We are reformed......we have been deadbeats for a few years now and loving it. I saved $80. by taking a credit card from one store last week. It is a store I normally do not shop in. The bill came in yesterday and I immediately wrote the check for the full amount. I will mail it back today. They are charging 28.8% interest. No way I will keep credit on that card. I wouldn't have even put it on credit except DH heard we would save $80. and wanted me to do it. Likely, I will just cut up the card. There is no way I will carry it around in my purse in case I lose it.

Another deadbeat here--have had my credit card for over 30 years and so far, not paid a single penny in interest.

But don't fear--the credit card companies are still making money off us. They discount the amount they pay the retailers who take your card. Which is a big reason why I try to never use my card for local shopping, especially at mom and pop stores. I'd rather give them my $$$ (in cash) than let the credit card company take their money from them.

DH and I are worse than deadbeats! Not only do we pay the bills immediately (we pay online), but we also use "cash-back" cards. We use credit cards for everything (except that we pay cash to local small business owners), so we get $200-300 each year in rebates.

I use Microsoft Money program to keep track of spending, so I always know--to the penny--how much the bill will be.

Yep, we're deadbeats, too. I'm sure they hate people like us, but others more than make up for us. And I'm down to writing about 2 checks a month now, I love paying bills online! So easy. I'm a lazy deadbeat!

Another deadbeat here, have only one credit card and pay that off on line.

Sue

I'm a deadbeat and proud of it.

I'm a deadbeat too but I'm still so fed up with their tactics that I'm trying to minimize my cc use as much as possible. I liked centralizing my monthly purchases but I don't know that it's worth staying in business with these companies.

I'm a deadbeat wanna be! That's what I'm working on for 2008.

Heather, cutting up the card is not enough! You need to call the store and cancel it!!! I just found out, my Foley's card was not "gone", when I tried to open a Macy's account for the same reason as you. They just re activated it. :(

Now, I will cancel it again. I really don't need store credit cards!!!

Way to go to ALL our KT deadbeats! :)

Moni

We are different deadbeats. We have no credit cards. If we can't pay cash we can't afford it.

Another dead beat here..Do you watch Suze Orman? She said you shouldn't cancel a credit card..just stop using it..if you cancel it damages your fico score..and we don't a damage fico score..YIKES..

I have a deit card from my bank which has a Mastercard logo so I can use it as either credit or debit. I use debit for everything, so the money comes straight out of my checking account. I check my balance frequently. When the holidays are over, I will not owe one cent!

Yep, we're deadbeats too. We only use the credit card when we travel or shop online. It is always paid off at the end of the month.

We're deadbeats too.

We have been deadbeats for 30 years. I think we paid interest once when we were on vacation and forgot to pay it ahead of time. Another thing you could add to your list. Only buy what you can afford to pay for in a month. The tempting thing with credit cards is to go way over your budget.
Clare

DH and I have been deadbeats for over 20 years. Only a couple times when I was single in my 20's did I carry a balance, and each time it was for only one month. I vowed that if I couldn't pay it off, I had to pay half, and the remaining half (with the interest) the next month, with no new expenditures on that card in the interim.

Deadbeats here too. We buy almost everything with our G.M. credit card and have done so for at least 20 years. It earns us money towards a new G.M. vehicle. The percentage isn't nearly as much as it used to be, but in 1999, we had earned almost $5000 towards the van we bought then. Bought another van in 2003 with a $2500 savings.

Proud deadbeat here too!! DH is a little spender and I am a saver, but we both pay bills early or on time! I'm not wasting my good money on finance charges or late fees etc!

DH and I can also join you as deadbeats.

We each have a different credit card with reward points for cruises, which we pay off monthly without finance charges or late fees. I have Celebrity and he has Norwegian. Last month, we got $500 credit towards our January 5 cruise. My celebrity cruise card already has $250 credit towards a March 2009 cruise; by the time the balance is due, I'm sure to have at least $500 back on that!

Deadbeat here. We put everything on Visa, even Dr. bills. Once we were gone for 2 wks. and carried a balance. Not going to happen again. Another thing that won't happen again for me (not true of DH) is getting a traffic ticket. Got one 3 yrs. ago in Waxahachie, Texas that cost me $180. Won't ever let that happen again. If it say 35 mph, I'm going 30.

Another deadbeat...and another "cash back" user. A few years ago we got a letter from the GM Card telling us they were considering charging "deadbeats" like us a fee since we never carry a balance. Our response was "If you do that, we're done with your card"...never heard another word about it! We charge everything on our card, and then pay it off. Once in a great while we have to dip into savings (like the month BOTH our cars needed repairs well over $1000--each!), but we immediately replenish savings.

I'm with Adellabedella - I'm a deadbeat and very proud to be one!

We charge everything to rack up "points" toward a "gift" such as gift cards to Starbucks, Olive Garden, etc.

We ALWAYS pay the full charge bill as soon as we get it. You owe it - you pay it!

Never paid a finance charge ~ ever!

As a retired HS Business teacher, I taught finance and credit to my students - I hope many of them will be "deadbeats" when they get their first credit card, and manage their money intelligently.

~ Carol ~

Another deadbeat here.

I don't use a rewards card since it seems like it would take forever to get anything back, because I'm not a big spender. I have all utilities, insurances, etc taken out of my checking account automatically, which is so convenient for me. I rarely write a check, and recently when I did write one, it was the last check in the book,and when I got a new pad of checks out of the box, I noticed that those checks had been ordered in October '05 and there were still 2 pads left.

And of course, if I couldn't afford whatever I put on my CC, I wouldn't buy it.

AutoPay and paying off in full each month on my Visa works for me.

Sue

And yet another deadbeat here. I have 1 credit card and only one. I've had it since 1979 and have never payed a penny interest.
Ron