How to Use a Credit Card and Never Worry About Interest Charges
By: Pastor Greg Baker
Credit cards are very dangerous. If you haven’t learned how to use them properly, then the best things you can do is cut them up and get rid of them. As a pastor of a Church, I’ve advised many people to do just that. But there is a way to use your credit card so that you don’t have to pay interest, pay late fees, or even overspend.
Credit cards are the easiest way to build your credit. Yet it is also the easiest way to destroy your credit too. I’ll explain in detail what I do here, so that you’ll be in charge of the credit card, not the card company.
First, you need a budget. If you don’t have a clearly defined budget, then you can’t use your cards to your benefit. A budget tells you how much you can spend, where you can spend it, and when you can spend it. It is essential.
I use a budget program that I personally developed on Microsoft Access. You can design your own, or purchase one. You need something simple. Many of the family consumer products out there are either very complex or more of a glorified check register than a true budget program.
Once you have your budget in place, you can now use your credit card in the correct manner. Here is what I do:
- I look at my budget for a particular account. Let’s say, groceries and gasoline. I see that I have $50.00 in that account to spend on groceries, and $32.00 in gasoline.
- I then go to a local grocery store and spend $42.00 and pay for it with my credit card.
- I may stop at a gas station and fill up. However, I know that I only have $32.00 in that account, so I can’t quite fill all the way up. I stop filling up at exactly $32.00. I pay for this with the credit card too.
- When I come home, I go to my budget and immediately deduct the $42.00 from my budget account for groceries. This leaves $8.00 left in that particular account.
- I then deduct the $32.00 from the gasoline account which empties that account out completely.
- Later, when the bill for the card comes in, I pay it without wondering if I have the money for it or not. I’ve already accounted for it in my budget, so I simply send them a check and call it good. I am able to pay off the entire bill every month!
I follow this procedure religiously. The Bible tells me to know the state of my flocks, and I make every effort to do so. I want to know to the penny how much money I have at any given time.
Obviously, this procedure is dependent on having a good budget. If you don’t have one, get one. I’m able to pay off my card every month, completely, every time. I never worry about if I have the money to do so. I never worry about interest payments, late fees, or overspending.
Simply accounting for every charge on your card in your budget solves all of these problems.
Author Resource:-> Greg S. Baker is a Pastor, Counselor, and Author specializing in building and strengthening relationships.
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