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If you think that you've been bombarded with credit offers during the course of the year, just wait until the holiday season rolls around. In addition to cheer, peace and goodwill toward men, the Holidays typically also bring more offers of credit than at any other time. However, that doesn't mean that they're to your benefit.
For example, when you receive a credit card offer in the mail, it often seems tempting, doesn't it? An offer of 0 percent APR for six months, combined with several blank checks which you can use either for purchases or consolidation of other debts may be close to irresistible, but your best course of action would be to shred that entire document. Because, if you were to read the back of the offer, you'd notice that the APR may be as high as 21 percent or higher after the initial offer ends. Thus, you might save money initially, but sooner or later those high interest rates will kick in and you'll be faced with additional ongoing debt that could be growing at an even faster rate than your original credit accounts.
One of the most disturbing aspects of these credit card offers is that they are sent to just about anyone who's listed in the white pages. Imagine senior citizens, living on a fixed Social Security income and barely able to make ends meet, being presented with an offer that they feel will make their lives a little easier. Of course, it will not; it's only packaged to seem that way. They become victims of a system that preys on unsuspecting individuals who do not realize the consequences of applying for credit. They may look at those blank checks and think that their ship has finally come in.
These credit card offers are also sent to students, and because they may not fully understand the pitfalls of credit card debt, they willingly apply and suffer the consequences later. It's actually not unusual for a teen get a new credit card and run up bills totaling thousands of dollars. And by making just the minimum monthly payments due, it could literally take several decades to pay those amounts off.
Due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and, as a result, a soured economy, many banks have curtailed their credit offerings and have added new requirements for those who apply. Yet, this does not stop them from sending out application upon application to those who either can't afford it or could suffer serious financial setbacks if obtain it.
If you receive credit card offers in the mail this Holiday season, the best advice one can offer is to tear up the envelope or shred it. Don't even open it. This is especially true if you already have ongoing credit card debt. Adding fuel to an already burgeoning fire will neither help you now nor in the long run.
