It is exceptionally easy to get a credit card or other line of consumer credit now. This may initially seem great to somebody who is looking to make a major purchase – but beware. While credit may seem great at first, eventually you’re going to have to pay back the money you owe, and that can be more difficult than it sounds initially. Not only that, but most consumer credit has very high interest rates, or only has low interest rates for a short introductory period. If you get a credit card during this introductory period, you might find that your interest rates jump after the first year – and if you have any existing debt, this can be disastrous.
Be wise – don’t take advantage of consumer credit. In most cases, you don’t actually need consumer credit in order to purchase what you want. There are some cases when credit is needed – for instance, a mortgage to purchase your house, or car payments. However, these are different than the huge debts that most people end up ringing up with their credit cards. When you’re tempted to put a new purchase on your credit card, make sure you ask yourself two things – one, will you be able to afford it without credit if you just wait a few months, and two, how much money are you going to end up spending on interest just to purchase what you want now.
In fact, the numbers begin to add up pretty quickly with any credit card – and by buying with credit, you will end up paying many times the original purchase price. That doesn’t make much sense, when you think about it, so you should definitely think about just waiting, instead of wasting your hard-earned money on interest fees.
Finally, the best reason to avoid consumer credit is just the number of people who have ended up in serious debt due to consumer credit. It’s very easy to use and very difficult to pay off. While bankruptcy rates are soaring, make sure that you don’t become just another person filing for bankruptcy. While it might be difficult to avoid consumer credit at first, you’ll feel thankful that you did when you are still debt free in a few years.