{"id":21757,"date":"2020-04-28T10:40:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T14:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.eztaxreturn.com\/?p=21757"},"modified":"2023-06-04T15:50:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T20:50:22","slug":"5-tips-for-using-your-credit-card-during-an-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.eztaxreturn.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-using-your-credit-card-during-an-emergency\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Using Your Credit Card During an Emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">coronavirus<\/a> outbreak began, over 26 million American workers have suddenly found themselves unemployed.\u00a0 Not everyone has enough money saved to last them through these uncertain times.\u00a0 As a result, you may find yourself relying on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Credit_card\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">credit cards<\/a> to stay afloat.\u00a0 Here are some tips for using your credit card during a financial emergency.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-cover-your-necessities\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cover your necessities<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When money is tight, the best thing to do is make sure your necessities are covered. Bills of highest priority are your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries and insurance premiums. Until the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pandemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pandemic<\/a> is over, it&#8217;s important to keep your home stocked with gallons of water, at least three days of non-perishable food, medication and hygiene products. Get what you need so you can stay home where it&#8217;s safe.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-always-make-your-minimum-payments-on-time\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Always make your minimum payments on time<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Normally, you don\u2019t want to carry a balance from month to month because you\u2019ll rack up interest and be in debt longer.\u00a0 But when you\u2019re in a bind, none of that matters.\u00a0 For now, just focus on making your minimum payments on time.\u00a0 Since 35% of your <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FICO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FICO<\/a> score is based on payment history, this will help you avoid late fees and keep your account in good standing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-it-s-okay-to-charge-a-little-more-than-usual\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>It&#8217;s okay to charge a little more than usual<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty percent of your FICO score is based on the amount you owe. Using a high percentage of your available credit can send a red flag to lenders that you may be overextended. Under normal circumstances, you want to spend less than 30% of your credit limit. However, if spending a little more will help you keep the lights on or food on the table, go for it. Once you get over the rough patch, you can reduce your spending back to the normal range.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-reach-out-to-your-card-issuer-for-financial-assistance\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reach out to your card issuer for financial assistance<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since many businesses have temporarily closed or reduced employee hours, credit card issuers have begun helping consumers who may be struggling.\u00a0 The type of assistance you\u2019ll receive varies, but some issuers have been adjusting due dates, waiving late fees\/minimum payment requirements and increasing credit limits.\u00a0 Before your next payment is due, call and see what kind of arrangement you can work out.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-stay-away-from-cash-advances\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stay away from cash advances<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We understand that you need cash and you want it fast, but a cash advance is not the way to go.\u00a0 Often, the interest rate for a cash advance is higher than if you were making a purchase.\u00a0 Worst of all, it begins accumulating immediately.\u00a0 Getting a cash advance also isn\u2019t free.\u00a0 Typically, the fee costs between 2 to 5 percent of the borrowed amount.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"text-align: center;\">File your taxes online in 30 minutes or less.\u00a0 It&#8217;s fast and ez.<strong><br \/><\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fe48e5de wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size has-medium-font-size\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eztaxreturn.com\/ezrouter.html?action=start_return&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_term=ccemergency&amp;gid=ccemergency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">File Now!<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the coronavirus outbreak began, over 26 million American workers have suddenly found themselves unemployed.\u00a0 Not everyone has enough money saved to last them through these uncertain times.\u00a0 As a result, you may find yourself relying on credit cards to stay afloat.\u00a0 Here are some tips for using your credit card during a financial emergency. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-credit-cards-and-credit-scores"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.13 (Yoast SEO v20.13) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Tips for Using Your Credit Card During an Emergency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not everyone has enough money saved to last them through uncertain times. Here are some tips for using your credit card in an emergency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.eztaxreturn.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-using-your-credit-card-during-an-emergency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips for Using Your Credit Card During an Emergency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not everyone has enough money saved to last them through uncertain times. 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