5 Reasons To Cut up Your Credit Card
Do you love your credit cards? If you said yes, I get it. The temptation to swipe that card even if you don’t have the money can sometimes be too strong. This is especially true during the holiday season when you want to give gifts to your friends and loved ones. Credit card companies make it even harder to resist when they reward you with awesome rewards like travel miles or cash back.
With all of those pros, it’s hard to imagine not having a credit card. That said, having no (or at least fewer) credit cards is not a bad idea at all. Here are 5 reasons to cut up your credit card in case you are thinking about doing so.
- No interest payments. The worst thing about credit cards is the interest that comes along with it. Think about it. You are paying money to spend money. Does that seem like a smart financial decision?
- You can’t buy things you cannot afford. One major problem with using credit cards is that it is very tempting to buy something even if you can’t technically afford it. If you have a $100 item you are wanting to buy, it often “seems” cheaper to think about paying $25 per month instead of the $100 up front, even though it is far from it.
- You spend less. Research has shown that people who use credit cards instead of cash are willing to spend more money.
- You will stop going into debt. No more worrying about getting further and further into debt. You no longer have the option to.
- You will learn to think more about the things that you purchase and your budget in general. Having the peace of mind in knowing that you have less debt is worth the fear of cutting them up. Trust me.
Have you gone to the extreme of cutting up your cards? Do you regret it? We would love to hear about your experience.
Improve Your Credit Score For Free!
As much as we might hate it, our credit score can be one of the more important numbers in our lives. A poor credit score can hurt our chances of getting the best terms on a loan, lower interest rates, or even loans and other lines of credit. Improving your credit score isn’t always easy, but it’s certainly possible! The first step to improving your credit score though, is knowing where you stand.
With Credit Sesame, monitoring your own credit is quick, simple, and FREE! Sign up with Credit Sesame and get your free credit score each month and monitor your credit report at no cost. You’ll also receive daily and real-time monitoring alerts about changes to your credit report. With Credit Sesame you also get $50,000 in identity theft insurance, plus fraud resolution assistance – for free.
Use the Credit Sesame trending charts to track your credit progress and see how your credit has improved over time. This can come in particularly handy if you’re planning on making a big purchase in the future.
Did I mention that all of this won’t cost you a dime? Sign up with Credit Sesame for FREE!
Find Out What Your Credit Score is ABSOLUTELY For Free! No Catch!
Keeping an eye on your credit is one of those things that just makes sense. Unfortunately, it’s not something most people think of. And, even more unfortunate, it only takes an instant for your credit to take a hit. If you’re not monitoring your credit, there’s a good chance that you won’t find out until it’s too late.
With Credit Sesame, monitoring your own credit is quick, simple, and FREE! Sign up with Credit Sesame and get your free credit score each month and monitor your credit report at no cost. You’ll also receive daily and real-time monitoring alerts about changes to your credit report. With Credit Sesame you also get $50,000 in identity theft insurance, plus fraud resolution assistance – for free.
Use the Credit Sesame trending charts to track your credit progress and see how your credit has improved over time. This can come in particularly handy if you’re planning on making a big purchase in the future.
Did I mention that all of this won’t cost you a dime? Sign up with Credit Sesame for FREE!
Track Your Credit Score and Gain Financial Freedom! Sign Up Free!
Keeping an eye on your credit is one of those things that just makes sense. Unfortunately, it’s not something most people think of. And, even more unfortunate, it only takes an instant for your credit to take a hit. If you’re not monitoring your credit, there’s a good chance that you won’t find out until it’s too late.
With Credit Sesame, monitoring your own credit is quick, simple, and FREE! Sign up with Credit Sesame and get your free credit score each month and monitor your credit report at no cost. You’ll also receive daily and real-time monitoring alerts about changes to your credit report. With Credit Sesame you also get $50,000 in identity theft insurance, plus fraud resolution assistance – for free.
Use the Credit Sesame trending charts to track your credit progress and see how your credit has improved over time. This can come in particularly handy if you’re planning on making a big purchase in the future.
Did I mention that all of this won’t cost you a dime? Sign up with Credit Sesame for FREE!
How to Establish Credit
Earlier this week I did a post on ways that having good credit can help you save a good bit of money. Since then, I’ve received some questions from people about credit. One of the main problems people are facing is that they simply don’t know how to establish credit. Below, I’m going to go over some ways that you can establish credit, so you can start building your credit up. With proper management, you’ll be able to not only establish credit, but you’ll be able to establish good credit and maintain it. That way, you save the most money.
Ask a Family Member or Friend to be an Authorized User on their Credit Card
Now, I know this is something a bit out of the ordinary and it’s a tough question to ask someone, but you have to obtain credit somehow. Take a step back and ask yourself which family members and friends you have that are financially stable and are trustworthy. Once you have someone picked out, you should ask them if you can be added as an authorized user on their account.
Of course, this is a big question and you may get rejected, but it’s worth a shot. Just explain to them that you’re trying to establish credit and that you don’t even want to make purchases on their account. Tell them that you don’t even want a credit card or any of their info. This is one of the easiest ways to start building credit.
Have Someone Co-Sign a Loan For You
Now, this one is going to be really tough, because there’s a lot of risk involved for the person that co-signs for you. If you would happen to stop paying on the loan, your co-signer would be responsible for the remaining balance, so most people won’t co-sign for other people. If you know someone that has good credit, you could ask them to do this for you and agree that you will stand by your word.
Sign up for a Credit Card
This one is going to be a little bit tough, because not many credit card companies are going to risk giving someone with no established credit a credit card. However, companies like CapitalOne are usually willing to take the risk. Starting off, however, you’ll probably be on a very strict credit line and you will also have high interest rates. This is good, because you won’t be able to rack up a ton of debt, but it’s also bad, because you’ll pay high interest rates. If you’re going to get a credit card, you should pay off the balance every single month, so you can avoid interest charges.
Get a Store Credit Card
It’s much easier to get a credit card at a store than it is to get a general credit card from someone like Discover. I would highly suggest that you don’t get a store credit card to splurge on things you don’t need. Instead, you could get a store credit card for a place like Walmart and use it for things you were already going to purchase that month, like groceries.