In a society where most people can’t imagine life without credit cards, a new book has become available called The Skinny on Credit Cards. The description of the book is “How To Master the Credit Card Game.”
This book’s appearance in our modern world seems timely since the average American household has a credit card debt of around $10,000. With the increased amount of unemployment, many household’s may feel they’re barely hanging on. This book is designed to teach people how to use their credit cards, and what things can be done to get out of debt a bit sooner than the minimum payment would ever allow.
The book talks about a time when credit cards were first launched on America. Apparently, in 1958 Bank of America dropped the first load of about 60,000 credit cards on citizens of Fresno California. The consumers did not ask for credit cards and didn’t even realize such a thing could exist. But, we’ve come a long way from that, since most Americans rely on them today.
In fact, there are about 700 million active credit cards today and the total debt related to credit cards is about $1 trillion. So, what was once a surprise mailing to unassuming consumers has become what many US citizens would call a necessity.
Knowing how to use credit cards is the key. Consumers who make credit work for them instead of becoming a slave to it have learned that they can be an excellent tool. But, those who have fallen into the pitfalls of overwhelming debt may curse the day they ever completed the form to request a credit card.
The Skinny on Credit Cards is designed to teach consumers how to make their cards turn into tools for success. This is done by educating the consumer on exactly how credit cards work. Consumers will learn the vocabulary associated with credit cards. Understanding the terms is key to understanding the cards themselves.
The book is apparently a good read for adults and teens alike because of its easy to read style and good sense of humor. A book like this is important to help prepare teens for what’s ahead. Many have no idea how credit cards work. They just know they see their parents using cards, so they must be good. When the time comes that someone wants to give them a credit card, many young adults find themselves lured in by the idea of having extra money to spend.
They often charge the cards to their maximum amount right away before they ever understand how they should have been properly used. Starting out this young with credit card debt does not set a good precedence for one’s future.
The book was written by Jim Randal, an attorney and entrepreneur. He has spent 30 years studying financial literacy and personal achievement. His goal was to make the entire credit card process more transparent by sticking to facts and specific points.
He has done a good job with his stick figure story telling of situational examples to which many people can easily relate. It offers consumers and opportunity to get a fresh look at credit cards and learn how they can save lots of money by using them properly.
Visit the website: The Skinny on Credit Cards
