11 Purchases You Should Never Make with a Credit Card

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Credit cards are a double-edged sword. They can help you improve your credit score and obtain significant loans for a home or a car. On the other hand, used incorrectly, they can leave you with a credit card balance that will eat you alive. To make sure you don’t end up with a financial guillotine over your head, stay away from making these 9 purchases with a credit card.

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13 thoughts on “11 Purchases You Should Never Make with a Credit Card”

  1. 20
    7

    Most of these ‘you should never buy with a credit card’ assume it’s being done because the purchase is an unaffordable luxury – or a bill that should be payable in cash. But I get back 3% on my grocery purchases, 4% on my gasoline purchases, and 5% on my Internet / cell phone / streaming services, 3% at gas stations, and 5% back on any Amazon purchases. Anything else I get back at least 2% with my City Double Cash card. (1% when you make the purchase, 1% when you pay the bill.) In the course of a year I get back many hundreds of dollars. Oh, and I pay $0.00 in ‘interest’ and $0.00 in annual card membership charges.
    For those who have some financial discipline, it makes total sense to buy with a credit card those things you recommend against. OTOH my brother and sister in law are terrible with money and they only use a debit card so they can’t go into debt yet AGAIN.

    1. 15
      2

      That’s true I use my citi card for same but you really have to be on track I pay the next day to pay off the bill that way get the cash back points and can pay the next bill on time you just got to Be Careful I do the bills so I can watch it and have reminders set some people can’t not because they want to ruin credit but sometimes life emergencies happen

      1. 6
        1

        That is exactly it. I pay all my bills before the due date and in full. Most are auto-billed and auto-paid from my bank account but a few come to me in the mail and I set those up for payment myself. The 3, 4, and 5%’s really add up, as I said, hundreds of dollars a year of tax free income because it’s basically a savings on my purchases in the form of a rebate from the CC company.
        Right now with gas at $4.50/gal by me, I get back 18-20 cents per gallon with my credit card.

    2. 8
      2

      LOL, I see a couple of people actually down-voted my comment. I guess they’re the ones who can’t handle credit cards and thus can’t take advantage of the free money – hundreds of $$ per year – as I do by using the right cards for certain purchases, and not carrying any balances.
      Credit card ‘interest’ is a luxury nobody can afford. It is a total waste of money.

  2. 13
    2

    I always autopay my medical bills, utility bills and business bills. I also spend about $100,000 in Visa purchases annually. I never pay late/credit interest. My credit score is 836 Experian. Pay your credit cards in full every month and you will have great credit and live within your means (I started this way when I only made $24,000 annually in 1981).

    1. 7
      2

      Leo – you and I have very similar stories. Got my first credit card in about 1983, making in the low 20’s. I went through a period of tight money and ‘learning’ in the middle 80’s when I relocated and bought my first house, but once I got the cards paid off I have never carried a balance ever again. My credit score is in the 820’s. I’ve got far more credit limit on cards than I will ever remotely use, and I have a $150K home equity line of credit in case of emergencies. My house and vehicles are all paid off, no installment debt. My brother and his wife never lived within their means and while they had new vehicles, fancy house, vacations etc. they are now retired, have car payments and a mortgage on a big house (which they don’t need) and I would hate to see how their finances shape up. I lived within my means and wouldn’t trade places for anything.

  3. Is there anything left that can use credit card for? All this is simply not valid article. Simply know your credit card limits and ability to pay it off. If you can not pay it off. Do not but it. or Do not have a credit card in first place. Do not live above your means.

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