What have you bought recently?

I got bargains at the stores at the coast yesterday...

A cashmere jumper (sweater for hubs )...reduced greatly because the 250 years old department store is closing forever...

A costume black & white Onyx style Bangle for me in the same store..reduced by 60% ...

A pure Linen pale blue Tunic top..reduced to just £8.00

A deep sided double layered non-stick. frying pan..suitable for all types of hob tops.. again reduced by 60%... cost me just £19.00

..then in yet another store I bought 2 blouses .. & 2 white cami's... and a long length navy cardigan ..and a pair of my favourite stretch straight leg jeans...


..all that shopping took less than an hour .. the stores are so close together there..
 
I bought a bottle of 303 liquid wax to be used on my vehicles. It’s the same wax the owners of the cars you see on Mecum Auto Auctions on TV use. Those cars sure do shine under those lights, which probably really help to make the cars look fabulously bright.
 

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hollydolly said:
No credit card bill for me..I prefer to pay cash for mine.. no nasty surprises that way. CC is kept for only emergencies should they ever arise
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No credit card for me either. On a forum about the era when men wore hats and big bands were all the rage, I came across a milliner who was a such a gifted artisan. She was/is a young Belgian lady and she speaks impeccable English. After a long phone call I learned that she could make a bespoke hat to my design but I had to pay by Pay-Pal. By what? She quoted a couple of other ways to pay, not in her native Flemish, more fluent Gobble-de-Gook. I asked her how much and to please include value added tax, delivery charge, this, that and the other. She gave me the price and I told her to leave it with me. A couple of days later she phoned me. "You have sent me cash!" She said, as though almost perplexed as to what to do with it. "I've never been paid in cash," she said. "First time that I have ever seen a Euro," I replied. We both laughed. She had told me the price, I went to the Post Office and bought the appropriate amount in euros, put them in a card with a message and posted it off. That to me was old school, to her it was beyond comprehension.
 
When Barclays made the tap and go technology compulsory I refused. They had issued me with one of their first credit cards in 1966. A penniless student. In 2016 my new card arrived with tap & go. I cut it up and sent it back. They refused to issue an old style card so we parted, despite their protestations about safety.

For a while I would use my debit card, by now I was with another bank, NatWest. That's National Westminster. I had a phone call to stop by at the bank. When I did it was explained that using a credit card on line or over the phone is much more secure. A credit card also has a higher insured amount too. That's how I come to have a NatWest credit card. I rarely use it but they never object, it is also without tap technology.

Most of my purchases are paid in cash, that's the filthy folding stuff. It's not my actual preference, I would willingly use a card, but I hate it that my purchases are profiled somewhere by a faceless big brother. More cynically, profiles are bought and sold so that a bigger picture is built up. So by using cash and never holding a loyalty card, far less of my shopping activity ends up in big brother's file.
 
hollydolly said:
tbh..if you don't have much, unless it's an emergency, a CC is a very dangerous things to be using...road to debt hell....
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I have never been in debt hell, but I have been in we have no food hell. Our first credit card was a 7/11 card and I was so happy and excited to get it. I had a couple of hundred dollars balance and they sold MILK and FOOD. Which meant when I ran out of both, I could still feed my children.

When used correctly CC are a great blessing, it’s when people abuse them that they are a road to debt hell. There is a difference between buying a 250 dollar pair of pants or shoes and a gallon of milk. You sometimes need milk, no one needs an expensive piece of clothing.
 
horseless carriage said:
When Barclays made the tap and go technology compulsory I refused. They had issued me with one of their first credit cards in 1966. A penniless student. In 2016 my new card arrived with tap & go. I cut it up and sent it back. They refused to issue an old style card so we parted, despite their protestations about safety.

For a while I would use my debit card, by now I was with another bank, NatWest. That's National Westminster. I had a phone call to stop by at the bank. When I did it was explained that using a credit card on line or over the phone is much more secure. A credit card also has a higher insured amount too. That's how I come to have a NatWest credit card. I rarely use it but they never object, it is also without tap technology.

Most of my purchases are paid in cash, that's the filthy folding stuff. It's not my actual preference, I would willingly use a card, but I hate it that my purchases are profiled somewhere by a faceless big brother. More cynically, profiles are bought and sold so that a bigger picture is built up. So by using cash and never holding a loyalty card, far less of my shopping activity ends up in big brother's file.
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We mostly use cash as well since we seem unable to balance our checkbooks as we should and he frequently forgot to put debit purchases in the register. We use credit cards for large needed purchases. He bought a money pit house.

