Learn to Use Them so You Can Stop cutting credit cards Up

I’m going to write something that many people will say is CRAZY. Get ready. It’s a big, bad secret: credit cards ARE NOT EVIL. Stop cutting credit cards up. They aren’t the enemy.

WHOA. That felt good. It’s an amazing weight off of my shoulders! It fires me up when people tell others the only way to get out of debt is to cut up credit cards, and only pay with cash. Why does this fire me up? Because people who don’t use credit cards are missing out on TONS of benefits, including travel ones. I’m not just talking about credit scores, here. I’m talking about free:

money
gift cards
travel
and more

STOP CUTTING CREDIT CARDS UP

Buy One Today

Personally, I would NEVER, EVER cut up my credit cards. I would NEVER, EVER cut up my credit cards, because they make me MONEY. Every time I use them, I make money. How? All my cards earn me CASH BACK on every purchase I make. Whether I’m shopping on the internet, or I’m shopping in a physical, brick and mortar, store – I use my credit card to MAKE MONEY. If I go to restaurant, I use my credit card to pay for the meal, because I make money. There are times during the year I make 5% cash back when I buy groceries, or head to a restaurant, or go on a vacation.

It’s the best feeling in the world to know that I can share this fantastic little nugget during Women’s Money Week! Ladies, and gentlemen, when you learn to think of your credit card as CASH, you can have an amazing feeling of POWER. Growing up, the BEST advice my father ever gave me was the PROPER way to use a credit card. I just took it further when I got older, because I decided to only use cards that earned me money when I used them.

Here’s the deal, if I can MAKE MONEY when I spend money, why would I pay CASH? Granted, sometimes a great cash-only “discount” happens, but not often. What’s the moral of the story? Debt is not always a result when using credit cards. There are MANY of us out there who manage to never have credit card debt. We look at credit cards like CASH.

View credit cards as cash

When you view a credit card as actual CASH, you’re EARNING money when spending money. Use a cash back earning credit card, instead of cash, and it pays you for shopping. It’s the only way to shop!

If you’re a die hard Store Credit Card lover, like the ones from Target that give you 5% off your purchase EVERY DAY when you use the card, why would you want to pay cash at the register? Use the card, right?!!!

Just keep these things in mind:

Always think of Credit Cards as CASH. What’s that mean? Basically, if you are going to use your credit card, make sure that you could make that purchase with cash AT THAT EXACT MOMENT. If you don’t have the cash, don’t use the card. Simple. Discipline yourself!
Pay your monthly Credit Cards statements IN FULL when the statement comes due. When using your credit card like it’s actual, physical cash, the PHYSICAL CASH needs to be in your savings/checking account ready to pay the bill when it’s due. EVEN BETTER: when using a card at a store like Target, to earn 5% OFF on each purchase, have the cash ON YOUR PERSON and PAY THE BILL RIGHT THERE AT THE STORE once the credit card transaction is completed.

Credit cards aren’t evil

Credit Cards are NOT evil. They’re amazing tools, when used correctly. However, if no one teaches you the many benefits of using a credit card, as well as, the right way to use credit cards, you end up in debt. However, the answer is NOT to cut the cards up and only pay cash. You’re cutting yourself off from a world of FREE money, as well as, HUGE discounts.

Everyone needs to: