Sidney this is a great place to ask for advice, you have a lot of really intelligent folks here from all walks of life. PPOT is like my focus group, I love to bounce things off of the collective that I'm personally unsure of, and I've never been disappointed. You've received a lot of good advice here so take it to heart, and don't get mad because everyone doesn't tell you what you want to hear.

My advice.
Buy what you want, regardless of the reason.
Pay for it how you want.
If you pay it off in two months, great.
If the schit hits the fan and everything falls apart and you have to pay 22% interest on it, or you have to ask for your parents help..
so what?

Own up to the mistake at that point and go on with your life.
You're young, you're going to probably make far more costly mistakes in your life.

Geez, I wish I was your kid.

Wanna' adopt me?

To use CC company's money for no interest while building a credit rating as long as you know you can pay it back is "VERY bad advice"? Um...ok.

There are some very smart and experienced people on this board. But there also are some very angry and bitter ones, and some who have their narrow world view and everything else is WRONG and VERY BAD. The trick is telling the difference.

Then again I've gone against the "spot on" group collective in the past and lived to tell about it. In the end people have to make their own decisions.

I agree with the top part of your advice, assuming one has the necessary cash on hand to fulfill the debt. Otherwise you are leaving yourself open for for potential trouble.

Above opinion expressed by someone who uses credit cards for 99% of purchases.

this, Dr no.

Do you really believe that VC's will be impressed by his CC history?

...but it IS very sweet, the way you encourage his rationalization. You are obviously not an angry man, like the rest of us. Maybe step it up and just buy it for him. Oh wait, that would put-off his master debt plan.

Todd, we'll just have to respectfully disagree about the first part for someone under the circumstances that Sidney layed out for us. You are absolutely right after the "Um...ok" part. Sidney pushed the wrong button and I angrily overreacted (I'm not sure why :(). I apologize to you all...especially Sidney. I said I was done here but I had to come back for one more .02 worth...

ps: Todd, we've ALL survived...no need for Sid to repeat what we've learned, experienced, or observed, and I don't think you'd really want him too either...be well!

Well, often people have to repeat what others have learned. It's just the way humans work :D

And after repeating the same mistakes that others have warned you about, you eventually start to pay attention to their advice. This is called wisdom.

Very true... It's a matter of degree.

To what degree will one reject advice offered to them (due to ego, machismo or whatever)?

To what degree will they suffer damage as a result?

I love to tell my staff "good judgement comes from experience. Know where experience comes from? BAD JUDGEMENT!"

If the MacBook is really gonna cream his Twinkie then whatever, I suppose it's only $600 but that's not the issue. The real issue is it sets a precedent for going after whatever silly fad/want/toy happens along all with an instant-gratification mindset ("Ahh I'll just pay tomorrow..."). In this brave new world with little/no job security and where incomes and livelihoods can be snuffed out at the drop of a hat or a stock price, it is riskier than ever to get onto that slippery slope, betting that there will be money around tomorrow to pay for the excesses of today.

But live and learn I guess. In the grand scheme it's only 600 bucks and maybe he'll be the exception rather than the rule (even if statistics say otherwise). You can't live your entire life in fear of what might happen either. You DO need to live a little and enjoy your limited time here. Learning the specific situations when it's appropriate to adopt that attitude comes only with age - and to a certain extent with experience and/or bad judgement however.

Well, with the two software companies I've had funded, the VC's didn't give a damn about my CC history.

As to my third company, the Business Development Bank of Canada did care very much about my CC history, but didn't care at all what or how I used that credit, only that it was paid off in a reasonable manner (not just minimum payments) and not maxed out all the time. They even made the comment that the payment history of the 4 credit cards I was using was good to see. They understood that credit is a tool that is very useful, and that just about everyone uses at one time or another.

more wisdom right there ^ . . .you must be angry and bitter. ;)

That I can agree with.

Now I understand. You want Sid to make mistakes. (I agree again. ..clearly the only way he'll understand.)

Oh, you have no idea. Makes me drive my Porsche in anger at the track every chance I get. ;)

Seriously, though... when I was starting out growing my first software company, I did things with credit cards that would make some people go apoplectic. But it was short-term financing that I couldn't get anywhere else. The banks wouldn't help me at all, and I didn't have to give up any piece of the company (not that anyone would have wanted a piece back then).

