June 5, 2008
Credit cards
I don’t have any credit cards. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking - how can I get by without one? Easy - I use my debit card or write checks, or use PayPal if it’s for online purchases. Did you know you can’t use credit cards when you’re in bankruptcy? Yep, that’s a fact. I had several and they were shut down when I filed for Chapter 13, even though each had been paid off monthly and none of them had any debt on them. I filed for Chapter 13 protection so I could have time to catch up on my house notes without losing my home, but I didn’t have any other massive debt. The house was the only thing I had fallen behind on. I didn’t get any new credit cards after I paid out the bankruptcy, even though everyone was sending me pre-approved offers. Who needs the hassles?
Well, actually, I do. Y’all know that my life is a mess because I tend to not pay attention to details. You should see me trying to separate my expenses when tax time rolls around. I tend to lose about half of my receipts, so I go through my bank statements trying to remember if the $10.99 purchase at the hardware store was for my business or for home improvement. Hmmmm! Three hundred bucks to Costco, but what was office supplies and what was just general stuff? You see what I mean? It’s real mess trying to figure things out when you’re as sloppy with your finances as I am. So I’m thinking that I should look into getting a credit card for my business. I know it would make my accountant happy. The poor guy hides under his desk when he sees me coming with my paper bag full of crumpled up receipts and bank statements because he knows that I won’t be able to tell him what most of it means. Monthly credit card statements that have only business purchases on them would fix the problem, for him and for me. Which credit card to pick, though? There are so many credit card companies, and each offers something a little different from the next. I need to do some research first and I’ve found a site that can help me out. Credit Cards Club offers credit card reviews for all of the major companies, and has them broken down by the type of cards you are interested in. So if I want a Business Credit Card I can go to their site and see what each company offers, what their fees are and how much interest they charge. Since everything is right there on one site I can compare apples and apples without having to go to each separate issuer’s site. There are some handy articles, too, that explain the ins and outs of each type of credit card, so that’s helpful in making decisions about where to start. My bankruptcy lawyer told me to get a credit card - any credit card - as soon as the bankruptcy was paid out so that I could start building a new credit history. I meant to do that, but you know me and my procrastinating! I guess late is better than never though, and I’ve got two good reasons to do it - to make my accountant’s life easier and to rebuild my credit - so wish me luck, folks. I’m taking the plunge! You should check them out next time you’re ready to apply for a credit card, too. It just makes sense to get reviews of all of the credit card companies in one place, don’t you think?
Posted by skeet @ 5:39 pm • Finance
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June 6th, 2008 at 6:58 am, Anele Says:
That is definitely a great idea. Hubby has a business credit card for his which makes it easy to discern expenses. I’m a little lazier and use a pink highlighter for business expenses on receipts or my personal credit card.
I’ll tell you this, we have the First Hawaiian Bank credit card (fhbonline.com) and we only have it to get cashback and/or the local gift cards they offer. BUT it has a very high interest rate, like close to 20% I think. I don’t know for sure b/c we’ve never paid a finance charge to them. We pay off every month but I’m sure there are other cards with much better rates.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:31 am, skeet Says:
Anele, I bank at FNB and am happy to have my account there. I looked into them when I was refinancing my home and I’ve looked at their credit card offers. Not much aloha there! I think I’ll just stick to basic banking with them.