on would make me £70 per year with their cashback on my mortgage and household bills. One that I paid £5 per month on would make me £97 per year. Again, that's better than I would get on the Amex deal.

It is better but you can have a current account and a credit card. My current account pays back for all the bills etc and I don't even pay a
monthly fee. I also get cashback on credit cards.

And by moving my savings around I can get fairly good deals. I pay £300 per month into a First Direct regular saver linked to a current account which gives me £97.50 over the year.

I do that too... In fact using a credit card means I earn a bit more interest as the money stays in the savings account for a bit longer.

So, for lower earners, credit cards really aren't necessarily the best way of managing money at all

It isn't the necessarily the best way if that is all you do but as described above you can do both.

@dungeon you may not have said I don't think it's stupid to not have a CC but you did say that not having one was a sign of not being able to manage money that well

like others it gets paid off in full each month. so effectively zero.

Yes you did say that. If you get cashback from all this extremely fiddly fannying about then well done. It’s not for everyone. Doesn’t make you superior