It worked out for the best, in the long run, and I'm quite happy I did it the way I did. It allowed me to build things to the point where I could get some VC financing.

And without using the card, and getting the limit increases that came with it, I would not have been able to.

Not the ideal or recommended path, obviously, but it was either take a big chance/risk with the credit cards as financing to do your own thing, or continue being a PC-using drone in a cubicle at some big corporation. ;)

And they have helped in some tough situations where traditional banks and financing routes weren't an option.

The worst was when I got stiffed for almost $150k by a client, but had subs to pay.... maxed out my lines of credit and maxed out my credit cards with cash advances to pay the gys, while scrambling to find new work for me and 8 developers. Fun times. (Long story, but it was a long-term client, public company even, that went tits up without any notice and screwed me over).

Sure, it was a severe kick to the nuts, but the options were to do that or stiff my guys... so really no option. Glad I had the credit cards available, though, or it wouldn't have worked out. Took a while to pay that all off, and it cost me a ton in interest, but it worked.


Maybe that's why I chuckle over the potential life-threatening scenario of financing a laptop, at 0%, for a couple of months.... it's nowhere near the end of the world, and the sky isn't even thinking about falling.

It is almost funny how this thread will not die. I am pretty sure Sid had made his decision. No one presented a really compelling reason to not buy the laptop he wants.

Last year one of the credit cards I have had for 20 years decided the new credit card laws warranted a interest rate change. Their base rate went to 18% That did not really bother me but the kicker is they wanted a 35 dollar annual fee. I told them to shove it and canceled that card. I had no balance and never did, but they were obviously not going to be a friendly company.

PCA has a new credit card program so I got a new credit card that has a picture of my 911 on the front ot it. It had a 0% interest for the first 6 months. I went to Porsche Parade and charged everything on it. The one week motel room was the biggest expense. When I got home I looked at the total and set up a automatic payment from my bank for 1/5 of the total for 5 months. I usually just paid it off but since it was 0% I wanted to enjoy making the CC company finance my vacation. I almost giggled every time I saw my bank send another payment. Next month I will dig out the card and charge a tank of gas just to keep some activity on the card.

My new card has this on the front.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1293716904.jpg

Nice pic. :)

My MacBook Pro has this as a desktop. Just doesn't look as good on a PC, I find. SmileWavy

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1293717172.jpg

I had to come back...I think everyone here would chuckle at the above scenario, and if any of us came across that way, we deserve to be be rediculed. Jeff, you've got a great success story to convey, but "business credit" and "consumer debt" for a college kid (not paying his own way yet) are two totally different beasts for most of us. Different strokes for different folks...I've preferred to be debt free since the age of 40, written a check for everthing since (including investment properties), and will never again dance to the drumbeat of the "banker man" (there are a LOT of us here). Financial independence vs. debt, it's a lifestyle choice many develop early and never change...choices that have consequences both positive and negative down the line. I do hope Sidney learned something from this thread as he enjoys his Mac :)...other than the fact that some of us are a bunch of "bitter" geezers. Thanks for the intelligent discussions over the years guys! I haven't been feeling to swell about my exchange with Sidney earlier. There's a sign that used to hang in a local watering hole that said: "Be nice or leave!" I think I'm gonna go away for awhile...

A computer used to further your education and/or get you productive in your profession is capital equipment. Go for it. The same people telling you not to finance anything expect you to finance your education.

Well, I certainly have my narrow world view! And it is verrry, verrry straight. Yup, that's what keeps me on the straight and narrow.

But I'm lucky; I was born with a narrow mind.

I do, however, make liberal use of (why be conservative?), and always keep on hand, a bottle of Spot On Remover; because I don't believe that "no man is an...island".

I do maintain a broad perspective though and that has a nipple effect that can harden me to resist the temptation to use my CC foolishly, e.g. using it to pay someone to bait my fish hooks. I would NEVER use my credit card to pay for a hooker!

Is a $1600 Mac better than a $600 Dell for writing papers and creating spreadsheets. Sid wants the Mac for its video creation ability, which is a hobby. Nothing wrong with that, but don't confuse want and need.

College is an investment in the future, it will pay off many times over. It is far different than a piece of consumer electronics.