Turns out the HVAC is not to code. There is no heat in either bathroom so we freeze during the winter. Plus there is no AC. Since I have heart issues, an AC is necessary as we have over 100 degree weather during the summers. I really suffered last summer. the only way to get an AC is to use a card.

We also have only one card company which we keep close track of.
 
I used to use cash for most expenses but turned to CC during the pandemic because of store preferences. I never, ever use a debit card because of the lack of protections should it be lost or stolen. CCs are far safer.

That said, CCs don't tempt me to overspend - I've been very disciplined about money since early childhood. Can't take any bows for it - it's innate. Guess that DNA gift makes up for my incredibly poor sense of direction.
 
Aneeda72 said:
I have never been in debt hell, but I have been in we have no food hell. Our first credit card was a 7/11 card and I was so happy and excited to get it. I had a couple of hundred dollars balance and they sold MILK and FOOD. Which meant when I ran out of both, I could still feed my children.

When used correctly CC are a great blessing, it’s when people abuse them that they are a road to debt hell. There is a difference between buying a 250 dollar pair of pants or shoes and a gallon of milk. You sometimes need milk, no one needs an expensive piece of clothing.
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I've been in that position myself when I was a single parent... food or electricity bill... rob Peter to pay Paul...but thank goodness I never resorted to CC's.. too terrified to do that

My point being that if you have to use a CC to buy food you'll never be in the position to pay back the debt..or at least it will take forever to pay back at minimum payments, and in the meantime one would likely need more and more things... so IMO anyone who is poor should steer well clear of a Credit card if they want to remain without long term debt
 
hollydolly said:
I've been in that position myself when I was a single parent... food or electricity bill... rob Peter to pay Paul...but thank goodness I never resorted to CC's.. too terrified to do that

My point being that if you have to use a CC to buy food you'll never be in the position to pay back the debt..or at least it will take forever to pay back at minimum payments, and in the meantime one would likely need more and more things... so IMO anyone who is poor should steer well clear of a Credit card if they want to remain without long term debt
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The interest rates on credit cards (at least in the US) are beyond the pale. Can't imagine how people manage to dig their way out if they're in financial trouble to start with.

The times I lived on the financial edge everything was timed down to the wire. My mom also loaned or gave me money when things looked bleak. Bless her beautiful heart. I was lucky to have her.
 
hollydolly said:
I've been in that position myself when I was a single parent... food or electricity bill... rob Peter to pay Paul...but thank goodness I never resorted to CC's.. too terrified to do that

My point being that if you have to use a CC to buy food you'll never be in the position to pay back the debt..or at least it will take forever to pay back at minimum payments, and in the meantime one would likely need more and more things... so IMO anyone who is poor should steer well clear of a Credit card if they want to remain without long term debt
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I still disagree. It depends on too many factors. It never took us years to pay back the debt. My husband, when he got back from Vietnam, did day work. Just like in the movies he stood outside the gates of Budweiser and waiting to be picked to load trucks and deliver beer. Income depended on how many days he got picked.

After all, while he was good at killing people and slogging through the jungle, there were not a lot of jobs available that needed that skill. 🙄. Took a long time for him to find a decent job, and Vietnam vets were treated like shit for a long time, a very long time.
 
StarSong said:
The interest rates on credit cards (at least in the US) are beyond the pale. Can't imagine how people manage to dig their way out if they're in financial trouble to start with.

The times I lived on the financial edge everything was timed down to the wire. My mom also loaned or gave me money when things looked bleak. Bless her beautiful heart. I was lucky to have her.
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Yes you were. I was never given a dime and I have a very well off brother and his son is a millionaire, cheap shits, all of them.
 
I use Credit Cards almost all the time. More and more stores here have ”Cash free shop” signs. When the CC bill comes it’s always paid in full to avoid the exorbitant interest.

Another thing we don’t use in Sweden are cheques (checks). They haven’t been used here for over 25 years. I received a payment from England a few years ago by cheque and as they are no longer processed here the bank charges were nearly as much as the cheque was worth so I tore it up.
 
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