How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

August 2, 2008

If you know your credit card facts, you've probably heard that approximately 51 percent of the US population has at least two credit cards (that's according to an Experian National Score Index Study in February 2007). How many plastics do you have in your name?

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47 Comments

njnikusha 4 years 36 weeks

omg i have so many , but so far have balance only on 4 of them. still have no clue shuld i cancel them or not, would it hurt the score or not

LilGlamDiva 4 years 41 weeks

None. just my debit

LilGlamDiva 4 years 41 weeks

None. just my debit

faerymagick15 4 years 41 weeks

Yikes! I have more than 10!! LOL...I am working on getting rid of half of those though. I don't need them and have almost paid them off!

SanDiegoLove 4 years 41 weeks

We have 2 and don't actually purchase anything on them. The only things we've purchased on credit have been my car and our house. One card is for emergencies and the other is so we don't lose the benefits of being in the USAA system.

ilanac13 4 years 41 weeks

i have a few - but the key thing is that i don't use any of them. i've had them for ages, from when i was young dumb and opened them up cause i was poor - but now i don't use any of them. the only cards that i use are my amex which i have to pay off at the end of each month and my debit card. that's the only/best way for me to manage all my expenses and budget properly.

gigly_grl 4 years 41 weeks

1 and I pay it off every month! I never buy anything I can't afford and honestly the only reason I use my credit card instead of my debit card all the time is because of the benefits!!! Right now I have a Dividend card and at the end of the year (right around the Holidays) I get a nice whack of cash from Visa ;)

gigly_grl 4 years 41 weeks

jennjennnbubba 4 years 41 weeks

none! I had 8 at one time but I cancelled all of them and paid them off. Well actually still working on the Visa and MC but the others are closed and cleared. Just rock the check card now... if it don't take then I just don't need it ;)

jennjennnbubba 4 years 41 weeks

californiagirlx7 4 years 41 weeks

None, I have a debit card but I will probably need to get a credit card eventually.

em113 4 years 41 weeks

One. It's always paid off. If you manage your money well there's no reason not to have one. My money sits in a savings account earning interest all month until the day I pay off my bill.

Mintie 4 years 41 weeks

ZERO... and proud of it. I think credit is the downfall of our society, our culture, our economy and this [formerly] great country. And don't start with the "you're going to need it for major purchases" I don't make major purchases. The only major purahcase I ever intend to make is my farm in Italy when I retire, and I intend [and am saving and investing now] to pay for that in cash. My mantra is, if I can't pay for it in cash, I don't need it. And, if you're curious, I do treat myself to Louboutin shoes, YSL bags and the like from time to time. I also take a vacation at least once a year. With the general population's maxed out credit cards, car loans, etc... they are in debt... in the hole [what a horrible thought!]. But I am indebted to no one. I owe NOTHING. Even if I had absolutely nothing in savings and investments... I'm flat. No worries. Period. It's a beautiful thing.

Mintie 4 years 41 weeks

ZERO... and proud of it.I think credit is the downfall of our society, our culture, our economy and this [formerly] great country. And don't start with the "you're going to need it for major purchases" I don't make major purchases.The only major purahcase I ever intend to make is my farm in Italy when I retire, and I intend [and am saving and investing now] to pay for that in cash. My mantra is, if I can't pay for it in cash, I don't need it. And, if you're curious, I do treat myself to Louboutin shoes, YSL bags and the like from time to time. I also take a vacation at least once a year.With the general population's maxed out credit cards, car loans, etc... they are in debt... in the hole [what a horrible thought!]. But I am indebted to no one. I owe NOTHING. Even if I had absolutely nothing in savings and investments... I'm flat. No worries. Period.It's a beautiful thing.

melody20 4 years 41 weeks

2 debit cards, 1 credit card. (I had 2, but the other got HUGE, it´s canceled and i´m still paying :()

bsglrok132 4 years 41 weeks

I have one that has always been paid off in full. I just use it to earn miles and build a credit history for when I have to buy my own house, and a new car.

Twinkle 4 years 41 weeks

One and it has nothing on it. :medal:

uptown_girl 4 years 41 weeks

I said four, but that's: 1 Visa 1 Express credit card (hardly ever use) 1 VS credit card (again, hardly use) 1 Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy credit card (I only use it about 8-10 months of the year). Everyone single one of these is always paid off in full. I've never carried a balance. My question is, do these store cards count as credit cards?? They show up on my credit report, so I am assuming yes.

uptown_girl 4 years 41 weeks

I said four, but that's: 1 Visa 1 Express credit card (hardly ever use) 1 VS credit card (again, hardly use)1 Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy credit card (I only use it about 8-10 months of the year).Everyone single one of these is always paid off in full. I've never carried a balance.My question is, do these store cards count as credit cards?? They show up on my credit report, so I am assuming yes.

bellstar 4 years 41 weeks

I use Amex mainly and Visa in places where Amex isn't accepted. I find it hard to justify the annual fees associated with having many cards.

Jaimieheart 4 years 41 weeks

Just one, thank god.

