[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] um do you have a favorite credit card that you use
[speaker001:] um I probably use my Discover card more than anything else
[speaker002:] because any particular reason
[speaker001:] uh no I really don't use too many credit cards I'm not fond of them I don't like using them
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] but I've just gotten to the point where I'd rather carry that instead of cash
[speaker002:] yeah I know what you mean
[speaker001:] but but the thing is I always carry it with my checkbook so if I have I just pay for it with my check instead of
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I think I've only ever used my credit card maybe three or four times
[speaker002:] oh really wow
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] well I use um a credit card that's given out by US Air
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] well not given out I mean there's an annual fee um and the neat thing about the credit card is for every dollar that you charge you get one frequent flyer mile
[speaker001:] um-hum oh
[speaker002:] and um my husband and I tend to charge a lot and even things that we wouldn't normally charge now we charge because we've racked up seriously close in the past couple of years close to five or six thousand dollars just by charging
[speaker001:] yeah wow
[speaker002:] and um it's really great because you can get some good discounts um on US Air you know using frequent flyer mileage and all that
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] um and the annual fee isn't bad I think it's maybe thirty five dollars a year
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] um and here in Rochester maybe in in Pennsylvania also but you can charge your groceries
[speaker001:] yeah uh-huh yeah
[speaker002:] can you do that there which is great
[speaker001:] with only only certain certain cards they accept though they don't accept all kinds of cards like they only accept the major cards
[speaker002:] oh oh do do they accept Discover or no
[speaker001:] um I don't know they do accept the Discover but I know they would accept like Visa Master Card
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] well I love it and now um actually our our mortgage company is starting I think June first or something is going to start allowing people to charge their mortgage
[speaker001:] oh my
[speaker002:] and that's going to be great um and in the beginning we were having a problem because we would charge everything and then get this enormous bill
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and just be totally wiped out because one thing I hate is paying interest
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I refuse to pay interest if I'm going to do that I'm not going to use a credit card
[speaker001:] exactly exactly
[speaker002:] so what I do now is I I work it like a checkbook and every time I charge something I write it rout I write it out so I'm not fooling myself into thinking I have that money
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] you know I write it out and then it's it's as if I paid in cash
[speaker001:] exactly yeah
[speaker002:] so you're somebody that will pay off your bills right away
[speaker001:] uh yes yes definitely that see that if if I don't have the money in my checking account I will not charge it even if I have the charge
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] I have to have that money before I'll charge it
[speaker002:] um-hum yep I know what you mean
[speaker001:] I refuse well I'm a college student and I'm a finance major
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] so and um I don't I oh my gosh I probably I have a Discover card
[speaker002:] well that makes sense
[speaker001:] I have an AT&T card but I don't use it because I don't even know where it is I put it away like two years ago because I thought if I don't see it I won't use it which is really good because then
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] I you know a lot of my friends have like outrageous phone bills but I don't have it because I don't use mine
[speaker002:] oh yeah
[speaker001:] and um I know I have Montgomery Ward's I have a um a J C Penney's I have a Kaufman's you know I have a Fashion Bug I have a whole bunch of them
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] and I just used my J C Penney card and it's a year old and that was the first time I've ever used it
[speaker002:] really well
[speaker001:] yeah I just I don't think to use them all the time and if I do use one I would rather use my Discover card one
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] and they're getting to the point now too at the end of the year
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] all the money that you've you've charged on they'll pay you I think it's ten percent back
[speaker002:] um-hum a discount yeah yeah
[speaker001:] so you know I even got a couple dollars back
[speaker002:] seem um-hum it's definitely worth if you pay off your bills in full then credit cards are a real good idea
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah
[speaker002:] because you don't have to carry a whole lot of cash and you get the interest you know if you charge at the beginning of the month then you're getting a month's worth of interest
[speaker001:] exactly
[speaker002:] in your account
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] um but the second you let it go even one month um they had made an error on our statement where they never posted the payment yet I had the canceled check I had everything
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and um I mean for that amount it was like a thirty dollar interest charge
[speaker001:] oh my gosh
[speaker002:] that's like another purchase for me it buying something
[speaker001:] yeah me too that would definitely be for me too um-hum
[speaker002:] yeah but um you know one thing one of the reasons because I have some of those cards that you mentioned and I think about it and a lot of reason I have those cards because J C Penney offered you know a free gift if you buy it
[speaker001:] uh that's why I have it
[speaker002:] yeah or five dollars off this purchase if you you know sign up and
[speaker001:] uh-huh um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh as long as it because I don't J C Penney doesn't cost you anything I don't think
[speaker001:] no huh-uh no
[speaker002:] right and so as long as it doesn't cost you anything then
