The Most Badass Credit Card Articles From 2009

With 2009 well and truly over many of us can sigh with some measures of relief about the economy. Having said this, thousands of people are still suffering from the ravages of the global financial crisis (GFC) that had us all in its steely grip.

Lives have been ruined, homes have been lost, relationships have crumbled and to make matters worse for many, jobs have been downsized in order to ensure the survival of companies struggling through the GFC.

I think it is fair to say that last year was one of the worst financially for many people worldwide – at least in the last decade. To celebrate overcoming what is hopefully the worst of this global disaster we have decided to look at 2009 in review mode. We have re-visited our Top 25 Most Badass Personal Finance Blogs to round up their individual views on credit cards and share their best kick-ass content with you based on our research.

Badass Finance Blogs Re-visited showcasing their most badass credit card articles from 2009:

1. Man Vs. Debt: Baker has made it his personal mission to pay off all of his debt for a good while traveling the globe with his thrill-seeking wife Courtney and toddler with attitude Milligan.

From what I gather, Baker’s view on credit cards is one of necessary evil. The finance savvy trio are busy paying off their remaining debt while traveling the tropical shores of Asia at present.

Baker’s badass article of 2009 would have to be 42 Ways To Radically Simplify Your Financial Life simply for the fact that it is one of his most commented and tweeted posts to-date. There are others but since this is all about saving more money and eliminating crap, we decided it’s a winner all around. Baker’s advice is to cancel your cards!

2. Debt Kid:
Debt Kid gambled away his mom’s finances and several loans with day trading between the age of 21-23 to the tune of $390,610.

Two years later his debt is reduced to around $177,266. It is safe to say that after creating credit card debt of over $100,000 Debt Kid has learned a thing or two about the topic by now.

After digging around his site for his best badass article of 2009 I came across 7 Ways To Motivate Yourself To Save When All You Want To Do Is Spend. It is an article that stood out as badass even so it might not be one of the biggest trafficked on the site. We liked this article because we all want to spend money when we damn well know we shouldn’t.

3. Get Rich Slowly: J.D. of GRS is living proof that one can ditch debt for good and slowly build wealth by learning how to manage money in your favor, rather than the other way round. Having been named one of the top finance blogs by Money Magazine, it is clear this blog has a wealth of useful finance tips.

Listed as one of the best posts for 2009 we were taken by the posts titled 5 credit card company tricks – and how to thwart them. Even though this post wasn’t penned by J.D. himself, it would have had to have passed his quality check. It provides some priceless take aways for every credit card user.

4. Frugal Dad: FD states on his site: “I hate debt. I don’t like risk. I tolerate credit card companies. I don’t like these financial “gurus” out there giving advice for the sole purpose of selling lousy investments.”

With that said, let’s look at the most badass article on FD for 2009: Money Saving Tips: 75 Ways to Survive Recession has oodles of great tips (including 3 credit card specifc tips) on the topic of saving money. Many of them will also improve your health in the process – a win-win situation!

5. PT Money: PT (Phil Taylor) has a sound head on his shoulder. With his common sense tips about reducing debt and live frugally he has captured a share of the financial market.

His view on finances are straightforward – manage them well and you shall have fun in life – or something along the lines.

His most badass credit card article for 2009 would have to be How to Effectively Use 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards. As an Australian authority site on the subject of balance transfer cards we know how misunderstood the topic is to consumers.

Most people don’t get it when it comes to using 0% balance transfer cards correctly and this article details this for you with ease.

6. Squawkfox: The foxy Kerry K. Taylor aka Squawkfox hasn’t lost her sharp tongue since we last wrote about her website. She is now living on a rural farm in BC after having paid off $17,000 of debt in six months and saving a six-figure portfolio.

Kerry’s idea of having fun is to screw with credit card companies. Her hilarious account of 5 Ways To Screw Your Credit Card Company had us clutching our sides in helpless fashion.

7. Weakonomics: Giving advice on finances and the economy in general sprinkled with the odd rant about this and that, Weakonomics has some golde nuggets of information for finance conscious readers.

We really dig the post The Saver List: What Kind Of Saver Are You? His savings types include Cash Cow, Mr. Bucket or a Magician – we consider ourselves Sweepers using our credit cards for a lot of our expenses, but paying them off each month.

8. Joe Taxpayer: Joe speaks from experience when he dishes out his advice on finance related topics. His views on credit cards are somewhat divided. I think he understands that cards are the necessary evil of modern shopping warriors but by using them to your own advantage we can actually use them free of charge.

His take on Credit Card Big Brother touches on the expenses your shouldn’t charge to your card and why. Some interesting insights there for sure.

9. The Finance Buff: Buffing his financial muscles into the gleam is one of the specialities of TFB. The site is well written with plenty of tax related tips for US citizens.

We thought the article titled Pay Mortgage with Credit Card For Free was worthy of making it to our most badass 2009 selection. Written at the start of the year it contains savvy tips on giving yourself a short interest-fee loan every single month by using your credit card to pay your mortgage.

10. Budgets Are Sexy: Still one of our most revered finance sites, BAS is getting sexier by the month as the personal net worth of J. Money the author continues to run upwards.

We believe there are rarely more sexier things in life than seeing the $$$. This post: It’s all about the Credit cards baby! 4 Steps to Success… lays the smackdown J. Money-style on the 4 main steps you should take to manage your credit cards, and it’s the reason we chose this article for our most badass finance posts for 2009.

Oh, and we heart credit cards too!

11. Moolanomy: Moolanomy is geared to financial advice about all aspects of the cost of living.
Written by Pinyo and a range of staff writers, the site offers a good selection of finance snacks.

