Nowadays, the tax return outsourcing is served by countless outsourcing companies. All these companies have employed intelligent team of professionals, who have complete and through knowledge about each and every aspect of taxes. Many times it happens that a company finds difficulty in calculating the amount of its total tax return due its humongous size and numerous branches. Hence, for this purpose, you can actually secure assistance with a competent tax return outsourcing firm. The experienced accountants will not only manage your taxes but also offer quality suggestions through which one can reduce his or her taxes. You can certainly depend on these professionals as they are well aware of all the laws and regulation concerting the tax policy and hence all recommendations offered by them will be completely legal in nature.

So, now onwards, let your financial year be an easy experience with the assistance of tax return outsourcing firms. The CPAs will perform every task from filling the entries to estimating the final amount of your tax return. They also create your data sheets, monthly and annual financial reports. On economic terms also, the option the tax return outsourcing is excessively profitable for any business organization. This is justified because the outsourcing firms are paid on the contractual basis. Moreover, the owner is not required to make heavy payments of allowances and bonuses. Hence, do not wait any more and browse through the Internet to gather collective information about the numerous outsourcing providers as well as their services and then shortlist your preferred vendors.

However, one needs to be very attentive while selecting his or her tax return outsourcing firm. It is quite known that tax documents contain very confidential data and figures that can hamper your business, if disclosed. Hence, it is extremely important for the owner to choose a reliable source or vendor. For this reason, most of the outsourcing companies dealing with the facility of tax returns are ensured with good firewall arrangements and security softwares. Make sure that you opt for a certified vendor, who has seen some quality years of experience in the field of taxing. Moreover, confirm for its affiliation with a registered institution.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

So if you are planning to buy a new cost-effective car then it is recommended that you use car emissions calculator available online to compare the various models of cars on the basis of car tax. Car tax calculator gives an indication of the car tax charges that you would be likely to pay. In order to calculate car tax you require simple details relevant to fuel type, transmission details like manual, automatic or both, manufacturer, car model and specific Euro standard. Once these details are fed into the car tax calculator it would generate the applicable car tax rates payable for chosen timeframe.

The main idea behind the road car tax is to reduce the use of the vehicles that cause high rate of pollution. Car tax calculator UK is designed to promote the use of fuel efficient greener cars that produces less CO2. Based on the amount of CO2 produced, car tax rates can be judged in a series of payment bands. There are seven car road tax bands starting from A to G. Cars emitting up to 100g/km gas falls in band A whereas those between 101-120km/km in band B, from 121-150g/km in band C and so on. If your car falls in band A or band B then you are excused from increased car tax.

But if your car is not environment friendly and emits a lot of CO2 gas, then it’s definitely going to burst your financial budgets. The use of fuel efficient greener cars is extremely easy on the pocket as well as the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that fossil-fuel vehicles emit 1 ½ billion tons of greenhouse gases into the environment each year and changing to green transportation would reduce this a lot. It is also estimated that eco-friendly car owners are currently saving £165.40 per year on fuel compared to those driving standard cars. So before purchasing any vehicle first calculate car tax and then go for the deal.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

How long do you think the phony wars on crime, drugs, poverty and terror will last without credit? How many military adventures would there be? Wouldn’t need so much energy with a contracted economy would we? We don’t need this government to stop global warming. We need to get rid of this government to stop global warming. They have been making that clear since the seventies or earlier. Anarchy would be better for America than the murdering thieves the people put in power with their corporate bosses. Central government has become like marriage, there is no longer any point to it.

The wolves say to the sheep, let us protect you from all evil and the sheep speak as one. Baaah. Help us, protect us, save us good shepherds. How could we ever live without our good shepherds? All of them busy busy doing God’s work. Bless them all. Let them go take their new corporate jobs. None need go homeless or houseless, for that matter. None need be locked in cages or executed for their crimes. There will be no reform, no end to corruption, no end of suffering until there is an end to the central government; which would put every state government on notice. The citizens would again be sovereign and maybe they will not trade it away for promises and pie in the sky this time. We can’t defeat evil when we insist on paying its wages. Even less so when we let evil set its own wage.

If we were honest people would we want to work with more than five hundred who are not? Then why would any good or honest person want to do so? They don’t. So who, then do we vote for? The best liars. As good and honest people we ought not have better leaders than we deserve. But how good would we need to be to deserve better than we have? Whatever that is, let’s do it. In order to have better, be better. In order to be better, want better. We must stop settling for the lesser evils and choose good for a change.

If the people do not become a check on government as has been our responsibility from the beginning, things must get worse and we will deserve worse than we get, due to a God more merciful than just. But I don’t want half the punishment karma demands and neither does anyone else. Power is there for the taking. To pretend it is not, is hypocrisy and irresponsible; which just might be our whole problem in a nutshell. We must demand one more law to stop the borrowing, or declare the bankruptcy that is a fact no one wants to talk about. Maybe if we don’t talk about it, we won’t have to DO anything about it either. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I know you are willing to work off the more than $25,000 worth of debt each of your family members represents – but who will work off my share?

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Add to this the ability to withdraw cash using your card, and nowadays a credit card account is perhaps better thought of as a more general line of credit you can use in many situations, rather than simply a convenient payment method. Credit card cheques are a natural extension of this idea, but they have attracted a fair amount of controversy – not least over the amount they cost.

Credit card cheques are similar to a traditional bank cheques in that you make them out to the company you’re paying, and sign for the amount to be taken from your account. Card issuers say they are useful for using your credit account in situations where plastic can’t be used – for example, paying a utility bill by post.

The crucial difference is that with a credit card cheque, you’re adding to your card debt rather than simply transferring funds from your bank account, and this kind of debt is usually significantly more expensive than that arising from general credit card use.

Firstly, most card issuers treat cheque payments as a ‘cash advance’ and charge a percentage handling fee of the amount of the cheque, usually at a rate of around 2.5%. This in itself makes the cheques a rather expensive proposition, but there’s more to come – the interest rate will also usually be much higher than the purchase rate of your card.

It’s not unusual for cheques and cash advances to be charged at rates higher than 20%, even if the purchase rate of your card is closer to 10%. While this difference may not seem significant, especially if your cheque was for a small amount, a process known as ‘allocation of payments’ means it can be very important indeed.

Each repayment you make to your card will be used to pay off your cheaper debt first. So, if you’re carrying a balance you built up through purchases, your cheque debt will effectively go to the back of the queue and will sit in your account, happily attracting interest at the higher rate. It’s not until you clear all your purchases and balance transfer debt that you start to repay the cheques.

This means that if you use cheques regularly, a significant amount of the interest you’re charged will be at the higher rate, and it will take much longer to repay your card balance, a fact which critics say isn’t made clear enough on the cheques themselves. This lack of clarity has led to calls for a ban on sending out cheques as a matter of course, so that a customer has to specifically ask for them to be issued.

So should you use credit card cheques at all? It’s not a cheap form of credit, especially if you are carrying a balance on your card, and this needs to be weighed against any convenience aspect. In any case, it’s perhaps a little ironic that after decades of being told that plastic was more convenient than cheques, some card companies are now saying the opposite – and profiting handsomely in the process.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The feature was an instant hit, and more and more card issuers began to offer similar deals as competition for customers grew more intense. Before long, it seemed that every card available had 0% deals of ever-increasing lengths.

It didn’t take long for savvy cardholders to spot a pretty major flaw in the credit industry’s thinking though. With so many cards offering 0% deals, what’s to stop people from becoming serial balance transferers, moving their debt to a new card as the 0% period expires? And so the game of credit card surfing began.

People began to systematically switch their balances to card after card, and if they were organised enough to make sure their balance was moved off a card before the interest charges kicked in, then they could avoid paying interest on their debt for as long as there were new cards available to apply for. In effect, the credit card industry was collectively extending millions of pounds of interest free credit over an indefinite period – not a situation they either intended or appreciated.

People could take advantages of balance transfers in other ways, too. Some cards allowed a transfer to a bank account rather than another credit card. It was therefore possible to transfer the entire credit limit of a new card to a high interest savings account, leave it there for the length of the 0% deal period, and then clear the card balance and pocket the interest earnings.

All this added up to a major headache for credit card issuers – the tables had been turned, and their customers were now costing millions of pounds every month to support. This had to change, and so it fell to Egg plc to again introduce a new card feature : the balance transfer fee.

In May 2005, Egg announced that all balance transfers would now attract a ‘handling fee’ of 2% of the amount transferred. The charge would be capped at £50. Other card issuers quickly followed suit, and now most balance transfer deals have such a charge.

So what does this mean for credit card users?

Firstly, before applying for a new balance transfer card, check in the small print whether or not a fee will be imposed. This should be made clear in all advertisements and on the application form, but the credit card industry has a history of subtly hiding unattractive features while accentuating the eye-catching ones, so pay careful attention.

If there is a fee, make sure that there’s an upper limit mentioned. While the maximum £50 fee may still, depending on the size of your balance, make it worthwhile to take advantage of the offer, cards with no maximum charge are much less attractive.

To sum up, the balance transfer game isn’t as straightforward as it once was. There are still ways to save money by taking the maximum advantage of the offers available, but cardholders need to be more wary than before.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

People with mild credit problems or low incomes will probably not be approved for the most heavily advertised credit cards with the most attractive offers, but many companies operate a policy known as Risk Based Pricing. This basically means that their cards will offer a different interest rate depending on the credit score of the applicant. If your credit rating isn’t good enough to be accepted for the card you apply for, you may be offered a different card with similar features but a higher interest rate.

Risk based pricing is a great way for people with some adverse credit history to get a card, but people with more severe problems will need to look elsewhere. Several companies offer a card specifically aimed at people with poor or no credit history, and market them as a ‘first’ or ’starter’ card. The idea is to offer a card with a low credit limit and a comparatively high interest rate, as a way of allowing people to being to develop some positive history on their files.

While these cards are poor value in comparison to more mainstream offers, the acceptance rate is very high and by opening an account and keeping up with your repayments, your credit rating will slowly be improved to the point where you may be able to apply for a cheaper card further down the line.

People with more severe credit problems such as bad debt or a previous bankruptcy may find that even these starter cards are out of their reach, which leaves only one real option : prepaid cards. These cards, also known as secured cards, are not in fact credit cards at all as they need to be ‘loaded’ with funds before you can use them to spend.

After you’ve credited money to your account, the card can be used like any other Mastercard or Visa, with the important difference that you can only spend money that you have in your account – you can’t build up a debt. This means that there is very little risk for the card issuer, and so acceptance is virtually guaranteed. The flipside is that the issuer doesn’t earn money by charging interest on your balance, and so they instead impose a variety of different charges on the cardholder ranging from a small percentage of everything you spend using the card to a monthly or yearly administration fee. You may also be charged a considerable sum for even applying for the card, so shop around and check the small print carefully before signing up.

To sum up, no one would deny that a bad credit rating makes it harder to get a credit card or other plastic payment solution, but with a little searching, there are cards of some kind available for nearly everyone.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you intend to use the card mainly as a convenient way of spending and usually clear your balance every month, then the headline interest rate doesn’t really matter to you, as you shouldn’t be paying any interest at all. Instead, make sure the card you’re planning to apply for has a long ‘grace period’ on interest charges, giving you chance to pay your statement before any interest is applied. Interest free periods should be at least 30 days and are more usually in the 50-60 day range.

This kind of card user can also benefit from a cashback or rewards scheme if the card is regularly used for purchases, and so long as you avoid carrying a balance over you can actually turn a profit from your credit card account.

If, however, you use the card as a kind of short term borrowing, regularly paying off larger purchases over a few months, then a low interest rate is attractive. A cashback feature might seem attractive if you’re making larger purchases, but it’s rare that a card’s cashback rate will be anything like high enough to compensate for a higher interest rate.

If you want to finance a single large purchase and repay it over a year or so, then look for a card with an introductory 0% deal on purchases that lasts long enough to clear your balance before interest kicks in. Introductory deals of up to 12 months are now common.

Many people use a credit card’s balance transfer feature to fund longer term borrowing. If this applies to you, then you have a choice between a 0% introductory deal or a long-term low rate. If you can see yourself paying off your transfer in the near future, then a 0% deal with a long introductory period is probably the best way to go. If, however, you’ll be repaying your balance over a longer period, then a low balance transfer rate that is fixed for the life of the balance can be a good deal. Many such cards feature a rate much lower than other forms of unsecured finance such as personal loans, and you don’t have to worry about finding a new 0% card when the introductory deal ends.

Most people use their card in a mixture of ways, and this is where choosing a card is more complicated. A low balance transfer rate might mean having to pay a high rate on purchases, or a card with a low standard rate might charge higher rates for cash withdrawals. Fortunately, there’s a new kind of card that is becoming more widely available, which charges a simple flat rate for all use, whether balance transfers, purchases, or even cash withdrawals.

These cards often feature an attractively low rate, as there are no fancy introductory offers or reward schemes to pay for, and so they can make a very good option for the average card user.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Then came the rise of the ATM (cash machine), and credit card issuers realised they could lend money by allowing their cards to be used to withdraw cash on account, and could earn more this way by hiding away a higher interest rate for cash withdrawals in the credit agreement small print.

Next came the balance transfer offer, with either long term low rates or an introductory 0% deal, closely followed by introductory deals on purchases too. Not to forget the different interest rate often charged for overseas use.

All these different rates for different kinds of card use can easily become confusing, and survey after survey showed that many credit card users were unaware of how much their card use was actually costing them.

In many respects, this suited the card companies down to the ground as they could advertise eye-catching rates for purchases and balance transfers while quietly imposing more lucrative charges on other kinds of card use.

Amidst all the confusion though, some card issuers spotted a gap in the market – how about a simple, easily understood credit card with no offers or benefits, just a single low rate charged however the card was used? These cards became known as flat rate cards and their names usually reflected their transparency and ease of understanding, for example Barclaycard with their ‘Simplicity’ card, or the Co-op Bank’s Clear.

Whether you’re using one of these cards for spending, transferring a balance, or even withdrawing cash from an ATM, you’ll always be charged a single rate. And what’s more, most cards can offer a great low APR as the issuers aren’t having to fund expensive introductory deals or cashback schemes.

So is a flat rate credit card for you? The benefits are obvious – it’s easier to understand how much your card use is costing you, and you’ll also usually get a great rate.

If you have a large balance to transfer, it might be more sensible to go for a card with traditional 0% introductory offer or one that features a low rate fixed for the life of the transfer.

Likewise, if you use your card for purchases a lot but usually clear your balance every month then the interest rate doesn’t really matter to you, and you may prefer a card with a cashback or rewards scheme.

If however, like most of us, you use your card for purchases and cash withdrawals while carrying a balance from month to month, then a flat rate card could save you a lot of interest.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

However, spending with plastic can sometimes be a little too easy, as it doesn’t always feel like you’re actually parting with any cash. This means the temptation is to spend without thinking about the consequences too carefully, until you hear the ominous thud of a huge credit card bill hitting the doormat.

If you’ve been caught out like this, the size of your card debt may seem overwhelming, but don’t panic – there are a few simple steps you can take to start getting your debt back under control.

Try and make a little more than the minimum payments:

The minimum payments required by credit card companies have steadily fallen over the years. Where once it was typical to have to repay a minimum of 5% of your balance every month, it’s now common to only have to pay 2.5% or 3%. With repayments this small in proportion to your debt, a large chunk of each payment gets swallowed up in interest charges. Depending on the APR rate of your card, up to 75% of each payment could be ‘lost’ in this way, meaning that it takes a very long time for your balance to reduce to any great extent.

By trying to repay more than the minimum, even if only by a little, you can speed this process up, and in the long term you’ll end up paying much less in interest charges.

Prioritize your card debts:

If you have more than one card with different rates of interest, it makes sense concentrate on the one with the highest interest charges. This means not just the one with the highest interest rate, but the one which actually charges you most each month, which could have a lower rate but a higher balance.

Check your statements to see which card is costing you most in interest each month, and try to focus on repaying this card first by putting any spare cash you have into extra payments while keeping to the minimums on your other cards.

Change your card:

The credit card market is very competitive, and rates have fallen over the last few years. You may be stuck with an old card charging an old rate that is much higher than newer cards. If you can get a new card with a lower rate and transfer your account balance on to it, you could save a lot in interest charges, helping you to bring down your debt. If you can get a card with an introductory rate on balance transfers then all the better – you’ll get a few months of interest free credit which you can use to really drive down your balance as 100% of each repayment will be helping to clear your debt.

Debt consolidation:

If getting a cheaper card isn’t an option or isn’t something you feel happy about, then maybe a consolidation loan would be worth considering. If you take out a loan and use the money to pay off all your card debts, you could benefit from a lower rate as loans are normally quite a bit cheaper than credit cards.

