Thursday 31 March 2011

If you love it should you put it on your credit card?

Hi guys,
Question: If you like it then should you put a ring on it? Answer: Yes. Question: If you love it should you put in on your credit card? Answer: It depends. My credit cards have never been used so much since I got engaged. My wedding dress, deposits for our wedding venue, deposits for our photographer…the list of things I have put on my credit card is endless. And for good reason: you’re better protected if your vendor cancels on you when you pay with your credit card than you are when you pay by cash, and with something as important as a wedding this security is essential. The credit cards make the payment, then the cash in the savings account cleared the bill at the end of the month.

So far, so sensible. But what about if you’re out shopping and you see a dress you really really love? Is it OK to whip your credit card out and have a treat? My immediate answer to this question is yes (I am, after all a shopaholic!) but only if you can afford to pay it back. And when I say pay it back, I mean at the end of the month, not in 50p instalments! Shopaholic isn’t a byword for reckless! If I see a dress I just have to have, and it’s in my size, and I love it and it feels like fate (we’ve all had that feeling)……but its 3 days before pay day then I announce “Its credit card time!” but only because I know I can pay it back when I pay my next statement, as soon as I’ve been paid. I have even been known to treat myself to something a little more expensive and pay it back in two instalments, by using my ‘treat money’(am I the only one that has treat money?) from the following month.

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Credit cards can be wonderful things, but only if they’re used sensibly. There isn’t a shoe in the world that’s worth getting into a lifetime of debt for (No. Not even those Jimmy Choos. Although you can see some pics from my fantasy credit card shopping list above) So my credit card advice (if you want it!) is to only ever buy what you can afford to pay off. And don’t forget that owning a credit card can help improve your credit rating, even if you rarely use it: just don’t fall into the trap of using it to pay for everything. It isn’t free money!

Love, Tor

*This is a sponsored post

3 comments:

Tamsin said...

Absolutley. It shouldn't be a way of buying things you can't actually afford!
Unfortunately, mine got overused whilst my boyfriend was unemployed at the end of his PhD funding and we're having to pay it off now :( Oh well...

daisychain said...

I dont even have a credit card! Well, I have a New Look store card but barely anything on it. I just dont trust myself!

Unknown said...

I agree with you there. My self control is terrible so therefore I can't be trusted with a credit card at the moment - especially being a student. But when I get a proper job then I would definitely consider one, but as you said, only as long as I could pay it off as soon as pay day arrives.

Great post! x