Credit Cards

Posted on | November 18, 2008 | No Comments

Don’t tell anyone, but I have a secret. I use a credit card. All the time. For almost everything. There, I said it and now you know. But here is the catch, I only buy what I know we can afford. And I am very (OK pretty) disciplined about it. I know what my weekly budget is and I do the math and stick to it. When the bill comes in I pay it in full and on time. I never pay any kind of fees or interest, NEVER!

Why then don’t I just pay cash? Then I would never have to worry about going over budget or buying on impulse right? Well I use the credit card because I earn points that I cash in for money. The credit card I use has a great point earning system. I can earn double and triple points at different times throughout the year. Every time I get to a certain number of points I trade them in for cash. I usually make about $400 a year doing this.

Now I certainly don’t recommend this for everybody. If you can’t follow a strict budget, please put the credit cards away and stick to cash. If you are already in debt or having financial problems that are out of your control – cut up the credit cards and never use them. You will end up in more trouble (and probably debt) then a few hundred dollars is worth. The amount you end up paying a credit card company if you don’t pay your bill in full every month is heartbreaking.