The following is a guest post from Lori Ramsey. Please note the views are hers and not necessarily those of this blog or its owner(s).
Living today without a credit card is a rare occasion for most people. Credit cards are necessary at times and you can have them and be debt-free at the same time if you keep them paid down and if you practice safety tips. For those who do use credit cards there are several things to remember in order to keep those cards safe:
1. Never have more credit cards than you actually need. One or two cards are normally the most anyone really needs unless they use credit cards for business transactions. Keeping more than this increases the potential of losing one or more of those cards or having more balances run-up if the cards are stolen.
2. Keep your credit cards and your credit information safe. Never allow another person to use your credit card, even if that person is a family member, unless that person is already listed on your account.
3. If your card is stolen or you suspect there has been fraudulent activity on the card, contact the card company immediately. The more quickly you act, the less likely you are to be held personally responsible for any charges made fraudulently on the card.
4. Always keep a photocopy of your credit cards. This becomes especially helpful if a credit card is lost or stolen. The account number and other information will be easily at-hand when you contact the credit card company and authorities.
5. Keep your credit cards and credit card receipts separate. If you lose your wallet or purse and both your cards and receipts are within them, you will have also lost proof of the transactions you have made.
6. Never give out your account or PIN numbers. Obviously, any merchant who takes debit or credit cards will have access to your account number electronically while they are processing payment, although they should not be able to physically or electronically store the number at their business. Never give any merchant your PIN number.
Keeping your credit cards safe is ultimately your responsibility. Following these tips will help you do this.
For more tips on being debt-free and turning bad credit to good see Overcome-Bad-Credit.com.
---
go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think.
follow me on Twitter and facebook
Discussing faith, business, personal finance, news (business and financial related), politics, and pretty much everything else.
No comments:
Post a Comment