XPost: hfx.general, ns.general, nf.general 
 From: tsanford@nf.sympatico.ca 
  
 "Brian Smith"  wrote in message 
 news:Q7%we.84320$HI.13703@edtnps84... 
 > 
 > I have never understood the concept of buying groceries with a credit 
 > card. 
 > For something that is readily consumed, cash is the way to go, or else you 
 > could still be paying for the purchase after the silt in the harbour has 
 > settled on it . 
 > 
 > Brian 
 > 
 Right on Brian: Personally I think people are on dangerous ground when they 
 start using your credit card for 'daily' expenditures. But have to admit to 
 using our 'no annual fee' card for gasoline purchases in order to get the 
 most Canadian Tire Money bonus (if you buy gas at a Canadian Tire Gas bar). 
 About 2% that can only be spent at CT. 
  
 However if someone is well organized 'watches' and has a good routine to 
 make their payments on time it should be OK. In five years so far we haven't 
 paid any interest at all on our one credit card although once or twice we 
 paid our monthly balance due, electronically, only one business day ahead of 
 the due date. Electronic post dated payments are useful, eh? 
  
 I gather that not all credit card companies are as good? Or as merciful; 
 have heard 'stories' that if there is a 'glitch' in timing of the payment or 
 of the credit card company accepting the payment you can, with some, run 
 into 'late payment' with interest then charged for a month on the whole 
 amount owed! 
  
 I suppose you could arrange to use a credit card for everything; that means 
 you could delay payment for about 20 days? So, just thinking out loud here 
 ........... if I spent $24,000 through my card annually; I could delay 
 payment every month for 20 days on a monthly average payment of $2000 and do 
 that 12 times a year at a bank savings account average interest rate of 2.5% 
 ................... That's like saying I have use of my money for 20 extra 
 days at a 'worth' of the bank's low interest rate. 
  
 Hmmm! (12 x 20)/365 x 2.5/100 x 2000 = $32.88 annual gain. 
 On other hand if I goof and have to pay late fees at 19% for one month on 
 that 2000 that's ..................... 
 Uh! 2000 x 19/100 x 1/12 = $31.66 one time cost. 
  
 Although over a year 32.88/2000 = 1.6% approx. interest! 
  
 PS. Brian: Silt, eh. You must live in one of our eastern areas  (including 
 our St. John's?, Halifax?, Boston?) where we pump our sewage directly, 
 untreated, into the ocean! Understand that a few years ago there was 
 competition to see which of those harbours was the most polluted! 
 London's river Thames has been 'cleaned up' over the last 50 years. 
 Apparently there was great excitement some years ago when species of fish 
 thought to be extinct, including IIRC salmon, started appearing miles up 
 river in places where they had not dwelt since the 1800s! Proving that 
 waterways could be rehabilitated. 
 BTW pray for the Great Lakes, if you will. 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)