Summary: In my opinion, credit cards should only be used in one way. I think you should only buy something with a credit card if that money is sitting in your bank account right now. Credit cards are not for borrowing. Please don't use credit cards for borrowing. There are times in our lives when we need to borrow money. But credit cards are one of the worst tools for borrowing. The interest rate is way too high. So just promise me that if you ever really need money, right now, and you're thinking about borrowing it with a credit card, look at other options first. Maybe a loan or a line of credit with a lower rate. Just look at other options and only borrow with a credit card as a last resort. Credit cards are a tool for convenience and benefits. Now that you have agreed to only spend money you have in the bank, I can introduce you to Stephen Weyman and his new website called creditcardgenius.ca There are so many options when it comes to getting a credit card. Before I talked to Stephen, I would have told you to never get a credit card with an annual fee. You know I hate fees. But what if the benefits you get when you use the card are much higher than the annual fee? Example: Before I owned a car I rented cars all the time. Many credit cards come with collision and damage coverage if you book the rental car with the card. If you don't have a card with collision and damage coverage, the rental company will charge you $30 per day. That's an extra $210 on a rental for just a week. So if you rent a car for a week, even once a year, maybe a $99 annual fee on a credit card isn't so bad. This is just one example of a credit card benefit. But there are so many that trying to remember them is making my brain hurt. That's where Stephen and creditcardgenius.ca can help. For over 7 years Stephen has been the mastermind behind the website howtosavemoney.ca. And while he included credit card reviews on howtosavemoney.ca, he realized the world of credit card selection was complex and needed its own space. So Stephen found all of the credit card options in Canada and put them on one site. Turns out there are more than 150 different options. He even built some cool features to help you find the credit card that works best for you. Stephen joined me in downtown Toronto for my first outdoor and underground mobile episode of The Personal Finance Show. What an interesting experience to record a podcast while walking around outside and in the Toronto underground path. Did you notice when we walked into the subway station about halfway through? Thanks Stephen for being up for a different kind of interview. And a special shout out to Daniel Trezub from savewithdan.ca for making that cameo at the end. NEXT EPISODE Next week on The Personal Finance Show I get to chat with my pal Jessica Moorhouse about that time she travelled from Toronto to Las Vegas in a week using only a chip and pin credit card to pay for everything. You might want to check out episode 7 of The Personal Finance Show where I interviewed all 5 contestants in the Money 20/20 Money Race, right at the beginning of the race before they left on their journey to Vegas. If you enjoy listening to The Personal Finance Show, please show your support by subscribing and leaving a review on iTunes or your favourite podcast app. No time for a review? Just leave me a star rating - takes 2 seconds on iTunes. investwisely.ca is where you can find all of the show notes and links and of course all of my blog posts. I’d love to hear from you so please feel free to send me an email at beau@investwisely.ca.
