Credit Cards Working For You?
How’re those credit card rewards working for you? Are those unusable air miles, or those tacky free gifts worth 4% extra on all your future purchases?! As of February 2013, stores will be allowed to charge you an extra 4% on top of your bill just for the privilege of using your flexible friend! Of course, debit card or cash users will not be charged.
Retailers have been pushing this law to pass for years, because until now, they were the ones footing the bill. But things are now about to change, with the new law being passed on January 25, 2013.
Imagine this, we could both go down to Walmart together, each purchase $500 worth of merchandise. I pay $500 with my debit card, you pay $520 with your credit card! An extra $20 is taken from you automatically at the checkout as a “perk” for using your credit card, that’s what I call an interesting reward system!
Say No to Credit Cards
As you may well know, I have never, and will never own a credit card. Yes, I am still alive! And yes I still regularly rent cars and check into hotel rooms with zero issues. I just use a debit card. It gives me the same ability to purchase things online, to buy gas and groceries, and has very similar security protection (which I have unfortunately had to prove a couple of times, in which cases i was 100% covered and never lost a penny). The only thing my debit card can not do is get me into debt!
Research shows that those who use credit cards over cash to make their purchases, on average spend an extra 12%! Add to that the new 4% charge, and you’re looking at up to 16% extra on your daily purchases. That’s not taking into consideration the huge interest rates that most credit card users end up paying eventually.
Makes those so called rewards and free gifts look a little less enticing? MASTER card and American DISTRESS, in my opinion, need to be avoided at all costs. The Bible clearly tells us “the borrower is slave to the lender”, this truth is becoming more evident every day!
Ashley goes into more depth about the truth on credit and debit cards and how to escape consumer debt, as well as money saving and money making tips, in his latest teaching series “Practical Prosperity”.