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  | miss   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: New Zealand
 Points: 2547
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 04 January 2008 at 4:31pm | 
 
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   If you are disciplined wiht money then using a cc to live on is better banking than running a couple of accounts - you get up to 60 days interest free, so your real money can earn interest before you pay it off in full.  You don't pay any fees and can use rewards to pay the CC fees so they are truely cost free.
 BUT
 you MUST pay the balance in full each time to do this.  If you can it is the best way to organise money.
 
 Check with your bank - many do a lower interest card these days, if the other options aren't going to work.
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  | AnnC   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: Taranaki
 Points: 6796
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 04 January 2008 at 6:25pm | 
 
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   what you need to ask - are you disaplined and finacially secure enough not to run a huge creditcard bill. then i would go with the cc (might as well get rewards) but if you aren't so good with saving and not much money left over from week to week then the debt card is the better deal.  Make sure you ask that the account does not go into OD (as you can get huge fees slapped on for doign that 'accidently')
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     Ann
     Also Mum to Josh (15) and Brooke (10)
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  | Rachael21   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: New Zealand
 Points: 4700
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 04 January 2008 at 10:10pm | 
 
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   Now I'm even more confused lol my mum works for ANZ but she said they didn't do an ANZ debit card so I might ask her. I know she will talk me out of a CC. I think it looks like I'll get a debit card rather than CC.
 Just one last stupid question in that thing that Sheza (I think it was Sheza) put up it said you needed $200 to open the account, that just means you put $200 in but you can start spending it right away?? Not that the hold on to it for ages.
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  | lizzle   Senior Member
 
   
 
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: New Zealand
 Points: 8346
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 7:59am | 
 
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   be aware that many of the low interest cards actualy have a higher annual fee so depending on the limit, can work out more expensive.  With my credit card I user it for EVERYTHING.  i put all my money onto it, so I pay very little in the way of bank fees.  BUT, very easy to overspend.  i am extremely carfeul with my money.
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  | nikkitheknitter   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: Westie
 Points: 7556
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 8:20am | 
 
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   I'd definitely go with the debit card. It's just WAY too easy to overspend with a credit card (unless you are some kind of financial wonder woman like Liz! How DO you do it?!?)
 
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  | minik8e   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: Taranaki
 Points: 5838
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 8:33am | 
 
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   When I opened my Westpac account I didn't need $200 - I think I put $20 in (just a straight withdrawal from the ATM outside the branch) and that was all I needed.
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  | kiwigal   Senior Member
 
   
 
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Points: 1616
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 8:37am | 
 
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   I have a ASB mastercard and it has a $500 limit which is enough for me.I never get up to the amount at the most I spend $50-$200 some months and there is some things that Dh wants me to get.
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  | baalamb   Senior Member
 
   
 
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Points: 1820
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 8:43am | 
 
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   We've just recently got an ASB mastercard also. It came with some ridiculous $2000 limit or something, but we'll definitely be reducing that. Even before we got the card and were looking at our options, I could feel myself starting to spend that money already!!!    it would be so, so easy to go out and have a big spend up, but I don't think I could actually bring myself to do it. DH is rather impulsive, whereas I like to just think on things a bit more and decide if we really need it, or just want it so I like to think that I have a bit of self control!
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  | Jennz   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: Wellington
 Points: 1897
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 08 January 2008 at 9:47am | 
 
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|  miss wrote: 
 If you are disciplined wiht money then using a cc to live on is better banking than running a couple of accounts - you get up to 60 days interest free, so your real money can earn interest before you pay it off in full.  You don't pay any fees and can use rewards to pay the CC fees so they are truely cost free.
 
 BUT
 you MUST pay the balance in full each time to do this.  If you can it is the best way to organise money.
 
 Check with your bank - many do a lower interest card these days, if the other options aren't going to work.
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 We do this but DH is an accountant and anal with money so we never 'slip up'. Works well for us but I would never ever do it if I was running the money!  Those debit card things sound great     Wonder if they'll get them over here before we leave lol    Our local store only just got chip and pin (UK version of EFTPOS) and it still takes 3 days for cash deposits to clear    Its like banking in the 80s
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     Jen, Charlotte 7 & Kate 3    | 
 
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  | miss   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: New Zealand
 Points: 2547
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 09 January 2008 at 12:05am | 
 
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   But you do have switch Jen, that is pretty much what the debit thing here is I reckon, I miss switch!
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  | 11111   Senior Member
 
   
   
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: New Plymouth
 Points: 2393
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:34am | 
 
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   yeah Jen my dad said it is terrible over there he tried to get his bank to atomacally transfere his wages to an account here cause he was here on holiday by the time they had done that he would have been back in the UK before it ever made it here he was here for over 6 week's.  Oh and  just second everone else that said CC are evil.  I got myself in sooo much trouble with mine before I meet Pete that I ended up having to use the court to get out of the trouble I was in.  B oth me and DH are bad with money so we alway's robbing Pete to pay Paul.
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  | kebakat   Senior Member
 
   
 
 Joined: 01 January 1900
 Location: Palmy North
 Points: 10980
 |  Post Options  Thanks(0)  Quote  Reply  Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:40am | 
 
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   I haven't read the other responses.. but this is what we do and why..
 We have a BNZ global plus visa. We use this for our day to day spending. I check every couple of days whats on the credit card and pay it off weekly so that it helps us keep track of our spending. And that way we don't end up being pinged by interest.
 We do it this way to avoid transation fees but mostly because of airpoints. We collect tons of airpoints using this. We used airpoints for most of our honeymoon flights to raro in 2006, the only flight we had to pay for was for one of us to get to auckland, allt he rest was essentially free. When we go to aussie later this year most of our flights will be free again thanks to airpoints    It does mean you have to be disiplined with your spending but I don't see that as a bad thing.
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