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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A Helpful Resource Covering Managing Your Credit Cards

By Carla Bruckswick


While cash is not going away anytime soon, having a bit of plastic is all but necessary in today's society. As debit card fees are increased, many individuals are choosing to turn to credit cards to make their daily transactions. Continue reading to find out how these cards work and how to use them properly.

Be certain to read all the terms and fine print before agreeing to a credit card that is secured. You may only have to make a small deposit, but if the company charges a lot of fees, you won't have the credit limit you expect after you pay the deposit.

If you are carrying a high balance on your credit card, do all you can to lower it. Having high balances on various cards can make it difficult to get credit for other purposes. This can make it difficult for you to do things like finance a car or rent an apartment in the future. You can find it hard to even find a job or insurance at times.

Monitor all of your card's transactions regularly. You can even sign up to receive mobile alerts if they are available. When you monitor your credit, if anything appears out of the ordinary, you can fix it immediately. When suspicious or irregular activity occurs, you have to notify the card company or bank as soon as possible, and at times, the police should be contacted as well.

Be cautious of cards that declare an interest rate of zero percent. Although no interest is tempting on the surface, some people will be encouraged to overspend. After a particular time period is up, interest rates increase, and consumers will end up owing large amounts of money.

Never send a fax with your credit card information for any reason. A fax can be left in an office for a long time while anyone can get the card number. Any one of the workers in the office could steal it. It exposes you to fraud and all of its associated problems.

As a general rule, avoid paying for small items with your credit card. You may find yourself buying things you don't even need, because a lot of merchants have a minimum amount for credit card purchases. Only use your credit card if your purchase is for at least 10 dollars.

Go over all monthly statements with caution. Look to see if all the charges are valid and if any changes, such as credits, have been made. Your creditor can help you rectify any mistakes you find so long as you tell them quickly.

Make use of credit cards in order to avoid banking fees and rules. Many credit cards do not charge fees if the balance is paid in full each month, while debit cards can impose many fees. A lot of people are using prepaid cards to have their paychecks deposited instead of using banks since it is cheaper.

Keep only the card you use on a daily basis with you each day. This makes it much easier to follow each of the cards, track your spending, and notice any fraudulent charges. Credit and identity theft are becoming increasingly common, so it is important to know the location of your credit cards at all times. If you notice any suspicious activity on your cards or if your card has been stolen, report it to your credit card company immediately.

Don't try to apply for a lot of credit cards. Having too many credit cards will make it next to impossible to control your finances and can make it very complicated. Furthermore, the more unsecured credit that you have at your disposal, the more likely you are to get into large amounts of debt.

Make your card payment on time each month. Missing payments even once could lead your card company to raising the interest rates that you have. Also, late or missing payments are sure to appear on credit reports, causing your score to drop. Use auto-pay as a way to avoid late payments.

Again, consumers often have no support as they work out how to use their credit cards properly; as a result, they often end up paying unnecessarily high interest on their purchases. Properly used, credit cards can improve your credit rating, increase your buying power, and save you money.




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1 коммент.:

  1. Very helpful those are facing problems because of credit cards, hope this will sort out many problem of those.....

    ReplyDelete