The downside to these loans is that the repayment period might be quite long, and so even though your monthly repayments will hopefully be lower, you’ll stay in debt for longer and so end up paying more in interest. Done carefully, however, consolidation can be a sound move if there’s little chance of clearing your debt in any other way.

Watch your spending!

All the above strategies for getting your debt under control will only work if you stop getting deeper into debt – and this means stopping spending on your cards. Ideally, you’d cut them up so that you can’t use them again, but this might not be realistic as you may need to keep them as a credit option in an emergency. In any case, cutting your spending to an absolute minimum will keeping your repayments as high as possible is the only sure strategy to clearing your debt in the long term.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you get into arrears and fail to come to a repayment agreement, your creditor may decide that pursuing a CCJ is the only option. The first you’ll hear about it is when you receive a ‘Claim Form’ through the post, sent to you by the county court. This form will set out the details of the claim, including who the creditor is and how much they say you owe them.

If you were unaware of the debt, for instance if you’d moved house and lost contact with the creditor, then repaying the full debt now will stop proceedings going any further. If however you can’t clear the debt, then you should fill out an ‘Admissions Form’ which will also have been sent to you.

This form asks for information about your income and expenses, which the court will take into account when hearing your case. The Admissions Form should be returned within 16 days of the postmark it holds, although if you intend to dispute or defend the claim then you can apply to have the hearing delayed an extra 14 days in order to prepare your defence.

Once you’ve filled in these forms and returned them to the court, there will be a simple hearing carried out in private. You don’t have to attend the hearing so long as you’ve completely filled in the necessary forms, or unless you wish to dispute aspects of the claim.

At the hearing, the court will objectively review the claim and the information you’ve provided, and come to a decision about the amount of money (if any) you owe, and how it should be repaid. It’s important to note that no one is being found ‘guilty’ or ‘innocent’ here, the court is simply trying to fairly resolve a civil financial dispute.

If the decision upholds the claim against you, then the court order or CCJ is issued. Even at this stage you can stop the damage to your credit record, as you’ll have one month from the date of the court hearing to repay the debt in full to stop the CCJ being put on record.

After a month, the CCJ will be entered on to the Register of County Court Judgements, and from there it will make its way onto your credit files held by the various credit reference agencies.

The presence of one or more CCJs on your credit file will effectively close off most kinds of finance to you, as most lenders will be very reluctant to advance credit to people in these circumstances. Once, however, you’ve cleared the debt, then the judgement will be marked as ’satisfied’, and while this will not remove it from your record it is a lot less harmful to your credit worthiness than an uncleared CCJ.

If you have a CCJ on your record, you might be tempted by companies promising to remove it and clean up your rating. Unfortunately, this is only feasible in a few cases. Sometimes, the CCJ is entered on to your record by mistake even though you cleared the debt within the one month time limit. If this has happened then you have the right to have it removed from your records.

The only other ways to have a CCJ removed is to show that there was something wrong with the way in which the judgement was awarded. If, for example, you didn’t receive the initial Claim Form, and you were unaware of the proceedings, then you didn’t have the chance to defend yourself and so the judgement is invalid.

In these circumstances, you can apply to the court to ’set aside’ the judgement and it will be removed from your file, with the whole process starting again with a new claim and hearing. Any attempt to gain a ’set aside’ without a reasonable argument could be seen as wasting the court’s time, with all the legal penalties that would entail.

If you receive a Claim Form through the post, it’s important not to panic. Although a CCJ against your name is harmful to your credit rating, it isn’t a criminal matter and won’t lead to further action such as repossession of your home or bankruptcy. The CCJ procedure is there so that the court can help to resolve your debt in a way that is fair to both you and your creditor.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

According to recent research, over a fifth of us now use a card that offers cashback or a rewards scheme, and the number has recently overtaken that of balance transfer users for the first time. So why has a seemingly simple feature such as cashback displaced the once mighty balance transfer deal in our priorities?

Credit cards have always suffered from the perception that they are expensive to use, with high interest charges and penalty fees – a reputation, it has to be said, that isn’t altogether undeserved. Cashback cards give us the opportunity to turn that on its head, and actually come out on top financially by using our cards for everyday purchases.

For every purchase you make, a cashback card will effectively give you a refund of a small percentage of the purchase price. In the early days of cashback, this percentage was so small it was hardly worth considering – a 0.25% rebate was virtually worthless to most people with moderate spending habits. These days however, the figures are much more attractive, with a 3% rate not uncommon as an introductory offer. This kind of rebate is definitely worth having, and if you use your cashback card for all of your day to day shopping, the numbers can mount up surprisingly quickly.

What’s more, if you use your card purely as a convenient payment method and not as a means of borrowing, and repay your full balance every month, then you’ll avoid paying any interest fees or charges. This means that the money you ‘earn’ through cashback is totally free money – you’re being paid simply to buy your usual shopping with a card rather than with cash.

Sounds good? Well, it’s not hard to see why this kind of card has increased in popularity, but there are a couple of points to think about before applying for an account.

The main problem is that most of the time, you’ll only receive your cashback once a year, either by check or refund to your account. This is fine for most people, but the cashback offer will be dependent on you sticking to the credit agreement. If, even accidentally, you make a late payment then you’ll have broken the terms of your agreement and will lose all the rebate you’ve been building up. Keeping up to date with your repayments is therefore even more essential than normal with a cashback card.

Secondly, many cards feature a ’spending limit’ over which no cashback will be earned. Most such limits are fairly generous, but check to make sure your expected annual spending on the card is within this limit if you want to maximise how much total rebate you can get.

So, are cashback cards the future? If you’re a regular spender who can clear your balance in full every month, then they are very worthwhile indeed, but if you’re planning to carry a balance then you might be better served by getting a card with a lower standard rate and no cashback or rewards feature.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Firstly, a sizable minority of people use their cards purely as a convenient method of paying for goods or services, and clear their balances in full every month. For this kind of card use, the standard interest rate charged is fairly irrelevant. It’s more important that you have an interest-free period long enough to cover the time between spending and settling your account, so you’ll avoid paying any interest at all whatever the rate. An interest free period should always be more than 50 days, with 55-60 days being common these days.

If you’re one of this group of card users, and you make a substantial number of purchases with your card every month, then you should be going for a card that rewards you in some way for using it. One of the most common kinds of reward program lets you build up points with each purchase, that can later be redeemed as discounts against purchases made in certain stores, or for receiving free gifts, wine, or dining.

Another way of being rewarded for using your card is cashback. Cards offering this feature effectively give you a discount of around 1% on everything you buy using the card, with the discounts being stored up and credited to your account usually annually. For heavy spenders who clear the majority of their debt every month, a scheme such as this may be worth more than a percentage point or two off your standard rate.

Another group of card users for whom headline APR is not too important is those who are making use of a balance transfer feature to move debt from a high interest card to a 0% introductory offer or longterm low rate deal. If you’re transferring a balance onto a card, it’s advisable not to use that card for purchases at all in order to maximise the benefit of the balance transfer offer, so again, you shouldn’t be paying any interest on purchases at all and therefore it’s irrelevant what figure the APR is set at.

So is APR completely unimportant? Not at all! Most people do in fact carry some debt on their cards from month to month, and obviously a lower interest rate means your debt will be costing you less. However, before plumping for the card with the lowest rate it’s a good idea to think about how you plan to use your new card, and whether features such as rewards, cashback, or deals on purchases or balance transfers will outweigh the benefits of an eyecatchingly low standard rate.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

- Online use

The most important rule to follow is to only use your card online at trusted, secure sites. You can recognize a secure site by looking for a yellow padlock symbol appearing in your browser, and also by the address starting with ‘https’ rather than ‘http’. Sites secured like this encrypt all the information sent back and forth to your browser, meaning that it’s very dificult indeed for someone to spy out your credit card details.

Also make sure you’re confident of the identity of the site asking for your details. Avoid any sites that send you an email asking for your card details – they might not be who they claim to be. It’s better to phone the company direct to make sure their request is genuine.

You should never give out your card details in an email, as there is no encryption involved and there’s always the danger that a fraudster could intercept your message and gain your details.

Finally in this section, make sure that your virus protection is up to date and that your computer is clean of any ’spyware’.

- Offline use

If at all possible, don’t let the card out of your sight when paying, to reduce the opportunity for a fraudster to make a copy of your card. This is easier nowadays with the arrival of the handheld chip and pin input devices that are brought, for example, to your table in a restaurant.

It’s advisable not to send card details by fax, as you’ve no control over how long the fax will be left unattended at the receiving end. A faxed copy of your card number, expiry date, security code and signature makes it altogether to easy for a scammer!

Only give your credit card number over the telephone if it was you who made the call, and you’re certain that you’re speaking to a genuine person. If someone calls you claiming to be from a company you deal with, and asks for your details, ask for a phone number to call them back on – via a switchboard operator if possible – and verify that the number is correct.

- General

There are several other measures you can take to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of credit card fraud, and most them are pretty much common sense. You should sign any new or replacement cards as soon as you receive them, and cut up the expired cards making sure to cut through the magnetic band on the back.

Never keep your pin numbers written down in your wallet or purse, as if you lose it or it’s stolen a fraudster will have both your cards and their pins. Also, report any stolen or lost cards to the issuer immediately, so that they can be cancelled before falling into the wrong hands.

Open your statements and bills as soon as you receive them, and check them carefully for anything you don’t recognise. If you spot something you’re unsure of, call your card company straight away and ask them for more details. After checking your statements, either file them away somewhere safe, or shred or burn them. Never simply throw them away – they contain far too much valuable information that can be used for fraud purposes.

All this might seem like a lot of work, but remember that with most credit card accounts you won’t be held liable for any fraudulent use so long as the fraud hasn’t happened through your own negligence. Following the steps above is very powerful evidence to the card issuer that you’ve done everything possible to protect your account’s security, so if you’re unfortunate to become a fraud victim then the financial damage to you will be kept as small as possible.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

What really matters when choosing a new card to apply for is getting the card with the right mix of features to suit the way you plan to use it. To ensure that you get the best deal available it pays to take a little time out to think about the ways in which you normally use your card.

In today’s increasingly cashless society, many people use plastic as simply a convenient payment method, clearing their balance in full every month. This frees them from having to carry large amounts of cash around, and makes it easier to keep track of their spending with online account management and the like. If this is the way you plan to use your card, then the interest rate doesn’t really matter to you. Considering that you’ll be clearing your balance every month, then you shouldn’t be charged interest at all.

What’s more important is to get a card that rewards you in some way for using it, either through cashback where a small percentage of everything you spend is credited back to your account, or with a rewards program that will allow you to build up points which you can later redeem to get cheaper goods or services.

If you plan to use your card to fund larger purchases such as home electricals, with the repayments being spread over several months, then the APR of a card is the single most important feature to look for. A low APR means that more of your repayments go towards clearing your debt rather than servicing the interest charges. This means that your debt will be cleared more quickly, and will have cost you less to take out in the first place. It may also be worth looking for a card which offers a long 0% introductory period on purchases, with many cards now offering a deal of 12 months or even longer.

The most common way of spending with a card is to have a mix of large and small purchases, repaying a reasonable portion of your spending each month but sometimes carrying a balance over if funds are a little short. It’s also common to want to transfer a debt from a more expensive account such as an older credit card or an expensive overdraft. For this kind of mixed use, a relatively new kind of card can be a good fit.

A ‘flat rate’ card charges the same low interest rate for each type of card use, whether purchases, balance transfers, or even cash withdrawals. The low interest rate means that your credit costs less and can be cleared more quickly, and the simplicity offered by having just one APR for everything means you know exactly where you stand.

So no matter how impressive a new credit card may seem, with a wide range of eyecatching features, it really pays to decide which one to apply for based on your own needs and spending habits rather than the features that card issuers tell you are the most important!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

This is obviously a situation that’s best avoided, and knowing when it’s a bad idea to use your card can help you avoid getting into difficulty.

- Withdrawing cash at ATMs

Most cash machines these days will let you draw out cash using your credit card. This might seem an attractive option if you’re short of cash towards the end of the month, but it’s a bad idea for two reasons. Firstly, cash withdrawals will attract a fee of a small percentage of the amount you withdraw. This in itself makes it an expensive way of getting your hands on cash, but advances are also usually charged at a much higher rate of interest than purchases.

What’s more, under a system known as ‘allocation of payments’, the repayments you make to your account are applied first to the parts of your debt which attract the lowest rate of interest. This means that so long as you are carrying some debt from purchases, your cash withdrawals will sit in the background, being charged a high rate of interest, and never getting any smaller.

- Credit card checks

These allow you to use your credit cards in situations where you normally can’t, such as paying a bill by post. However, the interest rate charged on them can be as high or even higher than with cash withdrawals. This means you should avoid them for the same reasons, as given above.

- Covering the cost of everyday bills

Paying your energy bills, for example, using your card is convenient and easy, but is only a good idea if you repay the debt in your next payment. If you’re using your card because you can’t afford to pay the bill, this is a clear sign that you need to take a harder look at your personal budget.

- Expensive impulse purchases

Of course, we all like to treat ourselves from time to time, and no one would begrudge that. However, before handing over your card, bear in mind that the interest you’ll pay over the months it takes to repay the debt will make your impulse buy much more expensive than it appears. Is it still worth it?

- To make repayments on other debt

Credit cards aren’t usually the cheapest kind of borrowing available, so you should never use your card to service another, cheaper debt. The only exception to this is if you make use of a balance transfer facility, either to get a 0% rate for a limited number of months, or to lock in a permanently low rate.

As we can see, most of the above advice is simply common sense, but following these rules will give you the best chance of staying in control of your credit card, and avoiding running up unneccessary or excessive debts.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

This article will outline some guidelines in choosing a credit counseling agency, what questions you should ask and a few warning signs that you may not be dealing with an ethical practice.

Choosing a Credit Counseling Agency

Reputable credit counseling agencies advise you on how to realistically manage your money and your debts, help you develop a workable budget, and usually offer free educational materials and workshops.

Develop your own list on the potential credit counseling agencies and the best way to check the reputability of those short listed credit counseling agencies is to check them with the Better Business Bureau at www. bbb.org. From they you will know how many complaints have been filed against these credit counseling agencies and for what reasons.

Credit counselors should be certified and trained in the areas of consumer credit, money and debt management, and budgeting, and should discuss your entire financial situation with you, and help you develop a personalized plan to solve your money problems without pushing a debt management program. Erase them from your list for those credit counseling agencies that keep pushing you to enroll into their debt management program without understanding first on your financial condition.

The Cost

Although many credit counseling agencies are nonprofit, there might be some fee involve. Bottom line is whether they request “fees” or “contributions”, they should be disclosed and should be reasonable. Anything over $50 for a consultation fee or monthly fee or contribution is NOT reasonable.

Make sure that the agency is not keeping the first month’s payment as their fee! This is known as a bad practice in the industry and has been the source of state attorney general lawsuits as well as many individual actions against the agencies that do this.

What Questions To Ask? What services do you offer?

Look for a credit counseling agency that offers a variety of related services. Avoid agencies that push a debt management plan (DMP) as your only option before they spend a significant amount of time analyzing your financial situation.

What educational materials/information do you offer? Is it free?

Avoid credit counseling agencies that charge for educational materials or other written information.

What are your fees? Are there set-up and/or monthly fees, how are they broken down?

Get a specific price quote in writing and make sure you understand exactly what fees you’ll be charged.

What if I can’t afford to pay your fees or make contributions?

Under the terms of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, non-profit credit counseling agencies must provide services for free if a consumer is unable to pay.

What are the qualifications of your counselors? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization?

Use an organization whose counselors are trained by a non-affiliated party and who have a background in debt management, consumer credit and budgeting/finance.

Once you satisfied with their answers given by the credit counseling agency and decide to take up their service, remember to get a copy of the contract and review it carefully before you sign it.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

1. Missing Payment

Your credit score is count based on your credit history and how you have managed your current and pass credit obligations. Many lenders will use this piece of information to predict your future miss payment probability and it is important factor to approve or reject any of your loan application. There are three ways that missing payments will hurt your credit scores. They are:

How Frequent are Your Late Payments? – Sometimes you may make your payment late due your busy schedule. But if you do it frequently, it may hurt your credit score seriously. Don’t make the late payment as your habit; maintain your good credit behavior with your timely payment.
How Recent is Your Late Payments? – The scoring model are designed to predict how you are going to pay your bills in the subsequent 24 months; your recent late payment records especially with the last 2 years weight a lot in your credit scoring. If you have lot of late payment records in your past 2 years, it is predicted that you will likely to miss more payment in the next 2 years. As such, your score will suffer.

