Graduating college and starting a new life on your own is a scary time. If you’re like most students, you already have debt, and you certainly don’t have piles of cash sitting around for you to splurge on a nice apartment, high-end furniture, and fancy work clothes yet. If you’re lucky enough to have a job lined up, your future is a bit more secure and there is less risk involved, but that’s no reason to become complacent about your finances.
Let me tell you a story about a girl I knew in college. She had a great job lined up with a nice salary, so when she left school, she got a credit card with a 12 month introductory 0% APR. She figured she could put all of her “necessities” – a security deposit on a nice apartment, an apartment full of furniture, and work clothes – on her credit card, and pay them off interest-free over the course of the year with her new salary.
Since it’s a new year, I decided to take a good look into my credit card rewards program. I discovered that my rewards program, which offers rewards in many categories, is terrible in the category I care most about: statement credits. With a bit of research, I found a new credit card with cash back rewards that align very nicely with my spending patterns.
