Sunday, December 10, 2006

How To Use Credit Cards And Beat The Charges

Start by choosing the right credit cards when you apply for a credit card. Compare credit cards that you're considering at a site like moneyeverything.com and only apply for those that offer low or no annual membership fees. Watch the APR when you compare credit cards, but look beyond it to find out how interest charges are calculated, how long your interest free period is and how many days leeway you have before your payment is judged to be late.

How to Beat the Interest Charges
A large part of the high cost of using credit cards comes from the interest that you pay. You can avoid ever paying a jot of interest by paying your account in full each month. Of course, that's not always an option - after all, one of the reasons to use a credit card is to afford things you can't pay for all at once. In that case, make long term purchases on the credit card with the lowest interest rate and pay it off as quickly as you can. Don't use that credit card for anything other than long-term purchases and pay more than the minimum every month.

How to Beat the Minimum Payment Trap
It's easy to stay in debt forever with credit cards. Just pay the minimum payment every month. If you have an account balance of £1000 on a 14% APR credit card, and pay the standard minimum balance of 2.5% each month, it will take you 52 months to clear the balance, and you'll pay £300 in interest. That's over four years. Pay twice the minimum - just another £25 per month - and you'll have the balance cleared in less than two years, and save £150 in interest charges.
Start by choosing the right credit cards when you apply for a credit card. Compare credit cards that you're considering at a site like moneyeverything.com and only apply for those that offer low or no annual membership fees. Watch the APR when you compare credit cards, but look beyond it to find out how interest charges are calculated, how long your interest free period is and how many days leeway you have before your payment is judged to be late.

How to Beat the Interest Charges
A large part of the high cost of using credit cards comes from the interest that you pay. You can avoid ever paying a jot of interest by paying your account in full each month. Of course, that's not always an option - after all, one of the reasons to use a credit card is to afford things you can't pay for all at once. In that case, make long term purchases on the credit card with the lowest interest rate and pay it off as quickly as you can. Don't use that credit card for anything other than long-term purchases and pay more than the minimum every month.

How to Beat the Minimum Payment Trap
It's easy to stay in debt forever with credit cards. Just pay the minimum payment every month. If you have an account balance of £1000 on a 14% APR credit card, and pay the standard minimum balance of 2.5% each month, it will take you 52 months to clear the balance, and you'll pay £300 in interest. That's over four years. Pay twice the minimum - just another £25 per month - and you'll have the balance cleared in less than two years, and save £150 in interest charges.

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