How Severe is Your Late Payments? – The severity of your late payment also plays a big part in your credit scores. The 90 days late payment hurt your credit score more if compare to 14 days late payment. If you are too busy to make your payment on time, don’t late by too late because give a great negative impact on your credit scores.

2. “Settle” with your lenders on your debt Settling your debt with your creditors with less than the amount you owe them will create negative information called “deficiency balance” in your credit report. This may happen when you have unbearable debt and you are getting a debt consolidation service to negotiate with your lenders to outcome an agreement to settle your debt with some reduced amount. You may happy that you didn’t have to pay the full amount. However, the lender will report that remaining amount as “deficiency balance” to the credit bureaus as a negative item. A deficiency balance is considered just as negatively by credit scoring models as any other severe late payments. In your debt consolidation process, if you can arrange a deal with your lender so that they will NOT report the deficiency balance then that will be your best course of action; if not, your credit will suffer for 7 years.

3. Over Utilization of Your Available Credit Card Limits

Your credit scores can be affected with your high balance on your credit card. .” Over utilization is the practice of running up balances too close to your credit card limits. For example, if you have a Visa card with a credit limit of $10,000 and a $5,000 balance you have a utilization percentage of 50% because you are using 50% of your credit limit. The higher the utilization percentage the fewer points you will earn for your credit scores. If paying your cards off every month is unrealistic then try your best to keep that percentage as low as possible to maintain your good credit scores.

Try to best to avoid the above credit mistakes to have a good credit score in your credit report.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Of course, it’s simple to advise against getting into debt by overspending with your card, but that advice is perhaps a little hollow for people who have already built up a balance. If you’re lucky, that balance is not yet too much of a problem, but one almost guaranteed way of setting your debt on the slippery slope is to continue spending with your card while only making the minimum monthly repayment required by your card issuer.

Each month when you receive your statement, the minimum amount you have to pay will be clearly shown, and many people choose to have this amount repaid automatically through their banks. This makes it easy to keep your account up to date, and gives the illusion that you’re keeping on top of your card balance.

The problem lies in the size of the repayment you’re making. In the early days of plastic, the minimum repayment level was generally around 5% of the balance, but over the years this has drifted inexorably downwards with 2.5% to 3% being the norm nowadays, with some cards going as low as 2%.

Why is this a problem? Surely a lower repayment amount is attractive, as your credit will cost you less each month, putting less pressure on your budget? This is true to an extent, but the problem lies in the long term. To get an idea of how bad an idea only paying the minimum is, we need to look a bit more closely at your credit card statement.

As well as showing the familiar annual interest rate, or APR, your card statement will also show the monthly rate of interest charged on your balance. A typical card might show a rate of around 1.6% a month. In simple terms, this means that each month you will be charged 1.6% of your balance in interest. Compare this to a 2% repayment, and you’ll see that over three quarters of everything you pay is swallowed up in interest charges, leaving your original debt virtually untouched.

This situation is bad enough, but it gets worse when you consider that the interest rates charged on other ways of using your cards such as instant cash or overseas use can be much higher. Monthly rates for withdrawing cash, for example, can be nearly as high as the minimum repayment percentage. If you withdraw a significant amount of cash within a month, it’s quite possible that the whole of your repayment can go towards interest, with your debt level not reduced at all.

So even from this quick look at repayment levels, it’s plain to see that if you only make the minimum payment required on your statement, you’ll be prolonging the life of your debt by many years and vastly increasing the amount of interest you’ll be paying in total. How can you avoid this?

The best way is to set up automatic payment of the minimum, so that you’ll be sure that every month you’ll at least be staying within the terms of your credit agreement and not risking damage to your credit rating. Then, at the end of the month, make an extra payment of as much as you can afford without borrowing from another source. Even if you can’t afford to pay a large amount, every little helps especially as all of it will count towards reducing your balance and not servicing interest charges.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Many of us may not know that many companies check their job applicants’ credit history to determine their financial responsibility. So, if you have a good credit history, you will have a better chance to land on the job of your dream.

Now you know how important your credit history is and it is important maintain it. Your credit history will suffered every time you delinquent your payment on your credit card or loan installments. In some cases, the situation can get worse to the point where repair is almost impossible. Having a bad credit history definitely will not be a good experience when come to the loan application, but luckily if you are in bad credit situation, with some effort, you actually can turn it around. How quickly it takes to fix a bad credit score will depend on you.

Your credit history can not be cleaned up overnight. It takes patience, discipline and some strategies to put in place to rebuild the good credit records. Here are some tips to quickly fix your bad credit:

1. Create a realistic budget

The first thing that you need to do is to budget your spending. With a budget in place, you know where your cash flow. Allow some funds for non-necessities, but keep this amount down for the time being. This way, you make sure that your needs are covered, and you won’t feel like you are sacrificing your fun. This kind of budget is easier to stick to than the punitive kind that only allows expenditures on requirements and loan payments.

2. You must cut your spending

Many who try to fix their bad credit failed at this stage because this simple task is always the hardest to implement by most people due to the incurable spending habit. The first thing to change is your spending habit; try to reduce the unwanted impulse purchases first (sometimes it hard to cut it totally) and then eliminate it totally; plan what your want to buy and buy things which are in your budget plan.

3. Have fund in your bank account

Open a bank account and keep funds in it at all times; most banks report to the credit bureaus; this will help build a good credit rating.

4. Get your debt under control

Keep payments current and whenever possible make extra payments on your debt. This will dramatically improve your credit rating over time.

5. Keep your credit account open

Don’t close accounts even you have paid them off; let them stay open but don’t use them. This improves your credit to debt ratio and is one of the fastest ways to rebuild your credit rating and FICO score. This tip is the most important factor to quickly fix bad credit.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

When you’re offered the chance to apply for a credit card online, it’s not always clear exactly what kind of customer a card issuer is hoping to attract. Each kind of card is aimed at someone within a range of circumstances, such as having a minimum income, being older than a certain age, or having a certain level of credit score.

In the old days, your bank manager or financial advisor would only offer you cards which you had a good chance of being accepted for, but when you’re applying online there’s no one but yourself to check if the card is right for you. And, seeing as how applying online is so easy, it can be tempting to just apply anyway and see if you’re approved. This can be a great mistake.

Every time you’re rejected for a card or other kind of finance, this fact is recorded on your credit file. If you have a lot of rejections on your file and not many acceptances, this can actually make your credit rating appear worse, making it ever harder to have an application approved. Obviously, this isn’t a desirable outcome and so how can you avoid it?

The first step is to have a good hard look at the range of cards available with the features you want, whether it’s a 0% balance transfer deal, a low APR or interest rate, or a great rewards program. The large number of credit card comparison sites on the internet make this a lot easier than it used to be.

Once you’ve got a shortlist of cards to apply for, check the small print of the one you think is the best, and make sure that there isn’t anything like a minimum salary which makes it impossible for you to be approved. If everything seems okay, then take an honest look at your financial circumstances and application history, and decide whether you think you’ve got a reasonable chance of being approved.

Only after that should you actually go forward with your application, and you should only apply for one card at once. If your application is rejected, see if that card company offers a similar card with a higher interest rate – the acceptance criteria is likely to be looser on that card and so it may be worth applying for it.

Alternatively, you could apply for a similar card from a different card issuer. Different companies have different ways of deciding whether to approve an application, so you might have more luck elsewhere. What you absolutely shouldn’t do is keep applying for similar cards from the same issuer, as the acceptance criteria will be more or less the same, and you’ll just keep getting rejected, with all the problems this causes for your credit rating. At this point, you have little choice but to set your sights a little lower and apply for a less attractive card, even if this means you’ll have to pay more for the convenience of carrying a credit card.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

A debt free life is a dream to many debtors. There are many options available today for you to get rid of your credit card debt, but the keys to success are your patient and consistency to carry out the plan in your selected option. This article will discuss on one of credit card debt solutions called Credit Counseling.

What is Credit Counseling?

Credit counseling was introduced by federal government to provide counseling services and help you to find out what steps you could take in order to relieve from your debt. The credit counseling companies will assist you to set up a payback plan that will help you to get out of debt within a certain years.

The credit counseling agencies are designed to be non-profit, which means majority of your payments must be earmarked for debt payment. However, credit counseling agencies can legally collect a small fee for administrative costs, but most of the counseling services’ fees are paid by the lenders themselves, which send back to the services a portion of the payments received.

How Does Credit Counseling Work?

Typically, counseling services help you to negotiate lower payments with credit-card companies. Before a credit counselor proposes to you a repayment plan, he normally will do some assessment on your current financial status and get detail information on your debt condition.

Your counselor can then map out different ways to debt consolidation, potentially pushing all or most of your outstanding balances onto one or two low interest cards or even taking out a debt consolidation loan to get rid of some or all of your credit card debt.

When Do You Need Credit Counseling?

If you are able to pay your bills and are current on all your accounts, you almost certainly don’t need credit counseling. If your interest rates are too high, you usually can negotiate a lower rate with your credit-card companies just by asking or threatening to move your account elsewhere.

You will need credit counseling if:

You can’t pay the minimums on your credit cards.

You’re consistently late paying one or more of your regular bills.

You’re being hounded by creditors and collection agencies.

Your efforts to work out reasonable repayment plans with your creditors have failed.

If you are too serious in dept, a credit counseling service may not able to successfully help to negotiate with credit card companies for a payment that will give you breathing room or get you out of debt. If that is true, bankruptcy may be the best of bad options.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

You can see this type of credit repair ads almost everywhere whether or not they are true, sometimes hard to be differentiated. But, you need to aware the true of repairing your bad credit, there are no shortcuts for building an AAA credit rating. It will take time and a lot of efforts from your part to successfully rebuild your credit.

Meanwhile, your must be caution about the credit repair scams who are looking for their prospects like you to fall into their trap. Don’t let you be their victim. If you are looking for a credit repair services, you must take your time to search for a reputable credit repair company. Beware of a few signs of credit repair’s scams describe below:

1. Promise To Erase Your Bad Credit History Quick & Effectively

These companies will promise and even guaranteed your that your bad credit history will be erased in short period of time and your will have totally clean credit records. They normally charge high fee and need you to pay upfront fee.

2. Offer To Get You A New Identity

There are companies who will offer you a new identify. What they do is to get you apply for a tax identification number, which has the same amount of digits as your social security number, and then use it whenever applying for credit. Your record will shows clean with the new tax identification number and you application of credit can be approved.

Beware, you action may send you to jail. Lying to the federal government about your intended uses for a federal ID number is a federal offense. You need to bare the responsibility of law offensive when you get caught.

3. Offer Will Expired Today

Theses scams will pressure their prospect to sign up their plan by today because this special offer will expired tomorrow. They may use other similar tactics to urge you to put your signature into their contract. The contract will stated all the outrageous promises and of course, in return you will ask to pay for high upfront fee.

An honest & reputable credit repairing company will let you know you that your credit cannot be rebuilt overnight and they will never pressure you or trick you to sign a contract with them. In addition, they will make it clear to you, that if you do change your mind within three days of signing, you can cancel it without any obligation.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

There’s no doubt that most people with credit problems would happily clean up their credit ratings if they could, and there are indeed thousands of websites claiming that it’s easy to repair your credit. Some of these claims are at best dubious, while others are even downright illegal.

Unfortunately, there’s no ‘magic bullet’ you can use to repair an impaired credit rating, at least while staying within the law. That doesn’t mean, however, that you’re stuck with poor credit and that there’s nothing you can do. There are a few simple strategies you can use to begin to improve the situation.

Firstly, you need to get hold of your credit record. The big credit reference agencies share data among themselves, so it doesn’t really matter which one of them you request a copy of your file from – they’ll all contain much the same information.

Once you’ve obtained a copy of your file, look through it and examine every entry. Is there anything on there that looks wrong? It’s not impossible for your file to have information on it that’s out of date, or simply incorrect. It’s your legal right to challenge any incorrect details on your file, and have them corrected if neccessary.

Make sure that any unpaid debts listed actually apply to you and not someone else – a previous occupant of your address, for example. Also make sure that any defaults you’ve since cleared are listed as being satisfied. While this won’t remove the default from your file completely, it will lessen the impact on your rating.

The next step is to look if you have any outstanding debts which you could clear without too much trouble. Often, a debt will go unpaid during times of financial troubles, which could be paid off later on when your money situation improves. Clearing these small debts will also greatly improve your creditworthiness.

Once you’ve cleaned up your credit file as much as possible, and removed as much negative information as you can, it’s time to start focussing on the positive – you need to get some ‘good’ entries on your credit file to counteract any ‘bad’ entries that remain.

The best way to do this is to apply for some kind of financial service that you’ll be approved for, such as a credit card aimed at people with poor credit scores, or even one of the secured or prepay cards which offer close to 100% acceptance, also making sure that the company issuing the card reports back to the credit reference agencies.

As you use the card responsibly in the future, keeping up your repayments, then this will be entered onto your credit file. Over time, you’ll find that your credit rating will begin to improve, allowing you to move on to more mainstream, cheaper, credit options.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Your credit scoring is the factor that affect all the above. It is your responsibility to main a good credit score. You will need to use it to get you a best available rate when come to apply for credit.

What is Credit Score?

Most of time credit score is refer as FICO score (Fair Isaac Corporation), it is a number based on the information in your credit file that shows how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, the higher your score, the less risky you are. You credit score is derived from three major credit bureaus: Exprian, Equifax and TransUnion. These 3 major credit bureaus will compile your credit report based on the information provided by the companies that gave your credit in the past. Based on the information such as your payment history, the length of your credit history and the type of credit your have and the amounts owed, the credit bureaus will generate your credit report. And based on your credit report, a number or scores will be assigned to you; this number will be range from 300 to 850. This magic number is your credit score, the higher the number the better you are.

When Your Credit Score Count?

Your credit score will play an important part when comes to applying loans or other credits, it may save you a significant of interest if you are have good credit score. When you apply for mortgage, car loan, business loan or credit card, the lender or credit company will assess how risky you are as a potential borrower, the higher your score, the less risk you pose to the lender and the more likely you will get a better interest rate for application.

You will be offered at a relatively low rate if your credit score is above 700 and if your credit score is above 760, you will get the best available rates because you are the lowest risk borrower at this high of credit score. You loan will be approved with high loan rates if your credit score is below 600, and if your credit score is really bad, you may be not be able to borrow at all.

Maintain High Credit Score

Now you know how important your credit score is and when it becomes important and you can use it as a tool to save cash. Hence, it is important for you to maintain your credit score at high level. Things that you can do to increase your credit score include:

Pay your bills on time
Keep balances low on credit cards
Don’t open a number of new credit cards that you don’t need
Have credit cards – but manage them responsibly

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

These offers were incredibly popular, and led to millions of people regularly moving their balances around from card to card, much to the chagrin of the credit card companies who, victims of their own marketing success, found themselves losing out on billions in interest payments.

As financial organisations are not on the whole known for their generosity, they had to find a way out of their predicament, and introduced the balance transfer ‘handling charge’ which made the whole balance transfer game much less attractive to cardholders who wished to gain the most benefit from their accounts. Luckily for these clued-up credit card customers, there is another kind of offer which can make using a credit card positively profitable: rewards and cashback programs.

Although sometimes treated as different kinds of incentive, cashback programs and rewards schemes are really two sides of the same coin, in that they pay the cardholder back a percentage of what’s spent on the card. The key difference is that with a cashback program you’re repaid in cold hard cash, while with a rewards program your payment comes in the form of ‘free’ gifts, discounts on shopping or services, or other benefits in kind.

With cashback, the percentages involved are pretty small. One per cent of the amount you spend on purchases is the average figure to be looking for, although some cards can pay up to 3% if you take account of introductory deals. The situation with rewards schemes is slightly different, as your spending builds up ‘points’ at a rate which varies from card to card, as does the value of the points in terms of what you can exchange them for.

The decision on whether to choose a card with cashback or rewards is largely down to whether the reward scheme in question is one you’ll find personally beneficial. Some programs operate within specific niches such as travel, gas, or entertainment, and if these niches play a prominent role in your lifestyle then they could work out to be very valuable to you. Many people, however, prefer to take the cash with no strings attached, and for this cashback is the logical choice.

Are either of the two options really worth having? The first thing to check is whether the benefits you receive are outweighed by a higher standard interest rate on the card. A cashback rate of 1% would be easily swallowed up by an APR that’s a couple of percentage points higher than a similar card without the cashback feature.

