subject: My Story: How A Prepaid Master Card Helped To Fix My Credit Score [print this page] I'm fairly certain your circumstances are nowhere as bad as mine were. When I lost my business; I lost my bank account; I lost my debit cards and I lost a huge amount of time queuing in post offices to pay bills.
You certainly don't miss your water until your well runs dry. Try trudging to the post office, queuing in line, then realizing you've forgotten the letter with the payslip on. Imagine forgetting one thing, then having to get home, find the thing, trudge back to the post office and queue AGAIN. The post office conspiracy became my living hell. You know the one, where the more people are queuing, the less people are available to serve them.
I hate queuing No one wants their grave stone to read. Here lies our beloved Dad. He Queued.
Ok nobody likes bills. The bill arrives.
You curse it. You moan about it. Here's the deal though, you can call the company, get through the annoying menu options, then pay with your card.
But, just suppose you don't have bank cards or automatic payments from your account. Now all you have is hard cash. You can't stuff dollar bills down a telephone line. And there's no slot on your computer. Sorry, you have to move you feet, join the rest of the sad brigade and go pay.
For me, at first I couldn't even get a bank account. Then I was allowed an account where I could pay in and withdraw cash. Add cash in. Pull money out. Just that! No cards, no other facilities. Just the bucket.
And then like a scene from Rocky - I saw an advert for prepaid credit cards. Instant bliss. Cue music, roll back the clouds, and let the rays of sun light bathe you. Sanity was restored to my life again.
Who knew a piece of plastic could be therapeutic!
This time just one trip to the post office and I could pack that card with enough credit to take care of the bills and still have room for dinner with my wife. Ok, dinner at MacDonald's may be stretching her imagination, but hey, I had plastic in my back pocket.I was a man.
I could call and pay bills over the phone. Are you calling to pay today sir, became the nectar of gods. I could browse the internet and actually order something. I could REALLY buy something. And as a bonus you can't spend what you haven't got, so I couldn't add to the debt.
I've never had an issue with identity fraud, but if someone had hacked my card number, they'd only get a Mac Muffin and that's it.
What was really useful was the card company charged $5 a month for using the card. And at the end of the year, they updated my credit record saying I had successfully repaid a loan.
That positively impacts your credit score. And allows you to get off lonely planet and rejoin the happy credit crowd.
You know, there are some memories that stick with you forever. Your first boyfriend or girlfriend. Your first child. AND getting a bank account where they let you have a visa or MasterCard card again.
I got on the phone to share the ecstasy of my daughter being born. I got on the phone again to share the wild elation of having a real bank account once more.
And the prepaid card is still in my wallet. It's great for family fun days. Load up the card withthe amount of money we want and can afford to spend and off we go to enjoy blowing it.
So get your prepaid card. And rejoin the cool credit gang.
My Story: How A Prepaid Master Card Helped To Fix My Credit Score
