Credit cards.... What a crazy idea. With a flick of the wrist, and a quick swipe, a piece of plastic that is worth no more than a few cents is suddenly worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. Who came up with this idea? It's so convenient! It's brilliant! It has to be too good to be true...... It is.
Although having a credit card is quite convenient and makes things a heck of a lot easier, there is always a catch. With the privilege of having a credit card comes a lot of responsibility. That means that about 100% of my college friends should not have access to
student credit cards. I'm sure the majority of people out there know what a credit card is and what it entails, but for the small number that think its a magic card that lets you buy things that daddy pays for later, I would like to burst your bubble if you don't mind.
A credit card is a small plastic card that allows its owner to buy goods and services with the knowledge that the amount must be paid back. A credit card, in contrast to a charge card, allows users to keep money on their balance in the exchange that an interest amount is charged. However, a charge card balance must be paid in full each month.
This is where the responsibility part comes into play. An enormous amount of money can be lost on interest rates and this is the way that most credit card issuers generate their revenue. Typical credit card interest rates range between 7 and 36% depending on the borrowers credit history. This can turn out to be a lot of interest rate due if the credit card is not properly handled by its owner.
To sum it up, credit cards are a very useful and practical tool if handled responsibly. If this is not done, you are going to have to pay for that nice new flat screen TV three times over due to the amount of interest that builds up. My advise....See if Daddy will pay for everything.
