THE MONEY WELL
Money & Personal Finance
THE MONEY WELL
Copyright @
Moneywell.co.uk 2006-2007
Money &
Debt Reduction
Moneywell.co.uk 2006-2007
Money &
Debt Reduction
Think Before You Use Your Credit Card
Many of us buy things with our credit cards without giving much thought to the consequences of the purchase.
When you buy with a credit card it really doesn’t feel like you are spending money. These days the only thing you have to give the store is your pin number. Your brain just does not compute this as spending money. You don’t even see the result of your purchase on you credit card statement for anything up to a month. The purchase is totally removed from the cost so we see them as different things. It doesn’t feel like you have really spent money and, of course, the credit card companies love this because you spend money with a clear conscience and they make lots of money from you.
So what can you do about this? You need to think about every purchase you make with your credit card. Do not just hand it over while you think about something else. Get into the habit of thinking about your credit card statement every time you use the credit card. Think about how long it will take to pay off that item you are just buying. Ask yourself if the price you are paying for the item plus the interest still makes the purchase look like a good deal. Then think what else you might have done with that same money if you didn’t make the purchase.
Get yourself into the habit of really thinking about what you are doing every time you use your credit card and you will discover that over time you will spend less and have more spending money. Thinking about your spending will start to make spending money on your credit card feel real and avoid some of those careless purchases we all make with our credit cards now and again.
Many of us buy things with our credit cards without giving much thought to the consequences of the purchase.
When you buy with a credit card it really doesn’t feel like you are spending money. These days the only thing you have to give the store is your pin number. Your brain just does not compute this as spending money. You don’t even see the result of your purchase on you credit card statement for anything up to a month. The purchase is totally removed from the cost so we see them as different things. It doesn’t feel like you have really spent money and, of course, the credit card companies love this because you spend money with a clear conscience and they make lots of money from you.
So what can you do about this? You need to think about every purchase you make with your credit card. Do not just hand it over while you think about something else. Get into the habit of thinking about your credit card statement every time you use the credit card. Think about how long it will take to pay off that item you are just buying. Ask yourself if the price you are paying for the item plus the interest still makes the purchase look like a good deal. Then think what else you might have done with that same money if you didn’t make the purchase.
Get yourself into the habit of really thinking about what you are doing every time you use your credit card and you will discover that over time you will spend less and have more spending money. Thinking about your spending will start to make spending money on your credit card feel real and avoid some of those careless purchases we all make with our credit cards now and again.