Staff Muscling up Smarten up your credit card by using these THREE rules

ALWAYS pay the balance up in full and on time Credit cards are not cheap credit Penalties for late payment can be high Repeated late payment can really mess up your credit rating Set up an AUTOMATIC PAYMENT for the day before the due date

Try to buy more expensive items at the start of the billing cycle Find out the date of the first items on a previous statement Time larger purchases for just after that date This maximises the number of days that you get of interest free credit It can be over 50 days

Avoid cash advances Interest gets charged on these from the day you make the withdrawal If you make a deposit a couple of days later thinking you are repaying the cash advance you are probably wrong Any deposit is used to cover your oldest debt

Credit cards can be your friend They offer you some protection if you buy on- line They let you buy stuff when it is on special rather than when you have the money They let you buy and then save the money rather than the other way around They let you keep your money in the bank earning interest while you use someone else’s money interest free

Here’s something to think about Q078 Q078