Hi average_joe...

I have to disagree with you. I think people should save their money, and keep their credit cards, and user credit cards as a tool.

Credit cards are not the problem. People wanting instant gratification is the problem, when you're talking about consumerism. There are right ways and wrong ways to use credit cards, and as I have always mentioned if you're using your credit cards as a source of income that's bad. If you're using your credit card is a tool, and pay it off every month as it was meant to be, then that's the proper way to do it.

I use credit cards all the time, for business, because I do on the Internet. It's hard for me to send cash across the Internet. So I have to pay using my credit card. My policy is, "if I don't have the cash, it doesn't happen"

I agree with bebzkohsev... people need to pay pay their bills on time. But that means they need to have ample cash sitting in the bank at all times.

IE. If you had $10,000 cash sitting in the bank, and your credit card statement was only $500, you wouldn't have any problems making a payment. However if you had $10,000 owing on your card, but you only have $500 in the bank, that would be a vastly different story.

Again it's not the credit cards that are the problems is the temptation that comes along with credit cards that causes the problems,as far as consumerism goes. if you could save up the money for what you want to purchase, they would never be any question.

Check out my illustration here: http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/threadview/3083.html where I talk about the best way to purchase a 52 inch TV

I won't argue with you on that point. But I think that same as getting a regular mortgage loan, you must assume responsibility to pay for it on time. I would just like to prove a point that you'll save money as long as you pay your bill on time. This way, you won't incur any interest or penalties which will make your bill higher.

I believe everyone should shred their plastic and start paying cash again. Ever since plastic was introduced it seems people are saving less.

More and more incentives are being offered by credit card companies these days in order to entice you to sign up. With most of the credit card APR, transfer rates, and annual fees almost the same, you can decide which card to choose by looking at the style of the reward points.

One of your best option is to choose a credit card that offers the highest rebates or rewards for purchases of everyday needs like gas and groceries.For example, with Cash Back Guaranteed MasterCard® for Gas & Groceries, you get 2% cashback on gas and groceries if you purchase at participating stores, and 1% on other purchases.

If you use your Cash Back Guaranteed MasterCard® for Gas & Groceries for everyday items, you can actually save money as long as you pay the bill on time. For example, if you allot $100/week for groceries on your budget, that's $5214 a year and, if you pay your bills on time and purchase your groceries from one of the many participating stores, will save you $104 a year on groceries. Plus if you spend $50/week on gas, that's $2607 a year and will save you $52. That's a total of $156 savings.

Using your credit card is one great option to save, as long as we remember to always be responsible in paying our dues on time every month.

Did you know...

You can earn a total of 10,000 AEROPLAN Miles by switching your banking to CIBC. You can earn the first 5000 miles by opening a CIBC Unlimited Chequing account, and earn additional 5000 AEROPLAN Miles by opening a new CIBC eAdvantage savings account.

Click Here for the full article.

Set-up a checklist to compare offers

What do you look for in a credit card? I see many sites offer credit card comparison tools to help us find the right card for us. But if you still find it hard to choose what's right for you, I suggest you create a checklist with all the features, introductory and variable rates, and all the other features you want to get from your credit cards.

I found this sample checklist to help you create your own. You can also consult other credit card users from forums such as the forum in canadian-money-advisor.ca site to help you set a basis for comparison.

I'm just post here where I got my free Starbucks gift card using air miles points. Here's asked you what happened.

I went to Safeway to do research on gas and grocery reward points. While I was at Safeway I noticed they had a Starbucks inside the store. And coincidentally I had my Starbucks gift card in my wallet. So I said what I get the most expensive teas possible. So I ended up getting some chai tea with steamed milk, and he came out to $2.50 per tea. I got one for my wife and myself. So that came out to a total of five dollars.

So again the math is, I had to spend $1600 to get 80 points which gave me a $10 gift certificates or gift card, and I spent five dollars on two chai teas. So the bottom line is I had to spend $800 for two chai teas.

And that's the interesting part of redeeming your rewards points.

I just got my free starbucks gift card from airmiles.ca.. I had to redeem 80 points to get it.. I accumulated these points using my American Express Business Gold card.

Since I accumulate 1 point for every $20 spent, this $10 card actually cost me $1600 in money spent on the card. That's the equivalent of .625%... just over half a percentage.

It's just another example of what you can get if you collect points with Airmiles.ca

are there restrictions on cash back cards that you have?

I've heard that if you're making purchases such as drugs, dentists visits, etc you won't get cash back on your credit card?

I'm curious to know if anybody has experienced some restrictions with their cash back card?

This analysis talks about two specific credit cards
Capital One - Miles Platinum Plus vs Capital One - Miles Plus Platinum

Up until spending around $35,000 per year, the Cash Back Plus Platinum MasterCard® is a more profitable card to use. After that level of dollars spent, the Capital One - Miles Platinum Plus is a better card.

What I'm realizing is that there are alot of details to think about when choosing a card.. it's really about how much you spend, how well you pay back your balances, the type of credit level you have.

This analysis assumes that you have excellent credit and that you pay your balance back each month.

The question is: why not use a cash back card if that's all you want. If you don't want to travel, and you have all the "gifts" you want, why not just collect cash back on your credit cards purchases... If you don't you're leaving money on the table.!!