Credit card debt
Credit card debt
?Credit card debt? is a much discussed topic in the commercial and social circles. A big section of the population has been bit by this bug called ?credit card debt?. Can?t blame them much; as such, it?s pretty easy to fall prey to this bug.
The main reason behind so many credit card casualties (rather credit card debt related casualties) is that many people don?t understand the concept of credit cards properly. They treat credit card as free money that is never to be returned. Thus all the discipline, which would otherwise have been exercised with spending hard-earned money, goes for a toss. That means people overspend and get into credit card debt. They keep spending till they reach the credit limit on their credit card. Some people go to the extent of treating that like a game and consider it a defeat (or consider their credit card under utilised) if they don?t hit the credit limit quick enough. These unnecessary spends result in a situation where they are not able to payback their credit card bills and end up paying interest on the amount they owe. This keeps building up their credit card debt and they soon find that the interest component has become a regular feature in their monthly expenses and it is there even if they spend nothing on their credit card. That is credit card debt on the prowl. Soon they find that their current credit card can no longer handle their needs and start looking to get another credit card. With the new power of credit, they let themselves loose again and follow a ?shop till you drop? routine. Soon the credit limit of the new credit card is reached too and they again default on payments. This is how credit card debt builds. Soon they learn about credit card debt consolidation and other credit card debt elimination techniques. They are quick to grab such credit card debt reduction techniques, but that?s not because they are serious about reducing their credit card debt but because of the attractive low APR offers. As if it were booty, they again get back to building up their credit card debt. All the while they are spoiling their credit card rating and they soon realise that no one is ready to lend them money because of their credit history. They can only get a secured credit card now (where you first deposit money into your credit account and then only you get the privilege of spending it (50-100% of it) using their credit card. Credit card debt collection agencies, auction of their goods and bankruptcy is the next thing that hits them and their dream run is blown away in a moment.
The moral of the story ? ?Understand the concept of credit cards and treat credit card debt with all seriousness?.
Credit card
What is a Credit Card?
Put simply, a credit card is just a small piece of plastic that easily fits in your wallet. Well, it?s not ?just a piece of plastic?; it?s a very powerful piece of plastic which can be regarded as a compressed form of cash. We can define credit cards as a credit system that allows the consumer to borrow money on the fly from a bank or a financial institution and use it to make payments to the merchants.
In order to obtain a credit card, the consumer needs to fill-in an application form that is actually like an agreement between the credit card supplier and the credit card consumer. The credit card supplier approves the application form and provides the consumer with a small piece of plastic (i.e. the credit card). This plastic (or credit card) contains electronically encoded security information in the form of a magnetic strip (which is generally located at the back of the credit card). This information is used for authorising payments whenever the consumer uses the credit card. The consumer can use the credit card for shopping at merchant outlets or on the internet etc. Of course, this is subject to merchant?s capability to accept credit card payments. Accepting the credit cards is, however, not enough. The merchant should be able to accept payments made through the credit card provided by that credit card organization (of which you hold the credit card) i.e. VISA, MasterCard etc. You can also use credit card to withdraw cash from ATMs (automatic cash machines) ? also known as cash machines or Day/Night machines.
There are eight main credit card organisations and most of them operate in a lot of countries world wide. These are American Express, Citi, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard and VISA. Master card and VISA are probably the most popular ones. Then there are credit card suppliers or issuers who have tie-ups with these organisations and issue credit cards on their behalf e.g. you have various banks that issue VISA cards (like HSBC VISA card)
To make a payment using a credit card, the credit card has to be either swiped into special credit card processing machine (when shopping in person at shops) or the details of the credit card have to be entered on the merchant?s website (when shopping online). The credit card supplier sends across the bill for these transactions to the consumer who is then required to pay either the full amount or a partial (minimum) amount. If you pay in full, the credit card supplier doesn?t charge any interest on the amount you owe, otherwise the pre-agreed interest rate is charged. If you don?t pay even the minimum, you might land up with a late fee too. Moreover, the credit card supplier generally puts a limit on the maximum amount you can spend per month using your credit card.
