From Google Video:
About This Documentary (1hr 27 min): How credit cards impose modern slavery on the people. To give people digits on their bank account and charge interest on something that is not real, backed up by nothing except debt, never had value, does not have value and will never have value.
Are you maxed out?
A fabulous reader asked me the following question via email:
Hi Single Ma:
I have a question for you in reference to identity theft insurance and hoped you could answer it for me in layman’s terms. Sometimes I get lost when it comes to the terms used in regards to financial issues. My credit isn’t the best right now but I am almost there, and wanted to know if identity theft insurance is really worth it. I have read a couple of places that it is not but I would rather talk to you because your explanations make perfect sense and are easy to understand. Thank you in advance.
Single Ma’s Thoughts:
Nope, it isn’t worth it to ME because:
1 - Paying for it doesn’t guarantee that my identity will NOT be stolen. So if Big Company Z can’t guarantee it won’t happen, what exactly am I paying for? Just in case it DOES happen? How the heck is that beneficial to me?
2 - Whatever the insurance company will do if I became a victim of identity theft, I can do myself for FREE. Such as:
3 - Most credit cards have zero liability or a maximum $50 liability if I report the identity theft within xx days. The accounts will be frozen immediately, and after proof of a police report, new cards may be issued at my request.
4 - I can monitor my own credit reports by going to AnnualCreditReport to get the main three reports for free. Some people get one credit report every 3-4 months to space it out, but I prefer to see all three at the same time because they often report different things. Also, for people who live in a qualifying state or experience one of these situations, they can request additional reports directly from each credit bureau for free. Some banks even offer their customers free monitoring services that provide immediate notifications of any changes via email.
The only way I’d consider buying identity theft insurance is if they will:
1 - Assume all liability and pay all balances IF I was held responsible for the charges.
2 - Hire representation and cover all legal fees IF I had to appear in court to clear my name.
3 - Refund a % of the premium if I didn’t experience identity theft during the coverage period.
Otherwise, I can do it myself for free. Everyone should actively manage their own credit anyway. Always remember, no one is going to look out for you better than YOU.
Back in the day, I used to track my credit cards religiously because I had so many - about 22 active at one time. Most of them served different purposes with the various reward options. There was my favorite grocery rewards card, the gas card, store card, office supply card, restaurant card, the card that redeemed points for gift cards, the cash back card, etc. Nowadays, I’m not into juggling the reward game as much. I’ve slowly reduced the herd and stick to cash back incentives only.
It’s been over a year (July 2006) since I’ve reviewed my credit card limits. So here’s the latest and greatest of Single Ma’s credit card family.
Soon after, I combined the limits and closed the DR. I decided to keep the Professional for business purposes, but I haven’t used it in months.
TOTAL AVAILABLE CREDIT: $196,300
To address the common questions:
1 - I charge everything on my credit cards - from utility bills to a pack of $0.25 gum. All charges are paid in full when the statements close and I earn a few hundred a year in cash back rewards. No 0% BT games.
2 - I always carry my favorite card (USAA) with an extra on rotation for backup.
3 - None of my cards have annual fees.
4 - I have no idea what any of my interest rates are because I never carry a balance, so it doesn’t matter.
5 - Every six months, I use each card to keep it active. Otherwise, the creditor will close it due to inactivity. Once a card is closed in good standing, the history only remains for 10 years.
6 - I track the status on all cards through yodlee using ONE login.
7 - I set notifications on every card (except USAA) to send an email when more than $10 is charged, so I’ll be notified immediately if/when it’s used.
8 - I use a credit monitoring service that notifies me via email of any changes to my credit report.
9 - All cards have a ZERO liability policy, meaning I will not be held responsible for any unauthorized charges.
10 - I prefer using credit over cash due to extra protection, better tracking/budgeting, extra warranties, and of course - rewards.
MOST POPULAR QUESTION: why do I have so much outstanding credit?
A better question is, why not? I use credit as a tool, not as a means to incur debt.
ETA: I don’t know why but someone emailed me just to question my ability to obtain such high credit limits. For the record, everything I share about my financial life is true. When I’m talking about someone, I may gloss over certain details to protect the innocent, or maybe even my identity. But for the most part, my financial life (previous struggles and all) are verifiable under oath. With that said, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. But just to humor the straggling non-believer, here’s a screen shot of my BofA Plat Visa (card #1 above) account.
Happy now?
If I ever feel the need to lie about my finances, it’s time to shut this blog down!!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
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You all might think I’m crazy but I really, really, really HATE cash. It disappears too dang quickly and I don’t know where it all goes. Prime example:
Several colleagues and I had lunch at Tivoli’s: large party, one check, automatic 20% gratuity. The bill was ~$280.
No problem.
However, out of 10 people, only 3 came prepared to pay with cash. *sigh*
Problem.
To avoid the confusion that was about to ensue, I offered to pay the bill with my credit card and we would worry about the distribution later. Back at the office, I gave the admin my receipt. She calculated the cost of everyone’s meal and drinks (plus tax and tip), then sent an email to each person with how much they owed me. Their combined total was $255.
No problem.
By COB the next day, I was given an envelope with $280 cash. Did I mention these were very generous colleagues? LOL I can probably guess who, but apparently, someone insisted on paying for my meal.
Of course, NO PROBLEM. LOL!
Unfortunately, it’s been less than a week and I have NO IDEA where it all went. For the life of me, I can not tell you what I bought, when I bought it, or where I bought it. And this burns me up!
In order to control my finances, I need visibility. I need to know how much money I have and where it’s going. With cash, there’s no guaranteed way to do that because when it’s gone, it’s gone. Like magic, just disappears without a trace. There’s nothing to prove it even existed.
$280. Less than one week later. And the only thing I know - it’s gone.
*sigh* Reason #982788 to love my credit cards.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
MSN has an article titled, what bad credit really costs you.
Bankrate.com also has an article on the many ways bad credit can hurt you.
A bad credit rating can result in higher mortgage and auto loan rates, higher utility deposits, higher car insurance premiums, and even an opportunity for the job of your dreams. In some cases, it’s really unfortunate how much that infamous 3 digit number can affect your life, but it should serve as a reminder to get your credit straight. I’ve said it a million times, bad credit is NOT fabulous!! So if you have any negative accounts haunting your credit reports, check out my series of posts titled “Operation Credit Repair” or visit my favorite hangout spot and get poppin’ on the clean up!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
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