Credit cards 'are great in emergencies'

By Sarah Engle, Wed 2 Jun 2010 - Published in Credit Cards

One expert has warned that people who own credit cards should only aim to use them in emergencies, rather than for day-to-day expenses which could be easily paid for on a debit card.

Richard Sorsky, from the UK Insolvency Helpline Debt Advice Service, said that there has been a significant increase in the number of people seeking help from the organisation because they have allowed debt to increase due to making non-essential purchases on credit cards and not paying off the full balance.

He advised: "You've got to live within your budget; don't use your credit card for those [purchases], use credit cards for emergency items."

It comes after a poll by price comparison website moneysupermarket.com found that 14 per cent of respondents pay their household bills using a credit card, while 43 per cent turn to the products to buy weekly food shopping and 38 per cent purchase petrol with them.

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