Submitted by fingerofchicken t3_123kfkd in personalfinance
I'm closing on a house soon, and will need to totally furnish it -- fridge, washer, dryer, furniture, kitchenware, linens, tools, etc. I'll be starting with literally nothing, and can see this easily costing $15,000 or more in the end. I've got enough saved up for this, but would prefer to spread it out over time if there is no disadvantage to doing so.
It looks like there are a few credit cards out there with 0% APR for the first 21 months. Does that mean I could literally max it out on day one and pay no interest on the balance for 21 months? If so, is it a feasible strategy to get one of these, use it to furnish the new home, then make even monthly payments on it for the first 21 months then cancel it? And if any unseen emergency occurs, just pay it all off at once early since, as I mentioned before, I do have enough saved up for these expenses.
(Or, go one step further: Put the monthly payments into a low-risk investment vehicle such as a HYSA where they'll earn interest, and then use it to pay off the credit card in one huge lump sum at the end of the 21 months?)
I'm pretty financially disciplined so I'm confident I can resist the temptation to continue using the credit card, and that I will make the monthly payments. My current credit score is about 785.
I'm just curious if there are drawbacks I don't understand to this idea.
EDIT: I appreciate the responses but am looking more for feedback on whether or not there are holes in this idea, and not so much for life advice on financial discipline.
EDIT: Because a lot of people are confused here, I have the money to pay for this NOW, meaning I would have it available to pay this debt, either over time or immediately if need be. I'm not trying to figure out how to borrow money for things I can't pay for now. I'm trying to figure out if a 0% APR card really could be treated like a 0% loan.