Credit Card Bill

The Proper Use Of Credit Cards

Credits cards are a convenience, not a crutch.

Credit cards are a great way to make purchases and record to the penny your spending. They also provide a way to postpone payment on items and thereby earn more interest on your money.

For example, if you have a money market account that gives you 5% annual interest and you spend $1000 a month through your credit card, you can keep that $1000 in your money market account for an additional month. At the end of a year you would have earned an additional $51.16 for doing nothing.

Now $51 may not be much but it's free!

Also you can use your credit card statements to keep track of exactly how much you are spending and where your money goes. With some credit cards you can use personal finance software to download your credit card transactions from the Internet right to your home computer.

Credit cards may actually save you money. Some people avoid making purchases if they do not have cash. Cash seems to "burn a hole" in our pockets, it just disappears. It is so easy to spend and it is right there. But a credit card takes more effort and you know that you have to pay the bill later that month.

Your credit card may also offer a rewards program where you get cash back, frequent flyer miles or discounts on services and merchandise.

Credit cards are convenient. Some purchases, especially those on the Internet, will only accept credit card payment. Also you don't have to continually go to the bank or ATM to get cash.

A credit card also provides a measure of safety. You don't have to carry large amounts of cash for large purchases. Even if your card or credit card number is stolen, you are not responsible for the thief's use of your card.

But credit cards can also be a crutch. Too many people see their credit limit not as the maximum amount of debt they can go into, but as an account full of money that they can spend.

Average household consumer credit balances have now topped $7000. The monthly interest charge for a credit card charging 18% interest is over $100. More than $1200 a year just in interest.

And this interest is not like home mortgage interest that you can deduct from your taxes. You are paying an additional 15-36% on top of the $1200 for taxes on the interest you are charged. That brings your interest charge total up to $1400-1600 each year. Even more if your balance or interest rate is higher.

What is silly is that many people who are paying 18% interest rates on credit are also investing in a stock market that only averages 11%. Or worse, keeping money in money market, savings accounts or CDs that only pay .5-3%.