Credit card deal
What is a ?good credit card deal??
You must have heard people say ? ?I got a good credit card deal?. So if you happen to be looking for a credit card at that moment, do you just go with what your friend has told you as a good credit card deal?
Let?s check what one can term as a good credit card deal. A credit card deal is good if it works for you. So, if the credit card fits into your lifestyle in a way that rakes in maximum benefits for you, that is a good credit card deal. The most important thing to realize here is the word ?your? as in ?your lifestyle?. So logically speaking there is nothing like a good credit card deal. What it is - is good credit card deal for ?you? i.e. the individual who is going to use that credit card. This is because the lifestyle and the needs differ from person to person (and that is precisely the reason why every credit card supplier offers so many different kinds of credit cards). It might be true in some cases (where the lifestyle of two individuals/friends is similar) that the credit card deal which is good for one be good for the other too, however, this is just in a few cases.
You can always check with your friend who has recently got a credit card deal, since that might cut down the time needed for researching/hunting-for a good credit card deal. However, it?s really a matter of evaluating your own needs. If you travel a lot and to far off places by air, a card that offers you good rewards/rebates/benefits on travel would comprise a good credit card deal. Sometimes the airlines themselves have their own credit card issuing/supplying company from where you can get a good credit card deal. For people shopping at a particular retail store or a shop, a good credit card deal would be a card that offers discounts, rebates and rewards on shopping. Again, the retail stores themselves might have credit cards on offer that could be beneficial to you. Then there are credit card deals that are linked to gasoline stores or big grocery chains. If you don?t have any specific needs, you might use a general purpose credit card that gives reward points on every purchase you make on your credit card. These points can then be redeemed for cash/rewards. Hence, this card could become a good credit card deal for you.
Good, for credit card deals, is really a relative term and there is no credit card deal which is equally good for all.
Credit card debt consolidation
Credit card debt is a nightmare of a problem and unfortunately there a lot of people who face this today (and if others don?t pay heed, they might get trapped into credit card debt too). Credit card debt consolidation is generally regarded as the most important step in credit card debt reduction and elimination.
So what is ?Credit card debt consolidation??
Credit card debt consolidation is the process/strategy to consolidate debt from multiple credit cards into lesser number of credit cards (ideally one or two credit cards). Credit card debt consolidation is sometimes also referred as a balance transfer where you transfer your balance on one credit card to another credit card. Generally, the balance transfer (or credit card debt consolidation) is done from credit cards with higher APR to credit cards with lower APR. Credit card debt consolidation can also be achieved by going for a bank loan (at a lower interest rate) and using that towards paying the debt on the higher APR credit cards. This loan is then paid-back to the bank in the form of monthly instalments.
As you would have noticed, a lot of credit card suppliers and banks keep coming out with attractive offers for Credit card debt consolidation (or balance transfers). There is no dearth of 0% APR offers for credit card debt consolidation. However, credit card debt consolidation is a serious exercise and you must exercise caution so that you don?t get into deeper trouble. When going for credit card debt consolidation, you must properly analyze the offers from various banks and credit card suppliers. Check the time period for which 0% APR is being offered and also the APR that would be applicable after the lapse of that period. Generally, 0%APR is valid for a 6-12 month period only. So, if you are confident of paying back a considerable amount of debt in that period, this kind of credit card debt consolidation will work for you even if the APR (post 0% period) is a bit higher. However, if that is not the case, the long term APR is going to be the most important thing for you. If the long term APR is more than the APR for your current credit card, this kind of Credit card debt consolidation will be futile for you. Also, check processing charges etc before you actually go for balance transfer or credit card debt consolidation with another supplier/bank. Another good idea is to check with your current credit card supplier and see if they can offer a lower APR to you in order to help you in clearing off your debt (you would be surprised that they do oblige at times and hence eliminate the need for credit card debt consolidation).
