Things to Keep in Mind About Credit Card Companies

When you own a credit card (or several), there are a number of factors to keep in mind whenever using them. Keeping your credit score up is of the utmost importance and there are so many different things that can affect your overall score.

But one constant that should be in the back of your mind regarding your card should be this: the credit card companies are not your friend. They want you to give them as much money as possible as often as you can until you aren’t around anymore.

Knowing this and keeping in mind some of these things will help you control your spending far better and keep you out of that dreaded debt.

Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Dig out of Debt

The ultimate goal of credit card companies is to keep you with a balance so that you keep paying them interest fees. The fact of the matter is that they do not have your best interests in mind and they do not want anything more than for you to keep giving them money.

This concept is called the “toad in the hole”. Essentially, they want us to jump into the debt hole but they don’t want us to climb out. This is to such an effect that some credit card companies will restrict the number of payments that you can make per month. They want those interest fees and they want you to get frustrated and act irresponsibly. Don’t let them win.

Watch out for Ghost Accounts

This type of occurrence can happen where you make your final payment, yet before the final payment posts, a hint of interest or a fee can pop up on your account. If you think you’re done with the account, you might not check on it and that small fee can add that APR, late fees, and more to that once tiny amount.

Keep your last statement and be sure to check on that account around a month after you close it. Make sure that it is a zero balance and have your statement to show that you’ve paid off the account. Like it was previously stated, credit card companies will take every measure to ensure that you never leave the hole and won’t tell you when these ghost accounts happen. You have to watch your own back.