Evolving Personal Finance » credit cards
Living on Time with Your Credit Cards
We all know that the proper use of a credit card is to pay it in full every month to avoid paying interest, but even people who have that habit may be abusing their access to credit by slipping into a ‘buy now, pay later’ attitude. Even if you pay your credit cards off in full each pay period, if you are making purchases with money you expect to come in but haven’t received yet, … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards
The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® – A Tempting Sign-Up Bonus Offer
I know we really need to stop signing up for credit cards for the bonuses, but I think The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® may be next on our list. I’m really exercising restraint in not signing up for it right now! This post is my review of the card based on the Terms and Conditions. What I find really attractive about this card is that there is no minimum spend to get the sign-up bonus – you just have to make one purchase and pay the annual fee. We can’t consider most credit cards with high sign-up bonuses because we don’t put enough on our credit cards each month to meet the minimum spends. The sign-up bonus comes in the form of 40,000 miles that you can use on US Airways. … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards
Easy Travel Redemption with the Barclaycard World Arrival MasterCard
Last week we redeemed the sign-up bonus on my Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® – Earn 2x on All Purchases for $425 toward a flight we had recently bought to California. The whole time I’ve been learning about and using this card I kept asking myself “Is it really that easy? Where’s the catch?” This post is my report from the other side of the redemption process and let me tell you, it really is easy and … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards
Our Best (Pain-Free) Money-Saving Moves
In this post I will detail how much money we have saved (that is, not-spent) by making simple, painless changes in our life. We really haven’t given up anything by making these choices, although sometimes the workarounds can get a bit creative! I’ve ranked our choices from most money saved per year to least. Moving Closer to Work While Reducing Our Rent Two years ago, Kyle and I were living in a luxury apartment and we really … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, credit cards, frugality, housing, luxuries, spending
Tempting Cash Back Credit Card Offers
I’ve been alerted to four tempting cash back credit card offers in the last month or so – two by commenters, one by Kyle, and one through online searching. Kyle and I are still working on churning our second Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® – Earn 2x on All Purchases (affiliate link – read my review!), but we should be done this month with Christmas travel and gifts. It probably isn’t the best idea to sign up … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards
“I Want a Credit Card, But I’m Scared”
I got this question from a coaching client recently. He is a recent college graduate who has never had a credit card but has been told that he should get one for his credit score. He said he was afraid because he knows how damaging misusing credit cards can be. I told him that I closely identified with this conundrum because I felt exactly the same way after I graduated from college. I read that I … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards
Talking to People Who Are Different from You about PF
Last week, I promoted one of my blog posts on my personal Facebook profile. (I know that’s crazy to anonymous PF bloggers, but I’m completely open about my blog IRL!) It was the review of the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard, and you can see I was pushing it a bit. (We just signed up for our second one last night! Woohoo!) I knew that some of my FB friends would see that and consider signing … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards, debt, family
Don’t Buy into the Pro- or Anti-Credit Card Hype
Last week’s FPU lesson was “Dumping Debt,” which was rather different from what I expected. Dave spent a lot of time talking about the disadvantages of various kinds of debt and not as much as I thought he would on the mechanics of the debt snowball. Of course, credit cards were pointed out as a particular evil, not just in the video but also reinforced by the class exercises. One exercise was to stand up … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards, debt
Perfect Articulation of Plastic as Real Money for Young People
In episode of Freakonomics from 10/3/2013, Steve Levitt and Steve Dubner discussed a listener question that I thought was a perfect articulation of my opinion concerning the studies that show that people tend to spend more when using credit cards in comparison with cash. Steve Reta wrote: “This morning I was reading an article on how credit card spending is making us ‘irresponsible’ because it removes the ‘pain’ of paying with cold hard cash. I found … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards, psychology, spending
Recent Comments
- Adam on Home Equity Is Funny Money
"Hi Emily - I just stumbled upon your blog. Great post! Up in Canada this is a…" - Emily on Home Equity Is Funny Money
"I agree that an appraisal is the best number to work with. I can't think of why …" - JL on Home Equity Is Funny Money
"I only note it as round numbers, in $50k or $100k estimates. I also usually upda…" - We Maxed Out All Our Retirement Accounts for the First Time! - Evolving Personal Finance | Evolving Personal Finance on Avoiding an Expensive 401(k) Plan through Self-Employment
"[…] was the first year that we contributed to Kyle’s expensive 401(k…" - Business Goal Tracking for Week 8 of 2022 - Evolving Personal Finance | Evolving Personal Finance on Business Goal Tracking for Week 6 of 2022
"[…] Done as of two weeks ago! […]…"