Brett opens up by defining what credit cards are, then he gets into the pros and cons of credit cards. The main pros are travel insurance, consumer protection, and rewards. The main con is the high interest rate and propensity for people to spend money they don’t have, the “poison” of personal finance, if you will. Both Brett and Lauren are using 0% credit cards right now to carry balances, but they arenusing these responsibly and will pay them off before the interest hits. Credit cards are like fireworks. If you play with them responsibly, you’ll get a beautiful show. If not, they’ll blow up in your face. How do you know which cards are best? It depends on what you’re looking for: cash rewards or travel ones. Lauren asked about annual fees, and Brett point out that you can get more value than the annual fee in most cases. Then, Brett casually drops into the conversation that he has had over 100 credit cards since he was 18, 13 years ago. Right now, he’s using his Chase Sapphire for everything, including a rental car recently in Denver. When a hailstorm rolled through, the damage was covered by the credit card! How does having so many cards affect your credit? It turns out it’s not too serious of an impact, usually 5-7 points. Lauren then asks about how credit card limits work. Interestingly, Brett points out that you can transfer credit lines to different cards with the same provider. Lauren asks Brett to explain how credit card companies make money if they’re able to give Brett all these rewards! They make money on interest, late fees, and processing fees as well. Lauren then shares a consumer protection win of her own. Brett closes by reminding people that they’re using their credit card every day. They should analyze whether they’re actually using the right one.

About Brett:

Brett Holzhauer is a self-proclaimed personal finance nerd. He currently works at Biz2Credit wherehe is a Senior Writer. Before that, he was a personal finance reporter at CNBC and Forbes. Along the way, he has been on his own financial journey. Hesuccessfully paid off $80,000 in student loan debt, while buying his first home in South Florida in 2022, bought his first investment property in 2023, and is currently under contract for his second investment property. When he isn't money nerd-ing, he is watching college football or getting tan at the beach.

Connect with Brett:

Twitter @brettholzhauer

Biz2Credit.com

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Connect with Lauren:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/⁠⁠⁠

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/