Your Guide to Credit and Personal Finance

If you have checked your mailbox recently, you may have noticed the amount of envelopes for credit card offers. One that may have attracted your attention is the 0 APR credit card. But what exactly does it mean? In a world where hundreds of companies are trying to sell us something or the other, it is better to take a look at these offers and find out more about them instead of making a hasty decision.

What is a 0 APR Credit Card?

Actually, the first question is what APR stands for. The Annual Percentage Rate or APR is the amount of money that a bank charges you in a year. This money includes the interest rates that they assign to each one of your charges and the administrative fees of the financial institution. By law, every company that offers a credit card has to disclose this information.

In this case, a 0 APR credit card means that the bank won’t charge you interest or administrative fees for the advertised period of time. Sounds great, doesn’t it? This offer means that regardless of how much you use your 0 APR credit card, you will not have to pay any related fees.

So, where is the catch? It’s quite simple. The bank wants to maintain a long term relationship with you. They can survive for one year without charging you their fees and rates, but after that period of time you will start paying them. It is a marketing tool for increasing their client base and both the consumers and the banks can benefit from it.

Is it Right for Me?

It depends. For example, let’s say that you are not interested in airline miles or cash back options for using your credit card and you only want to find a card that will not bleed you with ‘extras’ each month, then a 0 APR credit card is an excellent choice.

On the other hand, if you can afford to pay a monthly interest and are very interested in other perks like airline rewards, then a 0 APR credit card should not be your first choice.

Banks have become very creative in the products they entice you with. You may see that 0 APR credit card have periods of time that go from 6 to 15 months and beyond, and may even offer some additional benefits.

Before signing on the dotted line for a new 0 APR credit card, or any other kind of credit card for that matter, do your homework. Compare apples to apples and research the different options that are offered in the market to find a 0 APR credit card that suits your financial lifestyle.

When deciding which credit card to start with, you should sit down and evaluate some things about yourself. For instance, are you someone who procrastinates? Do you have steady income that will allow you to pay the bills? Why do you want a credit card in the first place? It is very important to be honest with yourself when you answer these questions because it is easy to get into a hole that you can’t crawl out from. Even if you feel like you are the most irresponsible person on earth, but you still want a credit card, a good one to get is the American Express green card. The Amex card has to be paid off every month, and you may be willing to spend less if you know that there is not going to be a minimum balance.

Finding the right one  can be confusing because there are a lot of things to keep up with like APR, annual fees, and hidden charges. The best way to compare credit cards is to compare the APRs. The general rule is that the lower the APR, the lower the cost of money. Try to look out for the hidden charges that are behind the various offers. Sometimes companies like to hide things away in the fine print. Even if fine print annoys you, you should try to read it. There are often times charges for charging more than your credit limit, late fees, or periodic finance charges. Little charges here and there will end up costing you massive amounts in the long run.

When you use your first  card there are some rules that you should follow. You should always shred your receipts, and also shred any credit card offers that you are not considering. Do not ever give your  number over the phone unless you are the one who initiated the phone call to the company that you are ordering things from, or trying to get a bill paid. Keep the customer service numbers of all of your credit cards in a safe place. Sometimes companies will send you a new card and it will get lost in the mail, an automated system will ask for your information before it will let you proceed, however, if you don’t have a customer service number, you will have to wait until your next bill comes in. You would think that calling the store would help, but incompetence runs rampant in all parts of the world.

When you do finally get your new credit card remember that it is not free money. Everything you spend you will have to pay back. It is all too easy to fall into spending carelessly and getting yourself into trouble when the bills come due. Know your limits and what you are capable of and use your card wisely.

Stepping into the adult world presents a lot of new issues you may never have considered before. Among these new problems is how to establish credit. So many people find themselves ready to leave their parents’ home to get a home or apartment of their own only to find out that they can’t get certain things like a place to live and the utilities that go with it because they don’t have sufficient credit. Sometimes having no credit can be worse than having bad credit. When you are trying to get a loan for a car or a house your future creditors want to make sure you can pay the loan back. They have no records to look at to tell them if you will do this or not. It might sound like a Catch 22, but you will have to start by getting a credit card and making a few purchases.

When deciding which credit card to start with, you should sit down and evaluate some things about yourself. For instance, are you someone who procrastinates? Do you have steady income that will allow you to pay the bills? Why do you want a credit card in the first place? It is very important to be honest with yourself when you answer these questions because it is easy to get into a hole that you can’t crawl out from. Even if you feel like you are the most irresponsible person on earth, but you still want a credit card, a good one to get is the American Express green card. The Amex card has to be paid off every month, and you may be willing to spend less if you know that there is not going to be a minimum balance.

We have all heard the phrase “Read the small print”. True, one glance at half a page full of tiny print might make you want to disregard it, but in fact it would do you well to at least make an attempt to read it. The small print on your credit agreement could hold a lot of information that will save you money. Often there is information about hidden fees or fees you will be charged for spending over your limit. There might also be annual fees, or possibly a rate change that might go into effect after a certain period of time. Most companies won’t accept the excuse “I didn’t know” when they want to get paid. It is in your best interest to wade through that chunk of information so you don’t get caught off guard with a charge you weren’t expecting.

When you use your first credit card there are some rules that you should follow. You should always shred your receipts, and also shred any credit card offers that you are not considering. Do not ever give your credit card number over the phone unless you are the one who initiated the phone call to the company that you are ordering things from, or trying to get a bill paid. Keep the customer service numbers of all of your credit cards in a safe place. Sometimes companies will send you a new card and it will get lost in the mail, an automated system will ask for your information before it will let you proceed, however, if you don’t have a customer service number, you will have to wait until your next bill comes in. You would think that calling the store would help, but incompetence runs rampant in all parts of the world.

When you do finally get your new credit card remember that it is not free money. Everything you spend you will have to pay back. It is all too easy to fall into spending carelessly and getting yourself into trouble when the bills come due. Know your limits and what you are capable of and use your card wisely.