rich

[dragonlady7]

This is really rich.

I've been carrying a balance on my credit card for a while now. I never did before, but towards the end of my unemployment I suddenly had to use it to pay for things with money I didn't have, which I'd never done before. (This is because of the Magical Vanishing $1500 Incident.) Since then I've never had the dough to pay it down.
Since then I've been paying $5 a month in finance charges even though the "minimum repayment" has always been 0 and I've always paid $20 because that's what I figure I can afford.

Since then my bank has happily told me that because my credit is so great I can have the guarantor taken off my account.

Today they doubled my credit limit.

And gave me some 'checks' I could write from the credit card to use it to pay for things that, presumably, one doesn't usually use a credit card for. "Write checks to yourself!" it said.

So they're actively encouraging me to be worse with money. Go USAA! You guys rule. No, I won't be writing myself a check, thanks very much, because I know how much longer it'll take me to pay down the balance. At this rate it'll be the end of the year before the $800 balance is paid. I'm not making it worse.

Though the APR is, on the surface, lower than the interest rate on my student loans. *ponders* But there are terms I don't understand, so, I somehow think not.

Comments

[mother2012.livejournal.com]

Somehow I think not, too. Things like, if you should be late for a payment they can suddenly jump the interest to 20%. Also, if you do write a check, the interest rate for that amount is probably higher.

[kittyc1978.livejournal.com]

If you read the fine print on the checks, they act as a cash advance which is rated at a higher intrest rate if you use them after certain dates. Seriously, Shred those fuckers! I investigated them when I got a set from my c.card. co. and was shocked to learn that if you use them the month after you get them in the mail with the guaranteed low rate, that the rate is COMPOUNDED! Credit companies are not concerned about your financial well being. They are concerned about theirs. The checks are a marketing thing as is raising your limit. Call them and tell them you'd like your limit lowered to something more reasonable. They are making money off your balance and are making it sound like an Award to you for being responsible with your payments. Don't let them fool you. There is no such thing as Cheap credit.