There are many things that you should consider when using your credit
card but the two most important are:
1) Keeping your usage down and 2)
Watching out for interest rate increases.
It is important to know that you should not be using your credit card
to make everyday purchases for items like food, clothing, and gas.
Credit cards should be used for emergency purposes only; using your
credit card as a substitute for cash can put you into serious debt
before you even know it. With that said make sure you stay within 30%
of your credit limit to avoid damage to your credit score.
Your credit score is broken down into 5 categories… 35% is Your
Payment History, 30% is your usage, 15% is the length of your credit
history, 10% is your new credit, and 10% is your credit mix… With
Usage being a large part of your credit score, make sure you are
keeping your balances low to help keep your score high!!
Lastly, Pay attention to your interest rate and make sure it hasn’t
increased. Your credit card’s interest rate can increase when you’ve
defaulted on the original credit card terms. Fore example, you were
late on a payment, went over the credit limit, or bounced the check
for your payment. Before February 22, 2010, you could’ve even seen an
increased rate if you were late on a payment to another creditor – a
practice known as “universal default” but due to new laws implemented
by President Obama this is no longer the case!
Read more finacial tips at Ash Cash’s Blog.