People nowadays have a certain need to purchase things at a bargain.  Paying for less than the retail or sticker price always makes us satisfied of how we take care of our finances.

Just few of the ways we can get bargains are by way of discount sale periods and haggling but there are certain schemes which entice plenty of individuals to sign up assuring them sufficient discounts that will be advantageous for them but will prove to be the contrast.

One such infamous scheme are store cards.  They are much like credit cards except store cards can only be used on particular stores and their branches while credit cards can be used nearly everywhere.  People are charmed to get store cards mostly due to promises to award a shopper up to 10% discount on each purchase they make. 

The customary way store cards are being sold to shoppers is by means of store employees asking you if you would like to cut 10% on your purchases.  This usually occurs when you come in or leave the store but given that store staffs get some type of commission on these deals, it could happen anytime at any place within the store. 

Aside from the initial attractive discount to be had, signing up for a store card can even give shoppers free gifts and quarterly magazines get delivered to you for free.  But in the long run, you may be getting lots of headaches because of the outrageous heavy interest rate that are widespread with store cards.

A lot of store cards have interest rates ranging from 25 to 30 percent, that’s more than half the regular rates for credit cards.  A lot of people get duped into getting these store cards as most, if not all, of the stores that offer them are not telling consumers everything they should be aware of, particularly the most crucial information.

So how do stores still manage to pull customers into getting to sign up for their store cards?  The most common tactic is non-transparency.  Stores will only tell unsuspecting customers about the fine things and rewards tied to their store cards and their customers wouldn’t be aware about the high annual percentage rate until they feel the impact on their finances  In addition, the typical candidates being targeted by stores are younger shoppers with jobs. 

Store cards can easily get someone in debt and they can even incur a much bigger debt than credit cards.  If you have a pattern of missing payments, maybe signing up for a store card is something you should avoid.

People age 21 and beyond are believed to own store cards and only 2/3 of them pay the monthly bills in full.  The remaining 1/3 who do not pay-off their overall monthly balance have a tendency to keep their store card debt.

If you are planning to obtain a store card, don’t go  diving ahead as other forms might present more advantage.  Credit cards with much lower rates will in fact give more breathing space. 

You should also study the form carefully and make sure you understand each and every section especially lines that have words and figures such as rates, percentage (%), monthly and annually, and numbers.  If a line or paragraph seems too tough to comprehend, take the form with you and ask somebody who knows about these things such as a financial advisor or getting a debt management plan.

If you think that getting a store card would really help with your expenses, make sure you’ll be able to fully pay for it as soon as you get your statement.  If you already have a store card for some time now and already have debt from it, you can opt to transfer it to a credit card that offers low or 0% rate.  It is certainly possible and it can make a big positive difference in getting you to pay-off your debt much sooner and much effectively.