Being Wary of Credit Cards:Rewards

Credit isn’t all bad.  In fact, it’s a necessary part of life these days for anyone who wants to be able to function well in today’s economy.  If you want to buy a house, chances are you’ll need credit.  If you want to get a decent rate on that car loan, you’re going to have to have a good credit score.  How do we set ourselves up for success in the world of credit?  By using credit cards, of course!  But, for some, responsible credit card usage has become extremely difficult and debt is on the rise. We’re here to give you some tips to help out!

Cash Back Rewards

When you have more understanding about credit cards and how they work, you empower yourself to make good decisions.  Make sure you do plenty of research on the subject so that you really understand what you are getting into – knowledge is power, as they say!

What’s attracting you to credit cards?  Is it the cash-back and rewards attached?  While things like free airline miles can be an awesome perk, when you find yourself spending just a little bit more, or frequenting certain businesses that you might not otherwise patronize just so you can get your cash-back rewards, you might want to step back and think for a moment.

Credit card companies know that incentives like cash-back rewards encourage greater spending.  When you become aware of this trick, too, you can make conscious efforts to not become a victim of the credit card companies!  Try using a card as little as possible in order to prevent this kind of extraneous spending.  Sometimes sitting around and making a budget is an empowering and positive way to manage your money and understand where it is going.