Card Rebate

Credit card companies constantly bombard you with advertisements. You can’t open your mail box without finding applications from Visa, Discovery, Capitol One, and all the others, at least a few times a month. With catchy commercials and phrases like; “what’s in your wallet,” and “get cash back on every purchase,” they are hard to resist. The problem is not getting the credit cards, but what you do with them.

Credit is a slippery slope and a double edged sword. It’s a bad idea in general to borrow money, but you have to if you want to be able to buy a house or a car. The really bad thing is that a number of people borrow money that they cannot afford to pay back, causing them to need the assistance of credit counseling services. So the following are some tips to help you keep from going bankrupt and use your credit card wisely.

One of them is to pay of your cards completely every month. This means that you should only make purchases from the card you know you will be able to cover, otherwise you have to pay interest every month. Make sure that you make your payment on time, every time. If not, late fees can be applied, which can be more than thirty dollars. This also causes your credit score to drop, and your interest rates higher.

Look, realistically, not everyone can pay off the whole thing every month, it’s understandable. If you have to just pay your minimum balance, make sure that you add at least five to ten dollars to it, even if you have to split it up over the month. When you are paying minimums, part of this money goes to interest. Paying a little extra a month goes directly to the principle.

A huge mistake that people make with credit cards is that they purchase luxury items or things that they wouldn’t have been able to purchase if they didn’t have credit cards. Smart people only use credit cards to purchase things that they can afford, and then they pay for them at the end of the month. You should never use a credit card to go out to eat if you can’t afford it, buy and expensive outfit that you can’t afford, or go on a trip that you can’t afford.

You can find out more information online about a variety of credit card topics. If you are interested in building your credit using credit cards, it is a good idea to shop around and really look at what each card offers in the way of benefits. You need to make sure that you get the lowest interest rates, and read all the fine print about over limit fees, late charges, and financing fees. You need to be clear about everything you are getting into, because you can’t use the excuse that you didn’t know.

Dorthy Weatherbush and her husband try to make good financial decisions for their family. That’s why they send money to their son in college using Xoom.com. With Xoom.com they don’t have to worry about their son spending money he doesn’t have.