The numbers vary on how many credit cards each person carries. I've seen it stated anywhere from five to fifteen counting bank cards, gas cards, and department store charge cards. But there are still those hold outs, people who don't have any credit cards at all.
If you're one of these lucky people and reading this on the internet, chances are you've seen something online that you wanted to buy, but the problem was you needed at least an online credit card to pay for it. That's where the prepaid debit card can come in handy for those wanting to avoid credit card debt.
With a regular credit card, the issuer lends the money to the consumer who in turn pays for the charge at a later date. There are those who pay the entire bill due upon receipt of their monthly statement. However, many of us run a balance each month and pay an affordable portion of the bill and are charged an agreed upon interest for the outstanding balance. Believe me when I say, it's easy for that balance to creep up before you finally realize it's in the thousands of dollars of an unsecured debt you then owe.
For those of you who don't want to take a chance on getting yourself in that situation, you avoid credit cards completely. But that can be a problem if you want to take advantage of so many outstanding offers available on the internet. Without an online credit card you may want to look into a prepaid debit card.
With a prepaid debit card you deposit the funds with the financial institution in advance. You receive a card that looks the same as any other credit card and you can use it just like a regular card wherever their logo is displayed. The difference is the amount charged is then taken from the credit balance you maintain with the issuer.
Many of you don't like to carry that much cash around. I know with me, I can go thru cash like water. But if I have to charge it, even with a prepaid debit card, I think twice. Plus I can keep better track of where that money goes. People spend a lot of money on credit and with consumer debt levels continuing to rise dramatically, people are spending a larger and larger proportion of their incomes on credit and financing charges in particular. Car payments, mortgage payments, credit cards, store cards, personal loans, all forms of debt and bank overdrafts; they all combine to take up and eat away at an ever-increasing proportion of our income. Therefore it is more important than ever that we make sure we are getting ourselves the best deals possible when we shop for credit.
Shopping Around for Your Credit
The cardinal rule when seeking to take out new credit, especially for credit cards, is to shop around; this should be a prerequisite for almost any product that you buy, be it financial or not. Shopping around for credit cards is made even more important because of the fact that interest rates can vary so much between lenders. While some credit cards offer rates of around ten per cent, others are up in the region closer to thirty per cent. You do not want to be paying more than you have to for anything, and especially not for your credit card.
What is APR?
The APR is a useful figure for using when comparing rates as it is a standard figure calculated in the same way by all lenders and means you can use it to compare the true cost of credit no matter who you are borrowing from.
Use APR to Compare the Credit Cards on Offer
Using the APR is a very powerful tool; in fact the majority of the population owe the credit card company and are currently paying these exorbitant rates of interest. If you are with the majority and know that you can’t pay your balance in full then you should be seeking the cheapest credit card deal available.
By comparing all the interest rates available from different lenders, you will not only find which card is cheapest, but also which has the best extra incentives, and other advantages which I will explain briefly below.
But There’s More - Reward Credit Cards
The APR, as we have mentioned, is a very important factor in the credit card comparison process. However, other important factors to consider are whether you will gain from any promotional benefits that the credit card company is providing. This can be a personal matter, but your interests can be catered for with many of the various reward credit cards available. You can earn reward points or cash back with many of the deals available online, basically getting some of the benefits that the credit card company make from you returned to you. However please note, that many of these reward deals do have a higher rate of interest and if you don’t clear your balance every month then these ‘free’ gifts could turn out to be extremely expensive.
Online Credit Card Deals
Luckily, shopping for credit cards online has become far easier than it used to be. Today, you can visit the websites of lenders and find all the relevant information right there. You can even fill out online application forms and get a quote instantly, and find out if you qualify for their offers or not. This is a major benefit of shopping online as the more card providers you check out, the better chance you are giving yourself of finding the absolutely best deals available online.
Get To The Credit Card Comparison Site
Another advantage of shopping for credit online is that you can visit a website that provides rate comparators and will tell you all the offers currently on the market and all you have to do is choose the one with the best rates. The link will be provided so you can go straight to the lender from the website you are visiting and in some cases you will even be able to apply for credit from various providers at one easy to use site.
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