Credit cards are financial tools that are commonly criticized by many. While they can allow irresponsible cardholders to get in over their head in debt, that’s not what happens the majority of the time. Rather, there are many reasons that you should only use your credit card for purchases that you make.
Safer to Carry
By far, the most prominent reason that you should purchase items with a credit card is that it’s much safer for you to carry around. If your credit card gets lost or stolen, you can simply call your credit card company and get it replaced. When your cash gets lost or stolen, you’re simply out of your cash.
Great Rewards
Many credit card providers will offer rewards to entice customers to use their particular card. You can take advantage of these rewards with pretty much every purchase. You can buy the normal stuff you do and enjoy getting cash back or other rewards that creditors offer when using their card.
Easy to Track Spending
One of the easiest ways to keep a handle on your budget is to understand your spending history. When you use a credit card for all of your purchases, it becomes super simple to track your spending. Additionally, many credit card providers offer categorization of your spending so that you can see at a glance where the majority of your money goes.
Builds Your Credit
According to Lantern by SoFi, “58% of people use credit cards to build their credit”. All financial lenders want to see a borrower who does a great job at managing their finances. When you show that you borrow funds on your credit card and pay them back each month, it looks good to other lenders. It also helps to build up your credit score so that you can take advantage of the best rates on the market.
Pay Later
Probably one of the biggest reasons for credit card spending is that you can pay for the expenses later. Let’s say you get paid at the end of every month. If you don’t have the money on hand to make certain purchases, you can use your credit card to do so.
Overcharge Protection
Another great benefit of using a credit card over cash is that you can hold a vendor responsible for overcharging you. When you use cash, the vendor may not give you an appropriate amount of change back. If you’re like most people, you automatically assume they’re giving you the appropriate amount back for your change.
Some Purchases Require It
If you’ve ever tried to get a hotel room recently or even a rental car, most vendors won’t take cash. They require you to utilize a credit card that they can charge if you create unwanted damage to the hotel room or the car.
Added Insurance
Many credit card providers offer certain insurance coverage when you sign up for their card. For example, they may offer travel insurance that provides you with funds when your travel is delayed. Some other common types of insurance credit card providers offer include accidents, extended car warranties, and so much more.
Limited Fraud Liability
Many people don’t realize that credit card companies offer limited fraud liability as compared to the unlimited liability of debit cards. If someone charges your credit card fraudulently, you likely won’t have to pay a dime. If the same thing happens to your debit card, you may be responsible for charges. This especially holds true if you don’t alert the credit card company within a few days of the transaction.
One Card Does It All
We all know that carrying around a big wallet or purse can be very annoying from time to time. When you opt for using a credit card, you don’t have to worry about carrying around your other cards and cash. Rather, you can simply put your card in your pocket and be ready to go.
Using a credit card for most of your purchases is such a good idea for the many reasons that we went over above. If you currently don’t do so, you should highly consider changing your buying habits.
