How many credit cards do you need? There is no one correct answer to this question. However, as few as possible is really the best advice - it is easy to go overboard with credit and common sense tells you to keep spending on credit under control. You know as well as I do that common sense isn't always what dictates the decisions people make though. There is a culture of instant gratification in this country - and while there is nothing inherently wrong with spending, there is with letting credit cards spending get out of control.
Credit cards are the one of the primary enablers of compulsive spending. Let's have a look at some of the facts here:
Fact # 1: On average, a cardholder will have three bank cards and four gas or store credit cards for a staggering total of seven credit cards! This statistic courtesy of www.cardweb.com.
Fact # 2: 60% of U.S. households account for as much as 560 billion dollars in credit card debt. This breaks down to an average of $11,000 per household. (Testimony by Robert Manning to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee)
Fact # 3: Minimum payments tend to be very low - here's why: when the cardholders make only very small payments, they carry more outstanding debt (and thus more interest payments). As you may recall from high school Latin: Cui Bono? - Who benefits from this?
Fact # 4: Here's one from Jim who's the principal blogger for a company called Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: you can actually lower the interest rate on your credit card by simply picking up the phone and asking for it. Jim says, credit card companies are like cell phone and cable companies, they're afraid you'll leave and join with one of their competitors. So, use this fact to your advantage and call your credit card company today if you're paying an arm and a leg on just the interest rate.
Fact # 5: Students who are carrying significant credit card debt (over $1,000) are more likely to be medicated for depression than their debt-free peers and also have much higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use. These figures come from studies cited by Franklin Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Just some things to think about. Now how many credit cards do you think you need? We'd like to make it illegal to carry more than two cards, but realize we'd be run out of town on a rail were we to do so. Credit card spending is just too ingrained in our society.
Of course, no one can tell you how many credit cards you can or should have. Your financial planner or banker may scowl, but they can't make you give them up.
We suggest a deal - if you have more than two credit cards, why don't you take the extra (any more than two) cards and lock them up in a secure location. How about another proposition - Make more than the minimum payment each month. You want to eliminate your debt and this will speed things up.
The holidays will be here before you known it. You will no doubt overspend using your credit cards. At this tie of year, everyone does. How about this though - after the holidays (we realize it may be impossible to keep from overusing credit during this season) you make a New Year's resolution: promise yourself that you won't use your credit card more than once per month? This is a bit like going on a strict diet, but you can and must do this if you want to get a handle on credit card debt.
Did you know, for example, that US consumers charge $1.8 trillion to their cards each year? Did you also know that 11% of cardholders pay interest rates of over 25% a year? That was what the Consumers Union of San Francisco learned from the US General Accounting Office.
Isn't it about time we looked at our credit card spending more closely and conducted a self-criticism analysis?
Judging from the debt load of many Americans, the best freedom we can have is freedom from debt. Imagine living day-to-day on credit and barely able to make those hefty monthly payments. If you had zero debt, that's certainly something to be proud of! Why not have zero debt as your # 1 priority for 2008?
So yes, it's okay to have more than two credit cards. Personally, we'd recommend only two, but that's not always a realistic recommendation. As long as you're coping well with payments and you can engage in disciplined spending, then by all means, you decide how many credit cards you want to keep. But keep them somewhere where you can't reach out for them when you're out shopping. Without the cards, salivate over a merchandise as long as it takes, then walk away, especially if you don't need it that badly.
Patience is a sublime virtue. Why not wait until you have the cash to pay for it? For all you know, you just might decide that it was merely a whim - certainly something you can get by without!
About the Author:
Steven J. Talrechi has been writing about credit and credit practices for over a decade. He is an expert in assiting others with second chance banking and obtaining a checking account when they have been turned down by banks.
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