If you’re like majority of Americans, then its most likely that you own at least one credit card.
A study from CNBC shows 54% of adults carry a credit card balance from month to month and out of that percentage, 50% have been in debt for at least a year. In fact 42% of Americans have increased their credit card debt during the pandemic.
Increasing your debt can lead to very stressful times, and can easily get out of control when using credit cards. Here are some smart ways to put that credit card to use, that will also help boost your credit score.
1. Take Advantage Of The Reward Points Offer
Often, credit card companies offer a large amount of reward points for signing up and spending a large amount of money in a short number of months. Many people can take advantage of this and use those points for maybe a nice “free” vacation somewhere.
I was able to take advantage with my card and fund my flight and hotel for two, across the country… for FREE!
First you must know how much your monthly expenses amount to, to see if a particular rewards offer will work for you. If it does, the key is to use your credit card only on monthly recurring expenses that you would normally pay.
This includes bills such as your rent, phone bill, gas, electric bills etc. This way essentially you are spending money that you already have allocated for these expenses.
This should allow you to easily pay off the balance. Keep doing this until you reach the threshold to get your reward points and enjoy the benefits!
2. Pay Your Credit Card Off Monthly
You should aim to always pay off your balance monthly. If you can’t do that, then simply you are spending more than you have available.
This leads to carrying a balance into the next month and interest being accrued onto that left over amount. You end up paying more for what you bought on credit.
Discipline yourself and give yourself a spending limit on how much you can spend each month and use that to determine if you can afford to swipe, tap, or insert chip for that next purchase.
Paying the balance off on your credit card each month will help boost your credit scores.
3. Leave your Credit Card At Home
If you find yourself uncontrollably spending and resorting to using your credit card for everything. It could be a good idea to leave it at home and just carry either cash or your debit card.
If you don’t have access to it, then you can’t impulse buy something that you can’t afford. Don’t keep hurting yourself, it’s extremely easy to just charge the card and worry about it later.
You are not alone; those statistics are real and that means other people have fallen into the trap. Discipline is important when it comes to using credit cards.
Acknowledge the issue at hand and work towards smarter credit card use habits.