Table of Contents
Introduction
It has not been that many years that prepaid credit cards have existed. Brad Roemer Real Estate has had read many articles about how they are a terrible idea. This prompted us to look into the positive and negative aspects of having a prepaid credit card. First, we must explain to you exactly what it is. Think of this as an allowance card. You can purchase the card preloaded with a dollar amount on it. Naturally, you will pay the taxes associated with the purchase, but at the end, you will have the dollar amount that it says on the card. The only fees that you will be faced with are ones associated with keeping the money too long. After a year, the card company can legally start charging you a fee. This is clearly written on the card, so we do not consider it a hidden fee. Now, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of getting a prepaid credit card.
The Pros
In a world of people starting to suffocate under mounting debt, this can be used as a way to control your spending. All you need to do is put the dollar amount on the card (oh yeah, we forgot to mention that they are reloadable) that you wish to spend, and you will eventually run out of money. That will tell you that you have no more fun money to spend and that the rest of the money you have needs to go towards bills and savings.
Another thing that it can be useful for is to teach your children the value of money. Instead of just giving them money willy-nilly, give them a prepaid credit card and they will only have that amount of money to spend. It will also keep them from spending too much money on your credit cards if you input them into their electronic devices. There are horror stories of children racking up huge credit card bills not knowing that they are making purchases with real money.
The Cons
If you are trying to build your credit through credit cards, this is not the kind that will do that. The reason is that you are not actually borrowing money. All you are doing is putting money on a card that you can use to make various purchases. That is nice when it comes to online shopping and not having access to an actual credit card.
Another downside is the fact that you will not have any protection when it comes to it being stolen. Should you have your prepaid credit card stolen, or misplaced, you will not be able to cancel the card and have another one issued to you. So, while it can be safer than carrying around cash, it still has the same disadvantage as carrying cash.
Conclusion
Brad Roemer Real Estate feels that prepaid credit cards get a bad rap for no reason. They have a lot of advantages, but you must be aware of the disadvantages associated with them as well. We hope that you found this article helpful and that it will help you make a better decision in the future.