My grandmother told me once, "you know Christmas is coming all year long" Bam. I'm the oldest of 10. I start Christmas shopping in February and keep a list, that way I don't show up empty handed and can still pay my bills. BTW, I don't have any credit cards, not one.

Any gift is appreciated. Handmade or homemade gifts. You eat food, make cookies or a pie or candy - I told a sister I didn't care if it was a ring from a gumball machine. It's the fact that I was thought of to begin with.

Get yo paper up boi

you doing something wrong then

Yes! It is definitely ‘good enough’. It is a blessing. Thank you for a sensible comment.

Pay it off weekly and use it in place of your debit card to max your points or cash back values. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE REWARDS!

been there and done that....biggest mistake I did not have to make, not ever again.....

This.@@jaisway

Good job!!!

Breaking the habit means you don’t have a credit card at all.

Wise!

That's simultaneously the saddest and most heart-warming thing I've read.

Good idea

Hand made gifts - dollar store. I'm the oldest of 10 and I started in February, buy one every couple of weeks. I don't show up empty-handed and can still pay the bills. I told my sister it didn't matter if it was a bubble gum ring - it was the fact that she thought of me. Grandma said, "you know Christmas is coming all year long" Yes, she's right.

I'm sure the kids will remember that one when their friends are playing on their new playstations

....with cash.

I dont spend more than $500.00 on my credit card per month. it's just that simple. I used to be an impulsive shopper. im glad I stopped that nonsense 12 years ago

Points and cash back mean nothing if you can’t pay it off in full every single month. It’s why I hate banks. You could have an account with them for years, even over a decade, but if you get hit with one single fee, well, you just wiped out everything you previously earned in interest.

@@UmmYeahOk -- Oh, definitely felt that years ago, maybe even over a decade -- missed just one payment, and the interest skyrocketed to 28% and they refused to reduce it after years of paying off the card religiously (and despite changing cards with that bank several times, that interest rate carried over to subsequent cards). That one mistake lead me to always pay at least the minimum -- it wasn't until the pandemic, when I was surrounded by all my "stuff" and realized it was such a waste to have spent it on, plus the inability to travel which finally got me to pay everything off, and now keep it paid off. Next step is being able to save and invest. I know there's good debt, but at this point, I just want to remain on solid footing without that pressure or wasted money on interest.

If you can't guarantee you pay the *full* balance of a credit card each month *DO NOT* use one. I have seen it go downhill from there every single time. If you leave a balance, you dont fully understand the cost of that credit and eventually you'll either spend way more than you earn, leave a balance that costs you multiple times the original cost in interest, or open other accounts that will hinder you in the long run too.

Americans are greediest creatures on earth

I am debt free with a FICO of 843. I use a credit card instead of a debit card for security reasons and pay it in full every month.

@@fleabag2mr.151 There you go. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Way to go. Stay the course

Just use them to pay off your bills and set up auto pay. When it comes to asking for a loan on a home, you need significant credit already on file to be approved.

Even if you are rich, its still frivolous spending 😂

You can buy dope with credit cards?

@@josielythdenburg723 what?

@@AnonymousGameWarden2:32 is where he discusses shoppers getting a dopamine hit when the see the credit card icon, which is totally absurd.

Agreed. It’s insane that they truly believe people get a dopamine hit whenever they see the credit card logo at checkout. I mean, it’s not like you can pay with cash online. Can’t even pay with a check anymore. And even in the real world, especially this country, a lot of places won’t even accept cash anymore. Sometimes you have to go to a specific register just to do it. And scanning a debit card is no different, other than the knowledge that if you don’t have the funds, you’ll hafta pay a huge penalty, or if your data gets leaked, you now have zero protection unlike with credit cards. I only use credit for that reason, and even then, my online shopping carts will sit abandoned because even though I have the money, it’s the knowledge that money is being removed from my account, and therefore, a finalized transaction means I now have less money. That’s not exactly a dopamine hit. It actual dread of commitment.

​@josielythdenburg723 The feeling of living within my budget is going to counter the disappointment of my reduced gift giving. And, I am disappointed that my Xmas savings went for basics earlier in the year.

Lots of these things changed during Regan administration, like all our factory jobs

@@susannpatton2893 best president ever, cry more

I used to have a credit card during my 2001-2004 college years with MBNA . 29.99% Variable APR. it took me 3 months to pay $4000 in debt. once the balance was paid in fulll I cancelled my account and cut my card in half and I ran away from MBNA like the ebola virus

@@B86432 Reagan was not a good President. Increased spending on the military, lowered taxes to far and then had to increase taxes 20 times. More jobs were created between 1972 and 1980 than from 1980 to 1988. Dollar was to strong and manufacturing went to other countries.

That was Joe Biden

Needs vs wants. Most people don’t know the difference.

Litterally so the opposite of all that and life is good

This is helpful but we still have a major issue with big corporations interfering in the market cycles keeping prices much higher and longer for the public. Capitalism is killing us. We don’t even budget properly on a national debt 💸 level.

And Starbucks is a huge rip-off. "Use it up and wear it out. Do with what you have and do without."

@@Jenda-ld8dj “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

Americans are literally born debt slaves.

You have debt if you have credit cards.

