If you’re looking to purchase a house or car, your lender will probably want to look into your credit rating to make sure you’re not a risk.  Your credit rating details your spending habits, but more important, it tells about your payment habits. It should go without saying someone who pays off debts in a timely manner will have a higher credit rating than one who doesn’t always meet his obligations.

While a credit rating is a good indicator of who is a good candidate for a loan, if an applicant has no credit history at all, and therefore no credit rating ,he may also have problems applying for a loan - even if he’s never been in debt his life.

To get a credit history the best thing to do is to apply for a low interest credit card. Use it to make purchases and pay off your balance right away. Soon, you’ll have an excellent credit history, an excellent credit rating and all will be well when you apply for a loan.

Keep in mind that using a credit card to live beyond your means is the best way to ruin your credit history, so use it wisely and responsibly.

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Most Americans over the age of 18 have at least two credit cards each. From cashback rewards to single monthly payments, credit cards can be handy for sure.

However, they can also be trouble, especially for those who don’t take the time to educate themselves as to how to use credit cards smartly.

Even so, there are some people who simply cannot get credit cards because of bad credit or other reason. For those who can’t use credit cards, or those who don’t want credit cards, there are ways to get along without. Behold:

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The Credit Card APR can be a source of much confusion. It’s funny, a financial tool that is partly about making spending money easy should be so confusing. Even more funny, the very companies that should be explaining this stuff seem to want to keep the mystery going. So here it is, the APR in a nutshell!

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I’ve saved $5000 in the last five years by using a credit card for all my purchases. When I look back at the amount, it amazes me.

Over the last five years I’ve put all my major purchases, from groceries and car down payments to gas for my car and oil to heat my home. When I first started, my card was called Chase Freedom and now it is called Chase Perfect but throughout that time I received 3% cash back on all gas purchases and 1% cash back on everything else.

Doesn’t seem like much, but it really does ad up.

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Do you get jitters thinking about credit cards? Does spending on your cards make you feel like you are doing something wrong or financially unwise?

Credit cards are just one way of spending money. They are a tool, nothing more.

One of the mistakes people make when thinking about credit cards is the thought that Credit Cards lead to Debt Problems.

This simply is not the case!

Credit cards don’t get people into debt, people do.

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