A majority of adults in western society will carry a credit card of some sort, they have become so commonplace that you would look out of place and may sometimes miss out on a deal for simply not having one; think Airmiles for example.
Credit cards have become so widely accepted yet they can lead to financial ruin if not handled carefully. As a consequence, many financial gurus recommend, as part of your debt reduction solution, that you cut-up or cancel your credit cards. Of course this will help if you don’t ever need to use a credit card again but chances are most people will.
Another negative of cancelling your card is that a credit card is one of the main builders of your credit rating; if you take it away you’ll need other ways to improve your credit rating.
Instead of cutting up your card, I would recommend you start looking your credit card as a temptation that you can control.
The mistake people make is to look at money on a credit card as money they have. In reality, this is just money that is available to you; it is not your money. With that in mind, stop using your credit card as the primary spending card or if you really have to, make sure there is money in your bank account that is equivalent to what you’re spending and more crucially, ensure that you repay whatever you spent on the credit card within days.
If you use your card for an expenditure that you cannot repay immediately, you should treat this as a loan; pay it of in huge chunks and do not borrow again until you’ve paid off the old loan.
Running away from credit cards isn’t always the solution and can lead you into isolation, treating your credit card as a risk you’re in control of will enable you to enjoy all the benefits without falling off the debt cliff.
James Bouka is a contributor to Breadmarket.co.uk, he is an seasoned writer on personal finance specialising in means of turning around credit standings such as the use of bad credit credit cards to overcome the high cost of credit that is synonymous with having a bad credit rating.