​@cita_m that's not true. If you have a $0 fee card and pay it off monthly. U dont have debt, u have rewards. I paid 0 in fees or interest and got over $300. Love discover

@@jessg1372 Um, no. Credit cards are allowing you to borrow money to make purchases. The very fact that you have a balance to pay indicates that you have borrowed money to get it. Not having debt means not having credit cards.

​@jessg1372 I pay mine off every Friday when i get paid no matter if it's 200 dollars or 2000 dollars if gotten more than 600 dollars in cash rewards never paid 1 penny of interest or fees

I do the same thing! I'm completely debt-free but use credit cards for all my purchases for the cash back rewards. I'm never charged interest because I pay it off as soon as the transaction clears.

#cantpaywontpay

Don't offer credit cards to people who are judgement proof. I am on Social Security, they cannot garnish it. I have no wages, assets, literally just a section 8 apartment and my cat. Rent, utilities, food, medicine, and transportation are always a priority expense. I have free phone & internet service through ACP, and well.. That $26,000 Credit Card debt that i racked up, will be gone off my report in 10 years. I won't even be alive in 10 years, so y'all can enjoy my economic impact :)

Amen! Interest is a sin, known to little. @@MrTONYTONYM

I agree deciding between paying bills and buying food is a horrable decision.

Its not taught in school

Money is an illusion. Trading paper for imaginary value is the wisest thing you can do.

Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Get it now

What’s to understand? Credit cards are essentially micro loans. Every time you buy something on credit, you essentially are telling the bank (that gave you the card) that you will pay back that loan in full. If you pay off that loan at the end of the month, BEFORE they can charge interest on it, then you don’t pay anything extra. Just like with a car loan, or a mortgage. If you pay off the loans immediately, (which no one ever does, which is why they took out those loans in the first place), you won’t be charged interest. If you can’t afford to pay off that new Instapot in full, maybe you shouldn’t be also charging Spotify and Prime subscriptions on the credit card either. Some things happen, like your boss paid you late, or you’re in between jobs, and therefore have to put actual essentials on credit, but you still have to pay that back, which is why you cut back, maybe even eat cup of ramen everyday. Because the longer you’re in debt, the harder it will be to get out, which is why you want that balance as small as possible. As for financial education, you don’t need a special elective class like skills for living or personal finance. Your basic high school math class goes over interest rates and APR. I believe they even force you to take economics which is kind of a blend of history and math. That’s where they teach you about investments, and what happened with Black Monday. People taking out loans to buy stock, only they still had to pay the banks back. They whole crypto and NFT thing scared the crap out of me because I was worried history was going to repeat itself. You can’t play with money you don’t have. That’s how gamblers get in trouble. Hate math? Then just don’t play the game. One day I actually scheduled to see what my APR was on my credit card, and I was SHOCKED!!! Been a customer for over two decades, always paid in full and on time, it it was like 20%!!! I don’t remember it ever being that high when I first got my card with them. I just never looked, because I never needed to know.

I'm never using a credit card

@@angel-ij4xv i myself have no intentions of having a credit card. It's just a rip off

@@jennpul1015 exactly thats how they get people to go into debt and pay all that interests

That's Cool. Alcohol and a Lady 🍌🤘

No disrespect but you should find another store to shop or several stores. Comb threw sales ads etc.

Can you not perhaps reduce your consumption to help yourself out?

I suggest Dining on a Dime, Wolfe Pit, and other sites that teach how to cook cheap, yummy meals and shop well.

Like a fat baby 😂😂😂😂

As a small automotive repair shop,I give customers a discount if they pay with check or cash and will start charging them the 2% the banks charge me in processing with a credit card....It adds up on big repair bills

So let me get this straight, you saved $80k in a year, $6600 per month and your expenses were $6k a month, which means your net income after taxes is around $13k. TRY living on $1200 a month and let me know how well "just living furgally" works for you then! Jesus Christ, I love it when rich mf'er come in the comments section and are like "just save more money".

@@CEMBerthoud I have a Massachusetts job, I lose a lot in taxes, that's both the high state taxes and the government deciding $75k a year is a lot of money now.

I have an 830 credit score and zero credit card debt. That's even more awesome.

@@tranger4579 hell yeah same here. Mines 760 but I’ve done a lot of damage when I was younger. Currently on my way to get it up there.

@@tranger4579yeah same. My scores lower at 810 but no credit card debt and making well over 150k a year. It takes discipline and sacrifice, but nothing compares to being debt free.

@@tranger4579 Getting rewards on credit cards and then paying them off every month is awesome. Why not get 2% or more cash back for things you're buying anyways with cash or debit?

80's. Regan administration changed lots. Factories started leaving

Actually it started in the 50's productivity and pay where level or equal but then greedy profiting started happening and production started climbing fast. Workers where pushed to make more while pay stayed the same or tiptoed up and as of today productivity and profits is so outrageously over what true pay is supposed to be.

@cb4734 I don't know where you were then but my grandparents moved to a northern state that was booming industrial and it stayed that way until Regan took office. So not in my area

Cars are a big part of this. Nutty.

True. Now that I shredded all my cards, and have a monthly budget, i finally have money to save and invest instead of giving it to banks in interests. I pay cash only and I gave myself a raise by cutting out subscriptions.

Surprise, surprise! You'll be alright.

Fact. The dollar is on a race to zero in a few decades.

Don't blame rates for debt' Blame folks who can not stops pending on everything they see!