Do you have any idea just how common credit cards are? Let’s take a look at a few statistics from the USA.

The average family carries a balance of between $5,000 and $8,000 on all their credit cards, depending on which figures you believe. Over $1,000 per family goes on interest every year. And that’s just the average - some people owe much more! Overall, Americans spend over $1 trillion every year on their credit cards, and owe more than $500 billion of it.

If debt continues at the current rate, then one family in a hundred will be forced into bankruptcy. Over 90% of Americans’ disposable incomes are spent paying back debts. Whatever happened to saving?

Debt Costs Everyone Money.

Literally billions of dollars are being used up on expenses that are only created because of the existence of the credit card industry. The weight of the calculations, administration and marketing needed to support the industry is immense - the average American gets at least one credit card offer in the mail every day.

When you’re looking at a credit card offer, take a look at the small print – it seems like a maze, but it’s vitally important. With the trend nowadays towards easier-to-read ‘summary boxes’, there aren’t as many excuses for ignoring the terms as there used to be. Anyway, credit card lenders are devious, and there are plenty of things there designed to catch you out – here’s what you should be on your guard against.

Annual Fees.

Even though you’re already paying them interest, many credit cards still charge you an annual fee. It’s not as common as it once was, but it’s still around. You should be especially careful to check for fees on Gold and Platinum cards – even though they’re not that hard to get any more, they still tend to charge much higher fees than normal cards.

If you’re like most people, you have plenty of credit cards, and you have stacks of offers for more. The credit card industry is so competitive that, whatever card you have, the chances are that somewhere out there is one that would be cheaper or better for you – and you can change as often as you want!

Take Up Teaser Offers.

To try and get customers, credit cards are still offering massive discount rates when you transfer balances over to them. These ‘teaser’ rates will only last for a set period (check the terms and conditions), but they can still save you a lot of money – especially if you switch to another card’s teaser rate each time one ends.

You might not know it, but every time you take out any kind of loan or credit or pay something back, it gets counted on your credit rating. Who keeps a record on you will vary according to where you live, but the big three credit reference agencies are Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. They will provide your credit rating to any company that is thinking of lending you money.

What is Included in Your Credit Rating.

All the debts you currently have are included in your credit rating. There is a history of all the debts you’ve had in the past ten years or so, and special emphasis is put on anything that has gone wrong. Defaulting (never paying) on any debt will ruin your credit rating completely. Borrowing a lot before you start paying anything back will make you look like a very bad risk, and so will going all the way up to (or even over) your limit on a credit card.

For all people shop around for the best rate, there are few who have taken the time to sit down and add it all up. After all, why would you bother? The answer is that understanding just how interest rates work can help you see how important small differences in rates and payment amounts can be.

Interest Rates are Compound.

It is important to remember that what you owe is compounded – that means you pay interest on the interest you owe from the month before. That means that if you’re paying 2% per month in interest, you’re not paying 24% per year – you’re actually paying 26.82%. Charging interest monthly instead of yearly is a trick to make it feel like you are paying a very low price for your borrowing.

A Thought Experiment.

Here’s a question: would you rather have $1 million, or $10,000 in a savings account earning 20% per year in compound interest?