Credit cards are convenient, but theyre also dangerous. A lot of people ruin their financial lives by turning the phrase charge it into a reflex. Its a real problem, but this article explains how to make good use of credit cards and how to choose a good credit card. This information, by the way, applies both to using a credit card for personal expenses and to using a credit card for business expenses.
Selecting the Right Credit Card
Selecting a credit card is easy. If you dont carry charges forward from month to month, choose the card with the lowest annual fee. It doesnt matter to you if the credit card company charges a painfully high interest rate, since you pay only the annual fee if you pay your monthly credit card bill on time.
If you do carry a balance, it makes sense to choose the card with the lowest interest rate. Some credit card issuers play interest rate calculation tricks that make it very difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons of credit cards. But if you choose the credit card rate with the lowest annual percentage rate, youre doing about as well as you can.
The Right Way to Use a Credit Card
You shouldnt...