Consumer Corner: Are credit cards your flexible friend or foe?

Credit Cards Shot of a beautiful young woman using her cellphone and credit card while relaxing on a couch at home

Credit cards get a lot of bad press. It's all about how you use them however and using them wisely and sensibly is key. A credit card is basically the bank giving you a loan to purchase something and giving you a number of days to pay back. It is when you don’t pay back that things get messy. 

A sensible approach to credit cards means that they can be a very handy tool for paying for items but you have to think ahead. My mother often jokes with us that we couldn’t understand why she couldn’t buy a trip to Disneyland for us when we were younger with her credit card. In fact she could but then how would she pay the bank back. This is where thing can turn sour.