Credit Card Rate Hikes

We have a credit card that has a balance on it, but we are not using it, just paying it down. The interest rate has been 14.99%, not bad, though our lowest has a 5.9% rate. Last week, we received a notice that the credit card company was going to raise the rate to 29.99%! We could opt out if we wanted to, which meant agreeing to being unable to use the card again, and keeping the same interest rate as we pay down the balance. The other choice was to keep the card and pay the usurious new rate, which I couldn't stomach. We chose to opt out, which means we lost the $30,000 limit, most of which is unused, which may dampen our credit score, especially since it was a major card. I think that the reforms are hurting consumers as much as they are helping.

The good news is my change jar is getting quite full.

Don't Buy It if You Don't Use It!

What I mean by that is that while trying to get the hang of being a "strategic shopper" combining coupons with sales to get stuff at a very low price, I discovered that I was purchasing a lot of grocery items because they were a good deal, even if I never purchased that item before. I have concluded that it is much better for me to buy the things we actually eat, than to scoop up every bargain. And I am able to shop at a military commissary, which, time and again, still beats Wal-Mart, Krogers, and Harris Teeter. So now I am trying to be a REALLY strategic shopper, letting certain "amazing deals" go and focusing on our basic grocery list, which actually does not include a lot of processed foods, as many of these "deals" seem to be full of them.

Learning the Hard Way: Buying Fish

I really like to make sure my kids eat healthy, and that means getting Omega 3s into them as much as possible. About once a week, I buy fish, usually salmon, and they promptly devour it. This past week, however, the salmon was expensive, but the red snapper was cheaper. The red snapper came as a whole fish, head and fins and all. I ordered two pounds of it, like I do with the salmon. What I didn't factor in was how much of these big fish was actually edible. My husband didn't know how to fillet them, so we had a neighbor come over who is a fish-fanatic, and he did the filleting. What was left when he was done was four VERY small fillets, to feed six of us! That cost me $18.00!!! I felt pretty stupid, though my husband was gracious. Lesson: buy fish that is already prepared so you get the most for your money!