{"id":21801,"date":"2025-10-07T22:31:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=21801"},"modified":"2025-10-07T22:31:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:31:38","slug":"why-i-was-afraid-of-credit-cards-and-the-6-things-i-learned-while-getting-my-first-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=21801","title":{"rendered":"Why I Was Afraid of Credit Cards and the 6 Things I Learned While Getting My First One"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019m a credit cards editor, and for most of my youth, I was afraid of credit cards.<\/p>\n

To be fair, it can be good to have a healthy dose of caution when it comes to credit cards. Used irresponsibly, they can harm your creditworthiness and make it challenging to finance a new car, initiate a new mortgage or be approved for a life-altering loan. And no one wants that.<\/p>\n

Growing up, I watched as friends rushed to sign up for store credit cards, only to later regret them, and as family members anguished over their tanking credit scores. Why would I ever want one for myself?<\/p>\n

I was determined to stick with my safe, dependable debit card for good until I realized that being completely afraid of credit cards could hinder my finances in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why I finally admitted I needed a credit card\u00a0<\/h2>\n

My turnaround started with a solo trip to Syracuse to visit my brother in upstate New York. I needed a rental car to reach his school campus, and found myself standing in the airport Hertz line, hoping they would let me rent my first car even though I wasn\u2019t quite 25 years old. As I made my way to the front, I was told they needed to put a security deposit down on my credit card. I froze. I only had a debit card and (to my horror) discovered that it would cost over double to use that card instead. All my weekend spending money was now in the hands of the invisible Hertz holding cell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That moment was when I realized having a credit card \u2014 even one I only used for renting cars or hotel rooms \u2014 would be necessary. Out of fear, I had refused to open one for so long, but the reality was that I was making my travel experiences far more inconvenient and pricey than they needed to be. Plus, I realized I was tired of feeling ignorant about my own finances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was then I decided to educate myself on the world of credit cards and how to use them responsibly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

6 things I learned while opening up my first credit card\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Diving into credit card research was intimidating at first, but the more I learned, the more I realized they weren\u2019t as scary as I\u2019d imagined. By the time I finally applied for my first rewards card, I felt more in control of my financial journey than I ever had before, and hopefully, you can too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I learned:\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Tackle the terminology\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Learning credit card terminology is the first step to fully understanding how credit cards work and how to best use one. Credit cards can be complex, and the fine print can have you running \u2014 but understating the terms that come with your card will make using it responsibly much easier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are just some of the vital credit card basics I learned:<\/p>\n