Consumers enjoy using credit cards. It is certainly convenient to buy with plastic and it is much safer than carrying a lot of cash. Nevertheless, credit cards can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. Even though credit cards make shopping easier, they pose a serious threat to anyone’s financial wellness. Here is how it happens.
- Retailers Want You to Use Your Credit Card
The reason is very simple: you are going to spend more with a credit card at the store than if you use cash. People are nowhere near as thrifty if there’s a special sale which encourages you to use your credit cards. While this ordinarily happens at Christmas time, consumers can run up a hefty balance on their cards with just a few shopping trips. The balances must be paid and the minimum monthly payment can become substantial.
- Forgetting to Pay the Monthly Bill Has Consequences
The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 has reduced some of the negative impact of not paying your credit card bill on time. However, the credit card company can still charge a penalty for a late payment and impose a penalty APR (Annual Percentage Rate) that can be as much as 29.99% for an indefinite period.
- Balance Transfers Can Be Tricky
It seems to make sense to transfer balances to another credit card company that will charge a very low introductory APR or perhaps charge no interest at all for a given period. The catch is that you have a set amount of time to pay the transferred balance or else you will get hit with a larger APR. Balance transfers also have fees that can reduce any savings you might experience from transferring money.
Financial Wellness Help Is Important
People don’t want to be saddled with horrific credit card debt, but it can happen. A major difficulty is the ignorance many people have about financing credit cards. It helps if there is a professional available to offer guidance. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services knows how important it is to get control of expenses. We have a Financial Wellness Program to help people with debt.
The Expertise of Counselors
We have a network of certified counselors who can assist people in putting their financial affairs in order. These professionals know how credit cards can eat into a person’s budget and cause stress. Our counselors will help plan members steer a steady course.
Credit cards can be managed properly with the right information. Countrywide counselors will do a budget analysis to understand the cash flow of the plan member better. They will make suggestions on how to finance credit card debt with the data supplied by the inspection.
It is possible to negotiate with the lender in the event of a penalty being levied. Countrywide counselors will show how that is done. They will suggest various ways of paying off credit card balances. Additionally, the counselor will show how changes in spending habits can make money management a much easier task. What may have been a frightening picture of excessive credit card debt becomes easier to deal with because Countrywide advice is available.
Employers Are Part of the Process
Organizations want to help employees with their financial wellness. We do more than offer a standard plan; we tailor it to the wishes of the client organization. Decision-makers determine what benefit options will be part of their plan and we see to it that those options are part of the package. We include in all our financial wellness options the very best member services. Everyone is treated with respect and courtesy. No one gets a sermon or a lecture.
Employees appreciate any help they get with their finances from an employer. Financial wellness is a benefit that is becoming increasingly more popular. If you have any questions about our program, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. We are here to answer all your questions.