Are a you a fan of just charging it all and then paying the bill when it comes? According to CreditCards.com that may be damaging your credit score. Not only where you buy but what you buy seems to have an impact on a credit card company’s profile of spenders. Prior to the new credit card law, companies would  use the information about your purchases to lower your spending limit.

This made me reflect on two young ladies I saw making purchases of less than $15 at a thrift store. Would that purchase reflect on their credit score or spending habits? The only time I spend less than $15 on a credit card happens when a large department store has a special sale and you get an additional percentage off of any purchase made with the store’s credit card.

Cash on the other hand for certain purchases is hard to trace. Granted, if you are making a small purchase and you have a problem with an item, you would be less likely to be upset about a faulty $15 dollar item than you would for a faulty $150 or $1500 dollar item.

Where and how much you spend with your credit card, gives credit card companies an accurate picture of who you are – at least through your purchases. If you only use your purchases for certain items, then they have a flawed picture. But if you use cash for many of your purchasesthen credit card companies will have a skewed picture of you.

For an example of what types of purchases will affect your credit score, try the interactive shopping cart. Certain purchases decrease your score considerably, while other seemingly innocuous purchases will raise your score considerably.

You can’t always pay for items with cash, especially online purchases but if you are prudent in your spending with your credit card, then your score and credit limit may suffer less.

Remember to be diligent about checking your credit card bills and other statements. Additional charges may be added to your bill by either human error or just as a test by scammers to see if the charges go unnoticed then you r account may be charged for a larger amount at a later date.

Double billing and errors happen. Check your bill often, even between payments to see what charges are being added to your bill. If you believe that you are charged twice for something that you ordered, contact the merchant to try to straighten out the situation. Generally, reputable places can check their records. If this does not work, then go to the credit card company.

Notice a charge that you did not make? Directly contact your credit card company.

Phishing scams are on the rise, because of the economy but some crimes are either not reported or not detected for a while. Even additional charges may be added to your cell or home phone bill. Always check to see if additional services are added mistakenly. This is especially true if you have automatic payments charged to a credit card or deducted from a checking account. I had an automatic deduction made from an account for a mortgage before and more money was being taken from y account than it should have been. The amount was very small and was added to my mortgage as additional principal. Sometimes the amount deducted may be keyed in incorrectly and could make you have to pay additional late charges. If you have proof that you have automatic payment and that it was an error on their end, then you may have to go through the hassle of straightening it out, but you will receive a credit.

 Be diligent in your own finances.

Credit card reform has passed in the Senate and will return to the House for a vote.

One interesting area that the separate bills provide for are credit cards for minors. The House bill states that (unemancipated) minors can’t have more than one card, and limits college students to one card. The Senate bill eliminates credit cards for anyone younger than 21 without proof of income or adult co-signer.

Universal default is also eliminated so if you make a late payment your rate isn’t automatically increased on you other credit cards.

Though the other parts of either the House’s or Senate’s bill would be beneficial to cardholders, the provision for minors and college age students is important. Having one card will still allow a student to do some damage but not so much as having several cards and accruing thousands of dollars in non-tuition debt before graduating from college.

Debt is a big issue for many people. Starting your life with excessive credit card debt doesn’t help a college student make his/her way in the world. This legislation if passed by the House will make a difference when students arrive on campus and have to walk through a gauntlet of credit card companies’ tables offering free gifts and generous credit limits for those who have no employment. Proof of income or a co-signer would make it more difficult to completely ruin your credit. [A provision for a reasonable credit limit, depending on the student’s income would have been a great addition as well.]

Checking you credit card statements is very important.

I recently opened my bill to find a charge that I hadn’t made on the bill. Instead of placing an inquiry online, I called. When I called, the representative also checked to see if the fraudulent charge was on my bill additional times. This is not something that you can check when you make an online inquiry.

Even when you check your bill regularly, make sure that you haven’t overpaid or underpaid something. Electronic payments that are underpaid even by a few pennies can accrue hundreds of dollars in interest or fees.

Fortunately there were no other charges by this company to my card. A true warning sign that this wasn’t a legit company is that there was no contact information listed. I know when I make purchases and also pay attention to companies that state you will be billed from another company. 

Fraudulent charges may appear on your statement in small amounts to see if you question them, then more charges will be made, if you don’t put up a fuss.

I know when I made purchases and I didn’t make a purchase that day, not does anyone have authority to use my credit card.

When using your credit card, make sure that you keep track of it, and also keep track of purchases. This also applies to ATM and debit cards.

For ATM machines, if the machine doesn’t look right, then don’t use it. A process called skimming duplicates your information and then the information is used to drain your account.

I know other people who have had small charges on their phone bill and on their credit card bill who contacted their service providers immediately to avoid any further problems. By not checking, you may be paying for fraudulent charges – spending money on something that you didn’t purchase.

Be aware and check all of your statements.

Recently I received a book and dvd as premiums that I selected from surveys that I completed online. It is interesting. None of the surveys that I complete would make it possible for me to do this as a full time job – despite what some spammer might have you believe. Though the premium that I earn for completing surveys does add up. I have renewed a specialty magazine subscription for $50 for free, have over $50 in cash that I can draw down from one place and have other points that I can use for a hotel stay or other goodies. 

Completing surveys would make it possible to have a little extra leeway in your budget. A couple of years ago I used a coupon for a hotel that I redeemed from survey points.

Some of the best places for surveys and email reading are:

• Zoom Panel 
• Bonus Points
• Viewpoint Forum
• eRewards

There are others, but these are the ones I have stuck with because of the ease of use and rewards offered. If you don’t want to complete a survey or read and email you don’t have to, but even if you don’t qualify or sign up for a promotion you will receive points. To me, that’s worth my time if I can cash in the points for a free restaurant or store gift card.