Credit card purchases...

No, it simply lists the name of the company you charged your card to, and the location, date and time. Sometimes if you wish to call the company, it is possible to find out what specific items were bought, but it depends on the place you made the purchase. A small business will likely have a simple credit card machine and won't record WHAT was purchased, just the price, whereas a big chain store like Best Buy or Sears, or whatever, will record what you purchased, and your credit card company can obtain this information. It is not sent in your bill, though.

 

Oh, it would certainly say the total AMOUNT of the charge, that goes without saying, but not what the item(s) were, just the seller's name as he lists it to the credit card company

 

I have two, one is a visa check card which withdraws from my checking account, so I see that whenever I see my bank statement, and the other is a normal visa. I may glance at the list of transactions, but don't pay much attention.

I must ask, Shape, are you intending to, say, use your parents card, or the one you gave you, for something they would disapprove of?

 

In that case, I recommend the Visa check card

 

Why do you want a credit card? They are terrible things if not handled properly. Take this advice seriously, do not charge more than you can pay off each month. If you intend to use it as a convenience, so you don't have to carry cash on you at all times, that's one thing, but if you intend to use it to make large purchases because you really can't afford an item at this time, that is a red flag. So many people are having their lives screwed up by misunderstanding and misusing credit (in it's various forms). So please be careful.

 

General rule of thumb with a credit card; if you don't have the cash in the bank to buy it so you can pay off the balance quickly, don't. Credit cards, if used wisely, are an excellent way to build your credit score, though, establishing a history of responsible credit use. This will come in handy when you go to make a major purchase such as a car or a house.

jag

 

Which is why I recommend a check card, which withdraws from your checking account, so you're not spending money you don't have.

 

Check cards don't work quite the same way with the credit bureaus as a regular credit card does, because you're not really establishing line of credit usage history.

jag

 

just pay for your porn with cash or money order.

 

I don't know how old you are, but if you're still in High School or College, I would advise against it. I used to have both a check card and a credit card, but almost got myself into trouble with late payments. You'd be amazed how fast that month can go by when you aren't thinking about it.

 

That's true. But you only need credit if you're poor. If you have money you don't need credit.

 

Ummm, check your facts. Most people, even affluent ones, need to take out some kind of loan, such as a mortgage on a home, which operates on the same system as credit cards. Credit cards are a great way to build your credit score, thus giving you access to better loans.

 

Unless you're posting from your $50 Million yacht that you paid cash for, you may want to rethink your statement. Are you planning to pay cash for your first house?

jag

 

Affluent people don't have mortgages they do pay cash. Or at least, they have that option, though they may choose not to exercise it.

I don't have a $50 million dollar yacht, nor do I need that much to buy a house. I paid cash for my car when I bought it new. It's not impossible to do the same for a house. Credit cards serve their purpose, but mostly for the companies issuing them. Americans have been duped in to thinking they need them to build this mysterious "credit." But like I said, if you've got the cash, you don't need credit. Credit is really for people who can't afford things. Credit cards are convenient for emergencies or things you buy regularly, like gas. Unfortunately, a lot of people buy stereos, computers, furniture, etc. Expense stuff that they often take years to pay for and which winds up costing three or more times the original price. Do without a little longer, save your money, pay cash, and then you'll be paying cash for your cars and houses, too.

 

Sounds like someone hasn't bought their first house, yet.

jag

 

Casey, aren't you still a teenager? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember seeing that somewhere.

 

It depends where you're buying. And actually, yes I have. (though it was a cheap one for flipping) But if you're buying in LA or NY, then yeah, you're probably going to need half a million dollars. There are still lots of places that are far more affordable though.

 

Alright, let me paint a couple of scenarios for you, because if you don't own your place you're either renting or sponging off of your friends or relatives until you've saved enough money for your own place (and I don't know of too many parents who would let you live with them for ten years rent-free while you saved up enough money to buy your first home):

Scenario 1: You've managed to get together the deposit money for a 7-800 sq. ft. 2 bedroom apartment (yes, you needed decent credit to do it in the first place). Your rent is $1200/month and you're annual net monthly income is $2500. After utilities, food, rent, car insurance, gas, maybe a car payment...you're pretty much scraping by. So, you get a roommate to move in and pay half the rent and utilities, so y0ou're able to save about $600/month towards your house you intend to eventually buy. How many years do you think that will take?

