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| (Image from Finance Guide) |
My Point Of View On...
Credit Cards
1. Always check credit card offers for the interest rate(s), the minimum payment due each month (which should be a percentage of your monthly balance), as well as check for any annual fees, or other fees, that you might incur on your credit card account before you apply for that card!
2. Always know whether, or not, you can afford to pay your minimum payment(s) on your credit card(s) should you ever "max out" your entire credit line, so that you don't ever end up not being able to pay your minimum payment(s).
3. Always pay your minimum payment(s) on time!
4. If possible, sign up for automatic monthly payments in order to maintain your good credit rating by never, ever missing your minimum payment(s) on your credit card(s).
5. If possible, make more than your minimum payment(s) on your credit card(s), since the minimum payment on most credit card(s) only barely covers the amount of your interest payment and, thusly, that minimum payment cannot really pay down your principle balance at all.
6. If possible, have enough money saved in order to pay off your entire credit line in case of emergencies! That way, you can have your entire credit line available for emergencies—so that you can spend all the way back up to your credit limit—with minimum payments which you know that you can already afford.
7. If possible, don't let your credit limit be the only reason that you stop spending on your credit card(s).
8. If possible, only charge non-consumable, or non-perishable, items on your credit card(s). That way, you are not paying interest on any consumable, or perishable, purchases.
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Math Magician)
"I can explain everything!"
My Mathematical Notes:
The reason that I wrote this prose can be summed up with the following statement: I micromanage my finances in order to know how to use credit wisely and also so that I know where every penny that I spend is going!
And this prose was also published on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this prose applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."
This prose was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com
July 18th, 2016 Update: If possible, get out of credit card debt and utilize the money that you save on minimum payments and interest for other purchases. I am out of debt as of January 2016! And I use the money that I save from minimum payments and interest for other purchases, such as charitable donations. –Paul Whiting (written July 18th, 2016, revised October 24th, 2021 and revised June 18th, 2022)
April 14th, 2018 Update: I decided to allow myself to use my available credit card line for when I need to purchase things that I do not want to purchase using my debit card or cash (such as items that I buy on sale), so that I can "buy now and pay later..." And, therefore, I am back into debt as of January 2017! However, I try to be as wise as I can be when utilizing credit; for example, I try to only purchase "non-consumable," or "non-perishable" items (like clothes, home furnishings, appliances, etc.), when I charge purchases to a credit card. That way, I am only paying interest on purchases that are going to be around for a while, rather than paying interest on purchases that I will simply consume immediately. Also, as of March 2018, I am budgeting to pay more than my minimum payment on each of my credit cards. That way, if I totally max out my credit line, I can still afford to pay the minimum payment on each of my credit cards, plus pay additional payments on each card in order to help pay off the principle balance. –Paul Whiting (written April 14th, 2018, revised April 21st, 2018, revised December 26th, 2019 and revised June 18th, 2022)
September 6th, 2018 Update: So, I was totally out of credit card debt (as of January 2016) and, then, I decided to allow myself to utilize my credit line! So, I am back into credit card debt, as of January 2017; however, I am trying to control my spending. Plus, I am making extra payments on my credit card debt in order to pay down the principle balance. In addition to that, when I charge purchases to my credit line, I try to make sure that I am only charging items that are '"not consumable." That way, I am only paying interest on purchases that will last a long time! And, then, if I do buy something "consumable" (such as food that is on sale, which I am buying in bulk in order to save money), then I charge that to a specific credit card which I have designated to not carry the balance of all those "non-consumable" purchases! And, consequently, I pay off that specially-designated credit card as quickly as I can, once I have made those consumable purchases... –Paul Whiting (written September 6th, 2018, revised October 19th, 2018, revised December 26th, 2019 and revised June 18th, 2022)
December 26th, 2019 Update: I decided to totally get out of credit card debt (again) as of December 2019—since I was almost at my credit card limit on the one credit card that I have available. (I used to have two credit cards, but I cancelled one of them.) And I realized that it was going to take too long to pay off that debt with just the minimum payment and one extra payment that I was making—due to still making occasional purchases, which would put my total balance back up toward my credit limit. So, I decided to throw everything that I had at the balance on my credit card and I paid it off! Now, I am trying to only use my credit card for really important purchases; plus, I am trying to treat my credit card as if I am getting a term loan from a bank! –Paul Whiting (written December 26th, 2019 and revised October 24th, 2021 and revised June 18th, 2022)
This "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" Post No. 002/001 was edited on June 26th, 2024.
By the way, the reason that this post has such an odd numbering system is because I published this post, "My Point Of View On Credit Cards," and the post before it, "My Point Of View On Budgeting," on the same day and and at the same time! And, for some reason, the order in which these two posts appear on my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" blog keeps alternating back and forth—I am assuming since they were both published within the same minute on the same day—so that is why I gave both of these posts an alternated numbering system.
"Prose is using all of the words that are necessary in order to describe all that is necessary to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
