Raise your hands if you do not hold at least 1 credit card and use it to pay for something that you need. If you did not raise your hand, good for you! But if you did, you will be in the same boat as many other fellow Malaysians.
Do not get me wrong, credit cards are a good thing especially you are traveling or experience some unexpected emergencies. But used excessively without control, this could lead to a lifetime of debts that mounts month after month; no thanks to the high late and finance charges levied on any unpaid/owing amounts.
There are several reasons on why I chose to blog about this. Firstly, seeing a lot of youngster (read: fresh grads just got a job) applying for a credit card the moment they received their 1st payslip. Where are those days, where you need to provide a stack of documents to prove that you are eligible? Back in the day, I was actually rejected twice by a international bank even though I met their requirements and provided all the necessary documentation. But is that (still) happening today? I am not so sure, perhaps someone out there could enlighten me on the approval procedure.
Turn anywhere; clubs, disco, dining, cafes, you will most probably see them flashing their credit card when paying their bills. What these people do not realised is that, although convenient, they are actually spending money that they do not have at that point of time. And they DO need to settle the bill at the end of the month when the bill is due. Failure to do so will normally result in the bank charging a finance and/or late payment charge.
(To be continued...)
Do not get me wrong, credit cards are a good thing especially you are traveling or experience some unexpected emergencies. But used excessively without control, this could lead to a lifetime of debts that mounts month after month; no thanks to the high late and finance charges levied on any unpaid/owing amounts.
There are several reasons on why I chose to blog about this. Firstly, seeing a lot of youngster (read: fresh grads just got a job) applying for a credit card the moment they received their 1st payslip. Where are those days, where you need to provide a stack of documents to prove that you are eligible? Back in the day, I was actually rejected twice by a international bank even though I met their requirements and provided all the necessary documentation. But is that (still) happening today? I am not so sure, perhaps someone out there could enlighten me on the approval procedure.
Turn anywhere; clubs, disco, dining, cafes, you will most probably see them flashing their credit card when paying their bills. What these people do not realised is that, although convenient, they are actually spending money that they do not have at that point of time. And they DO need to settle the bill at the end of the month when the bill is due. Failure to do so will normally result in the bank charging a finance and/or late payment charge.
(To be continued...)
