Amateurs! People like me who court debt don't need the physical credit card to get into trouble. I had no mortgage or car payment six years ago...now I'm back in debt and no longer smug. Paid off a 15 year mortgage in 11 years...now I have a 30 year at 5.85% to consolidate all my CC debt. Did it all without pulling out a physical credit card. I have not carried a credit card or a checkbook in years. I just pick up the phone and order with the numbers already on file. I am getting back on track..but still having problems saying "NO" to my wants. Saving for my "needs" depressed me....now I am depressed and poor and I readily admit that depressed and financially secure is better. Greed? Is shop-a-holism some sort of greed? Nobody sees what I buy. My car is from 1999. I live in a modest home. I work in a one-man office. Filled four Salvation Army bags last night. Must've been 16 outfits donated that I wore only once. I am realizing now that I've bought clothes for a life I do not lead.

Jamie: I cruised in January and will try to answer some of your questions. He can pay with cash. When he first gets on board, he'll need to go to the information desk and fund his Sail and Sign (S&S) card. This is basically a deposit against photos, drinks, gifts, or anything he charges on board to his S&S card. We plunked down cash our first day for what we thought we'd spend. On the last night of the cruise, any balance left on the S&S card is refunded to you by leaving a refund check in your room with a copy of your statement. He can take that check to the desk and cash it or bring it home. Either is fine. During his cruise, if the cash deposit he put up begins to dwindle close to zero, they will let him know. On some ships, he can check his available balance on the TV in his room. On all ships, he can simply ask at the information desk. I would caution you against pre-paid credit cards. Have heard/read of those not being accepted on board. Also, do not send a debit card to "fund" his S&S card. Just like with credit cards, they will have the bank authorize a pre-set amount of money. It may me for more than he actually spends, and Carnival will make it right at the end of the cruise by cancelling the pre-authorized charge to the debit card and issuing another charge for the actual amount. It's just that those things take a few days sometimes... It sounds like all of his food, soda, gratuities, and excursions are included in the $1k you've already paid. So yes, all he'll need is money for gifts, food, drink that he buys off the ship. The steakhouse is an additional charge of $30 pp. I've heard it is nice, but there will be TONS of food on board 24/7 that he has already "paid for" in the $1k, so I doubt it's anything he'll want to do. He can have free room service (free food!) 24/7, but it's always nice to tip the steward who brings it a couple of bucks. There may be something like a coffee house on board with fancy cakes, etc. Those are extra, but again---he'll have PLENTY to eat that's included in the price. Pack less clothes than you think he'll need. Unless there are extenuating circumstances (a CPAP machine or something), he should be able to fit all his clothes in a carry-on. He doesn't have to carry it on...just sayin' that is plenty of clothes if you're a good packer. One final thing. Carnival can give you an emergency number where he can be reached. However, you need to check with your cell phone company if he'll be using a cell phone to call or text. Most people don't purchase an international plan, and some fail to realize that your phone is often charged when it *dings* those foreign towers. If he takes it, he should probably turn it OFF as soon as he steps foot on board and not turn it back on again until he returns to the port to get off the ship.

