Credit Cards and the Pandemic
- February 18, 2021
- Posted by: Mindy Leisure Manager of Rescoring Services
- Category: News
For a lot of people during these uncertain times our new best friends are Amazon Prime, Grub Hub, Door Dash, and all the delivery drivers, etc. They come to our door two to three times a week bringing up groceries and household needs. In some cases, we may even see these people more often than friends or family. We bake them cookies and treats to show our appreciation for how they make our lives easier and safer. However, by depending on these wonderful services, we are also depending more on our credit cards.
Those pesky credit card balances can add up in a hurry. And, if you are someone among the thousands of others who have had their work hours cut or have lost their jobs altogether, it might be hard to even make the minimum payment on those cards, which can be extremely detrimental to a credit score. Twenty dollars here and $30 there can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
Revolving balances (which are what credit cards are considered) make up about 30% of credit scores. Depending on how many revolving balances you have and the amount of those balances, they can end up having more of a negative effect on a credit score than even a late payment can!
There are however proactive things that can be done to counteract at least some of the damage:
In these trying times it is easy, yet sometimes necessary, to rely on credit cards, just be mindful of your spending. Little amounts can add up to a lot of debt. There are many ways to minimize any potential damage by just approaching it the right way.