The ultimate "off limits topic: airguns,and CREDIT CARDS!"

My opinion is: this isnt even a topic worth talking about. What others use their credit for is their business. If they want to put it on the credit card so be it who am I to care?

Never happen in my House. But it seems many many people these days "live beyond their means" , House payments AND large Car payments and maybe the newest Iphone and that's okay " it's all on a 30 year plan". Used to be the Childeren 1st then the House after that was all paid for you might have " extra money".
Now if I was in say a quarter million worth of dept already and making minimum wage who knows.

0% interest with the money on hand is fine with me, it is good to have credit and you do need to use it.

John

About 15 years ago I quit living the American dream of buy now, pay later. Everything except for the house and 2nd vehicle have and always will be paid for with cash in hand or bank Debit card where the funds are available for discretionary spending. I have purchased my RAW's by ordering through a local dealer with 1/2 down in cash and then paid them the balance in full over the next 12 weeks or so that it takes for the rifle to be completed. That is as close as I come to buying an air rifle or anything for that matter without paying for it in full all at once. I learned my lesson the hard way and it took 7 years to pay off all my "buy now pay later" purchases. Will never allow that to happen again. That is how things stand at my house. I don't begrudge anyone doing other wise but the buy now pay later game is a very slippery slope and can be very costly. This reminds me of a sign my great grandfather had in his general store. "In God we trust, everyone else pays cash!" a good motto to live buy weather you are selling or buying. Just my 2 cents worth.

no, the original poster means the hobby got out of control, and the prices are up so they should drop a zero from the prices to be fair
LOL

"sirk"no, the original poster means the hobby got out of control, and the prices are up so they should drop a zero from the prices to be fair
LOL

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I think youre on the wrong thread.

It’s PayPal or Money Order although I did use my CC to buy my AV compressor this summer and that’s now payed off..

"LDP"

"sirk"no, the original poster means the hobby got out of control, and the prices are up so they should drop a zero from the prices to be fair
LOL

Click to expand...

I think youre on the wrong thread.

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excuse me? I thought 4 are too much for a year so his addiction is getting out of control, prices should still come down
LOL

...where I come from, you can almost get a cabin with land for the money I have spent on my PCPs

I use the CC to pay for everything since it’s online purchases. I get 1-5% back on purchases depending. I buy when I have the money to do so but use the CC for convenience and the return. We pay the CC off each month and try not to carry a balance. We have had our bank info stolen before and a lot of money taken from our account before the issuing company of the debit card caught it and stopped the account. We have insurance for that from the credit union and part of the coverage was credit monitoring for a year after that for identity theft. When setting up the monitoring and talking with the rep, she suggested not using a debit card and using a CC for purchases. The reasoning was that if the bad guys got the account info and bogus charges were made, it’s not my money from my account, it’s the CC company’s money. I liked that idea of protecting my money so I adopted that same practice of using a CC for purchases instead of my debit card, just in case.

but to the original idea of the post... I don’t buy now and pay later. I’m not saying that I never have or ever would, it’s just not the usual practice. I have bought with a CC knowing that the extra money is already going to be there on the next paycheck. I already worked for it and earned it, just hadn’t been deposited yet.

I'm not into PCP's, However I read a lot of adds and some of these threads that inform me that by the time you get the gun and all the stuff you need to actually shoot the gun you are talking a BUNCH of money. I wouldn't doubt there are a LOT of folks that don't have that kind of money laying around.

I have been around long enough to see folks spend some real money on what they called a "hobby". Have a look at what many people spend to hunt deer or to fish; it is some serious money! Many have owned boats (with a payment) along with ATV's...

I don't guess financing a good quality Air Rifle and the things that make it shoot is much different. Not for me, but I am a old man, if I were young I am sure I would look at it differently.

Geezer

I always use my credit card. First i have to buy online. Second, i get free airline miles. But i do not purchase anything without having saved for it first. So when the bill comes do i pay the credit card off.

"I’ll pay for if in the fall when business picks up!" Well it seems to me this person is making a rather large assumption that business will pickup in the fall. All to often it seems like when people start to think along these lines or get into that mode of operation that it tends to bury them. I hope that doesn't happen to this person but if it does it will be a painful lessen that hopefully affects only themselves and not other family members they may be responsible for.

This is a subject I take seriously. From time to time I teach classes to young people on financial responsibility. If I really got started Michael would kick me off and rightly so. But , just some quick thoughts. Using credit in most cases steals from your financial well being in later life. Our society has become an instant gratification society. We want what we want right now and credit allows us to accomplish that. The majority of young people have learned a balance of spending the max credit allows them and still just being able to make the payments. Credit just loves you for it. Your spending your life WORKING for them and they do nothing but take your money and steal your financial stability when your old and no longer working. Many people will spend almost half of what they make in their lifetime paying for credit which they receive nothing for. A few years when you are young NOT spending. Going without and learning to save and then only spending if you have the money. Learning and practicing this principle is literately a life style altering principle for your future. AND, it costs nothing. sylvan

Toys and hobbies can be expensive. How people manage their finances, whether for an AG or other things, is their choice. 

I worked for a finance company before I got married and saw first hand how the irresponsible use of credit can hurt people. This was in the early 70's when credit cards were not as ubiquitous as they are today. When I got married I insisted on saving and spending cash for things we needed, other than a car and house. I use credit cards today for convenience but always pay off the balance in full when the bill arrives. 

"sirk"

"LDP"

"sirk"no, the original poster means the hobby got out of control, and the prices are up so they should drop a zero from the prices to be fair
LOL

Click to expand...

I think youre on the wrong thread.

Click to expand...

excuse me? I thought 4 are too much for a year so his addiction is getting out of control, prices should still come down
LOL
...where I come from, you can almost get a cabin with land for the money I have spent on my PCPs

Click to expand...

What are you talking about? The op is asking if other people think its wise to use a credit card for airgun purchases not how many airguns he purchased. You are on a different topic than the OP.

I think I fall somewhere in the middle of this. I have used my CC and have paid it off in full in a relatively short amount of time. I have also sold some of what I still had on the card at the time for a fairly substantial loss. Currently I'm at a zero balance on the CC I use for toys.

I support the idea of having the cash first, then buy, but I would be a hypocrite if I said I always do this. Then there are those times when a gun, or a deal comes along, something you have been waiting on or really wanted, you were saving, but still did not have the full amount. But, there it is, for sale on the Classified section, way cheaper than what a new one would cost you. BANG!!! Trigger pulled, CC charged.

At the end of the day I will never buy anything I know I can not pay for. Then to each their own as well. Some here like to be Holier Than Thou sometimes and do a lot of judging. Good solid advice is always welcome, but keep your judgments for yourself, it is not nice. 

My house is paid for, my vehicles (cars, trucks, tractors, ATV) are paid for, my land is paid for, my equipment is paid for, my cattle are paid for. My CC is the only debt I have which is VASTLY Smaller than my assets so all is well regardless, however, many mistakes were made and lessons learned getting to this point in life!

Thurmond

well when i ordered my30 cal hm1000x from raw they required money upon finish no up front money ,,,, so every other week i sent them approx $150 to$200 and when it became finished 4 months later it was paid ,,SANDRA whos awesome by the way puts up with all my calls and ?s SHES great was happy to do this,,, gun paid when finished... no one backing out of the deal ,,a week ago i just did the same program with RAW again this time for a hm1000x 25 poly and probably a second 30 cal inter changer able barrel ,,if i use a credit card for anything from a $700 scope to a $16 tin pellets it s money in bank then purchase of item no carrying of balance ever

who was it who said "ill gladly pay you thursday for a hamberger today"