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Your best credit card management tips

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jennylocha
Regular Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips

Never use more than (3) cards at a time. Remember that at least the minimum has to be paid on all so if you use too many at a time....you're out of gas!

 

Always pay more than the minimum (if possible).

 

Don't use more that 15% on any individual card.

 

Try to get in the habit of using your cards when you absolutely need them, not to splurge and shop for nonsense.

 

NEVER PAY LATE!!! EVER!!! 

Current Score: TU 671 / EQ 675 / EX 682
Goal Score: 700 Club Across the board!

Message 31 of 37
jennylocha
Regular Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips

Also, remember to get in the habit of checking your accts periodically (daily if you can) to make sure that there is no crazy activity on there.

 

Be conservative in your spending....if you don't have it in your checking acct on the regular, than you better not be charging it!

 

Be patient, treat your cards with finesse. You will reap the benefits eventually.

 

Get to know your (3) credit reports like the back of your hands. Spend the extra dollar for alerts if you can.

 

If you're not married, keep you credit to yourself. Money and Family/Friends don't mix. (to each his own)

Current Score: TU 671 / EQ 675 / EX 682
Goal Score: 700 Club Across the board!

Message 32 of 37
dddewdrop
Valued Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips

Dont use them except for like1 charge a month. Pay that one charge sometimes before the statement date and sometimes after but keep your balances tiny. For things you want pay cash or debit card. Save up money ahead of time don't buy things on credit then pay them off later. Don't think of credit card limits as your money. It is not. It is someone else's money that is being loaned to you in hope of making a profit from you. Think of it that way.  Reality is credit cards make a lot of their money from swipe fees more than interest they charge from you but if you think of it that way then you will stay out of debt. You would rather be saving your money and loaning it to someone else to make money off them then  you being the sucker who is paying to use someone else's money. So get credit cards to improve your credit but just use them the minimum amount to keep the acccounts in good standing and it get CLIs if that is what you want. I personally don't really want CLIs but many on here do. 

    Figure out in your head why you want credit cards and then manage them rationally based on those goals or ideas. 

Message 33 of 37
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips

And THE most important rule of all, check the date of threads that you are responding to!

Message 34 of 37
red259
Super Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips

All of this advice is solid. I would never use my CCs to buy something if I did not already have the money in the bank to pay the card off. Its not worth carrying balances if you have interest. If for some reason you are carrying a balance and do have interest then do not pay just the minimum payment. Pay as much of the card down as you can, otherwise you will be losing a huge amount of money to interest payments. The temptation with credit cards is to splurge on things you do not need and its important to fight that impulse. Before you buy something ask yourself if you really need/want this item and does it fit within your budget. You should always keep some credit available for emergencies. PIF is the best practice, but rule number one is to always pay on time. Credit cards are not found money and its incredibly easy to lose track of how much money you are spending. I check my accounts once a week to review my transactions and balances (this helps me keep track of my cashflow). 

 

Don't open up credit cards you do not need. Having a ton of cards is not necessarily a good thing and if you are a poor manager you could miss something on one of your cards and get jammed up. Also, if you apply for every card out there you may have a more difficult time aqpplying for a card you find later on that you really want. Don't rush to build up your credit cards too fast. Some people run out and apply for a bunch of cards at once and get toy limits (then they have a hard time getting those limits raised later on). Its much better to apply for just a few cards and build up your CLs and then apply for new cards once you have those higher CLs. By doing this your new cards will have much better odds of having a higher initial CL. Get your SP CLIs and wait for them to report before applying for a new card.

 

;
Starting Score: EQ: 714, TU 684
Current Score: EQ: 725 7/30/13, TU 684 6/2013, Exp 828 5/2018, Last App 8/5/17
Goal Score: 800 (Achieved!) In garden until Sepetember 2019
Message 35 of 37
red259
Super Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips


@longtimelurker wrote:

And THE most important rule of all, check the date of threads that you are responding to!


Bah. I just wanted to break the 200 posts mark!

;
Starting Score: EQ: 714, TU 684
Current Score: EQ: 725 7/30/13, TU 684 6/2013, Exp 828 5/2018, Last App 8/5/17
Goal Score: 800 (Achieved!) In garden until Sepetember 2019
Message 36 of 37
dddewdrop
Valued Contributor

Re: Your best credit card management tips


@longtimelurker wrote:

And THE most important rule of all, check the date of threads that you are responding to!


+1 . it is fun reviving threads. If you look back the same topics are covered over and over and over ago. A subject like this is relatively timeless. The advice doesnt change that much from 2012 to 2013.

Message 37 of 37
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