I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

The truth about credit cards lies somewhere between these two extremes. As long as you manage them well, they’re worth having. But if you don’t completely pay off your bill at the end of the month, you’ll owe an enormous amount of interest on the remainder, usually about 14 percent.

But first, we’ll set up automatic credit card payments so you never miss a payment again. Then, we’ll see how to cut fees, get better rewards, and take everything you can from the credit card companies.

single most important thing you can do to improve your credit is to pay your bills on time.

Don’t get suckered by introductory offers and low APRs—if you’re happy with your card, keep it.

But if you have lots of cards that you never use, reconsider this. Some of my readers have opened over twenty-plus cards to “churn” rewards, and now they can’t keep track of all their cards. This is where you have to make a decision on risk versus reward and simplicity versus complexity.

Think balance: For most people, having two or three credit cards is perfect.

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They have a plan. Instead of getting caught on a spending treadmill of new phones, new cars, new vacations, and new everything, they plan to spend on what’s important to them and save on the rest.

spent it, I save half and I spend the other half.)