Today I spent some time taking inventory of a whole bunch of gift cards I’ve received; I did this largely because I was down to just over $6 of credit on the iTunes Store and I knew I had a few gift cards.
In fact, between a gift certificate and gift card I added $80 to my iTS account.
I also have $80 in Visa gift cards and a smattering of other cards from stores or restaurants like Jamba Juice, California Pizza Kitchen, and Longs.
I know I sometimes debate to myself whether or not to use a reward credit card for a purchase or a gift card. In general my rule is to use the gift card, but I don’t always follow that rule. If it’s a generic Visa gift card, for instance, and I need gasoline, I’d rather use one of my two 5% reward cards.
For the most part, I will use gift cards if I have them. It’s just that there are a few exceptions.
In a Forbes.com blog, the story of a Cleveland woman who is suing her credit card company for discrimination is run. The gist of the story: the woman had her credit card limit reduced drastically. When she called the credit card company to ask why the limit was reduced, her marital status was listed as a key factor.
According to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, discrimination based on marital status (and other factors such as race and age) is not supposed to exist, which means this may not be a legal practice.
As a lifelong bachelor, this worries me a bit.
I will be interested in seeing how this plays out.
I admit it–I use credit cards wherever possible. I don’t do this because I can’t pay for something with cash–I do it because I want the rebates, discounts, or rewards from the cards, the one to five percent I get back in some manner from the credit card companies.
Call me the personal finance blogger who uses the opposite of cash.
Yet, we may be reaching the point where we’ve gotten too far away from cash. For instance, a medical equipment company I know won’t, with rare exception, rent to someone without a credit card.
Even if the person has enough cash to pay the rent.
Perhaps it’s time to consider just how far away we’ve gotten from cash.
One of my coworkers, a divorcee with adult children who, like me, works multiple jobs, was asking about taking out a home equity loan to pay off some credit card debt. My response: it’s more important to reduce spending to live within your means than it is to pay this off in this manner, because all that’s happening is debt is being shifted from one pile to the other.
“But I can’t make ends meet.”
And that’s what it came down to. I could sit down with my coworker and go over every single bit of her budget to try to find areas to cut–piano lessons, gym memberships, cell phones for her adult kids–and none of it would matter if she didn’t have the discipline to actually do it.
A budget, after all, is just a plan; if she can’t follow through, it doesn’t matter how the math looks. What counts is the discipline to keep spending in check, and if she doesn’t have that, no amount of loans or plans will help.
I said some time ago one of the things I wanted to buy this year was a new point and shoot digital camera to replace my aging Fujis. The one I really want is a Nikon P6000–one of the three best on the market in my research, along with the Canon G11 (or older G10 and G9) and Lumix/Panasonic LX3.
On the other hand, I’m trying to make sure I can afford the trip to Philadelphia for the Livestrong Challenge–including shipping my bike there. So I’m even more careful about dollars than usual.
That said, refurbished Nikon P6000s from Adorama have been listed on eBay recently at $299; then dropped to $249. A typical price on a new P6000 is more than $500.
Temptation.
The auction expired this morning, and I didn’t order one. It’s started again, however, so that might be a possibility in the next few days–think card timing–after I reassess my financial situation. It’s not likely, though–something I need to sacrifice in order to reach my larger goals.
Sacrifice isn’t the fun thing to do, but it’s the best thing to do in this circumstance–and it’s become more and more of a part of me. I don’t like it, but I do what I need to do, and in this case–it’s what I need to do.
My dislike of the customer service of Sprint is legendary, but I have to say that the company does get quite a few things correct, and one of them is that they’ve offered customers like me a $5 one time credit for going to paperless statements.
This offer versus Discover’s $15,000 contest that you enter by going paperless.
From my perspective, I will take the $5 anytime. Thanks to Sprint for figuring this one out. And kudos to them for making such an offer. I think it’s a great thing for both themselves and their customers and I’ll take them up on it.
In fact, I already have.
Despite my somewhat negative post about them, I like Discover Card, and I always have, but this takes the cake.
I’ve had a long standing personal policy about going to online only statements–if there’s a financial advantage to my going to them, I’m more than willing to. But if the financial company won’t give me any financial reason to do so, I won’t switch. Chase, whom is not among my favorite companies, gave me $5.00 a few years ago to go to online statements, so I did.
So, what has Discover done this time? They’ve instituted a contest where you enter by discontinuing paper statements.
A few people will rake in some very nice prices, and the vast majority of people get… nothing.
Thanks, but no thanks. Give me a $5 credit and I’d be more than happy to stop. Until then, I’ll be okay with getting paper statements.
Welcome to our September 6, 2009 Link Payday! Once again, we take a few minutes to look at some of the best posts in the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:
Spilling Buckets covers something that’s not just about personal finance when they remind us to Don’t Become a Victim of Yourself. It goes in line with some of the things that have been going on in my life recently.
The Frugal Duchess tries to get us to do the impossible (I was just traveling in late July!) when she tells us How to Find Cheap Food at Airports. I particularly use her final hint: pack food! This is what cargo pants are for.
Trent from The Simple Dollar gives us some great advice and practical tips when he covers 21 Ways to Reduce Your Spending Without Making Your Life Miserable. Way one is the best: “Get rid of stuff you don’t use.”
Mrs. Micah does the math for us when she asks Wanna Pay $228.79 for a $200 TV? This just shows what a horrible idea charging something without paying it off in full at month’s end really is.
Finally, David at My Two Dollars covers a topic that is becoming more and more important as the unemployment levels continue at high levels when he asks What is COBRA Health Insurance?
And that’s our Link Payday for September 6, 2009!
Welcome to your late but ready now Link Payday for August 9, 2009. Let’s not take up any more time before checking out the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:
For something fun, Frugal Dad put together his Top Ten Songs About Money–The Frugal Dad Soundtrack. Funny, funny, funny.
JLP over at All Financial Matters asks Are Your Credit Cards’ Minimum Payments Going Up? It appears that some folks are having the minimum on their credit card payments going from two to five percent. While I don’t advocate keeping a balance on your cards, if you do, this could more than double what you’re required to pay and put a serious dent in your budget!
Beks over at Blogging Away Debt writes a letter about her School Tuition Nightmares. As a former undergraduate and graduate student, I can remember the financial struggles to get through those times–but I’m glad I did it.
My favorite personal finance librarian blogger, Mrs. Micah, tells us Where Your Library Fines Go as well as how to support your public library. I am a big fan of the public library, so I love to do things to support them when I can (but as she says, fines are not helping).
Finally, my buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal asks Who is the Fool in Your Life? Interestingly, it’s not about someone who is the opposite of smart.
And that’s our Link Payday for August 9, 2009!
I’m on vacation this week. Some of these posts may be a bit short, but they were written to give you something to read while I’m traveling as well as to continue on our ongoing themes:
I’ve been a bit tough on Discover the last few times I’ve discussed them, even though I like their cards. This week, they gave me a reason to talk up their cards for the first time in awhile.
I got a new Discover card (they have been sending these out even if you’re nowhere near your expiration date, presumably to try to increase use) in the mail and one of the things I was pleased to find was a mention of an extended product warranty program.
Apparently at least one of the Discover cards I now use is offering extended warranty protection, up to a year, doubling the manufacturer warranty. This is something that some Mastercard and Visa cards and (as far as I know) all American Express cards have done for awhile–if the purchase is made with that card, it’s possible to get the extended warranty without charge.
I’m not sure how this one will compare versus the others–I’ve been a fan of Visa’s warranty program for portable electronics–but it’s surely nice to have it as an option.
