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Credit Cards- When to Use Them and When to Absolutely Not Use Them

Credit Cards- When to Use Them and When to Absolutely Not Use Them

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Credit Cards- When to Use Them and When to Absolutely Not Use Them

Today I received a question from reader Dani. It inspired me to write this article: Credit Cards- When to Use Them and When to Absolutely Not Use Them

She asks, I’m reading that book that lots of people recommend… the Dave Ramsey one. It suggests getting rid of credit cards all together. We have credit cards, but we haven’t paid a cent of interest on them. We pay off whatever we spend the same day we spend it. We figure we’re “building credit,” but is that really necessary? We also like the rewards points. Six months after our wedding we went on a honeymoon cruise that was 100% paid for by credit card rewards points. However, it does seem “safer” to have no credit cards, that way you can never get in debt trouble.

My answer: It depends on the situation. Here is more information, warnings, and tips for all my readers to asses whether you should or shouldn’t be using credit cards.

1-You need credit to build credit. If you are planning on buying any large items with credit such as a car or a home or even if you rent it’s important to have a good credit score. For a young couple or person who has a lot of important moves, decisions, and purchases to make, building a good credit score is vital. Credit cards are a simple and effective way of building credit. Check out this post on how to build an excellent credit score and ways to improve a bad one.

2- They are safer than using debit cards. Now that identity and overall theft rates are growing, its more important than ever to protect yourself. Credit card companies protect your purchases and if your card gets stolen they will usually always take the theft charges off. If a debit card is stolen, your whole entire savings can be wiped out. Although the majority of companies (Visa and MasterCard) also protect debit being ran as credit fraud in the same way they protect credit cards, you will still be out of money until the money is proven to have been spent in fraudulent ways and refunded to your account. With zero in the bank account for up to 1-2 months while the companies reverse the theft you may incur fees and fines for being late on payments, etc. Using credit cards, especially for online purchases, is safer.

3- You can make money with your cards. I’ve made over $5,000 in cash on my credit cards in the last 11 years. That is a significant amount of money. Further, my family has used 10 round-trip flights we earned or got for free from credit cards (which amounts to another couple thousand dollars).  I am always bewildered at how I get so much cash back on purchases that I’d make anyway.

CAUTION 1: Building credit through credit cards is tricky. I learned from a credit expert that carrying at least 10% of the limit of the credit card over from one month to the next (accruing a little interest) at least once or twice a year is good. It shows the credit bureau that you have debt and can pay down that debt. This will give you a better credit score. If you are not worried about your credit score this of course would not be a good idea as you will pay interest charges.

CAUTION 2: Before you or a loan company runs your credit score you will want all of your cards paid down to a zero balance for at least a few weeks (a month or two is the best). The higher your credit threshold to debt ratio the better. For example, if you have 3 credit cards that together total $13,000 worth of possible debt and they are all paid off, then you have a 13,000/0 debt ratio which looks awesome to the credit bureau. If you can’t possibly pay them all the way off, do your best to have less than a 10% credit to debt ratio. So for this example that would be credit $13,000/$1,300 debt. Each card should have less than 10% on it as well so spread out the debt if you can’t get them to zero before a credit report is ran. This is because if you are over 10% credit/debt ratio on both an individual credit card or the entire debt to ratio threshold, you get majorly dinged. Check out this post on credit scores.

CAUTION 3: Opening and closing out cards continually lowers your credit score. Keep your cards open for a long period of time and only close out one card every year or so. If you have cards you no longer want to use, just cut them up.

The exception to this rule is if they have a reoccurring yearly charge on them. I’m a big proponent of not getting into any reoccurring charges on credit cards, bank accounts etc. If there are free versions, I always opt for those. Unless I get free round-trip flights etc. then I’ll use the card and the offers and  then close it out before the yearly fee hits again. I try to not do that too often.

WARNING: If credit cards are causing you to be constantly over your budget, racking up late payments and interest charges, and you are unable to pay them off each month, cut them up and get rid of them. Credit cards are a temptation and often encourage thoughtless spending. I’ll admit that using a credit card makes going over the budget a whole lot easier.

