In today’s society credit cards are used for everything. However, what most end users don’t know or think about is that there is a right time and a wrong time to use their credit cards. Using a credit card at the right time can save you money and help reduce those pesky balances quick! When is the right time? Keep reading …
The best time to use a credit card for a purchase is after the closing date and the best time to make a payment is before the closing date. Each credit card has a closing date. The closing date on a credit card is the last day of a credit card‘s billing cycle and the point a which finance charges are calculated. The statement will typically “close” at midnight, so the day before the closing date is likely the last day that new charges can be added to that month’s statement. Be aware that the payment due date and closing date may not be the same day.
Steps to optimizing your credit card usage.
1. First, find out the closing date and due date for each credit you regarly use.
2. Make payments before the closing date in order to reduce as much of the average daily balance which will reduce finance charges.
3. Make purchases after the closing date as they will not appear on the next statement, but the statement a month later.
Benefits
Shopping this way using your credit cards will result in a credit score boost and a credit limit increase. It will also put you in a position to ask for a lower interest rate.
Happy Shopping!
