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Free from Credit Cards, At Last!
Last Monday, February 15, I became free from the bondage of credit cards. And I pray I’ll never become a slave again.
Amid the pain of selling something meaningful to us, my husband and I sold the lot we bought in the 1990s just so I can be free. Over the past few years I became a slave to lenders, as I accumulated more than 200,000 pesos in credit card debts.
Even with a higher-than-average salary, I couldn’t make a dent on the principal balances even if all my payroll money goes to paying the monthly card bills. I had to work overtime everyday, even on Sundays. I couldn’t even visit my aging parents in the province because there’s nothing to set aside for fares.
There’d been a lot of pain… and other awful things too embarrassing to describe here. It’s enough that now I’m free.
(by bluesemotion, photobucket)
And I thank God that amid my many grave financial mistakes, there’s one good investment that I did when I was younger — that is to buy a lot in a good location and pay the amortization faithfully through the years no matter how hard. And now, it was the one that saved me.
Credit cards are not evil per se. They can help. They have helped me when people I love had to be hospitalized and when tuition needed to be paid.
BUT credit cards are like knives — they can kill if not handled carefully.
There are many important things I have to tell my children. But there’s one thing they don’t have to hear about — the consequences of credit card use. They’ve seen how I suffered and almost got drowned in torment.
Credit cards in the Philippines
Prudentialife Plans – Termination of Plan
This is for those asking about Prudentialife Plans, the diversified pre-need firm with main address at Prudentialife Bldg., 118 Gamboa St., Legazpi Village, Makati City.
Check again because this is often confused with a different company, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company (PPLIC), an insurance company headquartered in Pasig City and affiliated with Danvil Plans. Prudentialife and Prudential Life are not affiliated with each other.
If you have decided to terminate your Prudentialife plans, these are the documents you need to bring to Prudentialife to apply for termination:
- Plan or policy contract (Original)
- Certificate of Full Payment (Original)
- At least two valid IDs (Photocopies signed three times)
- Benefits Settlement Application Form (3 copies)
- Processing fee of 300 pesos (to be deducted from the proceeds of the plan)
You can view or download a copy of the Benefits Settlement Application Form here.
If you like to view or download copies of a special power of attorney or affidavits, go here.
Always remember though that if you terminate your plan, you won’t get back all the money you paid. You’ll only get a small portion. The percentages are written in your plan.
But as others say, mas mabuti nang merong konti kesa wala.
I don’t have a Prudentialife plan. What I have is a Danvil plan. There was one time I also considered termination because of the pre-need crisis, but I decided to wait.
Nevertheless, we have to decide for ourselves. We gather information and then decide. Whatever happens, we have ourselves to blame or congratulate.
Main Address:
Website: www.prudentialife.com
For addresses of Prudentialife branches, go here.
No Annual Fee Credit Card in the Philippines — Metrobank M
This is the only credit card in the Philippines which has no annual fee for life.
Except of course those premium cards for the very wealthy, and those cards whose owners accumulate enough points to get annual-fee waivers.
I’ve related in my other posts that I finally became free from the bondage of credit cards last February 15. I had eight credit cards, and after paying off all the balances, I canceled all of them, except my local BPI Classic.
But because I need a credit card for my Internet payments, I had to choose one credit card good for international purchases. I like BDO Shop More, but if I have to cut costs, I should retain one with no maintenance fee.
So I finally chose the M Free Mastercard of Metrobank. After canceling my old Metrobank card, I requested for the no-annual-fee card, and it was given to me.
More than a year ago, I applied for this no-annual-fee Metrobank card, but I was told I need to first use an annual-fee Metrobank card for at least a year before I can qualify for the free annual-fee credit card.
If you need to maintain just one card, consider this no-annual fee credit card.
