Credit Cards: Blessing or Curse? The upside: Credit cards offer protection against theft of your cash. You can buy items and services you need when you need them, even if you don’t have enough cash for them. Some cards allow for extra warranty, cash back or other features. Credit cards can be lifesavers, and your parents may want you to carry a credit card to pay for gas, repairs, emergency phone calls, etc. Managing your credit cards well will help you build a solid credit history for the future. If you can use credit responsibly, you’ll end up a smarter money manager. The downside: It’s easy to use credit to buy things that you may not normally buy if you have to use cash. When you carry a credit card, it’s tempting to buy on impulse and forget you’re actually spending money, or that you’re spending future income that you don’t have (and may never have!). If you only pay the minimum balance each month, it will take years to pay off the balance, and accumulating interest on that balance can make what you bought cost much, much more in the long-run. If you fall behind on paying your credit card bills, it can damage your credit rating and make it harder for you to get loans in the future.
Credit Cards: Blessing or Curse? The upside: Credit cards offer protection against theft of your cash. You can buy items and services you need when you need them, even if you don’t have enough cash for them. Some cards allow for extra warranty, cash back or other features. Credit cards can be lifesavers, and your parents may want you to carry a credit card to pay for gas, repairs, emergency phone calls, etc. Managing your credit cards well will help you build a solid credit history for the future. If you can use credit responsibly, you’ll end up a smarter money manager. The downside: It’s easy to use credit to buy things that you may not normally buy if you have to use cash. When you carry a credit card, it’s tempting to buy on impulse and forget you’re actually spending money, or that you’re spending future income that you don’t have (and may never have!). If you only pay the minimum balance each month, it will take years to pay off the balance, and accumulating interest on that balance can make what you bought cost much, much more in the long-run. If you fall behind on paying your credit card bills, it can damage your credit rating and make it harder for you to get loans in the future.
What-is-Credit.docx