Having a proper understanding of how something works is absolutely essential before you begin using it. Credit cards are no different. If you haven’t learned a thing or two about what to do, what to avoid and how your credit affects you, then you need to sit back, read the remainder of this article and get the facts.
Emergency, business or travel purposes, is all that a credit card should really be used for. You want to keep credit open for the times when you need it most, not when purchasing luxury items. You never know when an emergency will crop up, so it is best that you are prepared.
If you have multiple cards that have a balance on them, you should avoid getting new cards. Even if you are paying everything back on time, there is no reason for you to take the chance of getting another card and making your financial situation any more strained than it already is.
Never give out your credit card number to anyone, unless you are the person that has initiated the transaction. If someone calls you on the phone asking for your card number in order to pay for anything, you should ask them to give you a way to contact them, so that you can arrange the payment at a better time.
If you need to use credit cards, it is best to use one credit card with a larger balance, than 2, or 3 with lower balances. The more credit cards you own, the lower your credit score will be. Use one card, and pay the payments on time to keep your credit score healthy!
Use all of your credit cards in a wise way. Only use your card to purchase items that you can actually pay for. Before deciding on what payment method to select, be certain you can pay the balance of your account in full within the billing period. When you carry over a balance, you are much more likely to get yourself into deeper debt.
If you are not satisfied with the high interest rate on your credit card, but aren’t interested in transferring the balance somewhere else, try negotiating with the issuing bank. You can sometimes get a lower interest rate if you tell the issuing bank that you are considering transferring your balances to a different credit card that offers low-interest transfers. They may lower your rate in order to keep your business!
It is important for people not to purchase items that they cannot afford with credit cards. Just because an item is within your credit card limit, does not mean you can afford it. Make sure anything you buy with your card can be paid off by the end of the month.
When signing a credit receipt at a store or restaurant, don’t leave anything blank. If there is a tip line and you are not charging your gratuity, mark a line across the area to ensure nobody adds in an unauthorized amount. Carefully check your statements to assure your purchases match the amount on your statement.
If you use your credit card to make online purchases, be sure the seller is a legitimate one. You do not want to deal with a merchant that does not provide a physical address on his or her site. Dial up the phone numbers shown on the merchant’s site to verify that they are in operation.
Many experts suggest that your credit limit on a given card should never exceed three-quarters of your monthly income. If you have credit limits that are more than you make every month, you need to start paying off that debt right away. This is due to the fact that the interest paid will soon snowball to a point that it’s out of your control.
Do not purchase prepaid cards. These are not actually reported to the big credit bureaus and are really just debit cards in disguise. Oftentimes, there are extra fees charges for this. Place a deposit, and try to get a secured card that will help you improve your credit.
If you are denied a credit card, find out why. It costs nothing to check the reporting agencies, after you have been denied credit by a card issuer. Recent federal laws require that issuers supply the information that creditors used to deny an applicant. Use this information to improve your score in the future.
There are many good aspects to credit cards. Unfortunately, most people don’t use them for these reasons. Credit is far overused in today’s society and just by reading this article, you are among the few that are starting to realize just how much we need to reign in our spending and examine what we are doing to ourselves. This article has given you lots of information to think about and when necessary, to act on.
