Common Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid

Common Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid

Credit cards are something that can prove to have multiple advantages. If a person is ever in a situation where they need to take care of certain expenses but is short of cash, a credit card is all that is needed to save the day. But upon misuse, a credit card can also do a lot of damage. Let us look at some of the most common credit card mistakes that people make.

Using a credit card for daily purchases
Sure, credit cards prove to be a great asset for people during emergencies. But a lot of people make it a habit of using their credit cards for their daily expenses. This is a very bad practice, as they start losing sight of how much they end up spending. This is why you should always stick to paying cash for your daily expenses, such as groceries.

Constantly withdrawing cash
Many people do not know this: while they swipe their credit cards for withdrawing cash, there is a certain fee (3.5%) for the cash advance they are taking. This will start increasing right from the day you withdraw cash using your credit card till the day you repay it. These are many cases where these charges have even gone up to a whopping 49.36% per annum. This could prove to be a very expensive transaction for you, and this is why you should be more careful about withdrawing cash.

Not taking care of your credit card debt
One of the most common credit card mistakes that people make is that they simply ignore their debt. They start letting the bills pile up and think that they would deal with these bills later. But they later realize much to their dismay that the pile becomes too huge and turn out to be a huge burden. This is mainly because when they let the credit card debt pile up, the interest rate keeps adding. This is why you should always give utmost importance on clearing your debt as soon as you can.

Emptying your credit card balance
Just because you are allotted a certain amount that you can spend using your credit card, does not mean that you should empty it. A lot of people do not understand this and max out their credit cards. They start using their credit card for any bills that they need to clear. This is a move that puts them in a lot of trouble, as maxing out their credit cards would also mean that they would later have to face enormous interest rates that get added on credit fees. Using this card could also have a fine for exceeding the limit, so make sure you never max out your credit card.