Loving Too Hard On Your Credit Card?

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” If you’re saying this to your credit cards rather than to yourself, then we need to talk!

Nothing wrong with loving on your credit cards or even having one or two of them, especially when you’re using them the right way. The question is: Are you using them and loving on them the right way?

You want to use your credit cards for three important reasons:

1. To repair your credit
2. To earn rewards; think airline miles or gas points
3. To cover yourself in an emergency

If you’re out shopping like there’s no tomorrow, flying willy nilly through Victoria’s Secret or Whole Foods free as a bird, then at the end of the month when the bill comes, you already know you’re not treating your cards right, now don’t you?

Before you whip out your card again for something you don’t need or something you haven’t planned for, I want you to stop and think about two words: FICO® SCORE!

A FICO® Score is that lovely number that tells lenders if they can trust you with their money! Like when you need to borrow money to buy a home or a car. You wanna talk about somebody being unloving and judgy? Try going to buy a car, and those dealership folks look at your crappy score, make a face you don’t want to see, and say, “Uh, sorry.” #NotFun. Or worse, they say, “Sure, we can help you. We’ll just need to charge you 99% interest.” (You’d be better off dealing with the mob.)

FICO® scores range from 300–850.  You want your credit score to be around 700 (average), and if you use your card in one of the three ways mentioned above (which ultimately means buying stuff and paying off the balance each month), you’ll be doing yourself a loving favor. Your credit score will rise, and you’ll remove yourself from judgy purgatory. By the way, you may hear about a VantageScore, another agency that is gaining some competitive heat that lenders will use to judge you. They use a different set of criteria, but you still want to act right by paying your bills and credit cards on time so that they can show you some love, too.

Read the full article HERE.

 Cheryl Grace is the sassy aunt, best friend, and mentor you’ve always needed in your life. The successful jet-setting, global corporate executive founded the aspirational lifestyle brand Powerful Penny LLC. Her products, workshops and speeches probe, inspire and empower to ensure those who really want to can get to their next level of best. Her blogs on careers, prosperity, relationships, family, looking and living fabulously, and living a five-star life can be found at www.powerfulpenny.com.