John Costello CPA How to Find the Cheapest Interest Rate on A Credit Card

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 John Costello CPA How to Find the Cheapest
Interest Rate on A Credit Card

• John Costello CPA Skilled tips provider. Credit
  cards are essential in modern day society. They
  help individuals to build credit and purchase the
  things that they need. When it comes to accepting
  a credit card, making an educated decision is
  important. It is also important to use credit
  cards wisely, so as to avoid financial pitfalls.
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• When you are unable to pay off one of your credit
  cards, then the best policy is to contact the
  credit card company. Letting it just go to
  collections is bad for your credit score. You
  will find that most companies will let you pay it
  off in smaller amounts, as long as you don't keep
  avoiding them.
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• If you see any suspicious charges to your credit
  card, call your credit card company right away.
  This gives the credit card companies the most
  opportunity to catch the person responsible. This
  will also prevent you from becoming responsible
  for too many unauthorized charges. Credit card
  companies have an interest in making it easy to
  report fraud. Usually, it is as quick as a phone
  call or short email.
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• John Costello CPA Skilled tips provider. The
  majority of people do not deal with credit cards
  in the proper manner. Although it is possible to
  get into debt in times of crisis, it should not
  be a regular occurrence under ordinary
  circumstances or a result in spending beyond your
  means, which leaves you with payments you cannot
  make. What you want to do is pay off your balance
  every month. This will allow you to use your
  credit cards while maintaining a low balance and
  raising your credit score.
•  

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A co-signer can help you obtain a credit card if
you have yet to establish credit. A parent or
other relative may be willing to be a co-signer.
Your co-signer must sign a statement that makes
them responsible for the balance if you default
on the debt. This works great for getting a first
credit card that you can use for building
credit.   Always sign the back of any new credit
card as soon as you receive them. A lot of people
forget to sign the back of their credit cards and
this can have bad consequences if a credit card
is stolen. Many merchants require the cashier to
verify the signature matches so that you can keep
your card safer. In order to keep a good credit
rating, be sure to pay your bills on time. Avoid
interest charges by picking a card that has a
grace period. Then you can pay the entire balance
that is due each month. If you cannot pay the
full amount, pick a card that has the lowest
interest rate available.   John Costello CPA
Skilled tips provider. To make sure you select an
appropriate credit card based on your needs,
determine what you would like to use your credit
card rewards for. Many credit cards offer
different rewards programs such as those that
give discounts on travel, groceries, gas or
electronics so pick a card that suits you
best!   Always know what your utilization ratio
is on your credit cards. This is the amount of
debt that is on the card versus your credit
limit. For instance, if the limit on your card is
500 and you have a balance of 250, you are
using 50 of your limit. It is recommended to
keep your utilization ratio of around 30, in
order to keep your credit rating good.  
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Live by a zero balance goal, or if you can't
reach zero balance monthly, then maintain the
lowest balances you can. Credit card debt can
quickly spiral out of control, so go into your
credit relationship with the goal to always pay
off your bill every month. This is especially
important if your cards have high interest rates
that can really rack up over time.   John
Costello CPA Skilled tips provider. There are
many different kinds of credit cards that each
come with their own pros and cons. Before you
settle on a bank or specific credit card to use,
be sure to understand all of the fine print and
hidden fees related to the different credit cards
you have available to you.   It is best to stay
away from charging holiday gifts and other
holiday-related expenditures. If you can't afford
it, either save to buy what you want or just buy
less-expensive gifts. Your best friends and
relatives will understand that you are on a
budget. You can always ask ahead of time for a
limit on gift amounts or draw names. The bonus is
that you won't be spending the next year paying
for this year's Christmas!   Discuss lowering
your interest rates with the credit card
companies you use. If you have built a positive
relationship with the company, they may reduce
your interest rate. It never hurts to ask, and
you could possibly save a bundle!   John Costello
CPA Skilled tips provider. Don't place your
credit card number on anything that is visible to
the public. This includes on the backs of
postcards, on the outside of envelopes, and on
publicly visible (and unsecure) areas of social
media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Sharing your information on mail or on social
media can lead to serious credit theft.  
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When using your credit card online, only use it
at an address that begins with https\\. The "s"
indicates that this is a secure connection that
will encrypt your credit card information and
keep it safe. If you use your card elsewhere,
hackers could get hold of your information and
use it for fraudulent activity.   There are so
many cards available that you should avoid
signing up with any company that charges you a
monthly fee just for having the card. This will
end up being very costly and might end up making
you owe much more money to the company, than you
can comfortably afford.   John Costello CPA
Skilled tips provider. Credit is something that
is on the minds of individuals everywhere, and
the credit cards that help individuals to
establish that credit arenol as well. This
article has provided some valuable tips that can
help you to understand credit cards, and use them
wisely. Using the information to your advantage
will make you an informed consumer.