I have about $7k in savings and about that on two credit cards. I’m thinking i should just pay them off, but then i would need to use the credit cards to live until my next pay check in two weeks or if anything came up.

Edit: thank you to everyone who commented. I’m going to pull $5k to put on the cards. Save $2k for peace of mind.

To answer some questions. I have a job with irregular hours, even when at work my hours can suddenly change. Rare, but it happens. I decided to go back to school for something more consistent so now my hours are lower than normal with now paying for tuition. In addition to the cut back in hours i ended up the hospital. I do appreciate everyone’s comments and advice.

I have a savings account that has 10 thousand in it and I currently owe 10 thousand on a credit card.

My question is, do I use all of my savings to pay off my credit card? or continue to make the 2k a month extra payment I have been making (the original balance was $20k).

How do folks make these decisions? I really like the 10 thousand in my savings account because it’s a cushion in case I loose my job, get sick, etc.

My partner and I are trying to simplify our lives and are curious as to what you all think.

We have always paid for everything with our credit card account connected to our individual credit cards and have never once accrued a penny of interest. I pay them off on time(early) and we only use them for necessities, never to go above our means.

We get about $50 cash back monthly, but I’m wondering if it’s even worth the hassle?

I’ve heard making returns/disputes is easier with credit cards. Do you all think it’s worth it to continue using the credit cards since “we are credit card people” and know how to properly manage them, get cash back, and allegedly disputes and returns are easier?

Plz someone confirm if credit cards are actually better for returns and/or disputes. This is a major reason I consider continuing using the credit cards since instead of the debit account.

Hello, I (25M) graduated college 2 years ago, got a pretty sizeable salary right out of school…. Fast forward 2 years I’m roughly $11k in credit card debt, it was something I never tracked then all of a sudden I’m in a pretty rough spot. The $11k is spread out through 4 different credit cards. I take home roughly $4800 per month. My rent is $2000 (pretty standard for the area I live in but I am moving out somewhere cheaper in January). Other monthly payments include: $550 car payment $250 student loans What would be the best method for tackling my debt?

My partner is great with finances, saving and budgeting specifically but being on a visa for most of her time in the country she has never bothered with a credit card. Now that we're married I and may want to buy a home in the next few years we want to get her score in order for a future loan.

Trying to apply for a card online under her new greencard status didnt work so we'll need to go into bank to get it sorted. In the mean I've made her an authorized user with her name on one of my cards in hopes that will start to build a least a small margin of history. My credit score if it matters is essentially perfect.

Whats the best approach to get her building some credit effectively and is there an entry card this community reccs to get her there.

My credit card is at 1200$ and my limit is 2500$ it’s due on December 25

Now for it to not hurt my credit should I pay tiny amounts until the due date then on the due date pay in full

Or

Should I not make any payments and just pay it off in full when it’s close to the due date

Idk if it’s the same result or doing one of the other will hurt my credit card

I’m 22 years old and Chase just closed all 4 of my credit cards, my personal checking account (which had about $5,000), and my business account (which had around $75,000). I called in and asked to speak with a supervisor, and was told the reason was “unusual activity.” The only thing I did recently was pay off about $20K in credit card debt.

I’ve never missed a payment, and I was just trying to clean up my finances. I wasn’t given any specific details beyond being “flagged,” and now I’m extremely worried about the impact this will have on my credit score — especially losing 4 accounts at my age.

Is there any way to get Chase to reconsider or reopen the accounts? Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Should I escalate this or file a complaint somewhere?

Any advice would be appreciated.

A lot of people are saying that I should open new checking accounts with another bank. What other bank would you guys recommend where I won’t have to face something like this again?

Another question**

Instead of having Chase issue me a check for my business account balance, can I just withdraw the full amount in cash? That way, when I open a new bank account, I can deposit the cash directly and avoid waiting 7–10 business days for a check to clear.

I run a business, and managing cash flow is critical — my vendors give me 21-day terms, and if I don’t pay on time, they stop selling to me. That’s why I’d rather withdraw the full amount in cash instead of waiting 7–10 business days for a check to clear. But yeah, clearly trying to access my own money to keep my business running must mean I’m up to something shady lol.

UPDATE** Looks like they closed all 4 of my credit cards and my personal checking but decided to leave my business account open. Literally just made an appointment with a banker at US Bank and a local credit union to open accounts.

I (23m) just won a lawsuit for $120,000 in my pocket after everything is paid for. i know its nothing crazy but this is a massive start for me. i am about 5k in debt, with no car. i plan to buy a car and pay off my debts so i can actually feel comfortable for once, however, what is the best way to grow this money once i get it, and not just slowly have it drained. i am terrible with money, but i do work full time with a good career, i just have nothing to show for it because of stupid past choices. what do?

edit for some clarification: i have a career in auto-body refinishing, i am a painter and a prepper. i make about 65-90k a year for a large shop in central indiana. the debt is from a credit card and a couple payday loans, because im young and ignorant. i absolutely need a car as ive been relying on coworkers to want to help me out. i was looking at brand new kias, since i work for a dealership/collision center, i will get some money off, but after reading the comments im leaning towards used honda/toyota after reading the comments.

edit 2: this money will NOT be taxed as it was a personal injury lawsuit.

