Using Your Credit Cards as a Financial Tool Would you be interested in learning how to lower one of life's largest expenditures - INTEREST? The secret lies in using an easy to acquire instrument that some people fear and others take for granted. It's a credit card! Up to now, a credit card has been something that you should fear because of the problems it might cause. But, if you use it correctly, you can turn it into a tool. According to Gerri Detwiler, author of the "Ultimate Credit Handbook", a visa/mastercard is the best indicator for loan officers how credit worthy an individual is. Turn this into your advantage by making your visa/mastercard a tool to show loan officers you pay on time with regularity. How then exactly do you use it as a tool? Great question. Remember the credit report? That's what we want to keep in mind because that's the "report card" that loan officers use. Here's a list of tips: Use your card every month to make small purchases and pay off the entire amount Use your card instead of writing checks - you'll get credit making numerous payments on time. Credit cards, unlike checks, get recorded in your credit report. Increase your credit line by showing your responsibility. Pay your bill before the "due date" Your goal here is to get a card in your own name and make the account look active. Doing so consistently will make your credit report look better (see Section 6 - How a loan officer looks at you). Obviously, you want to make sure that you pay on time while you are activating your account. Some methods to help you do so include: Getting your bill mailed to the correct address Making sure that your bill is getting to you Keeping your bill in a separate folder from your "biology" notes Staying organized Writing the payment check right away and mail it Most of these recommendations will help you avoid the typical pitfalls students fall into. For more pitfalls see our next section. © 1989-2005 United College Marketing Services. All Rights Reserved.