It's funny Pooky-- because when it comes to my personal residence, I ignore all the "smart advice" and strive to pay it off in full. It's the roof over my head, and if times get tough, I agree with you, I want to owe as little as possible. But investments are different. I know a lot of real estate investors. And though I do know some who have worked to pay off their properties so that the cash flow will provide their retirement, I really don't know a single investor who didn't use financing to maximize their returns.
My credit history is only 18 months old, my older credit, both bad and good has fallen off my report. My fico score is 749.. what I do is keep my balance down to almost nothing and apply for a new card everytime my 0% introductory rate expires. I don't plan on paying any interest unless it is an emergency. I just don't know how many cards you can carry with 0 balance before it affects your score. So far it is working great for me and my fico score keeps going up everytime I check it.
Calypso, most investors would start off that way because that's the way just everybody does it. I even started out in the same mode, but as most seasoned investors progress they get better at finding more profitable deals and ultimately I intend to get to point where I will pay cash for most of my deals (hopefully all in due time) or at the very least get steep discounts with very little financing. I certainly intend to never finance my personal residence more than 15 yrs. and I will pay cash for cars and not incur anymore credit card debt when my cards are paid off.
Re: Re: Why have a lot of high limit cards? Pooky, i really think his information is faulty. As a financial planner/mortgage broker/real estate investor, i know very few people (esp. millionaires) who pay all cash for their properties and don't eventually refinance them with OPM and credit. It just doesn't make sound business sense. .. . Multi-billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump doesn't even do it that way. Yes, it's good to pay all cash for ANY depreciating asset ie. cars, trips, clothes, etc. but financially successful people almost always use credit/OPM for appreciateing assets, esp. when it refers to real estate which is a HUGE tax haven for the wealthy.
Re: Re: Why have a lot of high limi Oh yeah, the Don. He once almost went BK when he only had a few hours to make a huge interest payment. He is my hero. www.creditsense.com
What most of them fail to realize is that if they just stop applying for cards, transferring balances, etc, they'd have a great credit score. too much ================= Don't bet on it!!!! THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
What most of them fail to realize is that if they just stop applying for cards, transferring balances, etc, they'd have a great credit score. too much ================= Don't bet on it!!!! THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
have a lot What most of them fail to realize is that if they just stop applying for cards, transferring balances, etc, they'd have a great credit score. too much ================= Don't bet on it!!!! THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
have a lot That's for sure!! And you can also weather any storms, like 9-11 when you couldn't liquidate investments, or when your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, or any other catastrophe. I could live off credit cards for several months if I had to. Sure, it would take a while to pay off, but if you're out of work at least you can feed the family. I have a friend who has been laid off several times and done just that. When he gets work, paying off the debt is priority. But in the meantime, he can feed the family, take the kids to the doctor, etc.
Re: have a lot Or like us...paydays are not every week or even every two weeks sometimes. Feast or famine. So we use our credit to do our deals, then when they close we pay the debt from that deal and usually extra and distribute paychecks. It made me nervous at first, but it's working out. If only I could stop watching my dang scores. Blood pressure up and down.
Re: Re: Why have a lot of high limi You left out one thing - since Person B did not pay cash for the home (at 7%) or car (at 0%) and didn't pay off the student loan (at 3.9%), she probably has $168K in investment accounts and retirement accounts - the only 9K balance carried on a cc will be a 0%BT, with the proceeds going to one of the above investment accounts returning at least 7% after tax (otherwise it would go to the mortgage). She may not have a cash emergency fund, but that's because she's got a line of credit of 200K on 15 credit cards, and can go to any bank anywhere and get a cash advance up to 10K any time (admittedly for a fee of $50, but if it's truly an emergency...) My goal is to be person B (except I don't plan on a sex-change!) -jpr
