Are Credit Cards A Curse Or A Blessing?

Credit card companies are raising their minimum payments from around 2% to around 4%. What does this mean to you?

The average credit card debt per household in America is $8,000. If your credit card interest rate is 15% and you pay the minimum per month of $320 it will take you 12 years 10 months to pay it off. Your $8,000 turns into $11,574.42 after interest.

Sounds like credit cards are a curse to me.

A couple of months ago my wife and I applied for a mortgage (which we decided against.) We had a problem because my wife didn't have enough credit history. She doesn't have a credit card, she uses a debit card instead. She has paid off student loans, and co-signed on a car loan with me, which has been paid off. She got penalized for not using a credit card.

I on the other hand, have been rewarded for using a credit card, because the majority of the time I pay off the balance in full every month.

Are credit cards a curse or a blessing?

How many credit cards do you use? Will you be able to pay the minimum per month when payment rates go from 2% to 4%?

Here is another good article from MSN Money. Take a look and see where you stand.

Credit cards are what I like to call invisible money. Sure they are convenient, but we do pay on average 18% more on items we buy with credit cards instead of cash. I have two credit cards, but I use only one. I use it for gas, or doctor's visits. Sometimes, however, I use it to buy groceries, or I'll use it at the bookstore. It's at those times I am sure I am spending more.

Are you spending too much? Are credit cards a blessing for you, allowing you to build your credit? Or are they a curse...keeping you from paying off other bills, or for saving and investing?

This is a question we should all be asking ourselves.