TIP 1: If you don’t have a card yet, or if you struggle going over but need a card for online purchases get one with a low credit limit. I started off with my first credit card at a local bank with a $500 limit. After three years I realized that I could handle it. So I applied and got approved for a $3,000 limit card with a high interest rate of 16%. They wanted to see how I would do with such a large limit. Which leads me to tip 2…

TIP 2: If your card doesn’t lower the interest rate on a good account every couple of years, call and ask to have your credit card interest rate lowered. On my $3,000 limit with a 16% interest rate I kept a great account so the next year the interest rate dropped to 14% and my credit limit went to $4,500. As I’ve shown this company that I can responsibly handle credit I’m now at about a 10% interest rate and credit limit is up to $15,000. Call and negotiate your interest rate if you have been with a company a few years, have a good account history, and they have not lowered your rate. This is for when you do carry a balance from one month to the next to show the bureau that you do can pay down debt. The lower the interest rate obviously, the better.

So for you Dani, it sounds like credit cards are a great option to building a great credit history and score. Great job on being so financially responsible.

FOR ALL READERS: Look at all of your options, upcoming decisions, and past history with credit cards. If you can handle them responsibly then I recommend taking advantage of the security and benefits that credit cards offer. If you can’t handle them (or if credit cards are costing you money) then Dave Ramsey is right, it’s best to get rid of them.

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Zack

Monday 4th of August 2014

Actually, as long as you run you debit card as credit...you get the same protection as if you were using a credit card. Visa/Mastercard back up those transactions. Not the same if you use your pin #.

Anita Fowler

Wednesday 6th of August 2014

Zack- Although you may be protected the same way using a debit card as a credit card if your bank account is wiped clean (until the fraud is proven and refunded...which could take awhile) you may not have the funds to pay your mortgage, utilities, etc. You may default, be charged overdraft fines, late fees, etc. It sometimes takes a month to get funds refunded into your bank account if they are stolen due to debit card theft.

That is the main problem of using a debit as a credit card. Further on credit cards all disputes are mandated to return funds immediately... with debit cards it takes a longer time to prove the funds were stolen and get the money back into your account.

You are right that they have the same generally the same protections though. Thanks!

Kelsey

Thursday 5th of June 2014

We are pretty responsible with our credit cards. I have one good cash-back card that I use for most purchases (and pay off every month). We have one that gives us 5% back on gas, one that gives us free groceries, one that gives us Disney money, and the REDCard that gives me 5% off at Target. I also have occassionally opened store cards when the offer great discounts (and pay them off each month), or for large purchases when the offer free financing (wedding bands, appliances). I then take the total balance of the first bill, divide by 12, and make sure I pay at least that every month. Just be careful, you certainly don't want to be hit by deffered interest charges by not paying off the balance in time. On one card, the deffered interest would have been nearly $800 if I hadn't paid it off in time!

It's not easy, and I'm not perfect, but that free money is hard to beat if you can handle it responsibly!

Anita Fowler

Thursday 5th of June 2014

Kelsey- I agree. Credit Cards aren't for everyone. But those who can handle them responsibly will make lots of money through them.

Thanks! Anita

Ashley

Thursday 20th of March 2014

These are great tips! I have one credit card that I've had for the past 6 or so years. You always hear as a young person about needing to build your credit and credit cards being one way to do that. Thank you for "airing" it all out. I am super interested in finding a great credit card that earns me travel rewards like you mentioned, so I'll have to look into that!

mckenna

Wednesday 19th of March 2014

I can see the benefits of using a credit card. I had one when I was 18 and not responsible but now I can see that they can help you and not bring you down if you are careful and keep up on it just like your regular budget. This was a helpful article because I am looking to build my credit up and you gave some good tips. Thanks.

Anita Fowler

Wednesday 19th of March 2014

mckenna- Yeah they can be good and bad. It just depends on how you use them. Thanks for the feedback!

Lisa O.

Friday 14th of March 2014

If you don't need the cards, don't get them!!