If you've spent more than your budget can handle, you might be considering credit to get you through January. People worry about how long and poor January is. After a happy Christmas with lots of smiles, people's moods can change for the worse in January. A lot of us use credit cards to get through this hard month. But a person with a low income who doesn't know much about the financial world can fall into the hands of shady credit companies.
In his article for the Herald, Simon Bain talks about how one bank has been sending out credit card applications with offers for cards with APRs of up to 69 percent (http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/52784.html). This amazing rate applies to a credit limit of GBP150, while a credit limit of GBP1500 has an APR of 41%.
At this time of year, people may be tempted by the idea of making quick money, and if they don't think about it, a lot of them will be more than tempted. But the effects of such a high interest rate don't become clear until much later. This can cause problems in February, which can continue into March, and so on, until before you know it, it's Christmas again and you're in a lot of trouble.
So, before you look for short-term fixes that could cause long-term problems, think about your choices so you can decide what kind of year you want to have.
This New Year, it's easy and cheap to get help with your credit card. The best way is to just go online. There are a lot of sites out there that give advice about money. http://Moneynet.co.uk is one of these sites. You can look at all of your choices here. There is a great page (http://www.moneynet.co.uk/credit-card-guide/index.shtml) that only gives advice about credit cards. There are also many pages that tell you which card has the best introductory rate, the best standard rate, etc.
So, before you go down the wrong path this January, check out your options and make sure you really do have a happy New Year.