It?s important that, with credit card debt consolidation, you also inculcate good spending habits; otherwise credit card debt consolidation would really be of no use to you.
Accept credit card
?We accept credit cards?
?We accept credit cards? is a statement that you must have come across multiple times at various shops, grocery stores and other merchant outlets. This statement is generally accompanied by a few stickers (Visa/Master card etc). Credit cards have transformed the businesses and our lives to a great extent. A few years back there were just a handful of shops that would accept credit cards but today you will find that most of the shops accept credit cards. In fact, some shops (like those belonging to a big retail chain) not only accept credit cards but also supply credit cards. These credit cards entitle you for rebates when you use them at any of the stores of that retail chain.
With credit cards around, a lot of people have stopped carrying any cash with them or just carry a very small amount of cash with them. That means that any shop that doesn?t accept credit cards is potentially losing customers. In fact, this is one reason why almost every merchant accepts credit cards.
With the evolution of internet, credit card industry too took a new turn and up came ecommerce and e-shops. So, those stickers of ?We accept credit cards?, moved on to the doors of internet shops. Thus came the era where almost every online-shop would accept credit cards (directly or indirectly). In fact, this was the premise on which the complete online-business industry was based. This is convenience at its best.
Fraud is associated with almost every financial instrument. So there came fraudsters too, who too said that ?We accept credit cards?. These fraudsters use a lot of techniques to commit credit card related fraud. Some of them disguise themselves as online merchants who accept credit cards as mode of payment (the actual motive being extraction of critical credit card details). Others are people who work at merchant shops that accept credit cards. These fraudsters either clone the credit cards or just note critical information from them (and use that for online-shopping). Some other fraudsters lure innocent people into revealing credit card details in chat rooms. And then there are tech-savvy fraudsters who use computer programs/softwares/devices (called spyware) to spy on the people who use their credit cards for online payments. The spyware capture their credit card information and get it transmitted to the spy using internet.
So a lot of merchants and service providers do accept credit cards but keep in mind that the fraudsters too welcome/accept credit cards. This is something you surely need to be careful about.
Credit card offer
So many credit card offers, what to do?
Just browse through the daily newspaper and you will be overwhelmed by the number of credit card offers advertised. Move around the town and you will find credit card offers being advertised everywhere. Same is the case is with television which seems to host a number of credit card offers too. So, the credit card offers are there everywhere. Why are there so many credit card offers? Well, quite simply because credit card business is a highly profitable business for the credit card suppliers.
In this situation, when there is no dearth of credit card offers, which is the best credit card offer?
There is nothing like a best credit card offer, really. A better question to ask would be ? ?Which credit card offer is the best for me?? The spending habits of one person are different from that of another person. Their living styles vary and hence their needs vary too. So for deciding on which credit card offer is best for you, you need to evaluate your needs vis-?-vis your lifestyle and your spending habits (and not go just by the recommendation of someone). For example, if you frequently travel by air, a co-branded airline credit card might be more suited to you than the general purpose one. These airline credit cards offer discounts, rebates and other kind of rewards when the credit card is used for making payments (the rewards are even higher when these credit cards are used for paying for the airline tickets or other airline products). Similarly, if you have a favourite retail store where you do a lot of your shopping, it would be beneficial to check if the retailer is a credit card supplier too and if there is a credit card offer that suits you. A lot of big retail chains do offer co-branded credit cards to their customers and these credit cards offer rebates/discounts etc when they are used for making payments at the retail store. As such, you get reward points for making payments at any place but the rewards are higher on the payments made at retail store. On similar lines, we have credit cards for gas stations and grocery stores too, which you can opt for if you have a favourite gas station or a favourite grocery store where you shop a lot.
So, if you look around, you will find a lot of lucrative credit card offers. However, this doesn?t mean that you enrol for all the credit card offers. You need to first evaluate your needs and rank them. Then you need to evaluate what all credit card offers suit your needs. And finally you can make your choice and go for a credit card offer that covers most of your needs and gives maximum benefits.
