Destroy your credit and you’ll see interest rates skyrocket, sometimes even for money you already borrowed. You’ll also be locked out of getting new credit and miss out on being able to take advantage.
Paying your credit card late is still better than not at all but it will destroy your credit score all the same. That missed payment will show on your credit report for months and your interest rate will default to the maximum allowable by law.
Low introductory rates of 0% are tempting, especially if you’ve got other credit card debt you can consolidate. The problem is that the credit card company uses a bunch of reasons to reset your rate much.
Most people don’t read the fine print on their credit card offers. I try but it always puts me to sleep. Problem is that there are all kinds of misleading tricks in there to charge you a higher rate and destroy your credit score.
Making only the minimum payments leaves you open to getting in way over your head or just being a slave to debt for decades.
Make just the 1% balance plus interest minimum that most cards require monthly on a $5,000 balance at 14% and you’ll pay another $5,000 in interest over 18 years. That puts you in the credit card company’s pocket.