The one that stood out to us among all others was the battle between Neal Frankle and his credit card company How I went 15 Rounds With My Credit Card Company – And Won. Boom! Neal shares a great David & Goliath story which left him with an extra 5,000 juicy free miles in his travel account – nice work!

12. Money Saving Mom: Crystal Paine helps to make your life easier by pointing you to the various coupon sources that exist on the web.

Her badass post Celebrating a Major Financial Milestone! really made us choke on tears as we read how a dedicated couple can save up their cash finances to buy a home without a mortgage in as little as one year.

If you always toyed with the idea of getting a mortgage to advance in life, this is a must-read! Don’t forget to click through to part 1 and part 2 of this inspirational true-life story. Crystal, you are an inspiration girl!

13. Deal Seeking Mom: Tara Kuczykowski is busy as ever to help her readers secure the best deals. Trying to find a badass post among ever changing deals is a little hard as most of them would be old news by now.

However, we think the post Stretch Your Budget: Earn Money with Online Surveys covers an ever-green topic that can help moms (and dads) everywhere earn some extra cash for luxuries.

14. Money Ning: Entrepreneur and finance savvy David Ning dishes out heaps of tips in regards to saving money and living frugal.

Ask the Readers – Are you Employed at Credit Card Inc just had to be chosen, where he shares the story of his friend credit card cowboy who is using his credit cards to earn some serious rewards!

15. Five Cent Nickel: Nickel believes that money matters and has therefore made it his personal mission to help others understand the intricate details of tax, loan, mortgages and investing to mention a few topics.

His 2009 most badass article Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest? certainly raises some good points and makes you think harder about your own situation. What is best in the end? Find out by visiting FCN.

16. Ask Mr. Credit Card: Mr. Credit Card has made life easier for his readers when it comes to choosing the right credit card.

To be honest, trying to pick a badass post from the countless credit card reviews is just too hard because most of these reviews are based on fact and not on personal injection of character – which is understandable. Therefore we declare the whole site of Mr. Credit Card a badass resource for US readers who are in the market for a new credit card this year.

17. Dough Roller: Roll that dough with DR’s common sense advice on all matters finance. The site is geared towards readers looking for fact-based information without much glam and hype.

Our selection for most badass article for 2009 is the article Are Financial Products for Teens Making Them Financially Irresponsible? This article touches on a topic we feel strongly about. We therefore feel it is important for educating parents and teenagers looking to go down the traditional debt route.

18. Christian Personal Finance: Bob the Christian finance blogger doesn’t drop the “G” word all that often which is refreshing for non-churchy readers. We love his insights into the world of money related topics and think Bob has really got a good thing going with his site.

His post How I Escaped The Rat Race is inspirational and full of great advice for anyone looking to do the same in 2010. A badass contribution bar none!

19. Debt Free Adventure: Matt Jabs is another personal favorite thanks to his no-nonsense approach to finance in general. We are really impressed with his detailed overview about paying down debt and saving money thanks to the handy widgets displayed on his site.

His post Credit Cards – Close ‘em Shred ‘em & Forget ‘em! is badass advice for anyone struggling with credit card debt regardless what they do about it.

20. I Will Teach You To Be Rich:
As always, Ramit is poking holes into the unconscious of his readers every single day with his provoking and insightful posts. His recently launched 3 week course on earning money is sold out but knowing Ramit there must be a product brew in the making sometime soon.

Our selection for his top 2009 badass article puts the spotlight on Travel full-time for less than $14,000 per year simply for the fact that one of our staff dreams about nomading her way around Australia for good in the not-too-distant future while working out of her mobile office. Travel and accommodation can be expensive, and these tips will surely lighten the impact on your credit card!

21. Bitterwallet: The BW trio is still at it with zest and conviction. They are not afraid to rip into anything in order to uncover some hidden agenda or conspiracy to help you save more money.

Their article titled Top tips for supermarket cost cutting can be applied by most of us as it contains some common sense tips to help you avoid the traps set by supermarket owners. Impulse buying can really inflate your credit card bill, and you should read this post to understand how to avoid impulse buying at all costs.

22. Clever Dude: Clever Dude and his side-kick wife Clever Dudette have managed to pay off over $100,000 of personal debt and are now busy with paying off their second mortgage.

His best posts are definitely those falling under the Ways to Save Money category. If you take on on his tips, which at a quick count there are at least 78 tips, you can use your money saved to pay down your credit card.

23. Queercents: The advice in the articles on QC is useful everyone. There are several categories we really love on that site but most of those posts are backdated to 2008 therefore not making it to our badass 2009 list.

The one we ended up choosing in the end is titled Credit cards are for transactions; not to borrow money.

24. Lazy Man And Money: Lazy Man shares his views about the finance world and life in general with his readers. His views on life border on being lazy while making as much money as he can by saving more.

We think his post 10 Free Online Budgeting Applications needed special mention here because it can really help keep your balances down if you can keep track of all your expenses and properly organise your budgeting.

25. Free From Broke: FFB is committed to helping others escape the clutches of credit card debt. He has and FFB is his personal story board on which he shares financial tips with his readers.

Do you have any of the following traits? 25 Traits Of The Not So Well To Do will show you why you might just not be in a good financial situation right now, and explain that nasty credit card bill. Eliminate the unnecessary and cost-sucking "must-haves" from your life starting today!

Conclusion:

Regardless whether your credit card is your friend or foe, all of the above most badass credit card articles for 2009 will provide you with the necessary insight needed to breakout from your existing situation. You will learn to better manage your credit card and your finances overall.

If you would like to hare your own personal favourite credit card articles from 2009, please do so in the comment section below. We look forward to uncovering some more badass talent – who knows, you might well make it onto out next BADASS list.