If you’re someone who carries a balance, a credit card offer is probably the last thing you want right now. Credit card offers, no matter how tempting and convenient they may seem, can be the most expensive loans that banks, department stores and gasoline companies offer you.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try not to give in to the temptation of a credit card offer, the desire for material things can sometimes be stronger than the will of the heart. No matter how hard you try to resist the convenience and leisure offered by credit cards, you can’t help but indulge in them. And the moment the credit card issuer offers you a card, you can hardly wait for it to be approved and use it to pay for the goods and services you fancy.
To avoid exceeding your credit limit, by now, you should know when to resist and indulge in the convenience offered by your credit card. By knowing how much the service provider or store merchant is charging you from what you owe the card issuer, you should not allow yourself to spend money that you think you cannot pay. Or, by now, you should learn how to pay back what you owe each month, as long as you pay the minimum amount each time, because that’s what you get from what the credit card offers: interest on the balance you owe at the end of each period if you don’t pay the full balance each time the bill arrives.
If you have problems saying “no” to credit card offers, the most effective way to prevent yourself from compromising again is to use a little truth serum – how much the credit card issuer gets out of your dealings with them. While credit cards offer the ultimate convenience of an almost priceless sport, think about it: the people offering them make a hefty profit from the people they issue them to. Basically, the counterpart to what credit cards offer is high interest rates. The convenience offered by credit cards is sometimes no longer just the interest on the credit card, but also the profit the bank makes from the large number of accounts issued with each credit card.
There are also some companies that charge annual fees as part of their credit card offers. But most of these companies sometimes charge late fees, over-limit fees and other “miscellaneous” fees that credit card holders often mistake for part of the service fee. Now, when you know how much you’re really “contributing” to these companies’ profits each time you pay a merchant or each time you pay a service provider – will you still be fooled by credit card offers?
What you can do
Want to get rid of your habitual indulgence in credit card offers? Here are some tips to help you get rid of the constant stream of misleading promises and overwhelming credit card offers. Before you give in to a particular credit card offer, think about what the purpose of filling out a credit card application is, why you need it, and how sure you are that you can comply with the conditions of having another card. If your needs really require a credit card, then you must look for the type that best suits your specific situation. Sometimes, it is not enough to shop for a credit card based on what it offers. More often than not, it pays to know the terms and conditions offered by the credit card before you get it. You must also take the time to review the disclosure of terms and fees that may appear in the credit card offer you receive.
If you are truly someone who cannot say “no” to numerous credit card offers, you must learn to pay your bills on time so that interest and fees will be as low as possible. Read your monthly statements and also keep copies of your sales receipts so you can compare charges.
The fact is that having a credit card is ingrained in the consumer’s psyche. This is why it is important for people to clearly understand their responsibilities as a credit card holder and not just assume based on what the credit card offers.