FSoS assignment 1
Feb. 3rd, 2006 06:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsukikageAssignment 1 (10 points): For this assignment, I would like for you to write a 1 to 2-page credit financial autobiography on your life with or without credit cards. Before this class, what kind of experiences did you have regarding credit cards? Do you have a credit card? Were credit cards used by your parents when you were growing up? Do your friends have credit cards? How have either your parents or friends influenced you to apply (or not apply) for credit? Be sure to discuss your answers to each question. Each question is worth 2 points. (Due Friday, February 3, 2006)
Riemermann, Nastassja A.K.
Friday, February 3rd, 2006
FSoS 1301
Dr. Viginia Zuiker
Assignment 1
I grew up with divorced parents, and each household manages their finances differently. At my mom’s house, my mom and step-dad use credit cards regularly. Since my mom is from Germany, she uses a United Airlines Mileage Plus Visa card to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of flying home to visit her family. She pays the bill in full each month, basically using it as a cash card.
My dad, on the other hand, doesn’t use credit cards anymore. At one point he did, intending to pay it in full every month, using it as a cash card. However, he didn’t manage it properly and ended up in somewhat significant debt because of it. As soon as he was able to, he paid off the card and cut it up. Now all he uses is a bank check card.
I’m not familiar with the credit use of my friends or even which of them own credit cards. When I talked to my adult cousin about credit cards, she recommended that I apply for a credit card and then give it to my parents to store away in order to build a small amount of credit. I thought that this was a good idea, and I also wanted to have an emergency fund since I hadn’t been very good at saving money, so when I first got a full-time job I applied for a Visa credit card with a $1000 credit line. At first I used it only for occasional larger purchases, and only when I had that same amount of money in the bank, and then I began to use it for small daily purchases as well (such as lunch), and then for anything that I wanted to buy.
I always paid at least the minimum due, and usually several times the minimum (although recently this has been using allowance from my parents, since I lost my job in October), but I also spent more each month then I paid to the credit card company. Eventually I maxed out my card, and have kept it maxed for a while now, slowly chiseling away at the balance with my monthly payments, all the while continuing to use the card for advances on my paycheck and incurring interest and other fees. (When my dad found out about this situation, and encouraged me to cut up my card, but I wanted to keep it still.) I actually lost my credit card a little while, after which I reported the card missing but requested that I not be sent a new card yet, and partly because of this I haven’t made any purchases on the card for months. In any case, I currently have $110 of available credit, $15 available for cash advances, and I owe $889.57.
I recently got a new job, and will be paying the monthly bills using that instead of allowance from my parents. I am also expecting quite a large tax return this year, so once it comes I will be using that to pay off the entirety of my bill. After paying off my bill and finishing this course with my new perspective on credit card use, I will decide whether or not I want to re-order my card or cancel the account.
[EDIT: And said assignment has been submitted.]
Riemermann, Nastassja A.K.
Friday, February 3rd, 2006
FSoS 1301
Dr. Viginia Zuiker
Assignment 1
I grew up with divorced parents, and each household manages their finances differently. At my mom’s house, my mom and step-dad use credit cards regularly. Since my mom is from Germany, she uses a United Airlines Mileage Plus Visa card to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of flying home to visit her family. She pays the bill in full each month, basically using it as a cash card.
My dad, on the other hand, doesn’t use credit cards anymore. At one point he did, intending to pay it in full every month, using it as a cash card. However, he didn’t manage it properly and ended up in somewhat significant debt because of it. As soon as he was able to, he paid off the card and cut it up. Now all he uses is a bank check card.
I’m not familiar with the credit use of my friends or even which of them own credit cards. When I talked to my adult cousin about credit cards, she recommended that I apply for a credit card and then give it to my parents to store away in order to build a small amount of credit. I thought that this was a good idea, and I also wanted to have an emergency fund since I hadn’t been very good at saving money, so when I first got a full-time job I applied for a Visa credit card with a $1000 credit line. At first I used it only for occasional larger purchases, and only when I had that same amount of money in the bank, and then I began to use it for small daily purchases as well (such as lunch), and then for anything that I wanted to buy.
I always paid at least the minimum due, and usually several times the minimum (although recently this has been using allowance from my parents, since I lost my job in October), but I also spent more each month then I paid to the credit card company. Eventually I maxed out my card, and have kept it maxed for a while now, slowly chiseling away at the balance with my monthly payments, all the while continuing to use the card for advances on my paycheck and incurring interest and other fees. (When my dad found out about this situation, and encouraged me to cut up my card, but I wanted to keep it still.) I actually lost my credit card a little while, after which I reported the card missing but requested that I not be sent a new card yet, and partly because of this I haven’t made any purchases on the card for months. In any case, I currently have $110 of available credit, $15 available for cash advances, and I owe $889.57.
I recently got a new job, and will be paying the monthly bills using that instead of allowance from my parents. I am also expecting quite a large tax return this year, so once it comes I will be using that to pay off the entirety of my bill. After paying off my bill and finishing this course with my new perspective on credit card use, I will decide whether or not I want to re-order my card or cancel the account.
[EDIT: And said assignment has been submitted.]
