You may have noticed that I’ve never talked about credit cards here on Embracing Beauty and that’s because I’m pretty much an anti-credit card fanatic. I know that’s an unpopular opinion so I’ve chosen to stay silent rather than start a debate. The irresponsible use of credit cards has destroyed the lives of many people and I just hate to promote something that could be so harmful. While my attitude towards credit cards hasn’t changed I realize that people will continue to use them anyway. I admit that there are responsible people who can pay their monthly bills with a credit card and pay them off every month. My sister-in-law uses department stores credit cards and immediately following her purchase she’ll write them a check for the amount she just charged. If you are incredibly responsible I can see the possibility of earning rewards on the purchases you would make anyway.
When not to get a credit card:
- When you plan no using it with no hopes of paying it off in the near future.
- When there is an annual fee.
- When you don’t have a budget in place or a good handle on your finances.
- Make sure there is no annual fee.
- Be prepared to pay off the credit card balance in full each month.
- Find a card with a low interest rate (especially if you have a balance transfer).
- Find a card with a cash back or rewards program.
Money magazine recommends you pay special attention to the Schumer Box which is table in every credit card application. It basically tells you which parts of the credit card application that you should look for. Here’s a quick summary:
- An annual percentage rate of 11% or less on purchases.
- Low rates on other loans, such as cash advances or balance transfers.
- Reasonable penalty terms. Find the penalty rate (or default rate), and follow the asterisk to see what triggers it.
- Finance charges that are not computed using two-cycle billing. (Two-cycle is not good.)
- Annual fee.
Don’t do like I did many times and sign up for a credit card just because of the sign up bonus, extra discount, or worst of all, a stupid promotional item. {I never even liked that tote bag I got from Fashion Bug!} Take the application home with you and read through the terms and conditions. Try to have the mindset of car shopping. Go looking for the best deal you can find but don’t settle for a one-time bonus. You’ll want something that you can live with for the long term.
Can I be completely transparent with you? I work for a few affiliate companies but ya’ll knew that, right? If not, you can read my full disclosure policy here. Well, one of the companies is of offering a pretty substantial amount for everyone I can get to sign up for a particular credit card through my link. At first I was appalled at even the thought of promoting a credit card! After a few days I decided to do a little credit card research and if in fact this was a “good credit card” I would write and tell you all about it. To my surprise, it actually is! I don’t know everyone’s circumstance and what they are looking for in terms of rewards but if you’re insistent upon having a credit card this is legitimately a good one to have. CardRatings.com even listed this card as having the “Best Introductory Rate Credit Card” for 2012.
Which card am I talking about? The Discover card, specifically the Discover More Card! You can apply for a Discover More Card and receive a response within 60 seconds.
Again, I’m not encouraging anyone to sign up for a credit card but if you’re looking for one anyway this is one with a low interest rate, no annual fee, 5% cash back, and I get a little bit for you signing up. You can apply for a Discover More Card here.
Thank you for letting me be so open and honest, I appreciate it. 🙂
About Ashley
we are discover users too!!
I have decided to not use credit cards for a while. I want to pay off my debt.
I think that’s a great idea!
I’m not a fan of credit cards myself – never had one, don’t intend to – but everyone’s circumstances are different and I respect that many people need one for something out of their control (Like medical bills) or find ways that it works/makes sense for them.
Exactly! I have such smart friends!
Great tips. We haven’t used credit cards in ages. We still have them open but don’t rely on them like we used to thankfully.
I think we still have one too. Not an actual card just an account somewhere but I think the interest rate is up near 20% now. I hope we never need to use it!
I’m not a credit card lover either, although we have one. But as you mentioned, we pay it off in full every month and there is no annual fee. I DID make the mistake once of getting a card with a fee, and not realizing it – OUCH! Quickly cancelled that the next year (since I’d already paid the fee!). So yeah, you have to be SUPER careful and responsible to make the cards work FOR you… and many times in the long run it is just not worth it for a lot of ppl.
Credit cards can destroy people. You must be responsible with them. Discover card has always been a favorite of ours!
We have decided to live credit card free. Everyone always tells us “Well, you need one to build a credit history.” Well, I’m building a credit history just fine, thanks to my student loan repayments (ugh, another thing I shouldn’t have done, but when I started school that was just what you did – college was SO important that you should take out whatever loans you need to do it).
Yes, exactly! Besides buying a house I don’t see a need for a great credit score anyway. It’s just a number.