IELTS essay sample | Do credit cards have more advantages than disadvantages?

Essay prompt

Sample response

Nowadays anyone with a decent credit score can get a credit card. Credit cards increase the purchasing power of people and improve their living standards. Unfortunately, if the cards are not used with care, they will land the holder in serious debts. In my opinion, credit cards have both advantages and disadvantages.

People can benefit from their credit card in several ways. It gives them immediate access to credit. It helps in emergency situations or when they want to buy something expensive. One of my friends, for example, paid for his thyroid surgery using his credit card. Some credit card companies also offer zero percent interest rates on home appliances. Using this option middle and lower income families can buy washing machines or refrigerators on easy monthly installments. Thus credit cards improve their lifestyle. Credit cards also eliminate the need to carry cash in one’s wallet.

On the flip side, credit cards can push people into serious debts traps. They have destroyed many lives and careers. Cards make people compulsive shoppers. They encourage people to buy all the products in the market even though they do not need them. This temptation to overspend has disastrous consequences. Credit cards are good if you can pay off the entire balance when it is due. Credit card loans have much higher interest rates than other loans. If you only pay the minimum balance, you will end up paying a lot of interest. What’s more, credit card transactions carry increased risk of fraud. Someone who knows your card number and other credentials can easily buy stuff using your card without your knowledge or permission.

To conclude, credit cards are definitely a beneficial invention, but we need to use them wisely to reap their benefits.