What’s the old saying? Something to do with irons in the fire i think, but the fact remains that when you get a volley of acceptances through the post or via email (whichever way they work it) then you’ll have a choice of the card you want.  Don’t be afraid to leave them waiting either, remember that they want your business and they’ll do almost anything to get it.

The trick is to do your credit card comparison in two stages.  The first stage is to use the comparision websites to make your initial choices from the things you find most important in a credit card.  If 0% interest on purchases is what you’re after then write down all the cards that offer this feature.  Before long you’ll have a list of the credt cards that carry all (or as many as possible) of the features you’re looking for.  Then go onto the stage i mentioned above; simply apply for all of them.

When you get your answers from them, choose which one you want.

Well if you have a good credit rating (score or whatever they have decided to call it these days), and there are some of you out there i know, then you can have a little more fun with these credit card companies.

You’ll often find that the credit card companies will come and find you, am i right?  Yes, of course i am.  If you’ve had cards, paid a little interest and paid off your balance then they’ll want you to sign up for their card.  There are so many cards out there you never know how many applications you’re going to get through your door, and most of them will say “pre-approved”.  Don’t take any notice of this statement however, they send them to everyone, and it’s just a way of flattering you to get you to sign up.

There is a trick to make a little money or get free stuff, but it only works if you’re good with credit.  You simply sign up for all the credit cards that are offering free gifts and cash.  Then you simply put the credit card in your drawer and never use it.  Simple yes?  But you can see why it’s difficult to do if you’re not excellent with money.

It’s all a matter of getting the right credit card for the job basically.  You don’t need to saddle yourself with mountains of debt by getting a credit card, just get one that suits your needs perfectly.  This is why doing a credit card comparison is very important and virtually essential in today’s financial climate, particularly since there are so many credit cards out there already trying to get your business.

They can’t all be bad right?  Yes, you’re right, they can’t all be bad, and indeed they are not.  There are credit cards out there that can help you get what you want, and if you use them correctly you can have it for virtually no charge at all.  Get your things earlier rather than later with a credit card with 0% interest on purchases for the first few months; however, do be careful to make sure that you can pay it off eventually, there is one thing these credit card companies are very good at, and it’s getting you into a shed load of debt!

Well this is why you need to find a credit card that can match your sunny weather desires.  Finding the credit card for the job shouldn’t be difficultm, but finding one that won’t cost you the earth might be a little more difficult.  It’s all about the interest rates these days and that’s what you need to keep your eye on in the long run of course, however you also need to watch out for the special offers out there that could be enormously useful to you.

You could get yourself a credit card that allows you interest free on all your purchases for a specific amount of time.  This is very handy if you want all that garden stuff right away and you can’t afford to wait to enjoy the summer.  Of course you have to pay it back, but you don’t have to do it for a long time, and you’ll still have time to pay it off before you need the card again at Christmas.  So if you’re not going away this year, make sure you have a nice summer at home instead with your credit card.

So once you’ve done your grocery shopping on your credit card, you’ve put the money aside or moved it to another bank account, and you’ve paid off the outstanding balance on your credit card statement at the end of the month without getting any interest?  Well, if you have then bloody well done to you!

So now you’re probably about ready to ask the question: What’s the point in this when i can afford my shopping anyway?

Well in answer to your question allow me to pose another one to you.  Do you have a credit card that offers reward points or cashback?  If the answer is yes then you can surely work out that you’re getting rewards and cashback for doing virtually nothing!  You aren’t paying interest to your credit card company, yet they are still rewarding you for using their card.

Now there is also another huge unseen advantage to paying off your balance like this every month, particularly if you’re young.  This sort of financial dilligence will be recognised by other financial institutions, including banks and morgage lenders.  If you pay off your credit card balance each month without fail and you have no bad debts, you are much more likely to be able to gain credit elsewhere for other life changing opportunities.  Having a good credit history in this day and age is a must!

So i am assuming that you’ve read the earlier post, got your credit card and that you haven’t rushed out and bought a widescreen TV and a set of tyres for the car.  Am i right?  If i’m wrong and you have done this with your credit card you’re screwed; just stop reading and do what you want because you’re clearly not listening.

