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Would it be worth it to get a low-interest credit card (4%, 25$ annual fees) in order to transfer a balance of 1600$ from an 11%, 25$ annual fee card?
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Mar 5, 2010 19:13
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 04:55 |
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It's actually a variable interest card (TD Emerald Visa, in Canada) at prime + 1.9% being the lowest possible rate -- prime is 2.26% right now so it comes to 4.15%. It has no balance transfer fee and no "introductory offer" or any of that, just a 25$ annual fee, a 4.15% interest rate and "TD Visa Checks" that you can use for anything, including for paying off part or all of the balance on another card.
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Mar 7, 2010 02:18
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Chernori posted:Visa cheques count as cash advances and almost always have a higher associated interest rate. Also, you don't get any rewards or cash back for using them. You're right -- don't know how I even missed this. I have this card already (and don't have another with a 1600$ balance), it was for someone else, but it seems largely useless to transfer balances then.
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Mar 7, 2010 23:48
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Chernori posted:I missed that the first time I read through the contract myself. I don't normally carry balances but one reason I originally got the card was that I might at some point have to. I'm a student, work part-time and receive support from my parents. I have another card at around 19.5% interest which I still have but don't use much -- I haven't carried in a balance in months but I have had to in the past and 25$ seems like a small price to pay for that interest rate. Of course, the dichotomy comes up -- if I carry a balance, I should keep the Emerald. If I carry a balance, I necessarily spent more and would have gotten more out of the Rebate Rewards card. With my limited credit card use, I wouldn't get much cash back. In my situation, I think I'd prefer to pay that (relatively small annual fee) in case I need to carry a balance.
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Mar 8, 2010 15:00
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Chernori posted:It might be worth opening a line of credit, possibly a student line of credit. I've got a regular unsecured line of credit with TD at 6.5%. A friend of mine has a student line of credit for 4.5%. You could keep that as your "emergency credit": if you need to carry a balance, you could carry it with the line of credit, instead of the credit card. This makes a lot of sense, and I guess it was unnecessary to consider the credit card as necessary. I've had my other credit card since April 2008 and have carried balances on it only two or three times (I've paid maybe 50$ in interest total since I've had that card). I mainly use my credit card to cover my phone bill (online payments) and online purchases, then pay it off in full. However, I see the annual fee as a tiny price to pay for the comparatively very low interest rate. I know that with my history of making payments in full and rarely making large purchases, I could just keep my original credit card with no fees and the interest rate wouldn't be a worry. There are very few emergencies I can think of that would require me to use credit cards (my parents still give me pretty major support -- I would probably break even without them, but now I can save -- and would help me out with anything major.) I own nothing that is likely to break down and cost into the thousands of dollars (the biggest thing I can think of is appliances, which I would ask my parents for help with). In a sense I suppose I see the credit card as freedom to make a potential purchase without waiting for the cash (basically any non-essential purchase over 500-600 dollars I would consider using the card for -- it would allow me to pay off the charge in two installments with minor interest.) Then again, I suppose that even at 19.5% I wouldn't even exceed the annual fee. I'm not really worried about changes in my limit or rate either. I understand what you're saying and your advice is good, but I think it's really only a question of saving that single 25$ or 2.08$ a month at this point, which I'm not really concerned with.
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Mar 9, 2010 17:48
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Is there any reason not to participate in a stock purchasing plan (withheld from paycheck) that matches half your contribution up to 3% (i.e. the company matches 3% to your 6%)? The company in question is GE. You can also put in up to 10%, but they still match 3%. I'm thinking it's a good idea to participate at 6% to max out the employer match. Am I correct?
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May 12, 2010 22:57
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It's for my girlfriend who's just started there (part-time, she's a student). She has no major debt - the increase in income from the job should cover it in a few months, so no worries there. She becomes eligible for this and an RRSP after three months. I haven't taken a good look at the RRSP info yet, but my view on both is that it's far better to contribute to this now, even part-time, instead of "taking the cash" which in the end will probably be spent and never get the return it would from the RRSP or stock purchases.
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May 12, 2010 23:09
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 04:55 |
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I need to settle a petty argument. Can anyone point me to a reliable source of information that indicates that mortgage lenders in Canada remove one dollar from a borrower's maximum mortgage amount for every dollar of available credit (i.e., credit cards and lines of credit)?
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Feb 25, 2014 03:37
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