Credit Cards - Can you Really Live Without Them?
Categories: Credit Cards
Written By: Ryan Walker
In 2007, having a credit card is no longer a luxury or even a convenience - it’s a necessity. You cannot rent a vehicle, check into a motel, or order on-line with out a credit card. If you want a cell phone, you’ll probably have to purchase prepaid minutes - at a premium - unless you’ve some plastic with your name on it. And without a credit card, you either need to carry around a lot of cash, make frequent trips to the bank, or hope that the shops you patronize will accept your personal checks.
Credit Cards Could be Lifesavers in the Case of an Emergency
Worst of all, people who lack adequate access to credit are probably the most likely to use payday loan services. Later in this series we’ll explore this topic in depth, but for now, just think about this: If a single mother is hit with a sudden, unexpected expense - say a vehicle repair for $600 - what can she do if she does not have the cash? She requirements the car to get to function, and she doesn’t know anyone who can afford to lend her the cash out of friendship. So she decides to make use of the local payday loan shop and ends up paying a 530 percent APR (annual percentage rate) interest. If, rather, she had a credit card with a minimum of $600 of accessible credit, she wouldn’t have had to make use of the payday charlatans, and would have paid a much, much lower interest rate. Numerous people who use payday loan services, even once, fall into an inescapable spiral of debt, exactly where they work all week to pay back their payday loans, after which need to take out new payday loans to meet their weekly expenditures. People who use their credit cards responsibly by no means fall victim to this scenario.
Credit Cards Can Assist With Budgeting
Credit cards help spendthrifts easily track their expenditures. 1 simple technique would be to use one credit card to automatically pay your recurring monthly expenses (telephone, cable, utilities, etc.), an additional to buy your groceries and gas, along with a third for all other expenditures (entertainment, eating out, etc.). Whenever you get your bills each month you can compare just how much you spent on your desires versus your requirements and make adjustments as necessary.
Protections Offered by Credit Cards
Even though the media likes to concentrate on the “epidemic” of identity theft, the truth is that utilizing a credit card is a lot safer than utilizing money, a check, or practically any other means of exchange. If you’re carrying money and your wallet is stolen, you’ll by no means see a dime of one’s money. If a merchant cashes your check and refuses to grant you a refund, probabilities are, you’re out of luck. But in either scenario, using a credit card would have offered you protection.
If, for instance, your wallet full of credit cards is stolen, you’ll not be liable for any more than $50 of fraudulent charges, per card. This really is the legal limit, but in reality, most card issuers don’t even hold you liable for the first $50 - they just stick the merchants with the bill. And if a merchant refuses to provide you with a refund that you deserve, you are able to file a “chargeback,” in which the credit card business will side with you 99 percent from the time. Paying in money or having a check provides no such protections.
Your Credit Card - Don’t Leave House With out It
Credit cards are ideal for traveling abroad because they automatically convert towards the local currency. This means you won’t have to waste time with the money changer or carry around several foreign currencies, and of course, not carrying cash makes you much much less susceptible to pick-pocketing.
The main factor to understand is the fact that credit cards can be wonderful tools that significantly improve our lives. All that we need to do is be informed, active, and responsible users of these powerful little pieces of plastic.
Remain safe.
Sincerely,
James www.CC-Yes.com
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