I love credit cards. Yes, I can admit that and not be ashamed. But I know that my credit card company probably doesn’t love me. You see, I’m on to them. They sell you this wonderful idea of credit cards being so convenient and safe and all the benefits that you can get if you sign the dotted line. And it’s all true. You don’t have to walk around with large sums of money, because it’s all on that little plastic card. And many people get sucked in by that.
But wait!!!!
What about paying back all of that money that you borrowed? Credit card interest rates are ridiculously high and for a good reason too. You have to pay for that convenience and security. When I travel and I know that I’m going shopping, I always keep a note of how much I’ve spent on my credit card. That way, when I get back home, I know what to expect when that bill comes.
And when that bill comes, I try to clear it in less than three months. I know that some of you are probably going – “But there is a minimum payment allowed, why don’t you just pay that?” Because I know that minimum payment is designed to keep me paying that credit card bill forever. If you’re not sure, do a little math to break it down. Let’s say you owe two thousand dollars on that credit card and the minimum payment per month is fifty dollars. It would take you over three years to pay that off! And it will be longer because I did not even calculate the bank’s interest charges.
Credit card companies also offer “benefits” to lure you in. Some are linked to rewards programmes as well as cash back programmes. They might sound great, but the bottom line is that you have to spend into order to gain. This might not be a bad thing if you are paying off the bill all at once. That way you get the benefits without any interest.