When you get a credit card offer in the mail, and you wonder if you should take their offer. These are the must do tips:
- Don’t take it if it has an annual fee
- Don’t use it to splurge (plan to pay purchases off within 30 days) —“Pay as you go and you never owe”.
- Use it (if you are short on cash flow only) for stuff you’d buy any way: Food, repairs, pet supplies, then assign some of your next paycheck to pay the full balance it off, but before 30 days so interest is not charged.
- You can get a card with a crazy interest rate as long as there is no annual fee and you do #3.
- PLUSES: It builds your credit, let’s you always have what you need in a pinch if you’re cash-strapped, let’s you rent a car easily, and in a real emergency you have access to hundreds of dollars.