No matter how many times you hear “if you can’t pay cash, don’t buy it”, we ignore it. Face it. We live in a world where we need credit cards. Rich people, poor people, smart people, and stupid people all need credit. The problem is that too many of us turn into “stupid people” when we misuse the credit we have. Let’s talk about what are the best credit cards to have.

The problem to try to avoid with credit cards, however, is to refrain from using them for small purchases. You should be able to pay for your gas, groceries, lunches, and other incidentals during the week. This is how credit card balances creep up on us and we suddenly find ourselves drowning in debt.

When it comes to perhaps large purchases, credit is the way to go. Especially if you happen to be lucky enough to have a credit card with a high limit (that you can handle) and a low APR that hasn’t been increased by your bank because of the credit crunch of late. If your credit and credit card remain pretty much what they were a year ago, you might be good to go.

But, if you find that you need to make a fairly expensive purchase like maybe all new kitchen appliances, you should seriously consider apply for a card at the store you are buying from. Major retailers all over are competing for business and offering some incredible deals of perhaps 0% interest for a year or two. This is great – if you know you can pay it back on time. A bill for $5, 000 that you can pay over two years with no interest accumulating is really a good deal.

What the stores are hoping for, though, is that you are one of the many consumers who can’t pay off the entire balance. Why? Because the only way they make any money on these deals is to charge you the original interest of perhaps hundreds of dollars – on one bill. And you are expected to pay this whole thing at once! If you can’t, you just caused yet one more credit problem.

Another card you should have is one for general, small purchases during the week. Instead of carrying cash, use this card and pay it off every weekend, preferable online.

If you tend to spend about $100 a week on incidentals, this is what you need to plan to pay on this credit card perhaps each weekend. Otherwise, you’re in trouble again.

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categories: credit cards,credit