How Bad Is It to Max Out a Credit Card?

Maxing out a credit card means charging purchases on the card until your balance is at your card's credit limit. In addition to potentially costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest from the high balance, a maxed-out credit card could affect the rest of your financial life by lowering your credit score.

The most obvious reason why maxing out a credit card can be bad is for the interest you might end up paying if you carry the balance for some time. As an example, consider that a $5,000 credit card balance at 18% interest will cost $900 per year in interest charges alone.

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Source: Fool.com