Winning The Credit Game!

Everywhere we go, the word credit can be found, shining huge dollar signs in front of our very eyes. Everyday we receive solicitation and promotions offering us credit. Credit actually makes the financial world go round, yet just the mere mention of the word can make many people very nervous. So why does credit get such a bad reputation?

It's been my experience that credit falls into the samecategory as politics and religion. People have very strongopinions about Credit. It has been around since thebeginning of mankind. People would borrow either goods orservices, to be repaid at a later date with interest.There's nothing wrong with that. And like anything else, itcan be used, or abused.

There are programs that allow you to borrow from your IRA,or you can borrow from the equity that had built up in yourhome. Credit card companies often offer promotions to borrowmoney at a lowered rate of interest for a predeterminedperiod. It's all good news for the consumer. One of thesimplest ways to borrow money to use a Credit Card. Thechoices available are plentiful, with a variety of interestcharges, annual fees, loyalty programs, and reward systems.

Many companies offer 6 months no interest credit. This isoften an excellent way of saving money as you are basicallygiven an interest free loan for those months. It's even morevaluable if you are able to transfer some of the card debtfrom a different company into the interest free loan. Thebest advice is to make sure you always have the money inthe bank, or in a savings account, to pay off your card whenyou are taking advantage of the interest free promotion.

That way you benefit from earning interest on your savingsat your bank, but as soon as the interest free credit periodhas ended, you can pay the entire bill off without beinghit for high interest charges. If you intend to pay offyou credit card bill at the end of every month, there aremany benefit programs and reward packages available.

You can receive award points every time you make a purchasewith that card. These points can be redeemed in cash ordiscounts, and can even be used for the purchase of airlinemiles, etc. Some companies offer a consumer guaranteeprotection on items purchased with the card, and manywill extend the warranties on those items. Many offerdiscounts such as car rentals, travel insurance, accidentaldamage insurance for any products you buy.

Also some companies charge an annual fee for using theircard (especially business credit card accounts), so theseshould be considered against the cards benefits. If youare not paying off your monthly credit card bills, look fora card that offers a low interest. If you are paying offyour monthly credit card bills, look for additional cardbenefits. Interest free credit periods are good news forsaving money. Credit Cards are an effective, and easy way toborrow money for a short time. Be wise and prudent whendeciding to use credit. The bottom line is the creditcard companies want your business, and there is a creditcard out there that can meet everyone's needs.

The author has been on both sides of the "credit" table. Through her experience she has been able to teach thousands of people about how to use credit responsibly.

Cecily Backstrom is passionate about credit and is the webmaster of Rapidly Moving Credit

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