[speaker001:] that that yeah and being a college student I get um applications for them all the time I think once a week I have an application and the first thing I check for is if there's an annual fee if there's an annual fee I ditch it because I don't use them that often so it wouldn't even pay me to get it even if it was you know
[speaker002:] oh yeah um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] and uh my Discover card I have no annual fee and my mom like I started using mine and I told my mom about it
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] and now she buys everything with her Discover Discover card and she works it the way you do with your card she writes it down like she would a check and then you know that way she's getting the interest on it too because at the end of the year they give her back her interest
[speaker002:] um-hum oh yeah um-hum oh right
[speaker001:] and I think she got back like fifty some dollars last year
[speaker002:] uh wow that is great
[speaker001:] so I mean she might spend three thousand but if you get thirty of it back you know that's still thirty dollars less
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah right and that's thirty dollars that you didn't pay any money to have it in the first place
[speaker001:] exactly and she you know my mom's like that too she pays it off as soon as the bill comes
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] one thing I still don't understand about credit cards is is how you can borrow money off a credit card I still haven't quite figured that out
[speaker001:] I haven't tried it I don't trust it
[speaker002:] I know I don't trust it either and um I know you can do it with a Visa card but it just seems like too simple and I know that there's some hidden
[speaker001:] um-hum there's so there's so much fine print that I don't understand that I won't even try it
[speaker002:] yeah yeah yeah
[speaker001:] yeah I just rely on my Mac card
[speaker002:] on your what
[speaker001:] my Mac card just take it out of the bank
[speaker002:] oh just yeah the machine one thing that um that does scare me a little bit about my credit card is when I am giving it over the phone
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] or you know if I I I tend to buy a lot of things from TV like not not the shopper's thing but sometimes they'll be something good that they're selling a record or something like that and um
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah
[speaker002:] and after I do it I think God who did I give my number to
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and um you know what are they going to do with it how can I trust them or whatever
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah
[speaker002:] but um the credit card company I did have a charge on there once that I had no receipt for I had no recollection I didn't even know the the store
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and they took it right off no questions I just said this isn't my charge if you can prove that it is then great if you can't then um you know just take it off
[speaker001:] okay um-hum yeah they're usually I think they're usually pretty good about that
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] uh I mean they they probably realized it was their mistake if if they really thought that it was not their mistake I think they would probably send you something proving that you actually did have it so
[speaker002:] yeah oh yeah yeah they would pursue it definitely
[speaker001:] yeah uh-huh I I'm I'm starting to use my credit card more like I said I'm a college student and the past two semesters I bought my books with it
[speaker002:] yeah oh yeah
[speaker001:] so and I run between two and three hundred dollars a semester with books
[speaker002:] um-hum um yeah
[speaker001:] so that's approximately between five and six hundred dollars that I put on it and I just keep thinking oh good I'm going to get that back I'm going to get a little bit back uh-huh
[speaker002:] right right yeah that's true before you could at least deduct if you did pay any interest you could at least deduct that from your taxes
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but now you can't do it and I know people that have racked up they they keep getting their limit extended because they keep exceeding it
[speaker001:] I I can't see that
[speaker002:] and then and all they can do is is pay the minimum balance or not that you know
[speaker001:] and when they do that all they're doing is paying the interest on it they're not even paying the principal
[speaker002:] exactly oh nope they're not even touching it
[speaker001:] I I uh when when I get to people like that I wish I think the company should just say uh we're not giving you any more until you pay this off
[speaker002:] I know
[speaker001:] it don't I realize that the company wants you to use it you know and extend it all the time they're making more money off you
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] but I think they should have the the consumer the most interest you know
[speaker002:] yeah it's true though because then all they end up doing is spending more of their time making collection calls
[speaker001:] it's like they're addicted to using their credit card or something
[speaker002:] oh yeah some people are they really are I mean if they have if they know they have more more on their limit
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] that I I might I think my brother-in-law is like that actually but um he if he has a hundred dollars left until he reaches his limit he'll spend it
[speaker001:] oh my God
[speaker002:] he can't because to him it's like money to him it's like a a loan almost in a sense and he can't bear to
[speaker001:] I can't I can't do that
[speaker002:] no I can't either
[speaker001:] I have like I said I have to I have to know that I have that money before I'll spend it
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] so I I I don't
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] I don't know of course my mom lives very she was she had twelve kids and of course she she watched her money all the time and I that was one good thing I did get off of her
[speaker002:] I know oh my God
[speaker001:] uh I don't mind spending my money as long as it's a necessity
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and if it's something I really really want but just to go out and start buying I'm not like that and that's something I got off of her and I'm
[speaker002:] yeah