Jaimieheart 4 years 41 weeks

Just one, thank god.

wackdoodle 4 years 41 weeks

oh yeah chatondeneige - I still have over $60K in Federal Student loans myself. I have a fixed interest rate. Each semester I had over $4000 in outright lab expenses, books and supplies. I tied to do the credit card thing but it was stupid for me. I had a full time job and a salary that could pay my extra school expenses if I simply stopped wasting money on junk ( in my case magazines, dinners out and stupid trips to Vegas and where ever). Once I stopped spending wildly because I could delay paying I realized that I could just knock out those freaking semesterly expenses as the arose instead of paying interest on something that was gone 3 weeks into class.Freaking private art colleges. Now I'm about to switch over to Cal and study architecture which means starting all over again. There will be no loans or credit cards. Instead my salary will pay for my tuition and expenses because it will teach me a lesson about changing freaking careers at 37.

wackdoodle 4 years 41 weeks

oh yeah chatondeneige - I still have over $60K in Federal Student loans myself. I have a fixed interest rate. Each semester I had over $4000 in outright lab expenses, books and supplies. I tied to do the credit card thing but it was stupid for me. I had a full time job and a salary that could pay my extra school expenses if I simply stopped wasting money on junk ( in my case magazines, dinners out and stupid trips to Vegas and where ever). Once I stopped spending wildly because I could delay paying I realized that I could just knock out those freaking semesterly expenses as the arose instead of paying interest on something that was gone 3 weeks into class. Freaking private art colleges. Now I'm about to switch over to Cal and study architecture which means starting all over again. There will be no loans or credit cards. Instead my salary will pay for my tuition and expenses because it will teach me a lesson about changing freaking careers at 37.

wackdoodle 4 years 41 weeks

chatondeneige- My dad bought our family cars back in the 50s, 60s and 70s when prices were far lower. My parents did in fact pay cash for their vehicles and own them outright.As far as our house my parents bought our 5 bedroom 2 bathroom new ranch house in Ventura in 1972 (a year after I was born, they were 35 and 36 years old. From the mortgage papers I saw after my mom died they had a 30 year mortgage and the purchase price on our was around $75,000. They put according to the loan papers $12,000 down in cash. My dad was a Navy officer and he simply worked, had mistresses and came home and ate dinner. My mom was a housewife, she took care of the household finances. All of my dad's paycheck was direct deposited into their joint bank account and my mom paid any bills. My mom knew that my dad planned on retiring once and for all when he turned 55 years old and she didn't want to be scrounging for money in their old age. So, my mom paid the mortgage on the house no less than 3 times a month. Before she died in 1985 she had paid off our home in full and had the deed in our safety deposit box. My dad didn't know that she had paid off the house until I told him because I took her to the bank to make the final payment.My parents had five kids. We went on family vacations but they were to relatives homes usually in Vegas or at Edwards AFB or to local lakes. First understand that as a black couple with a family in 50s,60s, and 70s credit wasn't readily available or trusted by my parents or there parents. They were taught to live well but live frugally despite any wealth. No joke it's a good thing that my parents were frugal despite my dad's excellent salary because when my mom had to have a second brain surgery and the insurance companies wanted my mom to see a sub-par surgeon, my dad found the best surgeon and hospital in the US for her to have surgery at and he pulled money out of their numerous savings accounts and paid the over $1,000,000 surgery, hospital and rehabilitation bills until the insurance company reimbursed them.I cannot tell you the number of times that I remember as a pre-teen and teenager that my mom and dad had been audited by the IRS because they had a large income and low debit ratio which was reflected on their tax returns. The IRS agents would always look closely at my dad's W2's and then at my parents bank accounts and see that they saved nearly 50% or more or their disposal income from each paycheck. That's just they way they were. We lived well but my parents weren't big fans of waste or fashion trends or keeping up with the Jones'. My dad was happy well into the 1990's driving his tiny 1970's Toyota Corolla while my uncles and Aunts drove Mercedes Benzs and Cadallics. I remember that he was really really upset when some teenagers stole his Corolla and went for a 100 mile joy ride in 1st gear and destroyed the engine and transmission beyond reasonable repair.What pissed me off as a spoiled brat was I would consistently ask my parents if we had money. They would say yes. I would ask for Joradache or Sassoon or Nikes when the all first came out and my parents would always say no - because I having having huge growth spurts as a kid and expensive trendy clothes were a waste of money. I did get SWAK and Osh Kosh so I was happy. I don't find anything I'm saying odd because my brother-in-law who was white and grew up dirt poor, was just like my dad and mom. He paid cash for everything including his house and cars (a Jaguar XKE E-type). My brother-in-law also grew up with the "cash is king" philosophy and that if you cannot pay for some depreciable - item outright then you do not need it. My B-I-L was really irked when I was a teen and went to take out a loan to buy a motor-scooter. He got so upset and pissed that my dad wouldn't front me the money and that I didn't have the cash to buy the $7000 scooter myself that he had my sister go to the dealership before I got there and pay for my motor scooter in cash and give them the pink slip. I paid them back $50 a week for umpteen years. Zero interest. Same thing happened when his first son needed a car, he pulled the cash out of one of his savings accounts and we went to the Toyota dealership played hardball on the price and when they lowered it to the price he knew the car was worth - I whipped out the cash and paid on my B-I-L's behave in cash. He was really pissed off when my sister convinced him to buy a new house when they're first house was almost completely paid off after an extensive remodel. But he bought the new house anyway cause he loved her and couldn't say no.The dude should have said no. The old house was way better than the one she lives in now and when my B-I-L died suddenly my sister wouldn't have been left with a $3K a month mortgage payment and two small boys to raise on her own.Uggghhh...super talkative tonight. Sorry folks.

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