Credit Cards

When most people think of credit cards they think of high interest rates, annual fees, and lots of expenses. What if I told you that you can actually earn money with a credit card? Would you believe me?

What I am about to tell you was originally told to me about 9 years ago by a woman on the phone who was trying to convince me to accept her offer of an American Express card. I declined her offer as I didn’t think I needed a credit card at the time and the annual fee for an American Express card is very high.

But what she said got me thinking, so I ended up getting a VISA card from my bank. The way I use my credit card doesn’t cost me any money and I actually get money back once a year.

I know it sounds too good to be true, but I have been using my credit card this way for 7 years and it actually makes me money. The reason I can make money is that my bank offers cashback on all my credit card purchases. Once a year I receive 1% of my annual spending back on my VISA card.

So now I put all my purchases (well, almost all as some places like McDonalds don’t take credit cards) on my VISA card. I then pay off the outstanding balance each month when it is due, thus avoiding the finance charge.

How can I do this? It’s simple. I keep all my income in my bank account and by the time the monthly credit card bill is due I have enough money to pay it. Of course there is still money owing on the card but it isn’t due until the following month.

In fact I have up to 2 months to pay for some of my purchases. How is that possible? Well, the items I put on my VISA at the beginning of the month go on the bill I receive the following month which isn’t due until the end of that month.

For example, if I buy something on March 3rd on my VISA it will appear on the bill I receive the following month which is due at the end of April. Therefore I don’t have to take any money out of my bank account until nearly two months after I made my purchase! So during those two months my money sits in my bank account earning me interest.

Of course this only works if you are good at budgeting. Some people go crazy when they get a credit card and buy lots of things they don’t really need. I never go over or even close to my credit limit. I stay well within my monthly budget, which I worked out long before I had a credit card.

Occasionally I indulge and buy something I haven’t budgeted for, but I make sure I have enough money (or will have) to pay for it when the bill is due. You have to have good self control to use your credit card to your advantage. It’s also helpful for those unexpected expenses, like car repairs, which you haven’t budgeted for.

I have my VISA through the National Bank which offers cashback on the credit card. Some other cards have similar schemes or offer points which can be redeemed for gifts, prizes or discounts. In fact, VISA and MasterCard quite often have competitions which you are entered into automatically each time you use your card.

Since I receive cashback on my purchases I make it a point to put everything I can on my credit card. On average I get about $160 back each year which more than covers the $25 annual fee. I also have an instant record of all my spending so I can keep track of my budget.

I’ve even setup monthly payments for certain companies to go directly to my VISA which saves me the hassle and expense of writing and posting a cheque. My life insurance, electric bill, and magazine subscriptions are a few examples.

It may sound amazing, but I am sure I’m not the only one taking full advantage of my credit card. Using and paying off my VISA regularly creates good credit which is always useful when you need to get a loan for something big like a new car or a house.

So now do you believe me when I say you can earn money using your credit card?

Harry Potter Mania

As most people know, today was the worldwide release of the final book in the Harry Potter series. Up until 3 years ago I was not even aware of Harry Potter and his wizard friends. It wasn’t until I accidentally won a family excursion on the “Hogwarts Express” through a radio station promotion that I learned about this fantasy world.

I had to look up Hogwarts Express on the internet to find out what it was as I had no idea. Then I rented the video of the first movie so we could get in character for the train ride. I made a Hedwig costume for my youngest (2 years old at the time), my oldest dressed as Hermione and I threw a costume together from my old Halloween stuff to make myself look like Madame Hooch, complete with broomstick.

It seemed a little silly at the time, but when we saw how much the other people and radio personalities were dressed up we didn’t feel so awkward. In fact during the train ride we won a copy of the first movie on DVD (Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone), a music CD, a t-shirt and lots of lollies and snacks because we looked so good. It was a fun morning for our whole family. Little did I know it was the start of an obsession for all of us.

My youngest loved the DVD movie and special features. My oldest began reading the books, with my encouragement, and has read all 6 books twice in the last 3 years. And I made a point of buying the next 3 movie DVDs (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). We even have 3 computer games and 2 PS2 games of Harry Potter’s world. However we never owned the books – I made my daughter check them out from the library instead of buying them.

And now today I was standing in line with my daughters at our local The Warehouse to be one of the first people to get our hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. My daughter’s father purchased a pre-order coupon for the book which meant she was guaranteed to get a copy at a special price which could be picked up any time this week. However The Warehouse was giving away hats to the first 100 people to buy the book in each of their stores, so we made a point of being there today.

That’s how I found myself in a queue this morning, 10 minutes before the official release time hoping to get a free hat. The things I do for a freebie! LOL! The time went by quickly as I saw some friends and then got chatting with a couple young ladies in the queue behind us.

My youngest asked for a hat as well but they were only being given out with a book purchase. So we had one hat to share amongst the two girls. While we were chatting with a friend at the entrance after scoring our book one of the young ladies I’d been talking to in line came over and gave my youngest her free hat. She said she didn’t really want it and overhead my youngest ask for a hat. It was so nice to see the friendliness and good will everyone had at this momentous occasion.

Coinciding with the release of the book is the latest Harry Potter movie, The Order of the Phoenix, which many of the people in line were talking about. Most had already seen the movie and can hardly wait for the next two movies. Fortunately for us we will be seeing the movie soon as well.

I told my children that we would see the movie when it came out on DVD. However we will be seeing it sooner as we won a double movie pass. The WhatNow TV show had a competition earlier in the month and both my girls entered it. They had to make a “Harry Potter” wand and send it in. There were 350 runners up who would win a double movie pass, tattoos, and an official hat. A few days ago we received a package of those prizes, although the hat is too big for my girls to wear and even too big for my head!

So we are in the midst of Harry Potter mania which will continue for some time as we can’t use our movie pass until August. I think it will only take a few days for my daughter to read this final book but I know she will re-read it many times. I know many adults who are just as fanatical about Harry Potter as the children. And who knows, maybe one day I will get around to reading this famous magical series. Although I prefer to watch the movies!