When you have four pockets ... ... and you know that there's no money in three of them ... ... into which pocket do you stick your hand when you need some? ... how often do you stick your hand into any one of the three pockets where you know that there's no money even when your hand gets all of the way to the bottom?? Memo ... to individuals, as to businesses (but most of the latter know it now) ... ... when you need money ... ... go where the money is! Like the credit card companies do. They may cancel the cards of folks who've been giving them a rough time, i.e., not paying. But they don't mind your payment being late - look at the large fee that they charge ... for what ... waiting an extra day or two for the payment? Suppose it's $100.00 payment ... at 10% annual rate, that's $10.00 per year, or about 3 cents per day. If your payment arrives 3 days late ... their cost is about a dime ... and they charge you a $20.00 late fee? Think they're about to cancel your card? Why would they?? They're making a very nice bucket of money off of you ... and others like you. You go over your credit limit? More of the same. So why would they shut you down?? You're a profit centre for them!! If so for them ... how about you?? If you blow an engine in your car tomorrow ... how will you pay for the repair? Or ... if you get laid off ... what will you live on? Have you ever had a pair of handcuffs snap around your wrists? I haven't either ... and I don't want any: I have absolutely no hankering for such an experience! I love my financial freedom!! If you don't have a financial cushion of some funds available in case of immediate drastic need, I claim that you have a pair of handcuffs lying on your dresser, right beside where you lay your wallet at night. Just waiting for an emergency need of money ... or a layoff ... to have them jump up and snap around your wrists. Financial freedom - that ain't!! Hope you all have a lovely weekend ... and if you'd be sweating blood if you don't get a paycheque ... or two ... ... please - do yourself a favour. Even though it may be a beautiful weekend, find a way to enjoy it while spending little or nothing. Start that savings fund ... build yourself a financial cushion. Aim at a minimum of 3 months' income available in case of emergency. Six months' earnings, or 9 months' ... or up to a year's worth, is even better. After 25 years or so as a personal financial advisor, I don't have it, myself, some of the time. Some of the time I have money in the bank, money market fund, etc., immediately available ... but sometimes not. I have a credit card that I don't use much, that I can use to fix my car, fly me home in case the travel co. goes broke and the hotel says pay - again - or go to jail, etc. And I have a Line of Credit at the bank, initiated several years ago at no fee, fully secured by stock or mutual fund certificates, in order to arrange a low interest rate ... and it lies there unused, most of the time (but there's no inactivity fee to pay). If I use the card for emergency ... I pay off the full balance prior to the due date, using my Line of Credit if the amount in my bank account, money market, etc. are short. Then ... pay off that loan (low interest - far lower than the rate charged on unpaid balances owing on the credit card) as soon as possible. I want my money working for me ... not be forced to use other folks' money ... and pay rent on it while I'm using it ... especially if it's the kind where they charge very high rates! I never want to have to darken the door of a payday loan company: their rates are ... *horrendous*! (By the way ... have you read my thread about the differences between a paycheque and a pension cheque?) ole joyful

DH & I also have several cards with no balance on them. We will be applying for a mortgage soon, so I asked my banker this question. He told me to cancel the majority of the cards, but to keep either a couple with fairly low limits or one card with a pretty decent limit. He said that banks like to see someone have $30,000-$40,000 worth open credit on cards (depending on your income). He says that lets them know that you have a source of available money that you can access quickly. He said they don't like to see huge amounts of open credit because that shows the potential for a problem. We pulled our own credit reports & they said that the amount of unused credit we have may actually be hurting our score. We have only a tiny fraction owed but a lot of open credit. Another thing my banker & the credit report mentioned was the ratio of how much you owe to the amount of open credit. Example: If you owe $5,000 & have two cards with a total credit limit of $20,000, cancelling one card that has a $10,000 limit can actually hurt you. Instead of having a balance that equals one quarter of your available credit, you will now owe an amt. equal to half of your available credit. If you want to cancel, make sure you write a letter to the credit card company & keep it & proof that you mailed it on file. Make sure to request that they note in your file that the card was cancelled at your request. Having a lender cancel your card can hurt your credit score. If you won't be applying for a loan any time soon, you can just leave them & they will drop off of your credit report after a few years.

I am a merchant who accepts credit cards. On this end it's pretty cut and dry. I get a notice of a chargeback and I must produce my copy of the credit card receipt with their signature on it. It must be either imprinted or through a terminal. With online sales I must produce the hard copy of the order. I have 5 business days to either send or fax my copy proving the charge, or the money is automatically deducted from my bank. Plus a $25 fee. I get chargebacks because I'm an artist who does art and craft fairs throughout the northeast and there are times people in say, New Jersey see a charge from a company they never heard of in Vermont. "I've never been to Vermont!" So they challenge. I produce the receipt and a note they made a purchase at such and such craft fair, and it's done. Go to your credit Union in person and talk to someone who can actually help you. Have someone with some authority help you. You're finding out phone tag doesn't work. Go up the chain of command at the CU to get things done. You have 24 months from the date of the alleged charge to challenge it. The merchant has 5 business days to answer.

I actually did this. I had about 6k in credit card debt, store charges with 22.9%+ interest rates. I decided to pay those off with my student loan refunds. I calcuated that I would save more than $1,500 a year in interest, plus I have about an extra $300 a month- which now goes to student loans. However, I have close to 85k in student loan debt. I got my BS- International Affairs and Psychology and MA- Teaching and Technology back to back. So I had no time to pay down my student loans. Here is a simple way to cut cost of internet and cable. Call and cancel your service and cite some other company can give you a better deal if you start up with them. They won't want to lose your business. I was paying 150 a month for basic cable and high speed internet (need that for work), but after I got it down to 50 a month for the next six months. Here is a link that might be useful: Article on How to Save