Credit Cards

What are some of the charges on credit cards? Include different interest rates, APR, late fees, over charge. How do you apply for a credit card? What are the pros and cons of owning a credit card? Three tips every person should know about credit cards.

 First off you may not know what a credit card does exactly. A credit card charges a purchase, but lets you "pay" for it later. So say you have a credit card and it's limit is 100$. It's almost as if you have an extra 100$. Now that may seem glamorous to you, but let me tell you what all comes with a credit card besides just having "extra" cash. When you use a credit card it's kind of like a loan. When you use your credit card there will be charges and interest, late fees and all the good stuff. Some different charges that come with a credit card are; Finance charge which is a fee on an unpaid balance at the billing time which is usually at the end of the month. An APR is an Annual Percentage Rate. The average APR rate is at 18%/per year. So about 1.5% a month. So that means what ever you have purchased using your credit card that month and is not paid by the end of the month will be charged with the finance charge and your APR percent per month. Late fees is a fee a credit card company will charge you if you make your payment late or if you don't pay the minimum required amount for that month. Late fees on average are abut 35$. So think about this. You spend 50$ for gas and you don't pay that at the end of the month. You get a finance charge, your APR, and a late fee. Ending up spending almost a hundred bucks. And if you keep going every month and not paying it the bill gets higher and higher taking your credit rating also known as credit score down. Now if your still interested in credit cards and want one you can apply for one it's very simple. You can go online or fill out by paper which you usually get in the mail about three times a week. After applying the will look at: Are they able to pay meaning do you have income, do they have any assets, and what is there credit history like. After that the credit card company will say yay or nay.  You have heard me bag on credit cards let me tell you the pros and cons. Yes I said pros there are some good things that can come out of credit cards.
 PROS

• Earlier consumption of product
• Good convenience to have for emergencies, ect.
• Establishment of good credit history making your credit score higher!
• Consalidation of all your debts
• Identification

CONS

• Cost more if unpaid balance is not paid monthly
• Ties up future income (buy now, pay later)
• Temps a person to overspend 
• Reduces comparison shopping if you only shop in stores extending credit cards
• Decreases future buying power

Those are some pros and cons of having credit cards. Now last thing I want to say. I have three tips for you that you need to know about credit cards. One credit cards are not necessarily a bad thing if you pay all of your bill monthly you wont have any extra charges and your credit score goes through the roof making it very easy to get a car loan or a house mortgage and then you usually can get a lower interest rate! Two if you get a credit card don't go out and spend money because you have that card. Just having that card doesn't mean you actually have that money. Remember buy now, pay later. And three stick with one credit card having multiple credit cards will only cause confusion and temp you to buy more that you can't really afford!

Check out this article on business credit cards!
Business Credit Card
Check out this article on credit card debt!
10 ways to avoid credit card debt!