by Joseph Kenny | 04/30/09
Everyone has credit cards, and now the temptation to misuse them is greater than ever. With prices going up and income staying the same at best, now more than ever you need to manage your credit cards wisely so that you do not find yourself in an even more difficult financial situation. By managing your credit cards well, you can avoid making a bad situation worse.
Choose When To Pay Your Bill
If you have multiple credit cards, as most people do, then it might be a good idea to change the due dates on your cards. If your credit cards are not serendipitously lined up as far as their payment due dates go already then it is time to change them.
You may be able to do it using the web sites of your credit cards, or you may have to do it on the telephone, but having the same due dates for each credit card bill can make your credit card bills infinitely easier to keep track of.
When your credit cards all have their due dates at different times of the month, it can be hard to keep track of which is due when. When you lose track, you may miss payments or not make a payment because you thought you already made it. By lining up the due dates, you can devote yourself to paying all your credit card bills at one time and not worry about which one is due this week.
Take Advantage Of Your Credit Card's Web Site
Paying online is a luxury that has only come into existence in recent memory, and you should take advantage of it. The old practice of sitting down to write out several checks and mail them in is no longer the fastest or most convenient way to handle credit card bills.
Using the online bill paying options on credit card web sites allows you to click the buttons on your mouse a couple times each month to take care of all your credit card payments. You will not have to worry about postage, using up all your checks, or transportation time.
All you have to do is pick one day each month to sit down and click to pay all your credit card bills. It saves you time, effort, and frustration. Do you want to spend any more time paying your bills than you really have to?
You could even go so far as to select the automatic payment option. This way you will not even have to remember to pay bills. The thing you have to remember with this option is that you must be sure to always have enough money in your account to make the payments.
You also want to make sure that your set amount is always either the full balance on your credit card or greater than the amount that is due. You do not want to pay the bare minimum.
A Little Reminder
You can sign up for reminders so that you never forget to make your online payments. There is usually a paperless billing option so that you will not receive bills in the mail but will instead receive them through your email account. Aside from being earth friendly, this option gives you the reminder and the ability to go right to the web site to pay the bill.
Knowing how to manage your credit cards is one of the tenets of sound financial management. There is nothing wrong with using your credit cards as long as you don't let them get out of control. Credit cards are supposed to make life easier, not harder.