Account statements have a wide variety of designs, which sometimes does not make it easy to read them quickly, but no way, you have to learn to read these documents since they count, among other things, your expenses, payments and interest. To help you get to know them, you can start by identifying the following concepts that are essential to master:
Payday limit
It is the date on which you must make the minimum payment of your debt at the latest.
minimum payment
Important for when you make your budget; This is the minimum amount to be paid so that your account is up to date, avoiding the generation of a payment delay observation key in your history contained within your Credit Bureau Credit Report. If possible, always pay more than the minimum; This way you will settle your debt more quickly, paying less interest on the money financed.
Payment not to generate interest
It is the amount you need to pay so that you are not charged interest on your debt. Always seek to be in a position to pay this amount or even the total amount owedso you will be financing yourself between the cut-off dates practically free (because the credit card could have an annuity to pay or something else).
Cutoff date
It is the last day of the month up to which operations were registered in your account. Suppose your cut-off date is the 20th of each month, and you made a purchase on the 21st; that charge will be included on your next month’s statement, which means that you have 40 days to pay off that debt without having to pay interest. Keep this date in mind to schedule your purchases according to your budget.
Credit limit
It is the maximum amount for which you can make purchases with your card. Ideally, use no more than 50%. Remember that the credit card is not part of your salary, but is simply a safer and more efficient payment method than cash; It can also give added value in the form of points, airline miles or even “cash back”. If you have a lot of debt accumulated on the card, then you are using credit to live on it and that is not financially healthy.
Balance
Also important for your budget, this is the total amount you owe.
promotions
Here are the purchases you made in months without interest. To look good with the credit grantor and to maintain a good credit history, it is important to pay the required amounts of your purchases in months without interest plus the minimum of your other purchases.
To make a good review of your account statement, you will need to keep your proof of expenses, also known as “vouchers” or promissory notes, so you can compare them against what your account statement reflects. If you do not recognize a charge, call your financial institution immediately and enter a claim for an unrecognized charge.
Keep in mind that the legal framework establishes that you have 90 daysas of the cut-off date, to submit the claim to the financial institution that issued your account statement.
When making your claim, write down the folio and the maximum date to receive a resolution.
If you are not happy with the result of the claim, you can always request a second review before the Specialized Customer Service Unit (UNE) of that same institution or at Condusef.
MORE NEWS: