Tips to Control the Use of Credit Card
October 6th, 2010 | 
Author: Used well, credit cards may mean some benefits such as being able to have emergency money, or not having to carry large sums of cash with us when we pay a lot of money.
However, due to their purchasing power, often credit cards are misused, making us spend more than they should, and making us pay accumulate high debt and high interest rates.
And this does not happen see below some tips that will help us better control of our credit cards and tips related to your safety:
Control costs
The first tip is to control the use of credit cards, knowing that the cards should not be used for everyday purchases, but to be used only in emergencies or to get us out of any trouble.
One way to control the use of credit cards is save and not take them with us when we go shopping, avoid impulse purchases.
Another way to control credit card expenditure is to acquire the habit of all receipts of purchases we make, so that thereby, at any time knows that we are using our cards.
Control Debt
The following advice is to control debts generated by credit cards, knowing that because of its ease of use and high interest rates they charge, is very easy to get to accumulate high debt.
One way to control debt is to pay the cards in the month in which the use (and not have to pay interest) or, in any case, always pay more than the minimum required, a payment above the minimum amount decreases term debt and reduce it.
Another way is to cancel the debts before the due date (which is specified in the statement), and thus avoid being charged more interest or surcharge for not paying on time.
And not to mention always avoid spending more than we spend, to avoid ever reach the top of our line of credit, except in the case of an emergency.
Have the smallest possible number of cards
Another tip on credit card use is to have as few cards as possible and cancel all those who do not use it.
Although we do not use credit cards, they always generate charges or fees, such as payments for membership.
It is advisable to cancel all our credit cards and take just one that we incur lower interest rate or having the most convenient payment terms.
Consolidating debts
Should have high debts generated by the use of credit cards; a board is to consolidate our balances on one card.
By consolidating our credit cards into one, not only agree to a lower interest rate, but we simplify the payment process, and we’ll just make one.
To consolidate our cards just have to approach the financial institution issuing the card that offers us the lowest interest rate, and request to consolidate all our credit card debts into one.
Always check your statement
No one is free from any error or illegal charges by financial institutions.
So it is advisable to get into the habit of always thoroughly review the statements of our credit cards, ensuring that the beginning balance matches the closing balance of previous statement and that the expenses reported are actually the costs we performed.
In case there is a billing error or abuse must immediately notify the financial institution.
Security
Finally, we must always protect our personal information and prevent theft or cloned our card.
To do this, we should avoid providing information on our credit card by phone or, if shopping online, keep them in objectionable sites or that we do not generate sufficient confidence.
We must also always keep in a safe place card numbers and phone numbers where we can report the theft or loss, and in case this happens, immediately communicate with those numbers.
