9. Down Payments of Any Kind
While on the subject, you might want to think twice before you use a credit card for a down payment on anything, including a house or a car. For one, you can’t typically use a credit card to pay your house down payment. You can, however, use it to get a cash advance to pay for it — but that’s not a good idea.
If the only reason you want to use a credit card for a down payment is because you can take advantage of your card’s high credit limit, that might be a sign that you can’t really afford the down payment. And if you don’t have the money for the down payment on a loan, don’t get the loan. Otherwise, you’re just adding a large cost to the sales price of your item — the high interest rates of a credit card.
