Would you like to save 15% off your total purchase?

by on December 1, 2011 in Finance, Life, Online, Save or Spend

The holiday season is here and many of you are probably shopping and looking for great deals. Many retailers are asking customers to open a store credit card to save a certain percentage off of their total purchase. The offer sounds great as it sounds like a money saving offer, but beware, applying for too many of these offers can really put a dent in your credit score.

I’ve seen and heard of people going from one department store to another and another and another….all to get like 10 or 15 percent off of their total purchase. Some people do not think it is a big deal because they plan to pay the first bill in full and then close the account. Not a good idea.

What is happening here, is that too many cards are being opened (too many inquiries) and all of those available credit limits look like potential debt (just as bad as real debt) and if you close it after the first billing cycle, you had too much opening and closing going on in a short period of time. Doesn’t sound like a good idea anymore, huh?

Happy shopping!

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I am a wife and mother and originally from Charleston, SC. My mom is from Chile, South America and she taught me how to read, write and speak in Spanish :-) I am a graduate of Trident Technical College and Charleston Southern University. I enjoy reading about finance and medical news, getting snail mail from family and friends, spending time with family, clipping coupons, shopping, and swimming at the pool.

One Response to “Would you like to save 15% off your total purchase?”

  1. Jeff Mills December 2, 2011 at 5:48 pm #

    The best thing to do is to pay cash. I’m one of those people who believes that a credit card should only be used for emergencies. There are all kinds of offers coming in the mail this time of year from credit card and loan companies that say how you’re “pre-qualified” for a loan. Many people assume that this means that they are “pre-approved”. It is not the case. They still need to do a credit check on you which will also cause your credit score to go down.

    My advice to anyone this holiday season is to save up and pay cash. Speaking from personal experience, a credit card should really be used for emergencies such as an air conditioner breaking down, mechanical work done on your car or plumbing. You never know when something is going to happen and you would hate to not have enough on your credit card to be able to pay for something that is a serious problem. Getting the latest Wii system or a new HDTV is not an emergency. Nor is it worth going into debt or having your credit score decreased. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

    Reply

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