Scenario 2: You've managed to scrape together the 5-10% minimum down payment to buy your first starter home. It's a decent 1600 sq. ft, 3 bedroom 2-bath home. Pretty standard. Homes like this in your area are going for for around $198k, but you found a good deal and picked one up at a steal for $183k because the owners were desperate and just needed to get out. You got a good interest rate on your mortgage and your monthly payment is around $1000. After utilities, car and homeowners insurance, mortgage payment, food and gas and maybe a car payment, you still have several hundred per month that you can put in the bank. Being smart, you get yourself a roommate and get them paying at least half if not more of your mortgage and utilities and you're able to even save more money per month.

Okay, so, two scenarios. So, let's look at each of them a little more closely. When you rent, your money is gone. Every month, you are just giving your money away. It's gone. Forever. In someone else's pocket. So, in Scenario 1, you are essentially bleeding money every month. Money that you could be using to accomplish your future goals. When you own, that money goes back into the equity of the property that you own. Since you found such a great deal on your house in Scenario 2, you already have instant equity in your home to the tune of $15k worth of value if you were to sell and able to get full price. You were also smart enough to pick a home that was in a neighborhood that's appreciating, so over time your equity will continue to grow in this house while you may your mortgage payments every month. After three years, you decide to sell and get enough to walk away with $30-40k in profit because the place appreciated over time. Now you have money that you can use to upgrade to a better, bigger house, which you can afford because you've worked hard and gotten raises and promotions and now make more money and can afford nicer things.

There are some other bonuses to having your own house. You can paint and decorate the interior however you damn well please. The exterior you may have some limitations with depending on your neighborhood covenants, but still...you have some ability to make changes. You are not going to have that same freedom in an apartment, quite often. Also, in your own house, you can play your stereo as loud as you want at any hour of the night or day. You also don't have to deal with noisy neighbors, conversely, stomping on the ceiling or blaring THEIR stereos. In an apartment, you'll always have that to contend with.

So, knowing that living in an apartment, aside from the limited freedom to do what you want with the place and the noisy neighbors, you will literally be giving your money away never to return, why would you ever do so? I could see if you were new to a city and wanted to just look around and get to know the town so you could decide which part of the city you wanted to live in eventually or if you weren't sure you would be staying there permanently because maybe you were on temporary assignment by your company or something. Otherwise, being able to build equity and know that your money isn't just completely going to waste to line someone else's pockets on your mortgage because the principal of your payment is essentially paying yourself back for the loan on your own place that you have more freedom to do what you want to do with it makes a hell of a lot more sense.

So, go ahead and keep throwing your money away on rent if you like. Seems pretty damn silly, to me.

jag

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The "affluent" people you mentioned who can flat out pay cash for a home? That's less than 1% of the population. Really, listen to Jag on this one, he's spot-on.

My brother and his wife combined make over $150 K a year or so. That's pretty damn affluent. They own a home, they each own nice cars, and they own a business. And they're making payments on all of it. So, like someone else mentioned in this thread, unless you're posting from your yatch right now, you'll be dealing with credit at some point in your life. If you're really determined never to, and you're somehow capable of that? Hey, kudos, that's your choice. But that's not how 99% of the people in this country live, and for good reason. The people who are affluent don't always start as affluent. They become wealthy by making wise investments, investments they don't always have the money to make, but they take out loans so they can make them.

You say you bought a cheap home with cash for flipping? Hey, wise investment. But a cheap home is still gonna be in the $50-100,000 range. And you paid that cash? Very few people have that kind of money sitting in their bank accounts. Most of us have that in escrow earning value on our homes. It makes me think of this Futurama episode where someone's on trial for robbing a bank, and the judge says "Now, someone told me a bank is apparently a building where people keep money that's not properly invested." And it's totally true. Ideally, you always keep at least a years living expenses in the bank, but anything more than that should be in stocks, or property, or some other secure investment.

 

It's very true, though. The majority of affluent people have learned to use credit to their advantage to make their money work smarter for them and even add to their cash intake. Some of them have even become wealthy BECAUSE they figured out how to use all of it to their advantage.

jag

 

Some companies offer a very discret service by hiding or changing the name of the charge/purchase as it appears on the bill.

For instance many stripclubs take credit card but when you get the bill it may say 'Hanks Book Store' instead of '***** Poles'....

So it keeps your wife safe from that secret lol

Not talking from experience of coure I have no credit cards.