Store Cards

Many of us have been merrily shopping away, just taking our choices up to the till to pay, and have been offered a 10% discount on everything if we just take out a ‘handy store card’. These are essentially credit cards associated with their particular store.

They may well be too tempting for many with that initial 10% discount and the promise of vouchers for regular use of the card – but the interest rates charged on some of these cards will far outweigh the benefits for many people. With interest rates on some above 30%, your purchases can quickly start to cost you a lot more than the price tag if you don’t pay of the balance each month.

Store cards really are something that you want to avoid, especially the high interest rate ones. If you can afford to pay for it at the time of purchase, why not use a debit card? If you can’t afford to pay for something at the time of purchase, should you really be buying it? If you don’t pay off the balance before the interest free period (usually 30 to 60 days), the item will quickly start to cost significantly more than the price tag that you couldn’t afford in the first place.