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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25 thoughts on “11 Purchases You Should Never Make with a Credit Card”
I would love to have that?
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.
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
You are 100% correct, I have had multiple c/c’s for 58 years (I am 76). I have NEVER been late, never paid a fee of any kind, have credit ratings from 824 to 838 (depending on the agency). My wife and I both have been responsible for the 49 1/2 years we have been married and I “retired” at 52. My wife only worked the first 2 years we were married and back then (1972) when I was barely making $6k per year. Yes “Emergencies” do arise, but that is no excuse. Most of the ones people have told me about were hardly “emergencies” they don’t know the difference between necessities and wants. We live very comfortably as a result and have not had rent/mortgage payments or car loans for over 25 years as a result and well over $1m in investments. I have never received unemployment or welfare of any kind… ever.
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.
you got it !
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.
I use my Discover card for everything. Make $2,000 or more free each year. Have autopay set up with my bank to pay in full every month. Anyone who carries a balance and pays that interest is a idiot. I am certainly NOT going to give up free money every year!
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).
I see al ot of people here who are living dangerously. If you are truly believing that it is an incentive of 1, 2, 3 or whatever % “cash back”, you will at some point you will have a balance. Kinda like going in a casino and saying you will stop when you win back your losses. There is an emotional attachment to letting a $100 bill leave your hand as opposed to using “the card”.
I have a ZERO credit score and proud of it. Totally debt free and don’t need a loan. If you don’t have bills, you have CASH. Cash gives you options, options give you power, power makes you live smart.
Cancel all of your cards and live debt free people. You will feel totally different. Trust me, I’m there.
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.
I pay the entire balance each month and have for over 50 years. Have never had an interest charge. This article of no value to me.
All of these can be summed up into a few concepts.
1) Credit Cards have horrendous interest rates between 20 % and 30 %.
2) If you can not afford to pay cash now you will not be able to pay Card Debt Later.
3) Save 10 % of your income (or more) each month for a few larger purchases later.
4) If you want to live well, invest in a good education doing something you like to do.
5) Growing wealth takes time, so plan on living 100 years, and invest for it.
Buy whatever you want with a cash back or rewards credit card and pay it off every month. This article is for stooges that are always in debt. It is not what you buy that causes financial problems it is the person buying it.
Itl’s taking so long to FIND the 9 items not to purchase w/a credit card-I give up.
Guess u can’t use ur Credit Card for anything WOW ashy have one
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.
So you better leave all your credit cards in the freezer – or why don’t you cut it into small pieces.
I recently bought a new mattress it was a planned purchase I picked my purchase went up removed my check book and he said oh no we don’t take money. He proceeded to set me up applying for a credit card I was approved. If I paid off no interest and at a lower sale price. My husband was furious. My credit took a hit because yes I canceled right away. But credit back I’ve destroyed the card for
low blow mentioning your brother and sister in law, especially after going on and on and on about yor “financial discipline”.
“oh,” – nobody cares….
Well i guess it is ok to purchase a call girl! lol
I would add: any service or purchase that offers a discount for cash payment
So what can i buy with a credit card then?
Actually, I did buy a car once using a credit card because it was the only way I could get a car. After the purchase, another credit card made me an offer to give me a low interest rate if I were to switch my credit card debt to that one, which I did. I didn’t use the new card to buy anything until after the car paid off.
Great advice. Wish I’d had it before Christmas!