So if you’ve paid for a few low cost items and you’re ready to pay of your balance at the end of the month then that’s great!  Well done!  I bet you’re dying to spend more money aren’t you?  Yes?  Well you can’t.  There’s your second lesson.  Just because you have a credit card now with a limit of around £500-1000 it doesn’ t mean you have that amount of money does it?

You see this where people lose control.  They think that because the credit card company has deemed them capable then they are able to spend this money.  This is not true, and the credit card company do not know you, and secondly, remember what i wrote a few days ago, they actually want you to be unable to pay your balance; that way they can charge you interest and make their money.

Well if you’ve been good then you need to begin doing your weekly shopping from the supermarket on you credit card.

• Don’t spend more on your grocery shopping than you usually would just because you are using your credit card.
• Put the money from your bank account to one side or move it to another account in order to pay off your credit card bill.
• Pay off your credit card bill before you get any interest.

If you’re not good with money (and i don’t know many people who are) then you are no doubt going to struggle with a credit card.  There are some things you need to know, particularly if you’ve never had one before.  Credit card companies, for all their whining about people who don’t pay their debts, do not actually want you to be able to pay off any more than the minimum amount payable on your statement each month; this way they can make more money by charging you interest.

So what you need to do is quite literally be careful!

When you get your credit card for the first time:

• Don’t use your credit card to buy something expensive that you’ve wanted for ages.  This is something you probably should have saved for, and having a credit card doesn’t change this fact.
• Don’t start to buy your groceries with your credit card.  You can do this later when you’re a little more experienced
• Don’t use your credit card to pay your bills.  Anything like this should be paid how you have always paid for it.

Basically, don’t use your credit card to buy anything except a few items each month, and when you’ve bought them, pay off the balance before you get charged any interest.  This is a great way to begin being careful with your credit card, and it also trains you to pay off your balance each month!

I hear you all say “well that’s easier said than done!”  And right you may well be, but if you are at this point already then you may not be able to save yourself a lot of heartache and headaches in the not too distant future.  The point is that if you are paying only the minimum payment amount on your credit card bill because you can’t afford any more, then you are never going to be able to pay off your balance.  You might think that changing it to another credit card might help, and you’re right, it would, but not enough to pay it off.

The thing you need to do as soon as you get a credit card is only ever spend what you know you will be able to pay at the end of the month when you get paid.  If you’re salary allows you to spend £100 on a shirt then fine, use your credit card, get any loyalty points and whatever from the card, and then pay it back at the end of the month before you have to pay a load of interest!  This way you make your credit card work for you instead of the other way around.

This also serves to improve your credit rating and automatically upgrade you to a larger credit limit!  Be careful of the larger limits though, you might be tempted to spend more than you can afford (this is what they want remember!)

Well, don’t get too far in over your head.  If you are seriously thinking that you won’t be able to meet your payments at the end of the month then you need to consider getting rid of the credit card in question.  In fact you need to get rid of all your credit cards!

You might scream out that you need it to live, you need to do your shopping with it because you don’t like to carry cash around, and various other excuses why you must hang onto this lifeline that will ironically be the death of you (at least financially).  But don’t despair because if you need to be taken away from credit cards steadily so as not to suffer too many withdrawal symptoms there is help at hand.

You can get pre-paid credit cards now, and they are pretty good.  All you do is put your credit onto the card before you spend it.  That way it will still feel like you have a credit card, and you can still remain cash free, yet you will not be allowed to spend over what is on your credit card.  This is an ideal purchase for many people, but in particular it’s a good way to teach young people how to use credit sensibly.

This isn’t a bad thing if, like this one, the credit card comparison website is objective and independent of sponsers etc.  What you need to watch out for are the websites that tell you to sign up for a particular card, or at least show a heavy bias.  This is quite difficult to tell sometimes because the credit card itself may be very good and actually knock spots off all the others; i’ve seen it happen (at least until all the other credit card companies copy what the innovator is doing).

The most important thing i think that i can tell you, and the best piece of advise you can expect from any financial advisor, is to shop around.  Now this doesn’t mean just visit lots of credit card comparison websites on the internet, it means: go out and talk to people too, ask your friends and family which credit cards they use, and contact the companies directly if you really want to.

Although our website compares credit cards, we  by know means want to influence you one way or the other, and would like to make it clear that our advice is here simply for advice; that’s it, and if you choose to use it then that is a choice you make on your own.

Good luck with your credit card hunting!