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For several years now, one of the most sought after features on a credit card has been a long 0% balance transfer deal, almost to the exclusion of any other feature except maybe
the headline interest rate of the card. More recently though, balance transfers have become less popular, not least because of the introduction of transfer handling fees, and
there's now a new feature that more and more customers are considering to be of higher importance, namely cashback.
According to recent research, over a fifth of us now use a card that offers cashback or a rewards scheme, and the number has recently overtaken that of balance transfer users
for the first time. So why has a seemingly simple feature such as cashback displaced the once mighty balance transfer deal in our priorities?
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Credit cards have always suffered from the perception that they are expensive to use, with high interest charges and penalty fees - a reputation, it has to be said, that isn't
altogether undeserved. Cashback cards give us the opportunity to turn that on its head, and actually come out on top financially by using our cards for everyday purchases.
For every purchase you make, a cashback card will effectively give you a refund of a small percentage of the purchase price. In the early days of cashback, this percentage was
so small it was hardly worth considering - a 0.25% rebate was virtually worthless to most people with moderate spending habits. These days however, the figures are much more
attractive, with a 3% rate not uncommon as an introductory offer. This kind of rebate is definitely worth having, and if you use your cashback card for all of your day to day
shopping, the numbers can mount up surprisingly quickly.
What's more, if you use your card purely as a convenient payment method and not as a means of borrowing, and repay your full balance every month, then you'll avoid paying any
interest fees or charges. This means that the money you 'earn' through cashback is totally free money - you're being paid simply to buy your usual shopping with a card rather
than with cash.
Cashback Credit Cards?
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Credit card debt will be experienced by everyone at one point in their life. Credit card debt is a growing problem in the United States today.
As well, you must realize that you need to change your spending ways. Otherwise, simply paying off your credit card debt will only solve the problem for a short while. Sooner than later, chances are, you will find yourself back in debt.
The reason you need to cut your cards in half is to eliminate the urge to use them. For some people the temptation to use them is too great and they have to go out and shop. If you do not want to cut the cards up, you can arrange to have your credit cards frozen until you can pay off the balances.
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Believe it or not, there are some people who have actually put their credit cards in a container of water and froze them. It was believed that by the time the cards thawed out, the urge to use them had passed.
It is so important to stress the point that without making lifestyle changes, you will continually incur large credit card debt. This is not to say that you cannot enjoy a certain lifestyle and never go out. Just do it in moderation. That is the key. If you enjoy going out to dinner, go out a couple of times a month instead of a couple of times a week, and use cash instead of credit cards so you can better keep track of what you are spending. They money that you save can be applied to the credit card debt.
You can use the money that you save each month for anything that you want, however it is recommended that you apply it to the one remaining debt. It makes sense to eliminate as much of the debt as quickly as possible.
Debt consolidation companies can be found by doing a simple Google search. You will yield millions of links to companies that may be able to assist you in reducing your debt.
Credit Card Debt
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