Credit cards can be very advantageous to the smart consumer who uses them wisely by giving you credit to buy what you need without having the needed up-front cash, and letting you make payments over time. But if you are not mindful of the terms of credit cards, there can be dangers of credit cards. If you do not watch your budget and charge without having the ability to make monthly payments, money problems can result which can affect you emotionally and physically. If you do not make gains in paying off your principle balance, the credit card can take a long time to pay off. You can be paying for a purchase you may not even use anymore for years.
If you are unable to pay your bills, you may find yourself filing bankruptcy which can affect your financial future for years, leaving you unable to obtain future credit, affecting job prospects, and causing higher car insurance premiums.
To protect yourself, you need to have a budget which will enable you to make adequate credit card payments. You need to also closely look at the terms of the credit card so that you are informed of what the interest rate is, the grace period, and any penalties for late payments. Also, the dangers of credit cards can affect you if someone gains access to your credit card information and makes fraudulent purchases. You need to watch your accounts carefully to make sure that someone else has not stolen your credit card information.
If you don't have some sort of income from a job, self employment, or a business, then it is not very wise to apply for a credit card. If you do have some form of monthly income and you do use your credit card, be sure to make the monthly payment when requested. If you fail to do this, your credit rating will be major affected. If you do this for a few months you will end up having some serious credit problem. This can take months of paying on time to establish a good credit rating again.
So in conclusion, use your credit card wisely and only use one if you have some form of income to at least meet the minimum monthly payment.
About the Author
John Gibb manages http://www.credit-card-guides.net
An updated blog dedicated to educating people on credit cards.