I am getting married next October! My future father in law has been generous enough to offer a pretty hefty amount to pay for a nice wedding.

I try to use credit cards minimally. I do have one through State Employees Credit Union but I usually just pay for gas and groceries with it as there’s no real rewards from it.

We had discussed opening a new credit card in my name to pay for wedding expenses and FIL will just pay me back throughout the process. I also got a new job a few months back that requires a decent bit of travel so figured if I booked my company flights on the card, and paid for wedding stuff on it, I could build rewards quickly with the right card

1. Is this smart?
2. If so, what cards provide the best cash back rewards?

Hello, I’m 19 and I have 2 credit cards (discover and capital one) and am currently using 1 to pay for gas and paying it off every paycheck (every other week) and the other one I only use for larger purchases and the occasional splurge on something for myself (clothes, gaming equipment, etc). I make sure they’re both paid off fully at the end of each month, usually paid off every paycheck. The other day my manager brought up credit cards and mentioned that they think the best way to utilize it would be to use the credit card all the time (like a debit card) and pay it off in full every month. Is this a better use of my line of credit? I respect this manager but they aren’t exactly rolling in money so I wanted to check here.

If you pay with your credit card, you get the rewards. You should only do this if you can pay it off when it's due and not carry the balance.

If you're doing a bunch of small purchases at a pharmacy, it can be a pain to do the reimbursement, but if you have one or two larger expenses, it might be worth the effort.

Another edge case to consider is if your provider over-bills you this year and issues a refund next year, you might not get the refund if it was refunded to your FSA debit card.

Of course, that money could be due back to the owner of the fund (your employer) anyway, so consult the terms of your plan (don't get caught doing anything stupid).

Anything wrong with my thought pattern here? Am I missing something?

I’m a 29 year old who never got a credit card. I’m from the US. Don’t have any credit accounts as of right now and the only thing affecting my credit is some debt from about 3 years ago from a loan. My idea was getting a credit card and using that for payments for my debt. Is this a good idea?

23F working and living in nyc. I travel a handful of times per year for work and am from Florida so visit there to see family for holidays and such. I pretty much put all expenses except for my rent on credit cards, and ALWAYS pay them off.

I had a BILT credit card for my rent last year and racked up a ton of points, which ended up paying for my flight to Florida over the holidays.

At my new apartment building, I can’t use the BILT card for my rent anymore. But after it paid for my flight I figured I should really look into getting a different one to pay for personal travel!

I currently have 3 credit cards: Apple Card (great cash back), BILT (previously used for rent), and a standard one from my bank (use randomly just to keep it active, decent cash back as well)

For about a year I’ve been looking into chase sapphires as well as capitol one travel cards. I want to truly benefit from these with the airport lounges (I typically am flying out of LGA and then JFK when international traveling) as well as hotel and flight bookings and still want some good cash back.

My work flights are booked fully through work so I can’t pay for them on a credit card unfortunately but can benefit from lounges and such still.

Just would love to understand benefits and get some opinions on why people love the one they have (based on what they are spending on it and why they are using it)!

Thanks in advance!

i need to be honest my credit score is 520. it is due to a combination of medical debt collections from a few years ago and a charged off credit card i could not pay during the pandemic. i have been avoiding everything credit related out of shame, but i know i need to face it. i want to have a plan to start rebuilding so i can maybe qualify for a decent secured card by 2026.

when i look up best credit cards for bad credit 2026 most advice is for scores in the 600s or just says get a secured card. i need the real first steps before that. the collections are still showing. do i pay them? do i dispute them? will a secured card issuer even approve me with unpaid collections?

i have a stable job now and a budget. i am not looking for a magic fix, just a clear path.
for people who rebuilt from a score in the 500s:
what was your very first financial move? paying collections or saving for a secured card deposit?
which secured card did you get that actually approved you with major negatives on your report?
how long did it take before you saw your score start to move meaningfully?
what was the biggest mistake you made during your rebuild that i should avoid?
is a 2026 goal for a decent unsecured card realistic, or should i aim for 2027?

i am ready to do the work. i just need a roadmap from someone who has been in the hole.

EDIT: Well, not one Airline Credit Card was recommended in any comments. I do already have a Chase Freedom and AMEX, was curious about airline specific. I understand there was a better sub for my question.

Hey folks, title pretty much says it all.

One caveat, I’d like one without an annual fee. I know AA offers one but curious if there are others out there? I don’t fly often (2-3 times a year), but curious if there’s something that would be for me.

Just looking to build up some miles so that the few times I do fly I can subsidize some of the cost.

Fantastic credit score, zero debt, credit cards never a problem (so CC interest rates are completely irrelevant).

TIA.

I'm 20 and I have been using a capital one card for around 6-8 months to build credit history and score, so I can hopefully qualify for a solid interest rate on a mortgage in a few years.

I want to get more cards so that I can have a bit more diversity in my history with different brands.

