How to Make Credit Cards Work For You

When credit cards are used responsibly they can be some of the best tools in your financial toolbox. In fact, if you know what you are doing you can really make credit cards work for you. They can earn you everything from air miles to free clothes if you use them correctly. 

What you can get

The possibilities are endless. You can get airline miles, which can be used for traveling with your family. You can get cash back on your purchases, sometimes up to 5%. You can get rewards such as gift certificates to stores and restaurants. You can actually save a lot of money on travel, gifts, and even get cash back with these cards.

There is a catch

There, however, is a catch. In most cases you must pay your balances off every month in order to be able to receive the rewards. For example, if you have a cash back rewards card, they typically issue checks twice a year, if your balance has been paid. So if you spent two thousand dollars, on a 5% cash back rewards card, you can get $100 dollars back, if your balance is zero when they go to cut the check. Miles also, can often not be redeemed if you have a balance. 

A way to beat this 

There is an easy way to make this work for you. Don't buy anything you don't need. Many people wonder then, how do you earn enough of your rewards? Well let’s say you are planning a Disney World vacation a year from now. So you get a credit card with Disney rewards that give you 5% cash back on all your purchases. So instead of buying a bunch of random stuff that you don't need put all your bills and groceries on it every month. You already know you can pay it off. So every month you put $1000 dollars on it and pay it off at the end of every month. At the end of the year that’s $600 dollars to put towards your vacation and you are not in any debt!

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