Mastering Credit Cards: 6 Savvy Strategies for the Economically Minded
Credit cards can be a fantastic way to earn rewards like cash back and travel perks, and they offer a lot of convenience. However, their high interest rates can make these rewards costly if you carry a balance for too long. Savvy spenders know this and use various strategies to avoid falling into debt.
Here are six tips to keep your credit card balances manageable and truly benefit from the rewards:
1. **Create a Budget**
Many people think they don’t need a budget, but frugal individuals would disagree, especially when it comes to using credit cards wisely. Studies, including one from MIT, show that people tend to spend more with credit cards. To avoid overspending, it’s crucial to know exactly how much you can spend each month and break it down by category.
2. **Track Your Spending**
After setting a budget, the next step is to track your spending. If you exceed your budget in certain categories initially, don’t worry. Use this as a learning opportunity to fine-tune your budget, especially for hard-to-estimate expenses like food, gas, and miscellaneous purchases.
3. **Consider the Annual Cost of Big Purchases**
Credit cards are handy for big purchases like electronics and furniture, but remember, they essentially act as high-interest loans. To keep this in mind, calculate the interest you would pay if you had to take a year to pay off a $1,000 purchase with a 22% APR credit card. That $1,000 item could end up costing $1,220. Is it still worth it?
4. **Use 0% APR Offers Wisely**
Offers of 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases can save you money, but only if you pay off the balance before the promotional period ends. Frugal people use these offers to avoid interest on emergency purchases or to pay off other credit card balances that are accruing interest, rather than as an excuse to overspend.
5. **Set Up Alerts**
Most credit card issuers allow you to set up alerts for major purchases, balance limits, payment due dates, and more. These alerts help you monitor your card usage and ensure you pay off your balance on time, avoiding late fees and interest.
6. **Treat Your Credit Card Like Cash**
To avoid interest, aim to pay off your credit card every month. This is easier said than done, but by combining all the above methods—considering needs over wants, knowing your running balance, and living within your budget—you can achieve it. Paying off your card each cycle keeps you out of high-interest debt and allows you to enjoy rewards that are truly free.