And that brings us to the final point: in order to maximize the benefits you get from either cashback or rewards, you should try to avoid carrying a balance on your card. By paying off your spending in full every month, you’ll avoid all interest and yet still receive the cashback or reward points. In effect, you’ll be being paid for using a credit card!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

There’s no doubt that plastic can be a great convenience, making it easier to shop online, by mail order, and by telephone. They remove the need to carry cash beyond small change, and despite some scare stories they are actually more secure than cash, and offer more guarantees should you receive faulty goods or bad service paid for with the card.

However, it’s also widely accepted that credit cards have a serious dark side, although you might perhaps not know that by looking at card issuer advertising and marketing materials. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to rack up debts on your card account with little to show for the money you’ve spent. The interest rates charged on these debts can be among the highest in the credit industry, and real problems up to and including bankruptcy can result from irresponsible use of credit cards.

So, accepting that you want the convenience of a card, how can you ensure that you stay out of trouble?

The first major culprit in building up debt is impulse spending. Paying with plastic just doesn’t feel the same as spending with cold hard cash, at least until your credit card statement arrives. Resist the temptation to ‘put it on the plastic’, and ask yourself if the purchase you’re about to make is one you’ll regret when the time comes to actually pay for it.

Also avoid using your card to pay bills and other day to day expenses, unless you plan to repay this borrowing when your statement comes. Credit cards are an expensive way of papering over the cracks of a badly thought out budget, and if you really need to borrow then explore other, cheaper ways such as bank overdrafts, credit unions or even personal loans.

As well as allowing payment for goods and services, most card accounts now let you withdraw cash from ATMs and pay by check. Be very careful when making use of these services, as the interest rates charged on them are usually higher than the normal purchase rate. There is also normally no interest free period, so even if you repay the borrowing at the end of the month it’ll still be a costly exercise.

Even by following the above steps to minimize your debt, most people will end up carrying a balance from month to month. This is where possibly the most important advice comes into play: never pay just the minimum amount required. Years ago, the minimum payment was fairly high, at 5% of the outstanding balance. These days, the more common figure is 3% or even 2%. If you only repay this small amount each month, nearly all of your repayment will be swallowed up by interest charges, leaving your debt virtually untouched. This situation can increase the amount of time it takes to clear your debt by literally years, and is hugely expensive in the long run. For this reason you should always try to pay off as much as you can each month, even if it’s only a little bit more than the minimum.

Lastly, while we’re talking about repayments, make sure that you set up an automatic monthly repayment for your card account. It’s very easy to overlook making a payment, and the fees charged for late or missed payments are one of the main ways credit card companies make their profits. It’s better to keep the money in your pocket than theirs!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Cards are available covering a huge range of charitable organisations, from local to national and even international, and there is almost certain to be one that supports an area of concern to you.

All this sounds like a good deal for everyone involved, but is the picture as simple as that? The first drawback to a charity card is that the interest rates, balance transfer offers, and other deals are rarely as generous to the cardholder as those featured by other cards that compete under being a ‘best buy’ card. This may be a price you feel worth paying for the benefit the charity will receive, but you might in fact be better getting a cheaper card and donating the money you save to your charity directly.

Even putting aside the issue of higher interest charges, charity cards have another drawback – the percentage of what you spend that is donated is usually tiny, with 0.25% being a typical figure. Compare this to a typical cashback card which will pay between 1% and 2% of your spending, and it’s easy to see that the card issuer may not be acting as generously as it appears. Again, by donating your saved up cashback directly to your chosen charity you might have a larger impact.

The other point to bear in mind is that the money charities get from the credit card companies isn’t classed as tax-free, unlike direct donations, making it even less valuable.

So are charity cards a waste of time? In terms of actual sums donated they might seem so, but there are advantages to the charity concerned above and beyond the simple percentage donations. Firstly, by using your card you’re helping to publicise the charity you’re interested in, just by the simple act of handing it over to counter assistants, waiters and the like, who will notice an unusual card, as will your friends and colleagues.

Secondly, the charity is guaranteed that the donations will be made, however small. If you save up your cashback with the intention of donating it, there’s always the chance that when you actually get the money you may have another pressing use for it, and the charity misses out.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the huge marketing muscle and advertising resources of the card issuer are put towards publicising the card and the charity, at least to some extent. This means that more people will probably end up donating in total, even if the individual figures are smaller, and the charity gets more exposure in general.

So in summary, while charity cards may not be the most effective way to donate to charity, and they certainly aren’t among the most attractive cards on the market financially, they can still be a worthwhile option if you find a card supporting a charity you have an interest in helping.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

A further type of affinity card is becoming more and more popular: the sports team affinity card, aimed at supporters of a particular football team or other sporting club.

The most obvious difference between a sports card and a normal one is in the actual appearance of the card, which will generally feature the logo or badge of the team chosen. This in itself is a desirable feature for many fans, as it’s a very visible declaration of your allegiance to your team, and is sure to attract comment from other fans.

Perhaps the most important aspect of sports affinity cards is a financial one, however. In much the same way as charity credit cards work, a sports card lets you contribute to the financial wellbeing of your team with no direct cost to yourself. A small percentage of everything you spend will be donated by the card issuer to the team linked to the card account, and while this may amount to only a small sum in the case of individual cardholders, the money involved can mount up quickly if thousands or tens of thousands of people regularly use the card.

In many cases, the money raised by starting a sports affinity card program will be used by the team involved to fund the longterm health of the club, often by investing in youth academies and development. This means that by using the card for regular spending, you’re helping to secure the success of your team well into the future.

Not only can your card use benefit your team, it can also feature attractive personal benefits such as discounts on club merchandise, a rewards scheme where you can build up points to offset against the costs of buying tickets, or even priority access to big games, depending on the specific card involved.

So, are there any downsides? Like all credit cards that offer some sort of tempting carrot to entice people to apply, the benefits offered need to be paid for somehow, and this is usually in the form of a higher standard APR or interest rate. It’s unlikely that you’ll find an affinity card of any variety listed in the ‘best value’ or ‘lowest APR’ tables. If you use your card for borrowing rather than simply as a convenient payment method, the sports-related benefits may well be overshadowed by the increased costs of the card.

Having said that, unless you’re planning to carry a substantial balance on your card from month to month, the headline interest rate is perhaps not as important to you as the fact that your card will be showing your support for your team both visibly and financially.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It is important to get a copy of your credit history. You may think your credit history is perfect because you have never been late or missed any of your loan payment, but recent studies have shown that perhaps as many as 50% of all credit histories have errors in them. And these errors could be a problem for you.

Today, you credit history is used as a measuring tool more than simply applying for a loan. Statistic shows that 92% of insurers are using credit history to predicting potential losses and apply appropriate rate for their customers. A potential employer, especially financial industry may want to review your credit history before they offer you any of their job positions. With tight rental market in many metropolitan areas, landlords want to see prospective tenant’s credit histories. Whether you are going to be able to pay the rent of not is foremost on their minds.

Your credit report contains information about your past and present personal and financial situation. Credit cards that never been formally cancelled will appeared on your credit history as an open line of credit. Beside that, credit-related court judgment against you in a lawsuit such as bankruptcy, if any will be recorded in your credit report and follow you as your credit history for many years. If you have any delay or unpaid debts, they will be appeared in your credit report. These can potentially cause problems because, if you are applying for a loan such as a college loan, a home mortgage or job application, they will be entered into the credit formula as debt and affect your credit ratings. Bad credit ratings prevent you from getting the best offer in term of best interest rate, approve with higher loan amount, or getting hire in your job application.

Hence, your pass credit records are important to you and if you have a good record, make sure that they appeared correctly in your credit history as you should be. There are three major reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans-Union, and they do not share information with each other, so you need to check your history from all three agencies. If you find errors, you can write to the agencies explaining the error, and they have 30 days to correct the error. You will want to check your report again after you have sent the corrections to be sure the changes were made.

In summary, it is your responsibility to ensure that your credit report is displaying your actual credit history. Take your initiative to confirm the correctness of you credit report so that you won’t face any problem when come to the time you want to use it for any purpose.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you’re looking to build credit, your options may be somewhat more limited. But if you use your gas card regularly, and pay it off at the end of every month, you’ll soon find that you’re able to negotiate a better interest rate with your existing card, or even apply successfully for a card with a better benefits package. However, keep in mind that gas cards often have much higher interest rates than a regular credit card would, so you should always make sure you can afford to pay your balance on a monthly basis, to prevent exorbitant interest charges.

If you have driving-age children living at home, a gas card is a great way to ensure your kids don’t end up stranded with an empty tank, while at the same time knowing that a regular credit card won’t get taken on a “joy ride” by their friends. A roadside assistance benefit can give you extra peace of mind, knowing they won’t have to rely on the assistance of strangers if the car breaks down or gets a flat tire.

If you have a particular gas station you visit regularly, getting a gas card from that company would be a good choice, particularly if it offers an incentive program based on frequency of use, such as airline miles per dollar spent, or a coupon or rebate program. If you travel a lot, choosing a gas card for a major nationwide chain of gas stations may be more useful than one that’s branded for your neighborhood station.

A gas card with a roadside assistance option may be an affordable alternative to a premium roadside assistance plan such as AAA. There are as many options in gas cards today as there are reasons to apply for one, so don’t hesitate to comparison shop to find the best benefits package for your needs!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The group that is most afflicted with the “no credit history” dilemma is generally college students and newly arrived immigrants from other countries. For others, they should be more focused on maintaining or rebuilding their credit. The strategy outlined here is therefore, for people with no credit history.

Step One: Get a Secured Credit Card. There are several major banks that offer a terrific secured credit card to get you going. HSBC and Bank of America are two great places to start. After 12 – 18 months of solid, on time payments, they will almost certainly convert your secured credit card to an unsecured credit card. This will then open up the doors for other creditors to extend you credit. Expect to see some “pre-approval” card applications in the mailbox.

Step Two: Get a Secured Loan. Similar to a secured credit card, a secured loan requires a deposit (typically a $500 minimum) where they then will float you back the same amount in the form of a secured loan. All you really paying for is interest (at a $500 deposit, it shouldn’t be a lot). Its well worth it at the end since this is used to build up a credit history.

Step Three: Become an Authorized User. If you know some one close to you who has terrific credit and is willing to add you as an Authorized User, then request to do so. Basically, you’re “borrowing” their credit history to build up yours.

Any three of these time-tested strategies will work – either by themselves or altogether. Within a year and half, you’ll have a very good credit history to work with. One important note though, you should have a good job as well. A stable job will ensure that you could pay off your credit balances while improving your chances of getting better credit cards in the future.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The best way to keep credit card debt down is not to use a credit card. But if you do receive a pre-approved card that intrigues you, at least know what you are getting into before signing on the bottom line:

What interest are you paying? Make sure you understand the interest rate you will be paying for. There are two types of interest rates, fixed-rate annual percentage rate (APR) and variable rates that swing according to the market rate. A better option would be APR because credit card companies have to notify you before raising rates.

The low interest rate being offered is usually only an “introductory rate” which means the rate can – and probably will – increase significantly at the end of the introductory period. This means that balances transferred from higher interest rate credit cards to the new, low introductory rate card could, over the long run, actually cost you more in interest payments. So, be aware of the terms and conditions before you sign to accept the card.

Know that a credit card may carry more than one rate. You may not aware that most of credit cards carry more than one rate. The balance transfer and cash advance normally have higher interest rate. Interest rate shows in the offer normally is the interest rate of your purchases with credit card. Hence, at the end you probably pay higher interest rate if you have balance transfer or withdraw any cash advance with your credit card.

Credit card companies may raise the interest rate if you have late payment. Some credit card companies will immediately raise your interest rate from introductory teaser rate to the regular rate if you are late just one time.

Don’t accept the new credit card offer if fee involved. If there is fee involved with your new credit card, don’t accept the offer. Why pay a fee for a credit card when, with good credit, you don’t have to? If you have good credit, there are many other better offers which you can choose from.

Many of these cards are just preliminarily approved. This means that when you actually apply, the credit card company will reviewing your credit report in full as well as verifying information provided on your application. Terms and conditions may change according to your qualification, such as higher interest rate or smaller credit line. And if your application is rejected, it could cause at least minimal damage to your credit report.

So, in order to protect yourself, you need to carefully read all of the fine print in the offer and, if you don’t fully understand and like everything you read, throw the credit card offer away. Even if you fully agree with the stated terms and conditions, do some calculations to be sure that the lower introductory rate, especially in the case of balance transfers, will actually save you money over the long run.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

However, once you know about some of the tricks they use, you’ll be ahead of the game and will be able to make more efficient use of your card, with lower monthly bills and smaller charges to your account.

The first trick, the balance transfer fee, is now very well known, mainly because advertising regulations mean that if it’s present it must feature prominently in marketing material. This fee is charged as a small percentage of any balance transfer you make onto the card, usually after being attracted by a 0% introductory deal or a low rate for life offer. Unfortunately, balance transfer fees are pretty much a fact of life for credit card users these days, and it’s all but impossible to get a balance transfer card with no fee. The best you can aim for is to get the lowest percentage fee possible.

As well as being used for purchases, credit cards can also be used to obtain money from cash dispensers, a feature known as a cash advance. This area is a real money spinner for card issuers. Not only do they charge a higher rate of interest for money borrowed in this way, sometimes twice as high, they usually charge a fee of two to three per cent of the money you withdraw as well. Furthermore, there’s usually no interest free grace period, and so you’ll be paying interest on whatever you withdraw, even if you settle the balance in full at the next statement. In a final, somewhat sneaky move, card companies have started to widen their definitions of a cash advance. Some usages of your card such as paying for online gambling are now regarded as cash advances by some issuers, and charged accordingly.

Perhaps the most insidious form of ‘hidden’ charge comes under the slightly obscure name of Allocation of Payments. This system means that any repayments you make go towards repaying the lowest interest kind of debt on your account first, leaving the more expensive parts of your debt untouched. For an example, if you transfer a balance of $5000 onto a card at a lifetime rate of 5%, and then make a cash advance of $200 charged at 25%, then that $200 will sit in your account attracting the higher rate until you’ve completely cleared the $5000 balance transfer. None of your repayments will reduce the amount of your debt being charged at 25%. This means that the only effective way to use a balance transfer facility is to transfer the balance, and then never use the card again for any reason until you’ve cleared the debt.

The last trick that we’ll look at is the reduction of minimum repayments. Once, the normal repayment you had to make each month was around 5% of your balance. Over the years, this has fallen to an average of 2.5%, meaning that a higher proportion of each repayment goes towards paying interest, and less towards reducing your debt. A minimum repayment of 2.5% is only marginally higher than that needed to service the interest charges, and will mean your debt will take years longer to clear than it should, costing much more in interest. Even if it’s only by a small amount, you should always try to pay more than the minimum required each month.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

At its simplest, an affinity card is one which identifies the cardholder with a particular company, organization, or field of interest. The card will generally have a visual design to reflect this link, and will also offer some benefit related to the affinity topic in question. A good example is a hotel chain affinity card. If a credit card account holder travels a lot on business or for pleasure, and has a favorite chain of hotels to stay in, then a credit card linked to these hotels can offer benefits such as discounts on room reservations, a points program which lets you build up credits for free meals or use of facilities, or even access to advanced concierge services to make your stay in a new city more enjoyable.

A hotel card such as this is an example of where affinity cards and rewards cards meet and overlap, but the affinity card will have a more tightly focussed reward scheme than the general card.

Another kind of affinity card which has grown in popularity over recent years is a charity credit card. In many ways, these cards can be viewed as variations on cashback credit cards, where a small percentage of everything you spend using the card is refunded. The crucial difference with a charity card is that instead of the cashback being credited to your account or sent to you in the form of a check, it is instead donated to the charity or charities linked to the card. Animal charities are popular, as are health research charities, but the range is huge and you’re sure to be able to find a charity card supporting a non-profit that you’d like to support.

Closely related to charity cards are sports affinity cards. These operate in much the same way, but instead of donations being given to charitable organizations, they’re instead passed on to the card holder’s favorite sports team. By holding one of these cards, you can help support your team financially, while also declaring your support with your teams logo or badge emblazoned on the card itself.

The final kind of affinity card could be loosely termed a lifestyle card, and rather than giving you direct rewards or supporting your favorite organization, they are simply run of the mill credit cards that visually reflect an interest or hobby – for example, your favorite TV show, or work of art. For obvious reasons, these cards are not overly popular these days, as cards offering more concrete benefits have overtaken them in usefulness.

So are affinity cards worth using? In general, they probably won’t offer such a great range of features as a market leading general credit card, but if you can find one that closely fits your lifestyle, then they can be very attractive and well worth applying for.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Character

When you promptly pay principal and interest on your mortgage, student loans, credit card and other loans, you established a good character. By demonstrating a strong sense of character, you persuade the lender to trust that you will make a good-faith effort to pay your bills even if you run into financial difficulties.

