These Credit Cards

Managing your Credit Cards

These Credit Cards and those credit cards, these are common every day phrases. You probably haven't gone a day without the subject of credit cards coming up. Low Interest Credit Cards are what everyone would like to have; unfortunately, most people hold high interest credit cards.

TheseCreditCards.com understands the importance of credit and the benefits that come with the proper use of our credit cards, and we want to help you better manage your credit. Credit is almost impossible to live without in this day and age, unless you happen to be among the extremely wealthy, but even they use credit as well. Fortunately for them, the rich are able to pay off their balance monthly and are not subject to the high interest rates that many of us have to deal with.

We use credit to purchase food, alcohol, trips, homes, cars, clothes, etc. It frees us from having to carry wads of cash around everywhere we go. It's also a lot safer than carrying large amounts of cash and our purchases are protected from damage and theft, based on the policies of each credit card provider. Credit is so important that the growth of the economy and society are dependent on the ease and accessability of acquiring it.

Credit Card companies spend a lot of money to gain your interest and trust. Their marketing efforts can often be entertaining. Capital One, Chase and Visa are at the top of the list when I think of successful credit card commercials. Best Credit Card Ads is classic example of some of the best credit card ads online.

Credit is not something whose benefits are limited to individuals. Corporations and governments function due to their ability to acquire credit. As a matter of fact, the credit crunch that Americans have been experiencing since the summer of 2007 pretty much says it all...Credit Crunch!

Some Obvious Benefits of having good credit are:

• Low rates on car loans 
• Low rates on mortgages 
• Low rates on credit cards 

Some Psychological Benefits of having good credit are:

• Confidence 
• Peace of mind 
• Self-Assurance 

Taking care of our credit scores begins when we start taking care of our credit cards. What are some things that we can do to take care of our credit cards?

1. Pay your bills early or on time.
2. Pay more than the finance charges.
3. Keep track of your expenditures.
4. Don't go over the limit.
5. Limit your number of credit applications.

Did you notice that the first thing I mentioned was paying all of your bills on time? That's because this is the most important aspect to the health of your credit card. Of course you want to follow all of the other points as well and especially avoid going over your limit; but if you are paying early or on time, that should take care of a lot of the other issues that might arise. Also if your credit card payments are made early or on time, you will avoid the dreaded fees that steal potential money that would have helped to reduce the principal amount you owe.

Late fees are big business to credit card companies. Not only do the charge you a hefty fee, but you go into a default status and your interest rate sky rockets! That's when they really get you. If you are paying 7% interest rate to you card currently and then you miss one or two payments or make a few late payments, your interest rate could sky rocket to over 30%. You heard me correctly, that's over 30%! Keep that in mind the next time you decide to postpone that credit card payment.

A common mistake that is made all too often is applying for too many credit card offers. Applying for credit too often gives credit card companies the impression that you are in financial distress and as a result you may not be able to get any new credit. If you are interested in searching for Instant Approval Credit Card Offers maybe you should consider Opening a Charge Card Account.

How much interest does your bank pay you for the funds you keep in your savings account? Have you ever thought about being able to open an online savings account and earning substantial interest rates on your money? You really should think about Opening an Online Savings Account. If you are looking for help to find the the highest interest checking accounts and start making money on your checking account you should look into Opening a High Interest Checking Account.

Do you know how much money banking fees cost you every year? Do you know how much money having a Free Checking Account Online might be able to save you? Most banks are paying less than 1%! If you register with a virtual bank account or sign up for one of the online banking services offered by companies such as Capital One, ING, Nationwide, WAMU, HSBC, etc., you might be able to get anywhere between 3% to 4%. That's a lot more than your bank savings account, but it's no where near the 30% that your credit card companies might be charging you. And once you default on one, even if you've been timely with all of your other credit cards, due to the sharing of information many of them will automatically will begin to raise your interest rates.

Imagine if you were able to have a bank offer you 30% interest rate for opening up a savings account with them. What about the money that you could save each year if you were able to Open a Free Checking Account and stop paying banking fees? What would you do with that extra money?

If there were to be a bank that paid high interest and also offered Free Checking No Fees or No Fee Checking Online, I guarantee you that once word got out, that bank would have more business than they knew what to do with. You're probably thinking that it'll never happen, and you are exactly right. This last scenario was purely imaginary and it will never happen! However, that is essentially what you are offering the credit card companies.

You are telling them to let you borrow some of their money and you are consenting to paying 30% interest or more when you default and make late payments! Imagine if instead of paying that 30% plus of interest to the credit card companies, you were paying that to yourself. Wouldn't that be amazing? Wouldn't that bring a smile to your face? Would you have an extra bounce in your step every single day?

What about your retirement savings? What kind of peace of mind would it bring you to know that you were getting 30% or more interest rate for every dollar invested? What would it mean to know that your hard earned money was coming back to you many times over and not going into the pockets of some big credit card company? At this rate of return, you would more than double your money every three years. Isn't that something? Removal of credit card debt is one of the first things that you should do if you are striving for financial independence!

From the time that we are young and we see our parents swiping their credit cards and buying us a toy, food, or something to drink…these credit cards are something that have caught our eyes. The thought that a plastic card can get us anything that we desire, drives our imaginations wild. All that we can think about is that when we grow up, we are going to get ourselves a credit card too and then we can buy anything that we desire.

Maybe this scenario didn’t quite play out like this for you, it did for many kids. When they grew up and went to college and were swamped with credit card offers, they applied for as many college student credit card offers that they could get their hands on, and when they were approved for these credit cards offers, they went nuts and bought up everything they could. Many students did not know that they would have to pay all of the fines and penalties and when they graduated college, they also graduated with a lot of credit card debt in addition to their student loans.

Educating the masses about the proper use of credit cards is very important. Understanding that a free credit report can help us monitor our credit scores and help to ensure that our information is accurate is something that should be stressed more. Instant credit card approvals can sometimes give us the wrong impression about credit cards applications. Most people don’t understand that each time you apply for new credit, you hurt your credit score. So, when you are shopping in the checkout line at your favorite store and they offer you a 5%, 10% or even 15% discount if you apply for their card, you should decline. Applying for the additional card will hurt your credit score.

Credit cards should not be applied for on a whim. They should not be applied for to save a few dollars on a purchase at a store. You may get a lot of credit card offers in the mail and sometimes it can be tempting to apply for those credit cards, but it is important to refrain. If you are searching for credit cards, you should sit down and compare the credit card offers. You should read the fine print and look at the penalties, late fees and any other fees that the credit card company can assess on you.

Whether it is a platinum credit card, a black credit card, a titanium credit card or a simple store charge card, read the credit card notifications first and know what you are getting into with that credit card application before filling it out. Simple steps like these can help you in the long term. Credit Cards are an international phenomenon. They make purchasing a breeze whereever you are in the world. Try to imagine if only for a moment what the world would be like without them.