Ice melts too fast if you put it under hot water. But you could put them in a big jar of molasses and bury it in your back yard. Take your time digging so it is down very deep. Deep enough so it would take hours to get to it, and you still would need to get the molasses off.
Maybe it would be best to live in Alaska, and bury them in summer? You'd have to wait for the ground to thaw if you wanted to use it impulsively in winter.
In my personal experience, depending on the length you've owned the card, doing the first two would be a bad option--unless you've had this account for only a few years. I normally don't cancel anymore and just don't "validate" the card. The card (and account #) isn't usable and it just stays on your report unused. Having held accounts for a long time I've found this to be useful.
My credit scores (when manipulated, meaning I have these 0% VERY LARGE "debts" that I'm getting 5.15% on per year in Emigrant Direct, which go over the 50% limit, which lower my scores) can near 800 and hover around 750 right now.
I monitor all scores from all three reports any time I want (I pay $10/month for this, but this is something I can afford if you even just consider my cash back cards) and also for identity theft. Having a very unique name helps a lot in this regard I think. (Crossed fingers. :)
The other viewpoint is that the whole credit score thing is a sham--why play this game at all? You can choose not to and live happily but I have chosen to (this is why the monitoring service helps--but you need to be able pull up your CR anytime).
--Ram
On the other hand, there is something about using other people's money to work for you. I'm not money oriented or anything, but let's say you get a $20,000 card, with a 0% balance transfer offer for two years, without a transfer fee (or a maximum transfer fee of $75, though the cards have started increasing this now). I take this offer, set up automatic payments, keep a tab on when it needs to be paid off, and then transfer it to a savings account which gives me 5% interest. That's $2000 extra dollars for two years for what I consider close to zero effort (and I'm a busy person). In today's climate, depending on your income and credit score, you can easily go ten times that amount. I can tell you that I get more offers in a given week than I have time to deal with.
Now you would argue that's a recipe for disaster for most people in the sense that they'd misuse the $20,000 (or x10 that number). I can understand that point (in the sense that people misuse/abuse alcohol/drugs, gamble too much, etc.). So it's a question of discipline and self-control. There's also a risk factor (in the sense you miss a payment and they jack the interest rate to 35%), but again, it's about keeping tabs and being able to pay off the balance in full when necessary. But until then, you're making 5% interest from the card companies (which is of course being paid for by people who don't manage their credit wisely).
I think both options need to be presented, but also is a function of the personality of the individual involved.
--Ram
"HW \"Skip\" Weld>>However, I've read that canceling a credit card account could have a
Judicious use of debt is a good way to improve your standard of living through leverage. Businesses that finance projects through debt gain by maximizing return on investment, assuming the cash flow of the investment supports the debt. The same can be said for individuals, as long as (in my opinion) the debt is for assets that outlast the debt, it's a reasonable proportion of their wealth, their income is predictable, and they have plans to manage the debt should their income change.
Note that the first word in my reply is "judicious".
Just an observation. I get less than one offer per month and never open the envelope. How do you do a balance transfer if you don't carry a balance?
Elizabeth Richardson
I don't want to live in Alaska, but come to think of it, it might be a good idea to bury them there. Then, if I wanted to use one impulsively I would have to travel to Alaska to get it.
Some banks (Citibank and Chase are two of them) will send a check directly to you. Others send out blank checks with the BT offer (not the same thing as the cash advance checks).
We use 2-3 credit cards for almost all our expenses (from a stick of gum to large remodelling projects, as well as monthly bills), and pay off the balance on those cards completely (so never pay interest on them). I find them very convenient. So I just transfer a credit balance that lasts a month or two to my main cards.
These are rewards cards so, I get another 1-5% returned based on what I purchase.
--Ram
Elizabeth Richards>>I can tell you that I get more offers in a given week than I
Not likely. I see folks "supersizing it" with the McBurger and McFries at the local McDriveThru. Hardly lasts 10 minutes.
Not likely. Average income? What ... on the order of $40K? Average CC debt? On the order of $9K. Do the math. That ain't "reasonable" by anyone's definition.
Maybe ... but increasingly rare.
Not on your life. Average Joe American doesn't have plans for what he'll make for dinner, let alone what he'll do for debt management.
Judicious and credit card debt just don't match up with the average American.
No. The same can't be said for individuals.
Businesses finance *production*. Individuals finance *consumption*.
See the difference?
.
And this has what to do with the topic? You mean using credit cards to pay for a meal at McDonalds? I do it all the time, and pay it off at the end of the month. So what? Do you assume that everyone who buys consumer products with a credit card is wallowing in outrageous debt, a bankruptcy waiting to happen?
And I do not condone that. My statements refer to individuals with debt that IS a reasonable proportion of their predictable income. If you think a reasonable proportion is and always will be zero, we never will agree. Please be clear on that point so I can avoid the argument.
I, personally, feel rather secure. My wife and I both hold salaried positions in separate large healthcare organizations. I've survived 3 rounds of layoffs over the past several decades. We easily could work for the same employer but make a point of not doing that, purely to mitigate risk to our family income. There is risk in employment, just as there is risk in investment. You have to manage it.
Again, you describe what you believe is how Average Joe American handles his money. I have no idea what you consider average, nor do we have to agree that they handle it correctly or not. My statements apply to people to DO manage debt with intelligence and balance.
Again, 'average American'. Again, I'm not opining about whether an Average American handles debt properly. Only that debt, handled properly, is not evil and can be advantageous.
Individuals use debt to help with cash flow. If it's beneficial for me to have a tax-deductible mortgage on a home that reasonable advisers agree is within my means, and I invest the cash that I would otherwise have to have paid to buy the house outright, I'm financing "consumption" (housing) by your definition, why would I not do that? Is debt to be avoided at all costs, including reducing my future net worth? That doesn't make sense.
Creatively quoting Chris hopefully will not change readers interpretation of his intent.
Chris was not speaking to the average American, but to judicious use of credit. Why aren't you?
The same can be said for individuals. I have a mortgage and I invest potential extra principal payments. I had a car payment, ditto. You can do the same with margin accounts or rental property.
You're pretty fiesty today. Did Santa leave coal in your stocking?
-Will
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