Crisp, folding banknotes may convey a feeling of wealth when they are sitting in your wallet, but a credit card, especially one with a comfortable credit limit that you can manage efficiently, tells the world that you are financially mature. Cash is outmoded, except for a few coins to buy a newspaper or a coffee, but a credit card is secure, Internet-friendly, and ready to take advantage of discounts whenever you are. It’s small, but it can travel the world; it says you are a good credit risk, and it helps you to stay that way by keeping track of what you spent. A credit card is an indispensable tool for the 21st century consumer.
• No need to carry cash
Making purchases in cash or by writing a check forces you to plan ahead. You either have to visit the bank and withdraw a pile of banknotes, or make sure that there is enough in your account to cover the check you plan to write. If you don’t end up buying the plasma TV today, you will have a lot of cash burning a hole in your pocket, or lying idle in a checking account when it could have been earning money in a savings deposit. Those bulky banknotes can be easily lost or stolen, and so can credit cards, but you can’t phone the bank and tell them not to let somebody else use your lost or stolen dollar bills. Credit cards are much more secure than cash.
• Use a credit card online
You’ve found the perfect birthday gift for Mom on Amazon or e-Bay, but you don’t have a PayPal account. You add the item to your cart and proceed to the virtual checkout, and begin sliding banknotes into the DVD slot. Or not. Until the invention of cash teleporting, credit cards remain the ultimate, flexible, electronic purchasing tool for buying goods online.
• Take advantage of discounts
If you spot an item you’ve been longing for, on sale at an unbeatable discount price, a credit card allows you to make the purchase even if the banks are closed. It may not be there tomorrow because the deal may be available just for today, or the store may be rushed by other customers and sell all their stock. With a credit card in your pocket you can take advantage of sales and special offers, instead of having to pay top dollar just because you didn’t have cash in your pocket at the right time.
• Time to pay
A credit card earns its name by actually giving you credit, which means that you don’t have to pay right away. If you manage your finances efficiently, you can use this to your advantage by waiting until the last day of the interest-free period each month, and then paying off the entire balance before it starts costing you money in interest. Even if you can’t pay off the balance, you still have time to pay, in fact as much time as you want if you are prepared to keep on paying the card company’s interest charges.
• Owning a credit card says you’re a good credit risk
The word ‘credit’ is derived from the Latin word ‘credo’, meaning ‘I believe’. The credit card company believes that you are a good risk. They believe that you have the financial resources to pay your debt, even if the repayment will be at some future date. Be proud of your credit card, because it says that someone believes you are financially sound.
• Keep track of your expenditure
Receiving your monthly credit card statement is rather like having a personal bookkeeper. All your major expenditure for the last 30 days is recorded, and you can see how much you spent on groceries, how much on movies or music and your phone. If you quickly add up the various categories and write the totals at the bottom of the page, you have a starting point for a financial budget. Some credit card companies even do this task for you, classifying your spending and giving you a monthly and annual report. A credit card helps you to keep track financially.
• Use your card overseas
A credit card crosses international borders without a passport and speaks all languages. With a credit card in your pocket you won’t need to carry traveler’s checks, and you will need just a minimum of foreign currency banknotes for minor purchases. Even though the card issuer may charge you a foreign currency transaction fee, you still come out ahead because a currency exchange bureau will charge a commission, and if you are visiting more than one foreign country you may end up paying commission multiple times as you continually switch currencies. Credit cards take the hassle out of paying in a foreign currency.
• Cards are small and easy to carry
You can slip a credit card in a pocket or in an evening purse without the unsightly bulge created by a roll of banknotes. It’s your back up plan, your secure friend in case you end up stranded and need a taxi or a motel room. You can take it just about anywhere, and it will sit quietly until you need it, at which point it will perform as promised.
Every adult should carry a credit card, even if they don’t expect to use it. It’s far more secure than cash, it can be used on the Internet, it lets you buy discounted goods today that you don’t need to pay for until the end of the month, or the end of the year if you so choose. You are a good credit risk in the eyes of a least one financial institution, when you carry their card, and they’ll send you a monthly statement that will help you to track where your money went, which may have been on an overseas holiday. It measures just 2 inches by 3½ inches, but it packs a lot of punch.