Well, I think we’ve all learned our lesson, and understand the responsibility that comes with own a credit card. At least, I think most of us have. Credit cards are a necessary tool these days for every consumer, and if your smart about it, they can actually help with your bottom line. We’ve all heard stories, about people who run up too much credit, and end up in a bad situation. But, I think that’s just because those stories tend to be very dramatic, and give the media exactly what they want. But, it’s not necessarily representative of the general population. Most people are pretty responsible with their credit cards, and pay them off every month, avoid interest charges, and don’t try living beyond their means.
That’s all great and everything, but you can do more with a credit card if you really want to. Credit card companies that are run well, generally do pretty well. The Discover More Card is just one example of such a company. When credit companies are doing well, they often try to attract more customers by offering incentives to use their card. This is an example of a win-win-win situation, that’s good for the consumer, the financing company, and the merchant that accepts their cards. The credit card companies get more clients, the merchants make more sales, and you the consumer benefit for reduced expenses.
One such example, is the Cash Back Credit Cards. These cards usually offer a percentage of the consumers total purchases back to them in the form of cash payments. Now, if your smart, this would be a good card to use for all those items that you have to buy anyway. Especially those big ticket items. Vacataions, car repairs, home repairs, groceries, and anything else you spend lots of money on every month. Take a look at some of the purchases you make that you pay with check or debit cards. Do those companies accept credit cards? If so, then it may make a lot more sense to use the credit card for those purchases. You get the extra benefit of 30 days to pay, plus at the end of the year (or monthly), you get a bunch of money back.
I like the idea, of a credit card company paying me to use their card. Every year, my wife comes home all smiles from getting a week or two worth’s of groceries free from the cash refund on our card. That may not seem like a lot, but when your feeding a family of five with three teenagers, the numbers do add up.
