Credit card debt is the most expensive debt in the formal finance sector, with the annual interest rates ranging from 30% to 45% p.a. Hence, you should try to avoid revolving your credit card debt. “Revolving” means not paying your credit card debt in full and carrying forward unpaid amounts to the next cycle. The… Continue Reading
You spend a big amount on your credit card. You do not have the money to settle the bill in full by the due date. You decide to pay off the debt over the next few months. That means you won’t pay the bill in full right away. You will keep paying whatever you can… Continue Reading
Swiping a credit card is easy. Repaying credit card debt is not. There will be situations where your cashflows will be stretched and you won’t be able to pay your credit card bill in full. What do you do then? Will that affect your credit score? Well, if you read a card statement carefully, you… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank published Master directions on Credit and debit card issuances in April 2022. In the previous post, we looked at the rules pertaining to the closure of credit card accounts. In this post, I will focus on the changes in the billing rules for the credit cards. #1 No Charge for Disputed Transaction… Continue Reading
IDFC First Bank is launching credit cards where the borrowers will have to pay only 9% p.a. as Annual percentage rate (APR) or the interest rate. This comes as a healthy surprise since we are used to 36%-40% p.a. APR on credit card debt. If you are new to this terminology, 36% p.a. APR means… Continue Reading
I spoke to a client a few days ago. She told me that she ended up spending over 5 lacs in the recent Diwali season towards all kinds of purchases including gifts. A few insurance premium payments also came due in the month of November. While she had an idea that she will run a… Continue Reading
22-May Update — RBI has extended EMI moratorium on all term loans by another 3 months till 31-August-2020. Following RBI’s Covid-19 regulatory package, your bank may have provided you an option to not pay loan EMIs or credit card payment until May 31, 2020. As a borrower, should you opt for this? In this post, let’s… Continue Reading
Credit card have a closer cousin, Charge Cards. Charge cards are not very common. As I understand, only American Express offers charge cards in India. To add to the confusion, American Express offers credit cards too. With respect to the usage, there is little to differentiate between a credit card and a charge card. You… Continue Reading
You are struggling with your loans and credit card debt. And you don’t have just one loan. You have quite a few. Your cashflows don’t permit you to attack all of them at once. At the same time, you don’t want to let your cashflows affect your credit score in a big way. To put… Continue Reading
Whether credit cards are useful or harmful depends on the person who uses it. To a prudent spender, a credit card means discounts, cash backs, reward points, easy and interest-free credit. To an irresponsible spender or someone who is struggling with cash flows, credit card may mean high interest rates, minimum payments, penal charges and… Continue Reading