subject: Two Risks You Need To Be Aware Of When Undertaking Credit Card Shopping [print this page] There are two major risks you need to be aware of when undertaking credit card shopping. We will be looking at the said two risks. We will be going a step further, and trying to explore some of the things you can do to reduce your levels of exposure to the said two risks. We have all heard stories of people who signed for and started using credit cards, only to end up regretting those (credit card usage) decisions bitterly in the long run. Most of the people in question turn out to be folks who allowed themselves to be exposed to the two risks we will be looking at shortly. Thus, by being aware of the two risks related to credit card usage, and by putting in place measures to reduce your levels of exposure to the said risks, you can avoid bitter regrets in the future (pertaining to credit card usage).
Now the first risk you need to be aware of when undertaking credit card shopping is the risk of overspending. You are said to have overspent when you buy items that are beyond your means. And you come to learn that it is very easy to overspend when you are simply picking items, putting them in your shopping cart, and charging them to your credit card. In that kind of a scenario, it is very easy to forget the financial implications of your acts. If you have taken up a credit card with a very high limit, there wont be anything to stop you for incurring unmanageable debt. It is only when you get the credit card statement that you will discover that you actually got yourself into a very deep pit. Now there are some things you can do to reduce your exposure to this risk of ending up overspending when shopping using credit cards. Firstly, you need to create and stick to budgets. Secondly, you need to have full awareness of the financial implications of all purchases that you charge to your credit cards.
The second risk you need to be aware of when undertaking credit card shopping is the risk of being defrauded. The nature of credit cards makes it extremely easy for them to be used by criminals in fraudulent ways. You may not have thought it, but the truth of the matter is that anybody coming across your credit card can defraud you! That is because the credit card normally contains the card number and the signature code and those are the only details a person needs to enter in order to charge purchases to the card. Thus, it helps to guard your credit cards carefully, to ensure that they never get into the wrong hands.
Credit card shopping is always potentially risky. But as we have seen, there are steps you can take to reduce your exposure to the said risks. Generally, if you commit yourself to responsible usage of credit cards, your exposure to the said risks is greatly reduced.