Capacity

Capacity measures your financial ability to assume a certain amount of debt. Whenever you apply for a loan, the lender will ask for your annual income statement and your investment portfolio and he/she also want to get to know your other income sources. Many banks set minimum income requirements that your must meet to qualify for certain dollars of credit. The higher your total earning, the larger your credit capacity will be. Besides considering your sources of income, lender also takes into consideration of your existing debts. They prefer it if no more than a maximum of 36 percent of your income pays your total fixed expenses, and if no more that 28 percent of your income pays for housing, either mortgage or rent. The more debt you incur, the less credit lenders extend.

Capital

Lenders consider stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, collectibles, cars and other asset as your capital that they can disposal to retire your debts if your character and capacity do not prove sufficient. Sometimes, lender may need you to pledge your capital/asset for your loan if your character and capacity are not sufficient to persuade lender to approve your application.

The Benefit of Having Good Credit

Lenders love people with good credit record to borrow money from them. That’s why people with good credit get a better offer in applying for credit. Among the benefits of being a good credit are: the lower interest rate, faster application approval, more attractive packages with more choices. It’s mean “Save More Money If You Have Good Credit”. If you have good credit, you even can negotiate with the lender to lower down the interest else you will turn your head to other lender.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Despite their ubiquity in modern life, credit cards have a fairly short history, with the first general purpose credit card being introduced less than fifty years ago. In this article we’ll look at the origins of credit cards, and then at how they’ve developed over the years with the emphasis on the United Kingdom market.

The very first credit card was launched by Diners Club in 1951, and was limited to use in twenty seven New York restaurants. It wasn’t a huge success initially, with only 200 cards being issued. The real story of credit cards began in 1958 with the introduction of two major new products. The first was the American Express charge card, which boasted over a million users within five years of it being launched.

The other innovation was the first example of what we now recognize as a credit card: the Bank Americard, a general purpose card developed by Joseph Williams while working at the Bank of America. Over time, this card was to develop into the Visa company that we know today. Eight years after the introduction of this card, fourteen U.S. banks formed an alliance to launch a rival to the Bank Americard, named Interlink, which was to evolve into the Mastercard payment processor by 1979.

The first UK general card was launched by Barclays Bank in 1967, and their Barclaycard is still one of the most popular and widespread cards forty years later. In 1972, four other UK banks joined forces to launch the Access card in competition with Barclays, and for the next decade or so this remained the status quo.

It was during the 1980s that the credit card industry began consolidating behind the two big processors that had evolved into their current form by this time, Visa and Mastercard. Banks dropped their own processing facilities, and began to issue cards that could be used at any outlet that supported these two main payment processors. It was this move that led to the great expansion in card use, as they could now be easily used almost anywhere in the world.

The next major change to the industry was the revolutionizing technology of the internet, allowing purely online cards such as Egg in the UK to offer attractive benefits to the cardholder at low cost to the issuers. Competition between lenders quickly heated up, and features such as balance transfer offers began to appear.

Balance transfer deals allowed cardholders to move their debt from card to card and avoid paying any interest on it almost indefinitely, or so it seemed. Unfortunately, this ruse of ‘credit card surfing’ couldn’t last as it was costing the credit industry billions every year, and so a balance transfer fee was imposed which made it much less attractive to cardholders.

The last major change in the credit card industry has been the introduction of Chip and PIN technology which has cut card fraud substantially by requiring payments to be approved via entering a code number rather than relying on a signature. The technology began to be rolled out in the UK in 2004, and is now fully in use across the country.

What’s next for credit cards? Only the issuers know, but with record levels of debt many people are reluctant to apply for new cards, and so we’re likely to see more attractive features becoming available to new applicants as credit companies compete for the shrinking amount of business available.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Applying online for a credit card gives the consumer the advantage to compare offerings instantaneously. Whereas with a traditional brochure and unlike those pre-approved applications that annoyingly flood consumers’ mailboxes, applying online puts the consumer in the driver seat where they can dissect the perks and choose the card that best matches their needs.

With all of the various and distinctive offerings that credit card companies provide today, it’s most important for a consumer to choose a card that gives them the best purchasing power.

The new credit cards today are typically reward-based. However, not every credit card issuer provides the same rewards. If a consumer goes to a specific bank website, they will only be able to choose the cards that are issued by that bank.

To get the best credit card offerings, a consumer has to compare different credit cards from one central location.

To make the most of applying online, it is recommended that you take the following thoughts into consideration before applying:

1.) Decide what type of credit card you are looking for. Not all credit cards are the same today. There are reward credit cards, blink-enabled credit cards, business credit cards, retail cards, and prepaid credit cards, to name a few.

2.) Decide how you will use a credit card. Are you a frequent purchaser? If so, then look at reward-based credit cards. Are you planning on paying in full every month? If so, look for a credit card that has no annual fee.

3.) Do you travel a lot? There are many cards available that provide distinctive services – free of charge. Among other things, they include lost luggage coverage and auto rental insurance. Something to consider when choosing a card.

4.) Are you aware of your credit score? If you know that you have a fairly low credit score, then you can find comfort knowing that there are many solid secured credit cards available to help rebuild your credit.

5.) If you are a student, your best bet would typically apply online for a student credit card. These cards are specifically designed to look pass a typical student’s limited credit history while providing useful perks that could meet their collegiate needs.

Applying online for a credit card puts the consumer in an advantageous position. No longer are you obligated to wait for the best credit card offerings through the mail or take time-consuming trips to the bank. In most cases, you’ll even get an instant approval when applying online.

In a nutshell, applying online is faster, simpler, and gives the consumer more choices than was previously impossible before. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and apply online when you feel the need to get the best credit card.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

This blinded way of obtaining a credit card can cost the consumer much more in the long run. First, the card may not have all the best features, yet they go on and sign up for the card right away since they were so overwhelmed or flattered by the thought of being pre-approved from a credit card issuer.

Second, the lack of research knowledge or the pain-staking time devoted to doing research forces the consumer to sign up for a credit card at their most earliest convenience. This lackadaisical approach could also cost you more in the long run – in the terms of unfavorable interest rates and misguided credit card features.

To get the best card deal, a consumer should compare credit cards online. They need to compare the various card features and the benefits that they will obtain for receiving the card. The educated consumer has to decide what type of card is best suited for them before applying for one.

You won’t be able to compare credit cards effectively through mail-in brochures or from a representative at your local bank. They will only sell you on their cards because they want your business.

To put the advantage on your side, you need to compare credit cards from a variety of banks and issuers to ensure that you’re covering your bases. Failure to do so increases the chances that you will sign up for a credit card without exploring all your options.

There are several notable destinations on the web that you can browse through to compare credit cards. While you are browsing through the selections, you should consider the following thoughts before applying for one:

1.) Is the credit card issuer an established financial institution? There is a difference when applying for an American Express card and one from a bank you’ve never heard of. You’re best bet is to apply for a card from a trusted institution.

There are many scam artists, even in the form of large corporations, which would like to take advantage of you. Be on the safe side and apply for credit cards from established names – Citibank, Chase, American Express, and so forth. Avoid the little known banks that haven’t established a name for themselves yet. They may offer you a better deal but they don’t have a track record to determine how reliable they are.

2.) What is the type of card and features that will best suit your needs? Are you a consumer, a business owner, or a student? Are you someone with poor credit? Find the right card that matches who you are and then compare the selections that will give you the best credit card deal. For example, not all student credit cards are the same. Some cards will give college student “fun” perks such as concert tickets or school supplies incentives while other cards give rebates on gas. Compare the cards and choose the best deal according to your needs and interests.

With so many credit cards available today and the range of benefits that they offer, it’s advisable for a consumer to compare before applying. A little effort on your part can go a long way at keeping yourself regretting from getting a card with unnecessary annual fees and high interest rates. The smart consumers always examine the various offerings before making a decision that they might regret later on.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Every year, there are hundred thousands of victims a year fall prey to someone stealing their identity and the number is increasing annually. Thus, the first step in protecting your credit history is protecting your identify. If you lose your identify and your identify is used by the identify theft for any purpose that can damage your credit worthiness, it can take several years to regain it. Thus, it’s your responsible to ensure your identify is safe and your identify can be easily stolen and it is up to you to take measures to protect it.

Many people blame the networked computers and internet as the cause of identify theft, but in fact identify theft is really a low-tech crime. Most of time, it is due to people’s carelessness that give the opportunities for other people to steal their identity. Very often people don’t even know that someone is using their name, social security number, or other identification until they are turned down for a loan or a mortgage because someone using their identify has damages their credit-worthiness. This is why the first thing that you can do to protect your identity is the check your credit report, at the very least biannually, even when you are not applying for credit.

How’s Your Identity Get Stolen?

Identify theft may call up credit bureau posing as Auto dealer, mortgage lender, landlord, employer or insurer and ask for your complete copy of credit report with all your account number printed on it. Once they get your information, they can use it for any purpose that may harm your credit ratings. Hence, it is important for you to check your credit report and report to the authority for any abnormal shown in your credit report.

Most of us like to throw junk mails into trash with shredding them first. The pre-approved credit card offer letters that you throw as junk mails can be easily taken by other people near you. The person may take the offer, fill it out with their address and then use the credit card when it arrives, ignore the bills and ignore the calls from creditors. The bad credit goes on your credit report under your name. You can avoid this theft by shredding all your junk mails before you toss them into the trash.

Act Quickly

If you find out that someone has stolen you identity, it is important for you to act as soon as possible to notifying all the related authorities. Keep records on all the document, phone calls, and name of people you talk with because the credit card companies and credit bureaus might need these in their investigation. You also might want to put a fraud alert on your credit report by writing to credit bureaus. The fraud alert will stay in your credit report for 2 years.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Promises An Easy Out Of Debt

Getting out of debt is rarely to an “easy task”. Although there are ways to effectively manage your debt repayment but it requires a lot of patience and commitment. You need to admit the reality that your debt won’t go away overnight or in short period of time with put enough effort on it. Hence, you should walk away from any credit counseling services that promise you that you will easily walk out from your debt by just enrolling into their program.

The Company Not Interest To Know Your Financial Situation

The question is how can a credit counselor is able to help you if he don’t get to understand first your current financial situation. You must trigger your alert if a credit counselor keeps selling his company’s debt solutions to you without asking you to explain your actual debt situation. Remember, a credit counselor job is to propose to you a debt solution that fit into your financial situation. Hence, he needs to understand first by asking you to explain in detail all your debt issues and where you stand financially before he is able to help you in your debt problem.

Claim To Remove Negative Information From Your Credit Report

Although you can always rebuilt your credit and put your credit ratings back in order but information state in your credit report is never can be removed legally. Hence, any company that claims that it can help you to remove all the negative information such as bankruptcy and other bad records from your credit report, never believe them.

You Are Required To Make “Voluntary” Contributions.

If a contribution is required, then it never is a “Voluntary”. Normally credit counseling agency normally will give free credit counseling to you and they will explain to you what are the fee involve if any on their debt relief program or debt management plan. You have the right to reject the program and no payment should be made if you decide not to sign their program. Just walk away from any credit counseling agency that requires you to pay up front fee.

Insist An Immediate Decision

The rule of thumb, don’t make up your decision until you have interviewed a few credit counseling agencies and review all their plans. You no need to decide at the spot, bring all the information back to your home and reconsider or better discuss with your family to see you have miss anything or any doubt unanswered. Reputable credit counselors will permit you time to evaluate their offer. Don’t take the offer from any credit counseling agency that insists that you need to make an immediate decision.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Becoming an authorized user (AU) on an established credit account that has a long and positive history has been effective for years in establishing good credit for your children, a stay at home spouse or significant other. The account holder could simply have a card issued to you and you would inherit the history of the account. The card holder could even keep the card in a sock drawer or cut it up. You, as the AU, would not have to use it even once. The AU would not be financially responsible for the debt if it were not a joint account. The only draw back was if the account holder missed payments, the AU report would reflect the 30, 60, 90 day late payments.

Well, this was one of the tools available to people to accelerate the increase of their credit score after a negative credit event. Probably not even a well known or often used tool, comparatively. It was, however, one of the methods that I have, for years, suggested to consumers as a way to increase scores or off set the bad items. Not to go out and rent someone’s credit for a fee (which is reportedly why this once useful avenue is being shut down). No, I would encourage people to network with their family and friends to look for a hand up, not a hand out.

It has been my experience that the vast majority of people that suffer their way through a negative credit situation ended up there as a result of unforeseen events. Things like divorce, job loss and health related issues (their own or a loved one). To experience any of these is difficult, at best. Then, to be placed in credit purgatory for 7 plus years only adds to the frustration. Some of life’s trials are brief, some longer term. Depending on the severity, credit reports are the last thing on your mind.

At some point, though, when you are on the road to financial recovery, you will undoubtedly find that re-establishing credit or getting credit on good terms is a valuable asset. If you can jump start it with the help of someone close to you, I often encouraged it.

Starting in September of 2007, Fair Isaac Corp., who provides the FICO score model the vast majority of lenders use in calculating credit risk, is reportedly going to implement code that will cease the factoring of AU accounts. AU trade lines will still show up on the credit report, it just won’t show up in the credit score.

The Vantage score model that was rolled out last year as a collaborative effort by the 3 major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Transunion and Experian, is said to currently not include AU accounts into its scoring model.

The news reports state the growing industry of selling ones good credit to a stranger as the reason for the change. So, essentially, a few entrepreneurs looking to turn a profit have canceled out the option for all. But, how does this action conform to the laws that require the reporting of AU accounts in the first place? The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and other laws that require AU for spouses are there for a reason. Perhaps since the AU trade line will still show in the report the law is still being adhered to. Maybe this action by Fair Isaac could somehow be proven to be prejudice or non compliant in their action. Time will tell. For certain, they plan on moving forward with the plan to stop factoring the AU account into the score beginning next month. This will mean one less tool in this credit coach’s tool belt. For now.

There are many other tools to use when approaching debt and credit issues. Taking a proactive and informed approach is the best strategy to start with. Get educated!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It is small card that contains the complete financial details of the customers. The terms of the deal are set by the lender which include how often payments are to be made, what will be the minimum payment, and what the rates of interest that will be applied are. The borrower has to pay not just the borrowed amount but also the additional charges based on the rate of interest.

Credit card is a beneficial tool for the customers. Some of the benefits are:

* Emergency Protection: If you’re ever in an emergency, you’ll see how helpful a credit card can be. Whether you’re stuck with medical bills or auto repair fees, these credit cards can be used anywhere and at anytime.

* Convenience: There’s no need to carry money in the wallets. Just the plastic card is enough. You can buy anything what you want at any time even if you don’t have cash with you.

* Building Your Credit: If you dream of buying a house or really nice car, you need to have a credit history that demonstrates that you can take on debt and pay it back on schedule. You can use a credit card to make small purchases and build up your credit score by paying your statement on time.

* Security: Large amounts of cash can be lost or stolen. But if your credit card goes missing, you can have the account cancelled and a new card issued without losing any of your money.

Credit cards can help you improve your daily lives if you use them responsibly. But the temptation to live beyond your means and max out your credit limit can be a problem. That’s why it’s important to think of your credit cards as tools that you can use.

Some of the important things to be kept in mind that will help you to manage your credit card debt are:

* Go Back to Cash: If you’re having trouble keeping your credit card in your pocket, switch back to cash for a while. Using cash for a bit will help you remember that little purchases add up.

* Make a Budget: The first step to financial freedom is a realistic budget. Sticking to a budget will help you from splurging with your credit card.

* Get Credit Counseling: If your debt gets out of control, talk to someone! Ignoring your credit problems won’t make them go away – it will only make them worse. Talk to your parents or a trusted friend who may be able to help, or consider getting help from a group or institutions that can help you with your problems.

* Set a Limit: Many analysts recommend keeping your credit card balance around 30% of your credit limit for maximum benefit in the formula used to calculate your credit score. A promise should be made to yourself that you will not exceed the limit and the credit card debt will not go out of control.

There are many benefits of having credit card. If you understand that credit card money is just like loan, things would be better. If you aim to clear your credit card balance every month, it will be beneficial else the balance will have interest charged on it and there can be all the consequences that occur with loan.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

- Refinance your home to lower your monthly payment.

- Consolidate your loans into one monthly payment.

- Sign up for automatic payments with your loan companies, especially student loans. Often they lower your interest rate a little.

- Place your student loans on deferment for a few months to get ahead.

- Consolidate your student loans if you have not done so.

- Cancel your Internet.

- Cancel your cable or satellite.

- Create a budget.

