Sometimes I Use Cash (Instead of Credit Cards)

Posted by Madison on January 7, 2008

I mentioned yesterday that I do not use a credit card for all of my purchases. We actually operate our “allowances” on a cash basis. We take out money on the 1st and 15th of each month to cover lunch, dinners out, haircuts, and any other miscellaneous purchases. I don’t use a credit card for these purchases […]

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Don’t Hate the Credit Card

Posted by Madison on January 6, 2008

We’re headed to the airport today to head back home after our 2 week vacation. I’m going to postpone my normal weekend roundup (look for it on Tuesday). I just couldn’t resist another credit card article before Debt Free Revolution and I call a truce in our debate about credit cards. A comment in an email from a reader, jejily, really […]

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The Great Credit Card Debate Continues….

Posted by Madison on January 5, 2008

Ana at Debt Free Revolution and I are debating about using credit cards in 25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards and Ways Credit Card Companies Separate You From Your Money. So far it seems as though the majority of the debate is what can a credit card do that a debit card can’t do? And it seems as though the fraud protection […]

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25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards

Posted by Madison on January 4, 2008

The Great Credit Card Debate was launched when I challenged Ana at Debt Free Revolution to a credit card match. I love credit cards, so much so, that I have 89 accounts.  Ana hates them! Others have even noticed our opposing views, most recently highlighted by Father Sez. Ana’s official stance is on Ways Credit Card Companies Separate You From […]

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The Great Credit Card Debate Off to an Early Start!

Posted by Madison on January 3, 2008

We only have one more day until the big credit card debate…. however, Ana at Debt Free Revolution tried to slip in an early post: Dirty Credit Card Company Tricks. It seems she’s trying to convince Lynnae at Being Frugal to get rid of credit cards after being hit with a fee. Since I busted Ana, […]

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Debt Payoff Strategies Holding You Back

Posted by Madison on December 30, 2007

There’s a lot of discussion around optimizing your debt. Figuring out which order to pay off debt, keeping your emotions in check, minimizing interest, moving money around… the reality is that these aren’t solutions to the debt problem; in fact they are hindering your ability to get out of debt!





American Express Finance Charge Fixed

Posted by Madison on December 28, 2007

I had my husband call American Express yesterday to get the $689.72 finance charge straightened out on his IN: CHICAGO American Express card. He actually tried to call on Wednesday, but the hold time was over 10 minutes. He waited for a few, then handed me the phone to hold when the doorbell rang. Somehow in […]

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How Do I Organize 181 Accounts?

Posted by Madison on December 27, 2007

How exactly do I stay organized with 89 credit accounts, 31 bank accounts, 29 investment accounts and 32 other accounts (not including 14 accounts for the kids and numerous accounts for family members)? That’s what readers wanted to know when I started to describe some of the details of our accounts. I’ll highlight my various […]

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Merry Christmas from American Express

Posted by Madison on December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas! We made it through our airport adventure yesterday with 2 delays for 4 hours, one rebooking and a trip to the emergency room for a dislocated elbow… but we eventually made it! I hope your Christmas is enjoyable and you are having a relaxing day.





Our Credit Limits: Over $1,000,000!

Posted by Madison on December 10, 2007

I recently discussed that we have $223,270 outstanding in credit card balances. The next logical question is how much in credit limits do we have to support this strategy? Over $1 million! $1,020,270 to be exact. The total includes credit cards and lines of credit. I thought it would be a fun challenge to see if […]

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