If youre like most Americans, offers for credit cards arrive in your mail on a daily basis. Why are credit card companies so eager for your business? There are many reasons.
Credit cards, for one thing, are not free cash. Funny enough, many customers think of them this way, and thataha!is how credit card companies make their money.
Youll notice when you read through the fine print about credit cards that there are varying APRs, or annual percentage rates. This refers to the amount of interest youll pay on credit card charges if you dont pay your monthly balance in full. Think about the last time you went shopping. Did you look at the tags and make sure everything you bought could be paid with your monthly paycheck? If not, you are a credit card companys dream come true. You see, these companies bank on the chance that consumers will use their credit cards to buy more than they can actually afford at the time of purchase. When the bill comes and it cant be paid in full, the customer pays interest on this borrowed amount, and that interest accrues daily. This money goes right into the credit card companys bank account. With thousands of customers falling into this...