Contributed by Mridula Murgai
Credit cards are so much fun – buy anything you want, pay whenever you want.
No, this is not correct – it is this attitude and lack of a sense of responsibility which leads to mounting credit card bills and a slide into the debt threshold and growing payment worries.
Credit Cards have many advantages and using them to make offline purchases can save you a lot of hassles and make life much easier for you. You can pay the exact amount and not have to collect coins as change. You just need to sign and you are ready to leave with your purchases, no matter how large the cost. A cheque at the end of the month, and you have made the payment in one go.
Offline credit card usage, i.e. using a credit card to make purchases which are not on the net, is a growing segment in the commercial world. Everywhere in the world credit cards are now accepted and you do not need to carry around a lot of cash in your wallet.
Even if your card gets stolen, you can immediately stop payment on it and have no further liability on the costs incurred on it. Thus there is a certain degree of safety when you use and carry a credit card.
However, do learn to use it wisely and with responsibility. If you are a frequent user of credit cards to make offline purchases, you probably do not have time to keep track of the total debt you are collecting. When the bill comes at the end of the month, the total may come as a rude shock to you, and you may not have enough reserves to clear the bill.
Paying just the minimum balance every month is also a dangerous thing to do. The minimum balance will keep rising every month, and the exorbitant rates of interest which is charged on the remaining balance will only aggravate the situation. Soon the minimum balance will also spin out of control.
The trick is to use the credit card only for major purchases and use cash for the smaller ones. This will make it easier for you to keep track of what you are spending. What is even more important is that you should keep checking on the total bill online. All banks will now give you an up-to-date account statement online and also give you the option to make payments immediately.
If you make your payments regularly your credit rating will also be good and it will be an asset when you look for a loan or a mortgage.
As is evident, there are a few disadvantages of offline usage of credit cards, but these are offset by the many advantages which a credit card offers. Credit Card fraud is one of the largest crimes nowadays, and if we are not careful we can become a victim of it. A theft of the card will make you liable for only a certain amount of money, but this is applicable only if you report the theft immediately.