Credit cards are often misused, and as a result of this misuse lass than savvy financial planners end up in more trouble with credit cards than they had ever anticipated. By following these top 10 tips, you will end up in less trouble and you will ultimately save money. The fundamental thing to remember is that credit cards are only a short term solution, and should never be used to provide finance in the long term. Many people forget to apply this rule, and ultimately end up in trouble as a result.
1.Consider how you are going to use your credit card. Do you intend to clear your balance at the end of the month, or will you not be able to finance this for two months?
2.Calculate the total amount of expenses you are likely to incur over the course of a year, by applying formula within a providers proposal, to your likely repayment and borrowing requirements. Now work out what is the cheapest.
3.Consider working with a larger company that is regulated by the appropriate bodies and for the safest option, work with a company that is a listed company or one that is owned by a listed company.
4.Protect your account details at all cost, and ensure that you are careful about the companies that you contract with. If in doubt, pay with cash or go elsewhere.
5.Shopping online? Look for companies that use a third-party payment provider like ?Pay Pal? or ?World Pay?. Also ? always ensure that when you complete a payment, that the address bar reads https:// rather than http://. This means that the data is encrypted.
6.Only carry the credit cards with you that you intend to use. If you carry too many then you are just asking for trouble, because it will take you longer to notice when they go missing.
7.Hold onto any receipts and keep a note of all credit card transactions that you have been party to. If you are ever in doubt about a transaction contact your credit card provider immediately.
8.Always check your statements in detail, and try and do this as often as possible. The longer you wait, the less likely you will be to remember transactions, and the less time you will have to do something about it.
9.Never use your credit card as a way of financing purchases that you are not certain you will be able to afford in the near future. If you have a job for example that is ending in 2 months, then ensure that your credit card balance will be zero for that time. This will eliminate the risk of you not being able to keep up repayments, should your contract not be renewed or you not being able to get a new job.
10.Remember that you can always churn. Always keep abreast with pricing in the market, and don't be scared to move provider to attain better prices, this can often be the best way to ensure that you save the most money.
