Take this quiz to see whether
your credit card habits could be considered naughty or nice.
1. How much of my gross income goes
to pay credit card bills each month?
2. Do I use my cards to buy food, gas,
clothes and pay other daily expenses?
3. Do I know the APR, fees, grace periods
and other key costs of my cards?
4. How many credit cards do I have?
5. Do I always pay on time, and send
more than the minimum?
6. Do I shop for deals, or latch onto
the first card issuer that will have me?
ANSWERS
1. If your pay is $2,200 a month and
you send out $440 or more toward credit cards and a car payment,
your situation is sullied. Twenty percent of gross income
is the recommended ceiling for unsecured debt and installment
loans.
2. If you say yes, you had better be
paying off the balance each month. Three months is too long
to pay for beer and pizza.
3. A "no" answer probably means you
are being taken to the cleaners.
4. If you can't get them all in one
skinny slot in your wallet, you have too many.
5. Late payments are the cardinal sin
of credit use because even one can result in a default interest
rate. Sticking to those puny minimum payments is unspeakably
bad.
6. If you've got a tarnished credit history,
expect to be courted by subprime lenders charging ridiculous
rates. If you've been good, your options are much better and
more plentiful.
