They often are, yes. I’m not sure exactly what “in debt” means to OP. But, when I use it like this I generally mean “negative net worth” not “carrying a line of credit”.
I currently have a balance on a CC, but I don’t consider myself in debt, because it’s smaller than my checking account balance, and that’s smaller than my investment account balance, and that’s smaller than my retirement account balance.
I don’t own a home, but I also didn’t really consider myself “in debt” when I purchased my current car.
Oddly enough I would say I am “in debt to” my CC company, because I do owe money to them and they do not owe money to me. The “to X” part of the phrase restricts my consideration to just two-party financial relationship, in my mind. When you leave off the “to X”, I consider all the financial relationship I have and (roughly) sum over them.
Yeah, I pay it off about twice a month, but usually between the day I schedule a payment and the day it arrives I’ve used the card again, so it’s rare for me to have a zero (or negative!) balance.
I do like the CC rewards, but they get that my “shorting” / charging the merchant. So, if the merchant is part of your community, try to avoid involving a CC processor by paying in cash. (I think cash is a pain to deal with, so my in-built preference is for some sort of card / phone payment system.)
Do we count mortgages as debt here?
They often are, yes. I’m not sure exactly what “in debt” means to OP. But, when I use it like this I generally mean “negative net worth” not “carrying a line of credit”.
I currently have a balance on a CC, but I don’t consider myself in debt, because it’s smaller than my checking account balance, and that’s smaller than my investment account balance, and that’s smaller than my retirement account balance.
I don’t own a home, but I also didn’t really consider myself “in debt” when I purchased my current car.
Oddly enough I would say I am “in debt to” my CC company, because I do owe money to them and they do not owe money to me. The “to X” part of the phrase restricts my consideration to just two-party financial relationship, in my mind. When you leave off the “to X”, I consider all the financial relationship I have and (roughly) sum over them.
Same here, funny carry a balance, but at least for a couple of weeks I owe my credit card company.
Simply because if I use my debit card, i get nothing. Use my credit card and I get 2 to 3 percent off…
Yeah, I pay it off about twice a month, but usually between the day I schedule a payment and the day it arrives I’ve used the card again, so it’s rare for me to have a zero (or negative!) balance.
I do like the CC rewards, but they get that my “shorting” / charging the merchant. So, if the merchant is part of your community, try to avoid involving a CC processor by paying in cash. (I think cash is a pain to deal with, so my in-built preference is for some sort of card / phone payment system.)