In India, a credit card is mostly used as a medium for shopping and earning reward points. However, many don’t know that these cards can also be used for balancing their expenses with their fixed monthly incomes over time.
Credit cards come with pre-set limits. But, one must carefully stick to a certain portion of credit limit. Otherwise, the credit card dues may be much more than expected, making repayment troublesome. Failing to pay the bill in time will attract higher interest rates and late payment fees, leaving you in a financial mess.
However, you can plan your finances efficiently if you follow a few proven methods. Some of the ways to manage your credit cards include:
1. Creating a budget
One of the ideal ways in which credit cards help manage your finances is by creating a budget. You may not be able to keep track of your expenses manually, but credit cards can help you do so. The bill contains all the purchases you have made.
Analysing the bill helps you make a budget for the next month and eliminates things that unnecessarily eat up your income.
2. Reward point and cashbacks
You earn reward points with every transaction you make. Using your card for making all monthly purchases earns you more reward points. You can, then, redeem these points to avail discount vouchers, cashback, etc.
3. Converting monthly bills into EMIs
One of the superior benefits of credit cards is that you can purchase products on EMIs. But, you may not know that it is also possible to convert the outstanding due amounts into easy EMIs.
A credit card offers a grace period of up to 45 days to clear the dues. If you fail to make the payment, you have to pay a high rate of interest, late payment charges, etc.
However, in case you can’t clear the bill in time but also want to avoid the high interest, then you can convert that outstanding amount into EMIs.
Therefore, whenever there’s a probability of high expenditure around, you can use your credit cards and make the repayments flexible.
Things to remember before you apply for a credit card to manage your finances:
I. Go for a card with a lower limit
A credit card with a lower limit will keep your finances well-managed. On the contrary, one with a high limit may cause you to spend more than you can afford. Also, remember to keep the credit utilisation within 30-50% of the limit as doing the opposite will lower your credit score.
II. Instruct your bank to debit the bill automatically
It may be troublesome for you to pay the bills manually every month. Hence, you can instruct your bank to automatically debit the outstanding credit amounts every month. Doing so will keep you from missing the due date of clearing the dues.
Follow all of these mentioned above and you can plan your finances better. You can also opt for the Bajaj Finserv RBL Bank SuperCard. The SuperCard combines the features of 4 different cards in one and brings numerous industry-first features.
So, apply for a credit card and manage your finances more efficiently.