You mean you never pay interest by paying off the debt before the next billing cycle, right? Or is it fine to get zero interest for whatever amount of months on certain purchases?

[–] Jimmyeatsausage@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We do both... both are fine. As long as you aren't paying fees or interest, there is no disadvantage to using credit cards.

[–] SeabassDan@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Ah, okay, I always figured the only way to really be responsible with credit was to use credit cards like debit, but if a big purchase came along that I definitely couldn't pay off within the month, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have zero interest but wasn't sure of the impact on my credit.

[–] JDubbleu@programming.dev 13 points 1 year ago

As long as you have the discipline to actually pay the thing off it's fine. Many people think, "oh I have 0% interest, I'll pay it off later" but never set aside the money to do so and end up accruing interest.

I never buy something on them I couldn't immediately pay off in full when I hit buy. I've bought things in excess of my checking balance, but that's because I had enough in savings (separate from my emergency fund), and my incoming paycheck would put my checking balance well above my credit card balance.

[–] MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That is pretty much the right way to do credit. Treat like debit and/or find a way to have 0% interest over a few months time to spread a big cost across multiple months where it becomes affordable.

[–] SeabassDan@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My concern is the impact on my credit from not paying back in full, even if there's zero interest for an extended period of time. Like paying an appliance in 3 months with no interest versus the full balance before the next billing cycle. I just assume there's a downside to having that convenience aside from them hoping I'll fall behind.

[–] JDubbleu@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

Short term credit balances like appliances paid off over 3 months don't affect your credit for very long. As soon as they are paid off and the balance falls off your credit report your score will rebound. It's not worth stressing about.

[–] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Personally, I pay off before next billing cycle. However, I have been fortunate with my finances. I know friends of mine who carry credit card debt, and they have successfully managed to balance transfer from one card to another using periodic balance transfer deals that let you transfer all your debt from one credit card to another with a 0% interest rate for 12 months or so. They have managed to do this for years.

So there are definitely a variety of options!