[speaker001:] do you use credit cards a good bit
[speaker002:] I do and I wish I didn't before I got married uh about the only credit cards I used were gas cards because I didn't like carrying
[speaker001:] uh
[speaker002:] you know the cash with me all the time but I just never wanted to get into the hang-up of using credit cards and having all those bills hanging over my head
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] in fact I remember getting my first MasterCard and the only reason I got it was you know there was a while years ago when you couldn't cash a check without like a MasterCard or Visa and so that's why I went ahead an got one
[speaker001:] okay  absolutely right um-hum
[speaker002:] it was a mistake
[speaker001:] yeah well actually I I have a whole wallet full of credit cards I don't use them very often um
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] oh I may use I try to use at least one gasoline credit card a week and try to use a different one so that you know I have keep those active
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] I have a half a dozen department store credit cards and I'm I'll use those if I need to run in and buy a dozen pair hose right quick or something like that just enough to keep them active my biggies are the Visa MasterCard and Discover
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] and for the most part I had used those for like uh charging airline tickets where I can pay for those you know you could make make the transaction over the telephone or I fly Southwest a good little bit which means I can just run that card through the machine
[speaker002:] yeah that's right
[speaker001:] uh and saves a lot time and that's what I was using it for however we had a had a a very pressing financial family crisis which said you have no alternative you must have the money to do this with and you do not have any other options so I charged all three of those cards up and right now I am paying paying and praying
[speaker002:] um-hum I know how that goes and that's exactly what we've I mean I have to say I have been thankful for them because there were times when
[speaker001:] um but uh um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] it was just like that when we had to have the money we had no way around it and the only way to do it is go get you know an advance on a card and so like you were paying for it but it's one of those I'm glad it was there
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum um-hum um-hum well I never did right I never did use it for an advance most of my charges were uh medications
[speaker002:] oh I see
[speaker001:] didn't have cash for the medications or it was uh the doctor would accept MasterCard or Visa
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] and uh a lot of times you can get by using those for uh uh different labs will use those charge accounts for
[speaker002:] well do you find now though that even some doctors won't I've gone some doctors that say you know I was so used to doctors or medical care places taking credit cards and so many of them don't anymore
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] so
[speaker001:] well I have not I like I said that was just one period in my life where that was critical
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] I don't generally charge I say well I will need a checkup in six months and I kind of set that aside and just pay for it I'm reimbursed on insurance anyway and I can handle you know paying for it and waiting two or three weeks
[speaker002:] yeah right right
[speaker001:] getting into a credit card fiasco is easy
[speaker002:] oh it is
[speaker001:] it is easy and it's very difficult to get out I just cringe every month when I see those interest charges
[speaker002:] I know
[speaker001:] I say wow I I ought to go to the credit union and borrow the money and pay this off big deal I'm saving two percent
[speaker002:] right but you know the interest even though it bothered me it didn't used to bother me so much because of course you could list it on a schedule A and you got all your interest you know towards your tax deductions and now they've messed that up to where it really is a financial burden to have to pay it and but it but it is easy to get into a credit card problem and I
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum right
[speaker002:] I think about young people that think you know there's kind of that feeling of hey it's so neat I have my first credit card and and they just don't understand that you still have to be able to make the payments you know
[speaker001:] um-hum oh yeah and it's not just paying back what you've charged it's paying that and half again uh you send in uh uh fifty dollars you're going to pay twenty twenty five in interest charges
[speaker002:] that's right that's right that's right
[speaker001:] you only get half of that paid for the principal so I'm looking at three or four years before my balances are cleared on those charge accounts now as the monthly payment
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] uh I mean as the monthly payment amount goes down that will free up more cash where I can continue to make the larger payments uh as long as I don't have a major disaster where I have to use it again I can I can do that
[speaker002:] right right
[speaker001:] meantime though I'm not building any reserves anything that I could be put aside into savings is going for interest on those cards
[speaker002:] no and that's frightening to me that's right that's frightening too uh I I just I my husband is in business for himself I work for TI but he doesn't and uh
[speaker001:] uh-huh um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] we're uh I I've kind of got my fingers crossed crossed I've learned when you're in business for yourself that that you you don't count on something until it's happened you know but he's got some
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know it's those once in a lifetime cases and after ten years he's got two of them
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and they should pay through next month and and we're both just looking at each other every night going man that'll pay off like both of our MasterCards you know and you know just in one lump because that's the only way you can do it is to have a big chunk of money or it's like you say you pay forever
[speaker001:] oh right right  um-hum um-hum um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] and so I'm really looking forward to that
[speaker001:] well you either need a big chunk of money or you need a large reserve so that if you do charge on that account you can make a single lump sum payment now those are very handy if you have the reserves and you can make lump sum payments sharp good no problem
[speaker002:] that's right right sure yeah I agree that's right
[speaker001:] because you're living on the other guy's money for a while but I can promise you that those credit card companies are going to ride high on my money and it just irks me I say my gosh I had to work three hours just to pay the interest on this and I've got three cards I've lost a whole day of my life
[speaker002:] I know and I know you're like what am I working for today
[speaker001:] to interest yeah yeah and that just blows my mind I my house is paid for my car is paid for I've got some home improvements but even the payment on that doesn't equal the payment on one of those credit cards
[speaker002:] it's incredible boy I wish I could say that my house and well my car is paid for now it was wrecked three weeks ago but
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but you see again the credit cards came in handy I had to have the money to pay rental car pay this pay that till the insurance company pays back and uh
[speaker001:] um-hum that's right I think that is a good healthy safe use of credit cards
[speaker002:] yeah because you know that's coming back to pay it off
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum uh I went to a seminar they said don't ever use your credit card for consumable items you only use credit cards for investments
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] I say for crying out loud if I had the money to invest you know if I could do some investing you'd have to invest at better than twenty percent earnings in order to pay for the payments on the credit card
[speaker002:] it sure that's right
[speaker001:] that doesn't make a bit of sense to me I thought God dang where is his pencil
[speaker002:] that's right well the smart half was don't pay it for consumables don't you know if you can't afford to go to a restaurant and eat out and pay cash don't put it on a credit card you know and and so that that is the smart half
[speaker001:] that's right um-hum
[speaker002:] but uh and I can remember before we had kids we did that a lot but it was no biggie
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know because we could pay it off while after kids and you're paying child care and other things all of a sudden it's not so easy to pay off so we cut that out real quick
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh but I I do like having them there there is a bit of security in having the credit cards and knowing that in times of crisis they are there to use
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but you have to have a very good sense of saving and or common sense not not to get yourself in trouble
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum you also have to have that willingness to commit to that because you're committing a good portion of your life and income when you do it
[speaker002:] um-hum