- Do not eat out. Eat leftovers.

- Only go to the grocery store once a week on your way home from work.

- Plan your meals and stick to the plan.

- Do not drive excessively. Do all your errands at one time when you are already out.

- Obtain a home equity loan to help reduce your expenses.

- If you are renting look into mortgages. You may find you can have less monthly payments with a mortgage.

- If renting and a mortgage will not work- move. You may have to go to a less than desirable part of town or seek a small place, but you can find lower rent.

- Seek a rental that includes all expenses such as electric, heat, water, sewer, and even cable.

- Sell that extra car and carpool or ride the bus.

There are many things you can do to help reduce your monthly expenses and save your credit score. While you may not think it is worth the sacrifices keep in mind that if you take a year out of your life with a reduction in expenses and find a way to save a little money the market can change where it is possible to get an even better mortgage with your saved credit or you can get a better car loan on a newer vehicle because you saved your credit and the market shifted.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

- Keep your credit cards below 49% balance. In other words do not exceed your limit by more than 49%. The loan companies are looking to make sure your debit ratio is within a certain limit and when you exceed the 49% mark you tend to get higher interest rates.

- Do not keep switching cards and transferring balances. While there are credit cards that offer a great introductory rate you may be hurting your credit score if you continue to change credit cards every six months or less. Generally you need to keep paying down the cards and only exchange credit cards when you have a very high interest rate. When you do switch cards you need to make sure the interest rate is a fixed rate.

- If you are trying to establish credit the first thing you will want to do is get a credit card. Make sure there is no annual fee, a low fixed interest rate, and that it has perks. Perks can be cash back bonuses, or flight miles. You will want to use the card once a month to avoid having it stolen, however you will want to pay off the balance every month. The key is to barely use it, but let the loan company see that you are establishing a credit history by having the card.

Your credit score is your way of getting great deals on mortgages, car loans, and other loans.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Build Your Credit With A Secured Credit Cards

When you are in debt, many experts will advise you to put away you credit card and not to charge your credit card again, so that you won’t add new debt into your current debt. They are right, because the uncontrolled use of credit card can make your debt situation worse. But, if you want to rebuild your credit, the best way is “Use Your Credit Card”.

Instead of using unsecured credit card that you still own, it’s better for you to apply for a secured credit card.

You probably had given up your credit cards if you had gone through a debt management program during the process of getting you debt issue resolved. And if you credit score is not good, you probably won’t be able to be approved for an unsecured credit card if you apply for one now; hence, applying for a secured credit card is the only way you can get a credit card that you can use to rebuild your credit.

What is secured credit card? Why it difference from my existing credit card? If you have not owned a secured credit card before, these questions may rise in your mind. Well, a secured credit card is the same physically with any other credit cards; the only different is a secured credit card is like a pre-paid card where you need to pay first before you use. It requires you to deposit a certain amount of cash as the collateral for a credit line. And the credit limit is the same with the amount of deposit. For example, if you put $500 into the account, you will be able to charge up to $500.

You use the secured credit card to purchase items and make the monthly payment in full on time. The issuing bank will report your good payment behavior to the credit bureau, and you will be on your way to establish a good credit history over time.

Build Your Credit With A Secured Personal Loan

Besides applying for secured credit card, you can also rebuild your credit by getting a secured personal loan. Like in secured credit card, a secured personal loan required you deposit cash or other valuable asset such as automobile, boat and jewelry as the collateral for the loan. The maximum loan can up to the collateral’s value, but most of time, you can only get about 80%-90% of collateral’s value.

Build a good credit history by making monthly loan repayment on time so that your good payment behavior will be consistently reported to the bureau and get it recorded into your credit report.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

However, there’s also no doubt that credit cards can be a very dangerous thing if not treated with respect. Stories abound of people running up huge debts using their plastic, which they then find they can’t service should their financial situations change. This kind of scenario, which can lead to huge problems such as foreclosure and bankruptcy, make a lot of people reluctant to take the risk and they decide not to have a credit card at all.

So how can you enjoy the benefits of a credit card without taking the risks? There are three main ways: debit cards, secured cards, and charge cards.

The first of these alternatives, debit cards, are fast becoming among the most popular kinds of payment method. At the point of payment, they are to all intents and purposes used identically to a credit card. The crucial difference is that a debit card is linked directly to the cardholders bank account, and the transaction will not be authorized unless the account holds sufficient funds to cover it. Once authorized, the money will leave the account either immediately or within a matter of days. Thus, there is no possibility of building up debts using the card, unless you have an overdraft agreement in place with the bank.

One drawback to debit cards is that they are sometimes not accepted as widely as ordinary credit cards, so this is where the second alternative, secured cards, come in. These cards, also known as prepaid cards, need to be ‘loaded’ with funds before you can use them, for which the card issuer will usually charge a small fee. Once the card account has a credit on it, the card can be used in exactly the same way as a normal credit card, and in all the same outlets, as it will usually carry the Mastercard or Visa logo. Secured cards, as well as being good for people who don’t want to risk debt, are also an ideal way for people with bad credit ratings to get access to the convenience of plastic.

Unfortunately, having to load a secured card can be both tiresome and also relatively costly, so this is where the third alternative might be considered: charge cards.

This kind of card is somewhere in between a debit card and an ordinary credit card. With a charge card you have a line of credit which you can dip into to fund your transactions, and there is no direct link between the card and your bank account. However, the total amount you spend each month must be repaid in full after every statement. You cannot carry a balance from month to month with a charge card, at least not without being penalized with hefty fees. For this reason they make perhaps the ideal choice for people who wish to carry a payment card with the least amount of hassle, and absolutely no risk of running up unsupportable debt.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

We see it every day a new way to loan money, extend your credit card limits or the use the equity in your home and the great things that you can buy from this new found wealth. Wealth Creation without working for it, on a scale not seen before. Where scant regard has been made of the impact of this added credit and its repayment. As geed is good, have it now pay for it latter was programmed into us by the media at all levels. Personal debit has now become a major issue and any economic downturn and associated reduced employment will have direr consequences let alone a round of interest rate rises.

No wonder that bankruptcies have climbed to levels 10 times higher than they were several decades ago. In a crisis that is on a scale never seen before in the world of finance. The computer modeling that said there was little risk has been found to have holes wide enough to drive trucks through. It is rippling out of America and engulfing areas of the finance never impacted on before. There is foreclosure disasters being recorded every day, the loose-pocketed purveyors of credit are now reaping what they have sowed. Levels of debt held by some banks are causing runs on their capital forcing Governments to step in with public money to stem the cash outflows.

Gary Eldred PhD is Professor of Real Estate at Trump University put it this way.

Weakness of Will and Financial Discipline

1. In adopting the sales approach, the bankers knew that millions of people would jump at the chance to spend and borrow now, and then think about the destructive consequences later.
2. Because let’s face facts. Home equity borrowing vanquishes your capacity to build wealth. If you do use it, use it only for productive investment that offers low risk for good returns. (As the old advice goes, “Never dine on seed corn.”) The data on home equity loans overwhelmingly show that borrowers most frequently put the money they borrow into consumption, including ill-considered home improvements or extended overseas travel.
3. What about consolidating your bills or paying off high-interest-rate credit card balances? Again, prudence says no. Rather than paying less interest, this approach often leads to even more debt. Why? Because borrowers who wrap their credit card balances and other bills into home equity loans (or refinances) temporarily minimize the pain of debt. Yet, with a longer term and lower payments, the debt generates higher long-term costs. Even worse, many borrowers run their credit card balances climb right back up to where they were previously.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Are Student Credit Cards an Advantage?
Some parents feel that providing their kids with credit cards while they are still in high school help them learn about money early in life. With proper guidance and support, obtaining a student credit card can help young people learn about how to handle their finances properly.

A student credit card is a great way in establishing a credit history in preparation for their future. Some credit card companies refuse to grant credit card approval for those without a credit history. But with the help of a parent as a co-signer, it will be much easier to get a credit card.

Or a Disadvantage?
On the other hand, a young person with a student credit card can also get into trouble. The convenience that a student credit card can bring may lead to uncontrolled spending. With just one swipe of the card, they can purchase an item easily at any time. Eating out in restaurants with friends is also just as convenient. They can easily do so without bringing with them any cash.

The problem comes when it’s time to pay the bills. At the end of the month, their billing statement may reveal that they have spent more than their alloted monthly budget. It is also a possibility that a student who does not think about his spending for the past month has already exceeded his allotted credit limit.

The Role of Parents
With this in mind, it is very important that the students themselves realize the value of credit and how to use credit cards to their benefit. Parents play a big role in helping their kids understand that credit cards should not be used like cash. Instead, every time they use their credit card to buy something, they should already plan out on how to pay back that purchase. Students must be reminded that serious thinking must be done before they use their credit card to make a purchase.

If you own a student credit card, be aware of the dates when you should be paying off your balances. Even if your parents are helping you to pay your bills it is crucial that as early as now, you learn the responsibility of paying your debts on time. Once you finish school, you will have the sole responsibility of paying your debts. By learning how to use your credit card wisely and putting it into practice, you won’t have a hard time managing your finances later on.

Student credit cards can be an advantage or a disadvantage for students. It will all depend on whether they will use their student credit card wisely and prudently.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Up until the earlier part of this year, the credit spigot has been open wide. If you could fog a mirror, you could get a mortgage. If you had a job or even no job, you could get a credit card.

This past month of August, typically the hottest month of the year for temperatures in the US credit markets, especially in mortgage lending, were hit by a sudden arctic blast. Suddenly, the lending spigot and the trough it poured into were frozen.

Credit availability and the terms for which it can be had have tightened and risk aversion has accelerated over the last month. This will continue. Lending standards are reverting to pre-real estate bubble levels. LTV on many mortgages will hit 80/20 again which will require large cash down on home purchases. These conditions are going to lock many people out of buying or even refinancing. A consumer’s debt to income and credit history is going to come into play more and more. I spoke with a realtor in Arizona a few weeks ago that had 9 escrows in the pipeline that all came back unfunded due to the recent tightening.

Foreclosures are at all time highs as adjustable/teaser rate mortgages reset. This means that people got into a loan agreement to purchase a house where the initial payment was low and, thereby, affordable. Once the mortgage payment reset to a higher rate (usually within the first 2 years of the loan), the home was no longer affordable. Due to the recent downturn in real estate prices and slow home sales in nearly every city, many people that could no longer afford their mortgage payment due to the loan reset, may be locked out of a refinance. People either took out bad loans that they did not understand or they got into a home that they could not afford.

What should borrowers do if they’re about to go into default? Can you put it off?

If someone’s got a bad loan and is trying to find a way to refinance, as noted above, this is the worst time; banks don’t want to see you. If you’re struggling, try to hold on for a while. But be realistic; if you’re in a mortgage and you’re not close to being able to afford it, think about selling your home. The situation won’t be better in six months. If the numbers don’t add up, you’re not doing yourself a favor by dragging this out.

What if the home does not sell?

You may end up just sending the keys in an envelope instead of the payment. Depending on where you live, home prices are actually dropping, not rising. You may find that you are upside down on your home, meaning, you owe more on it then you could sell it for. If home values continue to decrease, one has to stop and consider whether they want to continue to hold on to a depreciating asset, if they are already struggling.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Thanks Mr. Gloomy Dude, any good news”?

Well, the options available to avoid foreclosure are expanding.

There are plans, once fully developed and deployed by federal and state government, that could help you keep your home, if you are behind in payments. There will likely be criteria that has to be met in order to qualify. These qualifications you may or may not meet. Even if you meet said qualifications, do the math. Be sure it is in your best financial interest and in line with your future income goals and opportunities to keep the home.

Lenders and loan servicing departments have beefed up their loss mitigation staff in order to respond to the current issues. If you have decided to keep your home, then Loan Modification or a Repayment Plan is usually the best option. You will need to contact the bank. In most cases, this will be the bank or institution you are, or were, sending your payments to. You will need to speak to the loss mitigation department. Speaking to anyone else will only delay the process and may create additional fees and costs that you will be asked to pay for in the end. You can obtain the number for the loss mitigation department by calling the contact number on your statement or the letters you have received from the bank. You will need to keep this number handy, as there will be numerous calls to them.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised. For example, a credit repair company cannot: make false claims about their services, charge you until they have completed the promised services, perform any services until they have your signature on a written contract, and have completed a three-day waiting period. Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost.

Credit
Credit debt can greatly negatively impact your overall credit status. Credit card companies never let on about how to avoid getting into debt. Creditors set their own credit-granting standards and not all of them look at your credit history the same way. Creditors don’t have to report to all three credit bureaus, so they typically report to the credit bureau to which they also subscribe. Credit bureaus generate your report on information they receive from your creditors; they don’t verify it.

Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report. Everyday, companies nationwide appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job. After you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; most simply vanish with your money. You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. It’s a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.

Bad
Bad Credit will cost you thousands of dollars. You can have bad credit erased legally and quickly. Bad credit repair can improve your way of life greatly enabling you to get the mortgage or refinance loan at the best possible low rate. A bad credit report simply means that you have a bit of work ahead after disputing items to the Bureaus Equifax, Experian and Transunion.
Proper management with Bad credit repair software will save tremendous time and energy, rapidly boost fico ratings and boost fico scores. You can certainly fix and improve bad credit on your own, but it helps to have a vast knowledge of the law. You can clean up your reports so that bad debts and bad scores are not an issue. You must take the first steps to clean up bad debts from your credit reports and this must be done with Equifax credit bureau, Trans Union credit bureau and Experian credit bureau.

Information
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information provider. Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate.
In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company.

If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file. If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reportincompany also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.

Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. And if you are correct – that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate – the information provider may not report it again. Even if you don’t have a poor credit history, some financial advisors and consumer advocates suggest you review your credit report periodically because the information it contains affects whether you can get a loan or insurance — and how much you will have to pay for it. Do make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. That’s when someone uses your personal information — like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number — to commit fraud.

Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost. Many states have laws regulating credit repair companies. If you’ve had a problem with a credit repair company, don’t be embarrassed to report it. But truly effective credit repair requires an in-depth understanding of the scoring model as well. Bad credit repair can improve your way of life greatly enabling you to get the mortgage or refinance loan at the best possible low rate. And the best thing with credit repair services is that most of these services come free.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Signing up for the first student credit card offer
As you enter college, you might receive a lot of credit card offers from different credit card issuers. If you’re not going to think about it carefully, you might just sign up for the first offer that you think sounds good enough for a credit card. It’s easy to get one enticed by a credit card offer. Most credit card companies make a lot of exciting promotions that may be hard to resist. However, if you’ll read the complete terms and conditions, you might be surprised to see that there are certain charges that are higher than expected.

To Sign or Not to Sign
To avoid signing up for the wrong credit card offer, don’t just read the best features of the credit card. Take the time to read the terms and conditions which can be found in the credit card’s website. This way, you’ll get to know about all the rates and charges that come with your credit card. Check out websites that give credit card reviews on different credit cards for students. These websites compile all possible student credit cards in the market, along with their main features in just one page. This will help you see what choices you have and compare them.

In addition, since this is your first time applying for a credit card, it will be better if you seek advice from your family or relatives who may know more about credit cards than you do. Better, you may seek assistance from a financial consultant who can give you an objective and informed opinion about the best student credit card.

Using up all your credit limit
Students are usually given a huge credit limit. But this does not mean that you can spend credit limit to the fullest. Bear in mind that you should keep your balances below 50% of your credit limit. Using up your entire credit limit on expenses has a negative impact on your credit report. Also, you’ll more likely have a hard time paying off your balances in time if you get in the habit of spending your credit limit to the maximum. This brings us to the next biggest mistake that students commit.

Not paying on time
The biggest mistake you can do on your student credit card is not paying your balances on time or skipping on your payments. Credit card companies can increase the rate of your APR, charge you with penalty fees and even take back your rewards and privileges. Worse, you might not be able to keep up with your credit. Incurred monthly balances are the most common cause why students get swamped with credit card debt.

Remember that owning a student credit card is your first step in establishing your credit history. You want to make a good credit report for yourself especially because an excellent credit status will be an enormous help for you when you finish college and enter the corporate world. So take your responsibilities on your student credit card seriously and avoid committing these mistakes.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It’s Just a Marketing Strategy
Be aware that credit card companies are experts when it comes to marketing their business. They spend millions of dollars in using different marketing strategies to get your attention, to grab your interest and move you to sign up with their company. Credit card companies may give away freebies, offer instant approval, and other promotional tactics which can be very hard to resist. Don’t be too naive in applying for a credit card just so you can get a free coffee mug or t-shirt. Remember, there’s more to it than just the freebie.

