You receive an offer in the mail for a credit card. You send in back and within weeks you have a credit card at your disposal. It becomes the perfect recipe for a financial disaster. While convenience is wonderful with regards to your credit card it also comes with a price. It seems as though many people are living beyond their means.
Even fast food retailers know that consumers will be more likely to spend more on plastic than with cash. Needless to say, they are racing to make it easy that every outlet is now card friendly. The last thing you would want to do is purchase that hamburger on a credit card.
Do not discard the material – if you have questions call your credit card company. You need to be more aware of the rules because your living with them. You need to read those little booklets that often come in the mail.
Finally, if you find yourself in doubt – pay the minimum payment on time. Big payments do not impress lenders: timely payments do. For example – if you make a late payment your lender may waive the late fee however your other credit card company’s can raise the interest rate even if you made no late payments to them. How can they do this? It’s called “universal default”. The basics of universal default are simple – if you’re more than 30 days late on a payment to anyone the interest rate on any card with a universal default clause can increase your interest rate.
Be proactive with your knowledge of the industry so with that being said, don’t wait for something to go wrong and react to a situation .
