How often have you seen someone going through their wallet searching for a credit card in the checkout line- and were shocked by the number of cards they had in their wallet? Credit cards can be used as a form of identification when applying for a major purchase, or when renting a car; and they can be used for convenient purchases that you wont have to pay for until a month after you buy them.
Except, thats not how it usually happens. Typically, people who have an abundance of credit cards use them frequently, and have to carry a balance from one month to the next because they are unable to pay each card off in full when the bills come in. So what happens then? Credit card holders are being charged high interest rates for each of their purchases, sometimes up to 24%! Credit cards are habit forming. It is very easy to pull out a piece of plastic, swipe it through the register and buy something you couldnt afford otherwise. Its tempting to think that the money will come later, and youll pay for it then. More often than not, the bills are more than the money you have later to pay them with. A study in 1999 showed that consumers in America used credit cards to charge over...