credit cards Archives - Empathic Finance

Did credit cards ever make financial sense?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on August 28, 2023 | Featured | No Comments

The original purpose of credit cards, to buy something without paying for it yet, was never a good financial decision. … Read More

Tags: credit cards, Diners Club

Hurting the poor: Another case against credit cards

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 20, 2023 | Featured | No Comments

You may think that by paying off credit cards that the only one that loses is the credit card company. But interchange fees say otherwise. … Read More

Tags: credit cards, equity

What are the credit cards I use in my business?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on April 4, 2022 | Featured | No Comments

Take a look behind the scenes and learn about the credit cards I use in my financial coaching business and why. I started my financial coaching business informally almost a decade ago, but it was a few years later that … Read More … Read More

Tags: credit card, credit cards

What are your big money moves?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 28, 2022 | Featured | No Comments

I discuss the high-level “money moves”, the important decisions you can make that will be the most impactful in your financial life. I hope by this point you’re not under the belief that just by cutting out coffee or by … Read More … Read More

Tags: cars, credit, credit cards, debt, impact, impactful

How to manage pistotikophobia: Fear of your credit score

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on June 14, 2021 | Featured | No Comments

Many have an unhelpful and unnecessary fear surrounding their credit score, known as pistotikophobia; here is what it is and how to treat it. Phobias are common. Fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of flying. But there is … Read More … Read More

Tags: credit, credit cards, credit report, credit score

Are you really earning rewards from your credit cards?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on May 31, 2021 | Featured | No Comments

I discuss the reasons why people say they put everyday spending on credit cards, and ask whether the rewards are really worth it. My biggest professional challenge, by far, is how to convince people not to put their everyday spending … Read More … Read More

Tags: cash back, credit cards, rewards

Can you imagine life without debt?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 29, 2021 | Featured | No Comments

Being able to envision what it would be like to be free from debt can help motivate you to take the steps necessary to make it a reality. For many, debt is a way of life. Or rather, it has … Read More … Read More

Tags: car loans, credit cards, debt, debt free, debt payoff, mindfulness, mortgages, student loans

Why your goal is to not care about credit cards (if you even care today)

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on October 21, 2019 | Featured | No Comments

As you build wealth, the reasons to use credit cards fall away even more. Recently I wrote about my own revelation that, while I love collecting (and using!) frequent flyer miles, eventually, with my own financial goals in place, I … Read More … Read More

Tags: credit cards, wealth

Here are the times when I use a credit card

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on April 8, 2019 | Featured | No Comments

Once of the very first posts on this site was called “How credit cards are like alcohol“. In it, I stated that I didn’t believe that there was anything inherently bad about credit cards, but only that some people can … Read More … Read More

Tags: credit cards, spending

Is a credit card safer than a debit card?

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 12, 2018 | Featured | No Comments

I recently got some pushback about using debit cards. I always appreciate this. I want ideas to be battle-tested, and I welcome the opportunity to think critically about decisions I’ve made and suggestions I’ve given. I don’t need everyone to … Read More … Read More

Tags: credit cards, debit cards, risk

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