Frugal Friday: CC warning

There are lots of great tips for living frugally over at "Life as Mom," so go check them out here:

http://www.lifeasmom.com/2009/07/frugal-friday-save-money-on-birthdays.html

Here is my tip. If you are lucky enough to be able to pay off a credit card, there is something you need to keep in mind. Just because the card is 'closed' doesn't mean there won't be some charge on it!

I have recently been able, thanks to the best husband on earth, to pay off most of my big, fat debt. As I pay off a card, I also close it. But I double-checked the next month to make sure the balance was at $0. Well! To my surprise I found out this isn't always true. Yes, there will be no more charges from outside sources. But what about the CC's own finance charges?

You could pay off the current balance on a card, without knowing that your finance charges weren't scheduled to show up for a day or so. Those charges go on your card. And there you are, happily thinking of $0 balances, while those sneaky charges lay in the dark, waiting to make your life miserable!

So...take a second look at any CCs you close and make sure they really are finished and done!

BTW, IMHO...credit card companies are legalized loan-sharking establishments. Thank goodness there will be regulations to stop this nonsense in the next few years!