I have used numerous 'no interest; no payment' plans, and have had no problems, as they do not require any monthly payments. No interest at all if the complete balance is paid for by the ending date. Of course, if you don't pay off ALL of the balance by the ending date, you will be charged ALL of the acquired interest from day one.

I closed a credit card recently that had a bad habit of sending my bills late, however, it's not a good idea to close accounts that aren't causing problems as it's a hit on your credit score for awhile. Keeping a bunch of accounts in good order is the best way to obtain good credit scores. That doesn't mean charging a lot of stuff every month, but using the cards a few times a year usually works fine.

So much depends on your credit score nowadays that guarding it like a hawk makes a lot of sense. I made a resolution in 2008 to have all of my debt, except for my vehicle and house, paid off by 01/01/2009. I did it, but not without some effort and denial and sacrifice; however it was well worth it. My car is at zero interest, so I didn't see a real advantage of paying that off early.


Fire, the wheel, and the I IV V -- foundations of civilization.