The Foolish Way To Use Credit Cards

Banking and Borrowing

15 May 2006 | 0 Comments

Have you fallen for the 'buy now, pay later' trap? If so, you're not paying interest, are you?

Last night, while I was practising being a Sunday night couch potato, I took a look around my sitting room and all the 'stuff' that is in it. And I realised that absolutely everything in that room is paid for. In fact, everything in the house is paid for. How about you?Your widescreen plasma TV? Your sound system? The three-piece suite?If you're still paying for any of them then you probably bought them on your credit card which, despite the many advantages, is usually one of the most expensive ways of borrowing money if you don't pay off the balance in full every month.As consumers, many of us are becoming savvy enough to look for the cheapest interest rates and are getting quite shameless in our willingness to transfer our loyalties at the drop of a hat. But many people are still not bothering and if it's not occurred to you to take action yet then perhaps it's about time you did. Why pay interest when you don't have to?The Foolish way to use credit cards entails:transferring expensive balances to zero-interest rate credit cardsgoing for the lowest interest rate card possible for new purchases if you need to use your credit card regularly - there are several providers offering introductory 0% dealsgoing for the maximum interest-free period possible.keeping an eye on short-term introductory rates and switching to a new card when your time is up.Obviously, if you always pay off your card in full every month then a cashback deal is probably the route to take. The precise combination of interest rates, interest-free periods and benefits is different for every card and we all have different needs and wants. The important thing is to make sure that your borrowing is costing as little as possible.> Compare 0% deals our credit card centre.

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