Why everyone needs a credit card

 “Who doesn’t like money”

We all live in a world where we need money more than we need food to get through each day but how much do we actually know about it. I always think money and food are very similar.

when it comes to food we don’t track our calorie intake, eat more than we know, Does it sound familiar, it should.  When it comes to money, we don’t track our spending, spend more than we realize or admit. 

Most of us fall into one of the two categories when it comes to money; we either ignore it and feel guilty, or we obsess over financial details by arguing interest rates and risks about different investment opportunities. Both options get you the same results …….

None.

When we talk finance with people, we somehow feel satisfied. We feel as we are really expressing ourselves, and it’s a good feeling. We feel like we are getting somewhere. The problem is that this feeling is totally illusionary. Focusing on these details is the easiest way to get nothing done, to trick you into to believing you know something you don’t, it absolves you from actually having to do anything. when was the last time you sat with your friends and talked about eating healthy, about fitness or finance and did you go to a run afterwards or did you look for investment options, Of course not.

The truth is most of us don’t need financial advisors to help us get rich, its just what we choose to believe. You just need to know how to get started.

I’ve heard people say “our education system didn’t teach this”. Its easy for the people in their twenties to wish that their college had offered some personal finance training. Guess what? Most colleges do offer these classes, you just didn’t take them.

But never mind if you are one also one of those people. Because I will be launching a 30 day money challenge to attain financial independence. And its free (so stay updated and subscribe so you don’t miss out this opportunity).

I believe in small steps. I want to reduce the number of choices that paralyze us. Its more important to get started than to spend an exhaustive amount of time researching the best fund in the universe.

It is no surprise that the earlier one starts financial planning; the lesser the burden on saving each month will be. This is possible due to the power of compounding, a mesmerizing yet rather simple concept in finance.

	Smart Shreya	Dumb Dave
When beginning to invest, the person is……	25 years old	35 years old
Each person invests 100/month for…	10 years	30 years
With an 8% rate of return, at age 65, their accounts are worth…	349,856 rupees. The value of starting early	271,879 rupees. Even though he invested for three times as long, he’s still behind by 80,000

Now that you know the importance of starting financial planning early, you need to know where to start. Any financial book will teach you to choose the right bank accounts, open an investment account and some other common stuff that will help you automate your financial infrastructure but today we will talk about a more controversial topic in personal finance, Credit cards.

The first thing that I did when I turned 18 was set up my bank account and get my credit card, unlike most of my friends who preferred to get a drivers license instead…

People love to choose from a sexy investment plan when they want to get rich. But they often ignore something that is so simple, so basic, that it just doesn’t seem important: their credit.

Surprisingly credit is one of the most vital factors in getting rich, but since its hard to understand , we often overlook it entirely. Credit has a far greater impact on your finances than saving few bucks a day in your piggy bank. 

Credit comes in many forms(car loans, mortgages ,etc ) but we are going to start with credit cards.

Credit cards are very powerful objects that has the power to ruin your life, if you don’t know how to use them. So I’m going to tell you why you need a credit if you already don’t have one.

but before you start listing ALL the reasons you think, having a credit card is a bad decision let me help you out and do that for you

almost everyone has heard a bad story about late fees, unauthorized charges, or overspending and getting buried in credit card debt. And not surprisingly, most of our parents turn into rage monsters like the hulk when they hear credit cards. ”using credit cards is the worst financial decision you can make”, they shout. ”cut them into pieces!!!”

and I’m not saying that they are a gift from heaven in the form of a short term loan either.

The truth about credit cards lies somewhere in between these two extremes.

benefits of having a credit card

- the main reason will always be to build credit, which will help you in the long run.

- Emergency source of funds

- Rewards; you are going to be using this cards for a while. So make sure the rewards it offers is something you actually want. I like to travel a lot, so I got a credit card which gives me free companion tickets, free flights, and points for every money I spend and every mile I fly. But if you don’t like to travel, this card wouldn’t make sense for you. Basically find one that gives you something you value.

- Mobilize the credit card’s army for you.(how???)

They provide amazing consumer protection. You might of hear about automatic warranty doubling, fraud / Theft Protection but they provide lot more than that..

- if you get sick and can’t travel, your airline will charge you huge fees to re-book your tickets. Just call your credit card company and ask for trip cancellation insurance, and they will cover those fee charges. -the amount they cover per year varies from company to company.

- Concierge services: can’t find the tickets for the band/rock show you want go to. Just call your credit card company and ask the concierge to try and find some. They charge you but they get it done when no one can.

If you still don’t know what kind of rewards your credit card is giving, just call them and ask for it. It’s that simple.

Don’t make the mistake of paying for your friend with your credit card and keeping the cash…(I had to add this point)

Don’t do the same dumb thing I keep doing. Few times I go out to eat, the bill comes and everyone takes out cash, and I realized that I can just pay on my credit card and earn some credit and miles too. Here’s where things go horribly wrong. You wake up the next day thinking, “wow, I have extra cash in my wallet” NO!!! go and put it in a bank.

So there you have it, all the reasons why you should and shouldn’t have a credit card.

In short, getting a  credit card lets you get started early, earning more rewards in the process and getting a better credit score. Thus saving you money in the process as well as in the future.