Tips that Really Add Up - Continued ulit...

Let's make this post in Filipino-English naman para mas me feelings ang mga side comments. Hehehe. Feel free to jump right in and comment.

Bale isang tip lang ito kasi mukhang magiging lengthy ang pagdi-discuss ko so bear with me.

CONSOLIDATE YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT

How many credit cards do you have? Ako, I have at least 3. Isang BPI classic, the maroon one, isang BPI Edge kasi wala akong mastercard before, and isang BDO Shopmore.

If you love shopping like I do, for sure gamit na gamit ang cards nyo and pag may nag-offer ng 0% malamang nangunguna kayo sa pila ng mag-aavail. I was like that. WAS... past tense na. I used to earn a lot in my job in a government financial institution. Di po ako nangongotong nor was I involved in shady deals. Supervisory level na ako dun when I availed of an early retirement package, so medyo malaki na kita ko and I was used to a lifestyle of just charging anything I want knowing I would have the money to pay or it come payday.

So when I availed of an early retirement package and got employed in a call center, dala ko pa din yung "lifestyle" ko which I did "enjoy" for 10 years. Since hindi pa naman ganun kalaki ang kita ng husband ko sa call center din, I just charge our groceries and meals out on my credit card. I came to my senses nung parang ang laki-laki na ng binabayaran ko sa monthly and yet it was not causing a dent in my outstanding bill.

Noon pa lang I thought of consolidating my credit card debt na. Pag may balance transfer na offer I would immediately avail thinking nakakatipid ako on the finance charges kasi compared naman sa usual 3.5% eh magiging .70% or at most .90% na lang. Or so I thought.

Since hindi naman talaga kalakihan ang kita namin sa call center, or actually malaki naman kung single ka and you live with your parents at wala kang kotse na at that time eh malakas talaga sa gasolina, panay pa din ang charge ko ng groceries at dinners or lunch out sa credit cards ko. I mean, hey, kaya ka nga nagta-trabaho para naman ma-enjoy mo din ang buhay mo. Kaya ayun, kaliwa't kanang balance transfer ang in-avail ko.

When I was in the process of deciding kung kaya ko mag-stay-at-home Mom, lalo kong natitigan yung mga credit card statements ko. Matagal ko ng na-realize na dapat kayusin na talaga yung mga utang ko kaya I have really stopped using my credit cards. Ni hindi ko na nga dinadala. I really felt naked at that time lalo pag alam kong wala naman akong cash. I just avoided going to the mall na lang. Kung groceries lang kailangan, dun na lang ako pupunta, di na ako iikot for fear na makakita ng magugustuhan kong want na iju-justify kong need.

Anyway, going back sa pagtitig ko sa credit card statement ko. I discovered na totoo palang me "hidden charges". When I computed my BDO monthly due I discovered na pati yung mga balance transfers ko eh isinasama nila sa outstanding bill ko na china-charge pa nila ulit ng 3.4% monthly interest! So kamusta naman di ba? Paano ka nakatipid sa finance charges pag ganun? Eh di it defeats the purpose entirely?!

Nakaka-asar kasi if you think na your deposit to these banks only earn a measly 1% PER ANNUM! Ni hindi nga 1% MONTHLY eh. Tapos yung mga deposito nyo ang ginagamit ng mga bangko ito to give out loans that charge 3.4% interest monthly!. Para kang iginigisa sa sarili mong mantika.

So eto nag-balance transfer ako ulit, pero this time sa BPI na. I was able to prove to myself na yung bina-balance transfer ko sa BPI eh hindi kasama sa china-charge ng monthly interest kaya pala kahit halos same lang ang credit limit ko sa BPI at BDO eh di hamak na mas malaki lagi ang nakikita kong finance charge ng BDO credit card ko. Another thing going for BPI is that they don't charge you immediately upon your purchase. Mag-i-start lang ang counting nila the minute they get the charge slip from the merchant where you made your purchase. So swerte mo kung yung merchant is matagal mag-submit ng charge slips. Makikita mo yan sa "post date".

Pag tiningnan mo yung credit card statement mo sa BPI, me purchase date or transaction date tapos me post date. Post date is when the merchant submitted the charge slip to BPI. Yun ang start ng pag-charge nila ng interest sa 'yo.

Sa BDO at alam ko Citibank ganito din, kahit isang buwan bago mag-submit ang merchant ng charge slip, nire-retroact nila yung pag-charge sa 'yo ng interest. So from the day you signed that charge slip, expect na tumatakbo na ang metro.

About 0% purchases. Wag din agad-agad maniniwala sa mga ganitong promo. Canvass, canvass, canvass. Check the actual retail price (parang Price is Right)kung cash nyo bibilihin yung item. Kasi kahit 0% pa yan, different yung ginagamit nilang price kesa kung cash purchase. In short, naka-tuck-in na talaga yung interest pag credit card nyo binili. Hindi talaga siya 0%.

Ewan ko lang dun sa mga sinasabi ng BPI na "THE REAL 0%" ha. Kasi nga ginaya na ng ibang credit cards yung gimmick na yun. Ang claim ng BPI eh 0% talaga sila, meaning hindi bloated yung price nung item to hide yung interest. Kaya nga CANVASS, CANVASS, CANVASS.

Kung gusto nyo talaga maka-ahon sa utang nyo sa credit card nyo, like me, i-avoid nyo at all cost ang paggamit ng credit card. Kakainin talaga kayo ng buhay ng interest charges. Or kung di naman talaga ma-avoid, make the conscious effort to pay it off na lang agad. Yung pautay-utay na minimum payment nyo will not do you any good. Patay na kayo hindi pa tapos ang utang nyo. At kahit patay na kayo hindi naman ira-write-off ng mga bangkong yang ang utang nyo. Hanggang mahahanap nila ang pamilya nyo, eh for sure makakatanggap sila ng statement of account.