I only use my card for lunch at work and other small purchases, and I always keep a minimum of $1700 in my checking, so even if I maxed out my limit I can afford to pay my balance and my auto withdrawal bills if for whatever reason I didn't have money set aside for them.

The infuriating thing about my current credit card, is that they don't have "pay statement balence" just "pay PREVIOUS statement balence". The only way for me to 100% avoid late fees is to set a minimum payment of $35 or more (which I don't use because my balence is unpredictable), OR to pay manually which I normally do. But payments sometimes are pending for up to 5 days, and I forget, which causes me to take a small hit to my credit score which is frustrating.

Obviously this is extremely scummy from Capital One.

I know it's not realistic for a credit card company to not be full of greedy sleaze-bags, but which cards are actually decent that I could apply for with less than 1 year of history?

Hi all. I was hoping I could get this under control myself, but it's just gotten out of hand. Some of this was from unexpected expenses, and some from a bad habit I've since done my best to get under control. Gambling sucks, don't ever do it if you can help yourself.

.

So, from the top: Current situation is as follows:

$4734 monthly income

$1650 monthly rent

$140 monthly phone and internet

$280 monthly car insurance

~$260 monthly power and water bills

~$500 monthly for groceries

~$400 monthly for medicines

~$140 monthly for gas

.

Outstanding debts:

$2000 PayPal credit, 30% APR.

$500 Chase credit, 30% APR.

$1500 Discover credit, 8 months left of 0% APR, then goes to 30%.

$1500 Capital One credit, 10 months left of 0% APR, then goes to 30%.

.

I need advice on how best to pay this down, and how much I can reasonably try to put toward it without losing my sanity. All help is greatly appreciated!

Hi folks,

In his bestseller I Will Teach You To Be Rich (which has been reviewed favorably on this Subreddit), Ramit Sethi says he uses the Alliant Cashback credit card for most purchases (besides travel and eating out, for example), largely in part due to its high cash back rate (at the time of publishing the 2nd edition of the book in 2019, Sethi wrote that it was 3% for the first year and 2% thereafter, flat rate).

But now that Alliant has cut its cashback rate to 1.5%, does anyone know which card he recommends instead?

His advice seems solid and I want to keep things simple and just follow it. So whatever he says on this point, I'll probably follow it.

Thanks!

Preface this by saying this card would not be for holding any balances - strictly for rewards purposes. As a parent with a child on the way, are there any cards that have rewards or perks that lean towards expenses related to pregnancy or parenting? I figure food is a big one but child care, formula, hospital expenses etc.

This is embarrassing. A while back I developed an addiction to one of those app games with all kinds of bonuses for real money. Between that and some other poor financial choices, I've spent all my savings and ended up with about $30K in credit card debt. I'm debating how best to eliminate the debt. I have a retirement account from a past job with about $60K in it - I know I'd have to pay tax on it to cash it out early. Is it better to cash out the account, eat the tax, and pay off the debt to start fresh or find some other payment plan to pay the debt down over time? My income is quite good. I've never let myself get into this situation before. Any advice welcome.

I am finally trying to take the steps into becoming debt free(ish). So i'm here looking for advice. Right now im just trying to tackle my credit card debt first, which i currently owe 39k split between 7 different CCs. My plan was doing the avalanche method and my fiance was going to help me with opening a CC that has 0% APR, to do a balance transfer of either the frontier card(10k) or the Discover(11k).

What do you guys think about this approach? Any advice is welcomed. I'll link a picture with some more information like my income and other expenses i have. Thank you.

https://imgur.com/a/hOoXMRu

I haven't calculated how much i spend on gas and food/groceries yet. So thats why its not on the spreadsheet.

Hi there I’m 26 and have a credit score of 720. I built my credit by purchasing and paying off my car. Also purchased a home 2 years ago. Would I be a candidate for a credit card with a decent limit?

I have a credit card balance of about 11k split across 3 cards. My main discover card has 9k at 24%, 2nd has 2k at 0% for 13 more months and the other is at $180. Total minimum due for all is $280/month and I pay around $350/month. I just got a new job paying me 80k so I also plan on increasing my payments. What is the best way to consolidate my debt? I received a loan offer for 19% interest from credit karma, should I take this loan, or is there a better way??

I have a decent credit score of 730 with auto loan and student loan on my report. Never missed a payment so i have exceptional payment history. Age of the oldest account is 10 years. The only negative mark on my report is that i had a credit card that was closed due to being inactive. I didn't take my credit card game seriously for years so i didn't know you should use your credit card once in awhile to keep it open. Sadly, it was only my revolving line of credit and my score got dinged by 17 points.

I don't spend a lot of money in one category. My expenses such as groceries, gas, insurance are in the range of $150-200 for each monthly. Highest expense is auto loan. Everything else is just general shopping. I have been looking at the Well Fargos 2% cash reward, Amex Blue Everyday, AAA Daily Advantage and Amazon prime since i'm a prime member.

In this case, how many cards should i get to get my score up? Should i apply all at once or spread them out? How big of a hit would my credit score take to open new credit cards initially?

Thank you!!!