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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 7:20 pm

I left early from work tonight because I'm really tired...And I'm using the last bit of my energy to stay awake to pay my house's bills for the month..Gas, Electric, Phone, etc...

I also just paid my credit cards. I am proud of the fact that I maintain a zero balance every month. *applause* I USE my cards...But I pay them off every month.

I have 4 cards total..I get them out when I'm paying my bills...I take them all out, and then I put them in the opposite side of my wallet in my purse..That reminds me that they're paid.

Ok, so I ramble when I'm tired...Point of this story...I'm looking at my cards, and I noticed how PRETTY they are....I have a Mastercard which is white, with a sparkly background and bright silver numbers...My other MC has a blue and white polka dot background with sparkles...My Visa is a little boring, but is a nice shade of royal blue...Even my debit card has a relaxing beach theme...

Why do they have to be so pretty? I'm starting to think it's a trick from the bank to make you want to use them. If the card was bigger and plain, would I still want to pull it out of my purse? I'm not sure. I might be embarassed if it was awkward and more plain.

The same for checks..You can get them with any kind of design you want. They're fun to pick out. And I think that makes them fun to write on to spend your money.

Do you think that if every single one of your cards looked the same, just different numbers would you get excited to use it?

I can't believe how PRETTY my white sparkly one is....lol It's horrible.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:01 pm

I'm waiting for the day I get the black AMEX card. I want that one.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:13 pm

I am waiting on my black AMEX card myself. That means that I have finally moved up in the world. Laughing

I had a Orchard Bank card and was amazed of how beautiful it was and how stricking the definition and the color was. Green, dark green. I love green.

But then I had a Capital One Credit Card with the Ocean view on it. I feel the crisp warm feeling of touching the plastic as I slid it across the sudden credit card machine listening to the ringing of the harmony of the cash register. Ah, the days.

But just like a handsome man, it was just pretty on its face. Laughing

But it was deadly.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:36 pm

Aren't there some companies that allow you to put your own image on the card? I thought I'd heard that somewhere. I know one bank has a card that has a picture of a pug on it. When I saw that I immediatly thought "I need that card!"

*note - I never ended up getting the card, but having cool pictures is a good marketing technique.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:51 pm

All a part of marketing---look at the ads for credit cards in the magazines. They are all pretty and colorful and fun to look at. The idea is to get you, like Jessi said, to see them sitting in your wallet and "hear" them saying "pick me, pretty girl, pick me, we can have fun today!" And checks, don't get me started on them---OMG---I LOVE to look at those check ads in the Sunday paper.

BUT, here is the thing---no matter what my credit cards or checks look like, the way they looked never made me want to USE them. Buy the checks or apply for a card, YES, use--no.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:51 am

I think the black card would make me feel superior and sophisticated...lol

I've asked a lot of people about my theories...They all seem to agree! IT'S A CONSPIRACY! AHHH!

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:34 am

My Amex blue looks pretty good.Citi does allow you to cstomize your own card and I think Chase is following them with same idea. My Discover looks good but only gets used enough to remove dust from it. Laughing

I am using 3 credit cards to enhance my fico so I will be in the sweet spot come construction mortgage. I am flying on cloud nine this morning.I ran fico scores today on the wife and I. Her ave is 768.My average is 790. Yall have a good weekend. I will be in and out when I can.Enjoying my first days off in 45 days! Shocked

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:47 am

Cajun--

It will definitely be awhile for me before I see a credit score like that, or should I say, if I ever see a credit score like that Sad

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:31 am

I'm still hovering right around 600....But with newish car loan on there, my balance is pretty high..But once it's paid, I should be in better shape. 2 of my cards are new, after a few months I should get a boost. My Chris drives the car, so he makes the payments every month..I'm going to do a few extra payments though to pay it down. I would LIKE to take a second job to pay it, but I don't have the energy for the job I have right now, let alone putting in another few hours..I'd like to find something to do at home, but that's hard to find. Razz

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:52 am

Scores can be raised.Never ever give up no matter how low you think you are. Also remember on your credit report,I follow the opinion of everything is disputable.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:58 am

I've disputed accurate and inaccurate....And I've had BOTH removed...NEVER believe that you can't get something removed from your report..

I've also made deals with collectors to remove information after payment. It can be done.

I've gone from below 500 to 600ish in about 1 year. Most of my negatives have been removed from my report. And now my positives outnumber my negatives, so that makes me happy. Smile

I still kick myself every day that I didn't CARE before now. But in the next few years I will be in great shape.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:58 am

Brownsugar,
Don't give up.Take care of your personal finances in whatever way you can.After that is taking care of start the process of rebuilding.During a rebuild it is important to remember to take baby steps and take your time.Don't let that score stress you. I fought Equifax and transunion over 6 months with practically no change in score. I opened three new accounts and got rid of some bs inquiries that had no business being there. After all that trouble,I lost 25 points on transunion,Gained 11 points on equifax,and gained 15 points on Experian. I have been tweaking my reports for over a year and still can't figure out fico!!!!

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:03 am

Cajun--I don't think ANYONE can understand Fico...I think they change the rules on a daily basis to prevent anyone from figuring it out. I think if someone figured it out, the world would end...

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:08 am

That is too funny,Jesse.I gave up on understanding that insane thing last year. Last time I spoke with a loan originator,he seemed as clueless as me. He sends all our stuff to underwriter and they do manual review which I prefer. I happen to believe in a human reviewing info vs being shut down by a freakin cpu.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:15 am

I agree with you. It's a shame that more companies don't use manual review, other than a "credit score".

But until they all do, we have to work on being the best "score" we can be.

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