A Basic Understanding of Credit Cards
June 3, 2022Top Credit Card Mistakes You Should Avoid
June 23, 2022There are several different options when it comes to payment amounts on credit cards. Here at Personal Tradelines, we believe it is important for people to understand their credit cards inside and out so they can reach their financial goals without any hiccups.
Come dive in with us as we explore the different credit card payment options.
Minimum Payments
The minimum payment amount is the amount of money you are required to pay by or before the due date if you want to avoid late fees and interest. However, the minimum payment can vary from credit card issuer to credit card issuer. With that said, the minimum payment is typically a percentage of your current balance.
You can make the minimum payment each month, though paying off your balance in full will take much longer and you’ll probably rack up high-interest fees that will make it much more difficult to pay off in the future.
You’ll want to make sure to check on your billing statement and do the math, as you can often find out how long it would take to pay off your balance in full if you were only using minimum payments.
Statement Balance
Your statement balance consists of all of your charges from your preceding billing cycle. Sometimes, your statement balance will also include any balance that was left on the card before the current cycle.
This balance is the amount you must pay off if you do not want to carry a balance over to the next month.
Current Balance
The current balance is your current credit card balance, which includes any charges made during the current billing cycle. If you’ve made more purchases or transfers since the last closing date, your current balance will be higher than your statement balance.
If you don’t want to have a balance roll over to the next month, you can pay this amount off completely.
Other Amounts
If you choose to make a custom payment, that’s totally fine as long as you make one that is more than the minimum payment. You may not have the funds to pay off your statement in full, which is okay. However, you don’t want to be charged exorbitantly high-interest fees, so paying off more than the amount you are being charged for the minimum is extremely important.
Going Beyond Credit Cards
When used properly, credit cards can be great tools for reaching your credit goals. However, beyond the realm of credit cards, you might look to authorized user tradelines to reach your credit score goals.
Authorized user tradelines are incredible tools that everyday consumers use to boost their credit scores and obtain financial freedom.
If you have any further questions regarding tradelines and how they can help you boost your credit score, make sure to get in touch with us here at Personal Tradelines to learn more! We look forward to helping you reach your financial goals.