Marketing people are well trained to catch our attention and make us act like hypnotics and obey their loud commands printed all over the advertising pages, billboards and TV ads - luring commands like "Shop Now, Pay Later!", "Hurry! Limited Offer Only!", "2-Day Till Midnight Sale!", "Shop & Charge", "0% Interest Sale" and other similar marketing commands that most credit card holders are too much willing to obey.
Have you been obedient to them lately? Well, don't despair because there is hope for you. I should know because I was once like that too until I learned these 10 Proven Effective Ways To Save Money Using Credit Cards which you need to observe, and let me share them to you, as follows:
1. ANTICIPATE YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL
I am not sure if there is no real intent in delaying the delivery of credit card billing statements but is has often been my experience to receive my credit card bill late! The credit card company is very polite to call me and check if it's still happening and promise that they will improve on the next billing, which they did, but then after sometime here comes the late billing statement again.
But being the credit card holder, you can't use that as an excuse in not paying your bills. So to avoid getting penalized, I suggest that you call the credit card company and inquire of your Minimum Amount Due, your Due Date, and your Total Amount Due, so that even if the billing comes late, intentional or not, you will be able to prepare your payment to settle your account due.
2. ALWAYS PAY YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL ON TIME
Always take note of your Due Date, use your cellular phone calendar to remind you ahead of time so you won't fail in paying your credit card bill right on time. When I say "right on time", I think I need to clarify it here because there can be cases that even if you paid your bills right on the day it is due, and yet you still get charged with Late Payment charge and you end up wondering why.
Here's how it is: If you do your payment in their accredited Banks, make sure that you do your transaction in the first 2 hours of the banking hours so that the bank personnel will have enough time to check your payment and credit your payment exactly on the same day. This is much more applicable and real when you do your transaction in a stand alone unmanned credit card payment kiosks where you put your cash inside an envelope and drop it inside that lid. If you make such payment past noon, there is a great possibility that your payment envelope will be opened, counted and double checked and credited to the payee bank the following day. And by then you will have incurred charges for late payment.
There are also other convenient payment service centers inside the malls but you must double check with them first how long does it take them to remit the payments to the payee bank, because in most cases it normally take them 3 days to do the remittance, and that will expose you to late payment charges again, on top of the service fee you paid them for this "convenience". So better check with them first before handing over your payment.
3. MAKE SURE TO PAY MORE THAN THE MINIMUM AMOUNT DUE
The best way to save on Interest or Finance Charges is to pay off your entire credit every month. But if you cannot afford to do that, I suggest you always pay more than the Minimum Amount Due, because the longer it takes you to fully pay the total credit balance the more money you lost in interest rates which is around 2.25%-3.5% per month, that is 27%-42% interest in a year! No wonder these banks are offering us their credit cards left and right, even without applying for it.
4. PRIORITIZE PAYING OFF THE HIGH-INTEREST BEARING CREDIT CARD FIRST
If you happen to have more than one credit card, which I do, and if you have the extra money, it will help you save money if you pay in full the total amount due of the credit card that charges the highest interest rate of finance charge, while paying the minimum amount due of the other cards if that is what your budget permits you.
5. DO BALANCE TRANSFER
There are credit card companies that offer low transfer rates, it will be a great advantage to you if you transfer your balance to these banks provided that they also offer low monthly interest or finance charge.
6. BE HONEST AND NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR CREDITORS
There are unavoidable cases wherein your expenses suddenly goes up as compared to whatever amount of money you make for that given period, and if ever you are charged with a Late Payment Fee for your delayed monthly payment, try to negotiate with the creditor bank because they usually waive that especially if you have been a good payer. Remember, goodwill with your creditors is also an asset that you can actually bank on.
7. FIND THE BEST CREDIT CARD DEAL IN TOWN
Not all credit cards have the same interest rates, some charge you as low as 2.25% while others charge 3.5% per month. Other credit cards charge annual fees of 2,500 while the other cards charge as high as 5,000. There are also those who offer rebates for every purchase from their accredited outlets, stores, drugstores, movie house, etc. These are good offers that you can take advantage of, you just have to wisely pick what's best for you and suits your lifestyle and specific needs.
8. READ CAREFULLY THE FINE PRINT
Yes, the fine print at the back of each billing statement. We usually disregard this because it's too finely printed that it's hard to read sometimes, but it actually contains very vital information about how they deal with you, how and when and how much they charge you for late payments. It also contains some advice on things that you should avoid doing like spending beyond the card's credit limit because they will charge you certain penalties if you do.
9. READ AND REVIEW YOUR BILLS BEFORE PAYING THEM
Make it a habit to read and review your credit card billing statement and compare them with all the receipts that you accumulated (hope you still keep them). Overcharging or double charging can happen, it happened to me once. Also check if there are no transactions appearing which you know you never did, like a plane ticket 2 weeks when in fact you never did any travel for the last 6 months. Be wary of credit card fraud. It always helps to review each transaction before you pay them.
10. BEWARE OF SOME UNNECESSARY EXTRAS
Some credit card companies employ some accredited service providers who will call you and offer you extra services like credit insurance, disability insurance, credit protection and other "conveniences" that you don't actually need. If that's true in your case, you can just disregard them.
There are a lot more equally important and effective ways to save money using your credit card but I think this will suffice for now, you can subscribe for my future posts you will receive those other info.
It is not only about saving money using your credit card, but actually I learned a few strategies to make money using my credit card. Yes you can make money using credit card! I have been doing it and it is perfectly fine. Just watch for it, I will be posting them here.
In closing, I got this quote from Mr. Warren Buffett who once said:
"Rule No.1: NEVER LOSE MONEY.
Rule No.2: NEVER FORGET RULE NUMBER 1."
More Helpful Ideas:
1) How Kids Can Become Millionaires
2) The Story of A Young Filipino Multi-millionaire
3) Learn To Take Charge of Your Money
Thanks for dropping by.
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