Cynic >This one has me confused though: "...my cell phone provider gouged me for 4 consecutive months of payments even though I was paying cash at their store." If you have auto-pay, why are you paying cash at the store? Something's missing or I'm not following something. I was paying my bill in cash at their store. I had already called the (cell phone provider) ahead of time and told them I would be doing this. Each month my bill would arrive, each month it kept reflecting an overpayment. I would call them and they said it would be corrected. This happened FOUR months in a row. I contacted the credit card company and told them to cancel the card. Same thing happened with them. They would say it would be canceled. The following month I would get a bill for the same incorrect amount. I finally spoke to someone at the CC co. who said until the cell phone provider notified them, I would continue to be responsible for the charges whether they were right or wrong. They never said ANYTHING about having to have a cancellation number. BOTH the cell phone provider and CC company neglected to inform me of this necessary requirement. I wonder why? Well the reason why, is because THEY were MAKING MONEY and didn't want it to stop. These companies do not make it easy. They don't fully inform you when you sign up, and they don't tell you what you really need to do in order to cancel this type of payment. I finally contacted a consumer newspaper reporter. She said she doesn't care for automatic payments for the same reason and gets many calls regarding this. She contacted the cell phone provider's publicity relations department. That worked. They must have called my CC company because everything was taken care of within the month and I didn't receive any more credit card bills. My cell phone bills are what they are supposed to be. I still pay in cash. I no longer have the credit card. They send me solicitations all the time. Thanks, but no thanks. Contacting the AG's office is a good idea. dadoes >dreamgarden probably thought if he/she paid cash, the autopay wouldn't trigger. That's not necessarily the case. I wonder what IS the case? Who at EITHER company, was supposed to tell me I needed a cancellation number in order to stop the autopay? Out of a total of seven calls, 4 to the cell phone provider and 3 to the CC company, not ONE person mentioned this. Don't they teach customer service reps this information? I no longer wanted auto-pay and told them this. I said I would be paying in cash from now on and to cancel auto-pay. I don't understand how I could have been any clearer. >I recall a couple cases where I work of customers having autopay set up through CheckFree. One fellow died, his wife had NO CLUE about any of their finances and the auto-pay kept coming, for MONTHS. She no longer wanted the service, but she didn't contact us or was even aware the service existed, so how are we to know that? "How are we to know that?". How did you find out that her husband died? How do you know the wife no longer wanted the service if she was never contacted? Was she on the account too? Doesn't your company have some policy regarding taking money from a deceased person's account? > The other case, the fellow changed his account services, but didn't change the monthly autopay amount. We contacted him, he still didn't change the amount. Built up a large credit that had to be refunded when he eventually closed the service. When the fellow called to change his account services, was he asked if the present autopay amount was ok? If he was changing his account services, this would seem to be a logical question to ask a customer. Was he notified by telephone or in writing? This is why I like to receive paper billing. Sometimes when a credit card company calls (and leaves a message), they don't always state the nature of their business. When I have called back, they try to sell me some service or item I'm not interested in. Now I don't return calls unless they leave a message telling me something is wrong, or needs to be corrected. I had them put this in my file. I don't want to be bothered with solicitations or irrelevant matters that aren't directly related to some kind of problem with my account. In my opinion the above examples are just more reason to pay as you go and not allow company's to have recurring access to your bank account.

Personally, I prefer cash. But some feel that's "impersonal". Gift cards are the modern version of the gift certificate or the trendy "check" (or "cheque" to my Canuck-lehead friends) being given as a gift. My gift shopping used to always include a stop at the liquor store for at least one person on the list. I knew that wasn't going to go to waste. A friend used to always give his grandmother a small ham for Christmas because she'd never buy it for herself. Some would be appalled, nay, even insulted if someone gave them grocery stoe food! It needs to be in little jars, in a box, flavors nobody likes, won't eat, and will be given away or thrown away! LOL I'm really bothered when someone says cash is a bad gift, impersonal or whatever. Doesn't anyone get tired of getting trinkets that someone else thinks is cute and you find abhorrent? But somehow that's a better gift than giving someone cash so they can put it toward their electric bill on a month they're a little short, or go to a movie, or put gas in the car to get to work, or put toward the heat bill or into a (heaven forbid) savings account or get the car repaired house reroofed or whatever else. What troubles me is there used to be a saying that it's the thought that counts. I buy someone a gift, it's thoughtful, right? They hate it so they return it or leave it on a shelf or whatever. But that's more thoughtful or personal than cash? I don't think so. If someone is considerate enough to give me cash and trust that I'll make a good decision on what to do with it, that, to me, is thoughtful. Our western society is so hung up on materialism. It's the gift not the thought. We have to spend more on that wedding gift than the Jones' spent or we'll look bad. Doesn't matter what the gift is. I could go on and on but won't. Consider that your Christmas present! :D This time of year often brings out the best, but also the worst in people. Lots of generosity at times, but also greed, selfishness, self-centered thoughts and after all, Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts right? There was a religious event that some people used to get into! :D I'll give you an example of why I don't like gift cards in place of cash. I had my oil changed last summer for about $17. I used a coupon and had it done. Hard for me to do that stuff anymore. :( I got an award from work - a $25 gift card of my choice. I don't shop at Macy's. I don't go on cruises. (I would have appreciated a gift card for the cruise though...) I don't have Staples in the state, much less nearby. There were 2 things I could see myself using. An oil change place or Amazon. I was going to go with Amazon but decided I'd need an oil change before leaving town for a trip so that could be OK. It'd pay for most of the oil change right? Not after it being a $65 oil change! LOL I got another card choice, same thing. I took a restaurant card but now wish I'd gone Amazon. Not sure when I'll get to the restaurant, but not totally sure what I want from Amazon either. Had a voicemail that I have another gift card coming from work. (I must really have them fooled, eh?) If they had options for Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, gasoline stations, or a prepaid credit card would be preferred. Keep in mind that the designation is important. They bank on people losing them or not using them. Extra profit, not unlike the post office selling stamps that don't get used. That's pure profit. And companies often get a discount so it appears to be more. But it could be worse. I remember when giving a turkey was often a Christmas bonus. Not everyone can use a 15# turkey. Some, a 15# isn't enough anyway. LOL How many people can't use cash?