We know it happens for many people for many reasons of credit card issues. Some ppl simply assume their lives will get better, so they buy whatever they want and ‘pay for it’ with plastic (clearly a bad idea).
But other ppl go into debt bcos of an emergency, or they finance their start-up business with their credit cards.
No matter what ur situation…whether u carry credit card debt or pay off ur balance every month (if u do, way to go!)…
So here are 3 secrets revealed – things u’ll never hear from ur credit card company and my solutions to help u keep more of ur own money:
Secret 1
Short period of low interest rates
imDavidLee Tips : If u sign up for a card with an low rate, pls mark ur calendar for the day that the low rates expire. Then, make sure u flag the day one week b4 make ur payment, pay the entire balance off if u can.
Secret 2
Your credit card grace period
Most credit cards give u 25 days b4 charging u interest if u’re not carrying any unpaid balance; some give u 30 days. But others have cut back to 20 or even 15 days, and a few have NO GRACE PERIOD at all, charging u interest all the time on anything that u buy.
imDavidLee Tips : Choose the longest grace period that u can find, typically 25 days. Never go with a credit card that doesn’t allow any grace period. U r just getting ripped off.
Secret 3
Little payment is allowed
Over the past 5 years, some companies have quietly lowered the minimum payment from 4% to 2% of ur balance. That way u don’t have to pay as much every month. Isn’t that nice of them, trying to make things easier for u?
Yeah, that’s GREAT deal..only for the credit card company.
Imagine urself !! Let say if u pay just 2% on RM1,900 balance, it will take 20++ years to pay off the balance…seriously! And what’s more, u’ll pay more than RM4,000 in interest. That’s more than double the original balance!
imDavidLee Tips : Pay more than the minimum every month and save big $$$ in interest. Ideally, u want to pay off the entire balance every month. But if u r unable to do that, pay as much as u can possibly afford.
