The lifestyle in the city is a demanding one and it is no surprise that young professionals are seen grappling with credit card woes. Managing their finances with a month’s salary is difficult and the credit card comes as their saviour, filling in when the debit card doesn’t. A regular salary is a blessing but there are times when you have to spend a little more than planned. Rojie Rajan, a manager says, “I realised that my monthly salary wouldn’t suffice the whole month. For bigger important expenses, I use the credit card which I pay for with the subsequent month’s salary.” For a new city resident, purchasing necessary devices like a fridge or a laptop can be more than they can afford. Vivekanand Sajjan, a techie, says, “The credit card can pay for a huge amount that is needed, for a phone perhaps, without me having to spend a huge amount on it. I can also keep a track on unnecessary expenditure monthly.”
City living is costly and the credit card silently funds the more luxurious aspects. Keerthi V, a quality analyst opines, “I found it to be more dependable as this way I don’t need to ask a friend for a small loan and I can handle it myself.” In cases of emergency Sandhya VS, an engineer says, “Having a credit card is very useful when you have to settle medical bills or you suddenly need to book tickets to travel. These needs rise out of the blue and having a credit card to depend upon, is good.”
Even though banks lure customers in with benefits, the interest rates are high. Rojie notes that when you regularly use credit cards and pay on time, it invariably increases your CIBIL score. “This is a universal ranking system that monitors a person’s credit history and scores them based on regular bill payments. This score makes it easier to apply for loans.”Nishanth emphasises that as long as one is conscious about what exactly they use their card for, the bill is manageable. Bobanna, a bank official says, “For a person earning a salary of Rs 22,000, when he has to buy a product of Rs 20,000 it means he has to pay in EMIs. Customer’s experience a purchasing power that has come now with online shopping and credit cards make that possible.”
