Practically everyone in the United States has credit cards. From teenagers to retirees, almost everyone has at least one credit card. Everywhere we go we see ads - in the television, radio, newspapers, billboard advertisements - on credit cards. Some credit cards are even mailed directly to our homes. But what are credit cards, why should you have one and what are some of the risks involved?

Simply stated, a credit card is a financial arrangement between you, the consumer or the card holder, and an institution such as a bank. The arrangement specifies that you borrow money from the lending institution with the promise that you will pay them back in the future. The
institution agrees that it will provide the money you need and in-turn you are expected to return payment over a certain period of time. Your payment will include not just the amount of money you borrowed, but also an additional charge based on a pre-defined rate of interest. Credit can provide various services, making it an indispensable tool for today's consumers.

These include:

Convenience. You saw this wonderful dress in a shop. Perfect for tonight's party, you thought. But you don't have money right now. Thanks to your card, you can buy anything you want right now. Credit cards give you that wonderful allowance not to bring that much cash and to order goods from catalogs. In addition, many of the online-based shops and stores, such as Amazon. com, mainly accept payment using credit.

Emergency Protection. For emergency situation, credit cards can be an extremely helpful tool that could be your friend that could pay for your emergency needs, like when your car conked out in the road, or your mother gets hospitalized, or any emergency situations that you need money but can't get it from the usual means.

Putting you in the right budget. Want to keep a detailed record of your expenditures? Credit cards can do that.
Security. In today's world, carrying large cash has become a problem. If your cash gets lost, there's no way you can retrieve it. Compared with credit cards, money cannot be returned back when it got lost or stolen. If your card, for example, got broken or it got lost or someone stole
it from you, you can always ask for a credit card termination or cancellation. You will have another card, a new one that will replace it in a few days.

Traveling. If you're quite a traveler, whether across the town or country, or outside the US, it is relatively easier to travel with a credit card. When used responsibly, credit cards can help improve our daily lives. With credit cards, life can be much easier. However, the joy of using credit cards can quickly change to a curse!

In Part II of this series we will discuss accepting credit cards over the internet.