Web winners: Where to set credit-card limits
A credit card can simplify life — or lead to financial ruin. And it’s not necessarily clear when any given consumer has crossed the line. These sites help identify the warning signs.
Be careful. An article at CreditCards.com suggests 15 situations when it’s not wise to use a credit card. These include use for impulse purchases, purchases considered simply to boost reward points, and purchases made when you know you are pushing your card limit. Fifteen may look like a big number, but we suspect it is just scratching the surface. http://go.philly.com/cardwise1
Or not. As an alternative, the list here at wisebread.com explains “why I use my credit card for everything.” It was written in 2007, so the article may be more of a picture of how easy credit was taken for granted just before the financial meltdown. The writer proposed using credit cards for at least one of the reasons warned against at the site noted above — to earn reward points. The gist is that credit cards are just too convenient to not use. http://go.philly.com/cardwise2
Responsible use. Using cards responsibly starts with taking seriously the fact that credit card spending is a way of taking out loans. Do you really need to take out a loan to buy coffee and groceries, gasoline and haircuts? Your answer ought to be no, and in that case — according to this advice at suite101.com — it’s better to spend cash that to whip out the plastic. http://go.philly.com/cardwise3
Seminar in a box. This is too interesting not to mention. The Credit Union National Association offers a selection of “seminars in a box” — packaged materials for groups to use in training sessions for consumers. In addition to a seminar on the wise use of credit cards, there are seminars on budgeting, home buying, organizing financial records, and protecting against identity theft. Kits costs about $220 and include PowerPoint presentations, printed materials for 100 attendees, sign-up sheets and even a sample news release for announcing the seminar. http://go.philly.com/cardwise4