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The Pros and Cons of Credit CardsBy Ashley BrooksOnline Degree World – The Top Online Degree Programs
Credit cards can be a helpful piece of plastic to introduce to your wallet in order to improvecredit so that you will be able to buy a home later, but they also contain many hidden messagesthat are contained in the fine print underneath the contract. While they are a good introduction tothe world of credit, if you spend too much on one without paying it back quickly or make late payments, your credit can be negatively affected. Building credit is a tricky endeavor, andwithout proper guidance, your credit spending can get wildly out of control.Credit cards are an easy way to make many purchases, because there is the added incentive of not carrying around cash or a check book. While most banks now offer debit cards, credit cardsoffer the additional advantage of not taking money directly out of your banking account. Theyalso serve as a crutch for the times when you need extra money for an emergency such as a car malfunction or emergency room fees. However, if you always turn to your credit card as anemergency fund, this is a foreshadowing of increasing the amount of debt in your future. This isone of the reasons we have now found ourselves in a recession, due to the increased spending of many Americans who spent more than they had, resulting in many foreclosures around thecountry.It is very easy to take advantage of the many credit card offers that infiltrate your mailbox andemail: “No interest for 6 months!” “Low rates!”. However, once these low rates end, the interestrates that attack your credit card as well as the finance charges becoming overwhelming, causingmany to only make the minimum payments every month. It is always best to make more thanthe minimum payment, as this is another way in which to adversely affect your credit; youshould be able to make more than the minimum amount per month. Regardless of this fact, your interest and charges will continue to add up, until it becomes pointless to only pay the minimumamount because even if you don’t use the card the finance charges become more than the payment you make per month. Once you dig yourself into this hole, it becomes increasinglymore difficult to get yourself out of it unless you take a hard look at your finances and resolve to pay off the credit card until only a minimal amount remains. As long as you have a few hundreddollars (in relation to the limit) on the card, your credit will continue to rise.The addition of many credit cards also helps to infiltrate your good credit ranking because of thelimits which you may have on these cards. While it is tempting to get many retail cards becauseof their luring specials (“save 30% on your purchase when you open a Target card!”), it is in your  best interest to avoid these offers because of the extraordinarily high interest rates of retail cards.It is the sales associates job to talk these cards up to the customers, but it is best to politelydecline the offer rather than allow yourself to get sucked into yet another card. Credit is animportant part of modern society but negative credit ratings can stay with you for years andhinder your efforts to buy a car and a house later down the road; it is therefore best to only useone or two credit cards, paying them off as you go.
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