Don’t Settle for High Rates
There are so many different credit card companies that are competing in the market today that students don’t have to settle for a credit card with unsatisfactory features. Some credit card companies charge high rates for students because they haven’t yet established their own credit. However, there are still other credit card issuers who offer reasonable rates even for students like you. Don’t rush in signing up that application as if there’s no tomorrow. Take your time in choosing the right student credit card with the most reasonable rates. Compare the rates and features that each credit card provides. Only then can you be sure that you’ve chosen the right one.

Control the Use of Your Credit Card
Don’t use your credit card on all your spending needs. For instance, if you’re going to eat in a restaurant or watch a movie be sure you have the budget to spend on it. Don’t use your student credit card on such expenses. If you’ll get into the habit of charging all your expenses on your credit card, it is not unlikely that you will soon be facing credit card debt. Because credit cards are so convenient to use, you won’t immediately realize that you’re already spending way out of your means. In the end, you’ll have a very hard time paying off your balances.

Educate Yourself
You can find valuable articles on the internet that are related to credit cards and credit card management. Learn about the features of a credit card, know your rights and your responsibilities as a credit card holder, know what a credit report is, how your credit report can affect you and read advises on how you can manage your finances correctly.

Budget your money
Budgeting plays an important role in avoiding credit card debt. What is your exact budget for an entire month? Whether you are self-supporting or receiving allowance from your parents, plan exactly how much you intend on spending out of that cash. Don’t forget to save even just a small portion from your monthly allowance. This savings will be your fund which you can use when emergencies arise. Make sure that you will not go beyond your intended expenses for the month. When making a purchase, think about it ten times. Do you really need that particular item? Or do you just want it? Have the determination to say no or back out from making a purchase if you know that it’s not really very important.

Pay Your Dues
Using your student credit card in purchasing doesn’t grant you the freedom from paying it back. So pay your credit card balances on time and never ever try to skip on a payment. Be aware about the scheduled deadline on your payments. Check your monthly statement of account and see to it that you’re keeping up with your credit card payments.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The biggest difference is that these cards do not in fact offer any credit facility, and so the name ‘prepaid credit card’ is perhaps a little misleading, and a better alternative is simply ‘prepaid cards’. In order to spend using the card, it must first be ‘loaded’ with funds via a bank transfer, by debit card over the telephone, or in some cases over the counter at the bank. Once the money has been transferred onto the card, you are free to spend up to that amount in all the same places and ways that you can use a normal credit card.

But why is this an advantage? Firstly, many people are rightly concerned over the possibility of building up excessive debts by unrestrained use of credit, and prepaid cards allow all the convenience of credit cards without this risk.

Secondly, because there is no credit being extended, the approval process is usually very simple – in fact, it’s much harder to be refused a card than to be accepted! There won’t be any credit check carried out, and for this reason even people with very poor credit ratings are able to enjoy the benefits of paying by plastic online and by telephone, without their previous financial histories getting in the way.

The lack of credit checks also means that in most cases minors are eligible to carry the card, although in some cases it must be taken out in a parent’s name. This means that parents of teenagers can load up the card for their child to use, which will be much safer than carrying cash. Should the card be lost or stolen, it can be quickly canceled and no funds will be lost.

Prepaid cards can also be given as gifts, much as with the traditional shopping voucher schemes, but with the advantage that the gift recipient is free to spend the money anywhere they choose, not just with the retailer who issued the vouchers.

So far so good, but as with most things, there are also drawbacks. The first one is that there will normally be a flat charge made for opening an account, to cover administration costs as well as the actual physical cost of making the card. This will, however, not usually be too high.

A more serious drawback is that a fee of around 3% will be levied on everything you buy with the card. This figure may not seem too high, but in comparison to a cashback card which will actually pay you to make purchases, it’s certainly not something to take lightly. You may also have to pay a flat monthly fee just to carry the card, even if you don’t make use of it.

If your credit rating is good, and you’re confident that you’ll be disciplined enough to pay off your balance in full every month, then a decent cashback or rewards card would make a better choice than a prepaid card. However, if you have a poor credit rating, are under the age of 18, or are simply wary of taking on debt, then a prepaid card can certainly be an attractive way of enjoying the convenience of paying with plastic.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion collect data from your lenders about your history of borrowing and paying back credit. The information is then being compiled into your credit reports. The company like FICO will then takes the information from your credits and applied a trade-secret formula to produce one score ranging from 300 to 850 based on your credit history. The more excellent of your credit history, the higher credit score you will get.

Top tier scores are range from 760 to 850. People who fall into the top tier scores are expected to get the lower interest rates as they are categorized as the lowest risk group by the lenders and this group has more choices to select their favorite loan package with more attractive offers. In general, a score about 500 to520 is the lowest acceptance level for many lenders to approve any loan or mortgage application. If your credit score is fall in this low acceptance range, you can be expected to be quoted significantly higher interest rates and may be offered with fewer varieties of loan offers. Any score below 500 has very low chances to be approved for any credit unless you go for secured loan.

Example below will give you a better picture on how the credit score will affect the interest rates of credit:

760 to 850 tier: Interest rate = 5.78%

700 to 759 tier: Interest rate = 6.00%

660 to 699 tier: Interest rate = 6.30%

620 to 659 tier: Interest rate = 7.10%

580 to 619 tier: Interest rate = 8.58%

500 to 579 tier: Interest rate = 9.50%

Let assume if you credit score is top tier (760 to 850) and you care being approved for $100,000 mortgage with 30 years term; the total interest for this $100,000 mortgage over 30 years is $110,772. Whereas, if your credit score is at bottom tier (500 to 579), the same $100,000 mortgage, the total interest over 30 years will be $202,709. You are paying about $92,000 extra interest just because your credit score is at bottom tier as compare to if you credit score is at top tier. That’s why you need to get the highest possible credit score so that you can save more money in term of interest for any credit you apply for.

Even your credit score is not as bad as fall into the bottom tier, as long as your credit score is not in the top tier, it worth for you to work it out to improve your credit score so that your credit score is fall into the 760 to 850 range so that you have more options to get the best offers whenever you need to apply for a credit.

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Following the introduction of balance transfer deals, savvy customers soon realised that it was possible to avoid paying interest on their debts almost indefinitely, by repeatedly taking out a new 0% card and transferring their balances to it before the introductory period ended on their previous card. This activity, known as credit card surfing, became extremely popular, and the people doing it became somewhat unflatteringly known as ‘card tarts’.

This avoidance of interest was obviously not very good for the credit card companies’ bottom lines, and as competition in the market led to ever longer introductory deals, it was estimated by some that the industry as a whole was losing around a billion pounds a year in uncharged interest, and so something had to be done to preserve the issuers profits. The credit issuers responded by introducing a balance transfer fee, where a small percentage of the balance transferred was charged back to the account. Originally, the average fee was around 1%, but over time it has grown to in some cases 3%, and is expected to net the card issues a total of £459m in 2007 alone.

There was also generally at first an upper limit to the amount charged of around £50, but now most if not all card companies have removed this fee cap.

These balance transfer fees have taken quite a lot of the steam out of the balance transfer market, as it is now no longer possible to transfer your debt for free – in fact, for larger debts, the fee can run into hundreds of pounds. So is it still worthwhile to take advantage of 0% balance transfer deals?

The answer is, largely, still a resounding yes. Even with the fee now often at 3%, the period of many balance transfer cards is now a full twelve months or more, making the cost of the debt you transfer on to them effectively equivalent to 3% APR. Compare this to the normal APRs found in the credit card market, usually in the area of 15% or so, and transfers still seem like a good deal. Even compared to personal loans which can have rates as low as 6%, balance transfers can still make sense if you have a sizeable balance and no realistic prospect of clearing it in the near future.

Although we’re unlikely to ever return to the days of completely free credit – the card issuers have learned their lesson on that one – taking advantage of a long 0% transfer deal will still see you come out ahead compared to most other forms of credit, and so is still well worth considering.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Credit cards are somewhat notorious for giving us the ability to run up debts without really realising what we’re doing. Because it’s so easy to spend when you’re within your limit, there can be little to stop us from making impulse purchases or even using the card to pay essential bills from time to time. Opening your statement each month as soon as it arrives helps us to keep a realistic impression of how much we’re spending. If you don’t check your account very often, it’s all too easy to receive a nasty surprise, with the debt being a lot larger than we anticipated.

The second reason that you should examine your statement each month is to detect any possible fraud before too much damage is done. We tend to think that if somehow our card details find their way into the hands of criminals, then the account will be cleaned out straight away. Not all fraudsters work in this way though, with more subtle attempts to ‘fly under the radar’ by only withdrawing small amounts. By doing this they are less likely to be detected, as the card issuers’ monitoring systems might not spot the fraud as easily. By checking that you recognise each transaction on your statement, you stand a much better chance of minimising the damage caused identity theft and fraud.

Thirdly, your statement will include details of any charges or changes made by the credit card issuer that you might not have been aware of otherwise. For example, a change to your statement date may mean that your regular payment now misses the due date, leading to late payment fees. Or, a change to the minimum repayment may mean that you need to change the amount you automatically pay each month – only by checking your statement will these circumstances be made clear, especially considering the legalese used in the typical credit card terms and conditions leaflet!

So, even though dealing with regular mail such as credit card statements may seem like a chore, and something that we can neglect in favour of more interesting or important activities, reading your statement could actually end up saving you time and money, and it really only needs to take a few minutes a month!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Although we’re unlikely to see simplified wording in the near or even distant future, properly understanding a few of the more common terms will be a great help when you’re reviewing the market to choose the best deal on your next credit card.

Allocation of Payments

This phrase refers to how your repayments are used to clear your debt. Although you are shown a single balance on your statement, your account is actually made up of various chunks of debt charged at different rates, for example purchases, balance transfers, and cash withdrawals. The allocation of payments sets out the order in which these debt chunks will be repaid. Normally, the cheapest rate of debt is repaid first – probably a 0% balance transfer – and this must be completely cleared before any of the more expensive debts will be reduced. For the credit card companies, this has the happy side effect of increasing the total amount of interest they earn on your account. For you, it means you should try and stay clear of the expensive forms of debt such as cash advances.

Interest Free Period

If you clear your credit card in full every month, and never carry any debt from one statement to the next, you will normally be able to enjoy a delay between spending on the card and being charged interest on what you’ve spent. This interest free period is also known as a grace period, and is usually in the region of 50 to 60 days.

Typical APR

The APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the basic measure of how much interest your card charges on your debt, and the lower the figure, the better. The Typical APR is the rate that at least two thirds of successful applicants will be offered, and was introduced to stop card issuers heavily advertising extremely low rates that in fact only a tiny minority of applicants would be offered.

Minimum Repayment

This is simply the smallest amount you have to pay each month after receiving your statement. It is normally in the region of 3% but has drifted inexorably down over the years, meaning that if you only pay the minimum it will take longer and longer to clear the debt, costing you dearly in terms of interest.

Cash Advances

These are an expensive way of using your credit card, either by withdrawing cash physically from an ATM using your card, or by using the card in some designated outlets such as casinos. The rate charged is normally much higher than the standard APR, and because of allocation of payments, cash advances will be the very last part of your debt to be repaid and will cost you the most in interest, and so for this reason they should generally be avoided.

There are dozens if not hundreds of other pieces of jargon related to credit cards and finance in general, but hopefully this article has cleared up a few unknowns for you and will be of assistance in choosing your next card wisely.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The most basic way of comparing credit cards is to look at their APRs. APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate, and is the standard way to measure how much your card will cost you to borrow on it. The figure is calculated from the simple interest charged on your debt, along with any unavoidable costs such as annual fees and the like. Obviously, the lower the APR figure the better, although there are other factors to bear in mind too.

The majority of cards these days come with a balance transfer facility, often charged at 0% interest for an introductory period of up to a year or even more. This means that you can use your new card to clear the debt on an old card, and not be charged any interest on it during the introductory period – potentially a great money saver for people with sizeable balances, although it’s nowadays the norm that a fee of around 3% of the balance transferred will be charged to your account.

Along with introductory balance transfer deals, many cards also offer 0% interest on purchases you make during the first few months of using your card. This means that you can effectively borrow for free, so long as you clear the debt before the introductory period is up. As soon as the 0% purchase period has ended, any outstanding balance will then be charged at the full standard rate of your card.

A feature of credit cards which is rapidly increasing in popularity in recent times is that of cash back and rewards. These options actually pay you to use your credit card, whether by re-crediting your account with a small percentage of everything you spend, or by building up points which you can later redeem against a variety of goods and services. While these features are desirable for heavy spenders, you should always bear in mind the APR – any benefits of rewards or cash back may well be canceled out by interest charges if you carry a balance on a card with a high standard rate.

Finally, you should pay attention to the vexatious topic of charges. While it’s fairly rare these days for a card to charge an annual fee simply for the privilege of carrying it, it’s expected to become more common again in the next few years as issuers look for new profits after being forced to reduce their charges for other things such as late payments. Before applying for a card, be sure to check the small print to see how much you’ll be charged should you fall behind in your repayments, as well as for other non-standard card uses such as ATM withdrawals or transactions made in a foreign country.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

For many of us there is a disconnect between what we spend on plastic and the effect our spending has on our real world finances – it’s all too easy to spend our way into significant debt, with all the problems associated with that unhappy situation.

Of course, credit cards do not automatically lead to debt problems, and with responsible and disciplined use you can enjoy the conveniences and benefits without the dangers. There are many ways of staying out of credit card debt, most of them complete common sense, but what many people don’t realise is that using a credit card can actually make you money, and not just in the ways you might think of first.

The most obvious way that you can earn off your card is by signing up for one which offers a cash back scheme. Under this, a very small percentage of your spending is either credited back to your account directly, or sent to you in the form of an annual check. The typical rate of cashback is a seemingly miserly 1%, although more generous introductory deals of up to 5% for a limited period are available.

The key thing to remember with cash back cards is that any earnings you make would be completely drowned out by interest charges if you carried a balance on the card, so ensure that you only use it as a way of spending and not borrowing, and pay your balance off in full each month. In this way you’ll avoid being charged any interest, yet still receive the cash back.

You can also earn money on purchases in a more indirect way. If you move all your day to day spending on to a credit card, paying the balance in full each month, you can transfer the money you’d normally be spending into a high interest savings account, letting it earn you interest for a few weeks before paying off the credit card balance in time to avoid interest. This might seem like a lot of trouble for little reward, but if you add up how much you spend in a month on essentials such as groceries, fuel, energy bills and parking costs etc, then you’ll see that earning even a month’s worth of interest on this figure could add up to a welcome bonus over the course of a year.

Couple this technique with a cash back facility, and you’re winning on two fronts, and so long as you are disciplined enough to pay off your balance during the grace period before interest is charged, then it really is a case of the more money you spend, the more money you’ll make!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

While this still works well enough, the introduction of balance transfer fees has somewhat cooled many people’s enthusiasm for this activity. Although you can still save money by doing this, it is no longer completely free, and in any case the tightening of the credit market means that it can be more difficult to get a credit card these days, especially if you have debts or a less than perfect credit rating. It is fast approaching the time for a lot of people that serious thought needs to be put into finally trying to clear those debts rather than moving them onto yet another card.

There is a more subtle approach to making 0% deals work in your favour though, and as it only applies to people with no debts and good credit ratings, the introduction of the balance transfer fee, although still unwelcome, has not had as profound an impact. We are talking about the activity informally known as ’stoozing’.

This practice requires a balance transfer credit card that allows the facility to be used to pay off bank account overdrafts, as well as debts held on other cards. Not all cards will allow this, so check the small print before applying.

The basic technique is to acquire a suitable credit card with a high credit limit (hence the need for a good credit rating) and use it to pay off an ‘overdraft’ in your current account. In reality, this overdraft doesn’t exist, but your credit card issuer is not to know this so long as you don’t choose a card issued by your own bank!

If you transfer your entire credit limit into your current account, you can then transfer the funds into a high interest savings account where it can sit for the length of the introductory period, steadily earning you money in interest payments, before transferring it back on to the credit card to clear the debt before interest begins to be charged. But how effective can this really be? Let’s look at some figures.

For a simple example, suppose a credit limit of $10,000 was transferred for a period of 12 months. This would earn you $600 over the year if you put it into one of the best buy accounts earning 6% or more in interest. Of course, these days a balance transfer fee will probably apply, which at a rate of 3% would cost you $300, leaving you $300 in profit.

This equates to a 3% return on the deposit of $10,000 which isn’t perhaps that impressive – until you remember that the original investment wasn’t made from your own money, but from the credit card issuer’s funds, so it really is money for nothing.

