It’s summer which means beaches, cookouts and vacation time! But for those of us whose credit isn’t what we’d like it to be, summer fun can be challenging. How do you have a good time and spend responsibly? One answer is the UNITY Visa card, the best secured credit card available.

A secured credit card is a perfect tool for anyone who has poor credit or no credit history. It’s also a great way for anyone, regardless of their credit history, to help control their spending and improve their credit score at the same time. The way a secured credit card works is simple: you pay a deposit up front when you open the account, thus “securing” your line of credit. This deposit determines how high your credit limit is. Note that this is different from a prepaid card—a secured credit card is an actual line of credit, which means that if you pay off your statement each month you can actually build up your credit score substantially.

The UNITY Visa card is the best secured credit card available for several reasons. For starters, we specifically offer this card as the “Comeback Card” to help people repair bad credit and make a comeback. The fees are very low and our staff want to help UNITY cardholders use their card strategically to maximize its positive effect on their credit score.

So how do you use your card to have fun this summer and raise that credit score? The strategy is simple: use it to make small purchases and pay them off each month. By making small purchases you are using only a portion of your credit line, which shows restraint. And when you pay off your purchases quickly, it shows responsibility.

You can put this into practice this summer with some simple purchases:

• Use your secured card to buy things you were going to buy anyway, like a new swimming suit. That way you know you have the money to pay the balance.
• On vacations, use your secured card for a specific, designated purpose. You could use it to buy gifts for friends and family back home, for instance. Then set it aside for the rest of the trip.
• It’s a good idea not to pull out your secured card for things you cannot afford. For example, don’t use it for unplanned purchases. Instead, consider your UNITY secured card for planned purchases that you can pay off with one or two months.

With your UNITY Visa card on hand, you can have fun and rebuild your credit.