Beware the Credit Card Holiday Trap!
Everyone falls into it - almost everyone who isn’t independently wealthy without a whole lot of care in the world about getting their bills paid. This does not include the majority of us, who live paycheck to paycheck, and try to find little ways to save money throughout the year so we don’t have to skimp on the things we need and like.
If you are breaking out the credit cards this holiday season, be mindful that you will be paying for these multiple purchases for a long time to come, not just a few months. The common misconception about credit cards is that a few purchases can be “paid off” in the matter of a few months, but really, since credit cards are built around the concept of revolving credit, those same purchases can take up to a whole year to actually expunge completely from your credit card balance.
Revolving credit is a big reason for the skyrocketing amounts of consumer debt here in the US, not really the regular loans, that build interest onto the principle one time, not on a monthly basis, building on itself and all of your purchases. This is why it can be deceiving how much you are paying for that one dinner, that one gift purchase, or whatever.
