There should be quite a few of us around who share the utter delight of cutting up all the credit cards in their wallet. There’s nothing quite like it. Unfortunately, it isn’t normally a spiritual happening that causes this extreme action, but instead a grave financial situation. That’s to say, we either cut them up because they are no use any more (they’ve been stopped), or because we can’t stop loading them up and payments are spiraling out of control.
Either state of affairs has all the trappings of a financial calamity, which inevitably becomes a health crisis. Indeed, financial problems have caused perfectly reasonable people to throw themselves from high buildings – what an incredibly strange thing to do! This a depressing indictment of the hold that our credit-based way of living has over us.
Of course, a credit card is a tool. Used in the right way, it should be a huge help in spreading payments or perhaps also buying that all-important big Christmas gift for your family. Apart from that, they are not a lot of use. What did I hear you say? You use it to fill up the car with gas, get groceries and such? Take some advice, and stop it this instant. Talk to your bank and try to use a pure debit card. This system is very common in many countries, and many families manage quite well without using a credit card, thanks all the same. It’s called ‘living within your means’ and it’s really intoxicating, I can tell you. The power you feel by being in absolute control of your spending is enormous.
That said, without doubt credit cards have their uses in modern society, we just have to use them with care so that we are the masters, and not the cards or the banks. Today, it’s possible to get rebates back from a card as you have to use it. Search for the credit card with best rewards and you’ll find many companies offering cash-back bonuses, points against airline flights and vouchers for foodstuffs and other handy products.
In these difficult times, it’s not too hard to get into the bad books with credit reporting agencies, but it’s not the end of the line by a long shot. Search for a credit card for bad credit and you may be amazed what you discover, even if it’s just a basic top up kind of debit card, it will still assist in building back your credit rating.
One last word, after going through the trauma of bankruptcy in the US, you might be surprised to see offers for some kind of card or personal loans coming through your mail box.Their logic is this – if you are employed, and no longer make any payments on any loans due to bankruptcy, then you have some available income income – crazy, eh?
Want to find out more about the best reward credit cards, then visit Peter Crabtree’s articles on how to choose the best reward credit cards for your needs.