We’ve all heard horror stories about people who use credit cards and other forms of borrowing money to get incredibly into debt, so much so that they can’t get out of the financial hole they’ve dug for themselves. And while this has the potential to happen to anyone, if you’re wise about the way that you use your credit cards, you have a very good likelihood of avoiding this kind of debt in your lifetime.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for wisely using credit cards.
Always Pay Your Bill On Time
The very first thing you should commit to when you first get a credit card for yourself is that you’ll always pay your bill on time.
Ideally, you should try to not even carry a balance on your credit card, if you’re able to. This means that you pay off your card each month before it accrues any interest. But while this is the ideal way to use a credit card, by only spending money that you have the cash to cover, this isn’t always how things end up working out. So if you can at least make your monthly payment on time, you should be able to avoid getting into too much debt and becoming overpowered by your credit card.
Take The Utmost Advantage Of Sign-Up Bonuses
When you first get a credit card, you’re usually offered some kind of sign-up bonus from the company that you’re getting the card from. And if you go about this in the right way, you can use these bonuses and rewards to really help you get ahead.
Depending on why you want to get a credit card right now and what your plans are for the future, you can seek out a credit card that offers a specific type of reward that could align very well with what you already want. This could include things like travel points, cash back, or other rewards just for spending money on your credit card that you were already planning on spending anyway.
Consider Getting Two Credit Cards
If you’re really wanting to never have to carry a balance on your credit card, you might want to think about getting two credit cards.
With two credit cards that have billing cycles that end on opposite times of the month, you can use your credit cards in such a way that you can have a longer period of interest free time. While you’ll have to be careful about what card you’re using when, this could be a great way to help you build your credit without having a large balance on either one of your cards.
If you’re wanting to make sure that you don’t become beholden to your credit card, consider using the tips mentioned above to use your credit cards wisely.