Of course, the amount you can make with this technique will vary according to the various rates and charges of the individual credit cards and savings accounts you use, and in most cases tax will also be due, but the maths is simple to see if you will come out ahead. And, even if the actual profit involved isn’t huge now that balance transfer fees are here to stay, there’s at least a little satisfaction to be gained from profiting at the expense of huge financial corporations!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

In earlier days, many people simply applied for the credit card that their bank offered. Having this captive audience meant that little in the way of cardholder benefits was offered, and interest rates were unlikely to be overly competitive. If you still have one of these old cards, it’s definitely worth doing some research and applying for a new card which will offer you more. Even if you have a more modern card, it’s likely that any introductory benefits will have expired, and any remaining features may be looking a little tired by now.

For example, there’s no excuse for a general purpose credit card to be charging more than 20% interest these days, although with the card issuers’ tendency to slowly push up the APRs they charge on established accounts, you might well find that your longstanding card account is now charging an unacceptable rate. Somewhere around 15% is the highest people with decent credit ratings should expect to pay, with much better deals than that widely available.

Another example of how the credit card market has changed over the years is the payment of cash back. Older cards, if they offered the facility at all, generally had cash back rates of 0.25% or 0.5%. These miserly offerings look totally out of place today, with a 1% rate almost the de facto standard. Indeed, swapping to a new cash back card now could see you enjoying some truly impressive introductory rates, with one card currently offering a full 5% rate for the first few months you use it, reverting to the still reasonable 1% after that.

The final reason we’ll look at for applying for a new card is rewards. In the early days of reward programs, you built up points quite slowly, and the range of options you had for redeeming the points was usually rather limited. It could take years to build up enough points to redeem against an expensive flight to a limited range of destinations with a single nominated airline, for example. Today’s cards are more generous with their points allocation, even awarding significant amounts of bonus points when you first use the card, and the range of ways to redeem your points is vastly larger. You can now use your rewards to claim discounts on wine, CDs, experiences, travel, holidays, groceries, broadband costs, utility bills, and much more depending on your choice of reward card.

Even if you’re now convinced that a new card would be a good idea, the thought of all the hassle of switching your cards might be holding you back. There’s no need – comparing and applying for cards online is easy and quick, and the use of balance transfer facilities means that clearing your old balance is a simple matter, and with a 0% deal it could even save you money in interest charges too!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Thousands of people just like you legally improve their credit scores. Even if you have paid off your debts and done everything a collections agency has asked of you, your credit reports could still be labeling you in default.

Once you have your credit reports, you will need to check them for inaccurate information and report the inaccuracies to the applicable credit bureau. This is also referred to as a dispute or disputed information. Whether you use the exact wording shown here or the wording used in another credit repair sample letter, the important thing is to be unemotional and state the facts.

This same scenario has happened time and time again. A creditor claims you have an overdue debt and begins reporting you to the credit bureaus. They then sell your account to a collections agency who may begin doing the very same thing …and that is where the problems begin.

Maybe the creditor continues reporting to the credit bureaus or maybe you make an arrangement to pay off the creditor directly but the collections agency still hammers away at your credit reports.

Or even worse, maybe you never owed the debt in the first place and now either the creditor, the collections agency, or both are causing havoc on your credit score.

Opening and reading your credit card statements every month can easily be neglected in favour of other more interesting activities, but this could be a mistake.

There are several sources on the internet for credit repair tips. As with most information, there are hundreds of books full of credit repair tips, software programs with credit repair tips and credit repair specialists that charge for their credit repair tips, but there is a lot of free information as well. Having good credit is important to everyone. People that have good credit may say that there are no effective credit repair techniques. People who have once had bad credit and now have good credit, because of the credit repair techniques used by the credit repair law firms would disagree.

Credit repair is possible and it can be effective. Credit repair techniques that are legal and effective do exist. Many times when people feel that their credit is ruined, they give up all hope of ever trying to apply for anything again. What these people may not know is there are still programs available to help them achieve the things they want without having to worry about credit issues.

It is important to ensure that you are selecting a legitimate credit repair company to perform your credit repair work, else you may waste your money without getting your credit score improve; in addition, an illegal credit repair company may cause your credit problem goes even worse. The rule of thumb, any legitimate Credit Repair Company should be able to provide you with at least half a dozen of references and you should be able to call these references for further clarification.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that anything that can make the situation simpler is likely to be welcomed with open arms, both for making running the business easier, but also for the cost benefits that efficiency brings. One such way of streamlining your operations which not all business owners consider is the use of a commercial credit card account.

The most fundamental difference between a business credit card and a personal one is that with the former you can have multiple cards linked to the same account. It’s true that most personal card accounts have the facility of an additional cardholder, such as for a spouse, but business cards take this concept much further.

Each card on the account can be issued in a different employee’s name, and each individual employee can be given their own spending or credit limit set by the primary account holder, so long as the total is within the overall credit limit assigned to your account. But how does this system benefit your business?

Firstly, by empowering each employee to carry out the actual process of paying for your business essentials, you’re freeing yourself from endlessly signing checks for sometimes trivial amounts of money. There’s also much less need for keeping petty cash in the office, which is a great saver in admin and paperwork.

Also, the spending of each employee is fully itemized on your statement, which is a great time-saver when it comes to keeping the books up to date. Of course, you’ll still want to retain receipts for your records, but the itemized statements make it easy to see at a glance what is being spent where, on what, and by whom.

Of course, giving your employees the freedom to spend with the company card means that their purchasing activity needs to be monitored, but with today’s online systems it’s easy to keep track of what’s being spent in real time via digital banking services.

Years ago, it was here that the list of benefits would stop. Indeed, most business cards used to be charge cards only, with the entire balance of the account being repaid each month. Nowadays an increasing number of cards are full credit cards, allowing you to spread the cost of purchases over your business cycle, a great aid in terms of cash flow for businesses with revenue that doesn’t appear evenly spread throughout the year.

We’re also starting to see some benefits which originated in the personal credit sector being carried over into the commercial arena: balance transfers are increasingly common, and you can even get cashback and rewards with some of the newer breeds of card.

So, if you’ve never previously considered applying for a business credit card, let’s review the benefits: delegation of purchasing; employee credit limits; easy monitoring of spending; easier bookkeeping; improved cash flow; rewards and cashback. Maybe it’s time you reconsidered?

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you have an excellent credit rating then the whole range of cards on the market is available to you, providing that you meet minimum acceptance criteria such as salary level or residential status. You can expect to achieve a headline grabbing low interest rate, even within the single figure range, and you’ll be showered with extras such as cash back, rewards programs, balance transfer deals, and interest free shopping periods.

These kinds of deals are aimed at the financial elite among the population, and as you’d expect, most of us will have to settle for something a little less luxurious. If you have a decent but not outstanding credit score, with no major black marks such as defaults, then you’ll be able to choose from one of the mid-range cards. These cards will tend to offer generally unexciting features across the range, while boasting one or two stand-out features to attract attention. An example would be a card with a great cash back rate but a fairly high standard APR, or a card with an outstanding balance transfer offer but nothing in the way of rewards or cash back.

As we go further down the range of credit scores, the number of attractive features gets less while the standard APR gets higher. It also becomes harder to be approved, and applications for the cards in the best buy tables become more or less pointless. That’s not to say that there are no decent cards at this level, but you will have to look around a bit harder to find attractive features and low rates.

At the bottom rung of the credit card ladder we have cards specifically aimed at people with poor or no credit ratings. These cards charge extremely high interest rates, often in the region of 30% or even higher, and offer no extra inducements such as balance transfers. They will also tend to have a low credit limit, but with such high rates this is no bad thing – you’d want to avoid running up a debt in any case.

These cards are mainly beneficial for enjoying the convenience of a credit card while using it responsibly to build up a more positive credit profile for future applications for a better card.

If even these specialist cards are out of your reach because of a severely damaged credit rating, then this doesn’t have to mean you can’t carry plastic at all – there’s still the option of a secured or prepaid card which you need to load with funds before you use it. This of course means that they are not actually credit cards at all, but as they can be used in more or less the same way, they have many of the benefits in terms of payment convenience.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Well, the solution really is to smash the credit card debt with full force and eliminate it completely. Now how do you do that?

There are many ways in which you can solve your credit card debt problem. Different people suggest different ways of tackling it. However, here is a simple step by step account of what you can do to get rid of your credit card debt.

1. Take stock of the situation i.e. draw up a table with the following fields – Credit card name, balance, payment due day (the day of the month by which you are required to make payment of your credit card bill), APR, reward points earned, redemption offers applicable for your reward points balance, remarks.

2. Fill the table up with data from your various credit cards.

3. Check if any reward points that you may have accumulated can be used to make partial payments or cover any kind of fees or even if the points can be bartered for something you need.(spending less means preventing the credit card debt problem from getting worse).

4. If you have any available credit on any of your credit cards it would worth your time to call those credit card companies and check on the availability of lower interest rate balance transfers. If they offer reduced interest rate balance transfers, it would be wise to transfer any balance of a higher interest rate credit card.

5. You may also consider applying for another credit card (I know, I know, your trying to eliminate your credit card debt, not create more.) Hear me out first. If you can get a lower interest rate balance transfer credit card that you may be able to consolidate one or more of your credit cards into one, this would allow you to do two things: first you can eliminate at least one (hopefully more) of your higher interest rate cards. Second, it will cause your required monthly payment to be lower allowing you to pay a larger amount towards your principal, not just your interest.

6. First eliminate debt on the credit card contributing the most to your credit card debt problem i.e. highest APR (interest rate) and highest balance. Start with one. Pay the minimum required monthly payment on all the other credit card while applying the most money you can afford to the credit card first on your list to pay off. This will allow you to reduce the balance faster and to break the cycle of the never ending balance payoff.

7. Once you have eliminated the debt from one credit card, do yourself a favor and destroy it. In todays day and age it is almost a necessity to have a credit card, but you only need one and if you have to use it, you should pay the balance off completely every month.

8. Practice controlled and healthy spending habits (after all you are looking to get rid of credit card debt problem for good and not just temporarily.

9. Look for alternative means of adding to your income (more money means earlier termination of credit card debt.)

10. See your debt reduce with time and celebrate the day when you finally put an end to your credit card debt problem.

Remember,it is ultimately up to you to make a change in the way you use and perceive credit cards and credit card debt. You CAN take control of your financial future and put and end to credit card debt forever.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The last two decades have seen a remarkable shift in the way society views credit, with it now being seen as almost a mandatory part of life rather than something to be wary of and avoid if at all possible. This change of prevailing opinion is nowhere more apparent than with credit cards, of which now most of the adult population carry at least one.

Credit cards might not now carry the dubious reputation that they once did, but there’s no doubt that they need to be used with care, as it’s still as true as ever that they make running up unsupportable levels of debt all too easy, especially where more than one card is held. This isn’t to say that they shouldn’t be a useful part of our everyday financial lives, but by following a few simple ideas for sensible use we can hopefully avoid the worst that plastic has to offer without sacrificing the undoubted benefits.

Firstly, it’s imperative that you keep on top of your repayments. Ideally, you should clear the entire balance each month so as to avoid building up debt and being charged interest on it. This is, however, perhaps unrealistic for most people.

The absolute minimum that you should aim for is to make sure that you pay the statement amount on time each month so as to avoid any late fees and the credit damage that can result.

You should also try to pay more than the minimum repayment that’s required. Minimum payment levels are now so low, at a meager 2% in some cases, that it would take nearly forever to clear any significant debts if you stuck to this basic amount, which in many cases barely covers the interest charges without making much inroads into the actual debt. And should you make a late payment and get charged a fee, you might find your balance actually rises for the month even without making any purchases.

Credit cards make it all too easy to make impulse purchases that you might come to regret once you receive your bill. Avoid temptation by leaving your card at home and not carrying it in your wallet as a matter of course. That’s not to say that you can’t use your credit card to treat yourself now and again, but make sure it’s done thoughtfully rather than on impulse.

Modern credit cards now offer the ability to withdraw cash at an ATM, and to pay for services with so-called convenience cheques. Both of these options should be avoided like the plague, as the money you borrow using these methods is charged at a much higher rate than normal purchases or balance transfers. What’s more, under a system known as allocation of payments, this borrowing will be the last part of your debt to be cleared, and will stay in your account attracting the higher rate of interest until all your purchases and balance transfer debts have been paid off.

Finally, resist the temptation to use several cards at the same time. It’s all too easy to spend a little here and a little there, slowly building up a balance on each card, and not realizing until it’s too late just how large the collective debt has become.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Make no mistake though, these cards exist only to make the issuers money, and if you don’t utilize them carefully then you could easily end up being worse off. The standard rates of rewards cards are generally higher than those of ordinary cards, to cover the costs of running the reward scheme, and so if you’re not getting the most out of the bonuses on offer then you’re probably better off with a cheaper card without the rewards feature.

As with all credit cards, the most important thing you can do is to pay off your balance in full each and every month. Any rewards points you build up will be totally dwarfed by interest charges if you allow a balance to build up – this is, after all, how the card issuers plan to make money from you. By paying your bill on time each month, you’ll avoid interest charges and other fees, allowing the value of the rewards points to shine.

Secondly, make sure that you’re aware of any special deals between your card issuer and retailers or service providers – in many cases you can earn double or triple points by choosing one retailer over another, and if price differences aren’t an issue then choosing your shopping outlet wisely can help your points build up much more quickly.

In these days of online account operation for all sorts of services, it’s easier than ever to pay energy bills and the like with your credit card. These kinds of bills are often a major part of a household budget, so why not use them to earn rewards? Make sure though that you don’t have to pay a credit card surcharge, or the benefits could well be outweighed by the extra cost over paying by cash or cheque.

It also makes sense to shift as much of your everyday spending as possible onto your card, so that your points tally will grow at an even greater rate. Groceries, vehicle fuel, subscriptions, car parking costs – any time that you can choose plastic over cash, you should do it. Just ensure that you don’t allow your card balance to slip into the red from month to month, as paying interest on essential everyday expenses is not a wise move for your budget.

Another way to ramp up your points total is to make use of bonus points if available. Many card issuers offer special promotions at certain times of the year, during which you’ll earn more points than usual. If your card issuer does this, then try and save any major purchases until one of these bonus periods.

Finally, one easy way to increase your points earning potential is to take advantage of the additional card facility. If your spouse, partner, or other close person that you can trust also uses a card linked to your account, then you’ll accrue points via their spending too – just be sure they pay their part of the bill when the statement arrives!

So as we can see, there’s more to rewards cards than just spending as normal. By taking advantage of the tips we’ve covered, you can ensure that your benefits from using a reward card will be maximized while the card issuer’s profits at your expense will be eliminated!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

In the past, the size of the charge levied for making a payment past the due date varied from bank to bank, but most imposed a fee of around £20, although it could in some cases go to almost double that. These fees contributed a huge amount to the revenues of the credit card issuers, and attracted the attention of financial regulators who suspected that the charges had a punitive element rather than just reflecting the administration charges incurred by the issuer in dealing with a missed payment. Punitive charging in these circumstances is illegal under consumer credit laws, and the regulators strongly hinted that legal action might be initiated if the banks didn’t change their ways.

Although they stridently denied any wrongdoing, most of the banks almost immediately dropped their charges to a much more sensible £12, and it seemed that the whole late payments matter had been laid to rest. You might now even be tempted to take the £12 penalty if paying late was in some way beneficial to you in other ways, but this simple fee doesn’t reflect the whole story of missing payments.

Firstly, each late payment will be entered onto your credit file, which is a record of your financial behaviour held by the credit reference agencies. Repeat offenders will find that their credit rating suffers, as all these relatively minor black marks on their credit worthiness build up to have a real negative impact. This might not seem too much of an issue at the moment, but the time may come when you need access to finance, such as a mortgage, and to get the best deal you can you’ll want to have as pristine a credit history as possible.

There are other more immediate effects to consider as well. If you repeatedly put your account into arrears, your card issuer will likely re-evaluate your position as a valued customer who ‘deserves’ to be approved for a low rate card. Under the terms of your credit agreement, your credit card company may make a whole host of changes to your account so long as they give you notice that they’re going to do so.

People who regularly pay late may well find that their credit card becomes less attractive, with a lower credit limit, and even a higher interest rate. One major UK bank recently raised rates by as much as half for a large number of its customers, and although this hasn’t been definitively confirmed, it’s widely accepted that poor account management including late payments was a major factor in who got their rates hiked and who didn’t.

So, while the basic fee for missing a payment is now not so imposing, this is to miss the wider implications of paying late on a frequent basis, which is still definitely something to be avoided if at all possible.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Not only do different cards charge different rates of interest, and indeed a single card can charge many different rates of interest depending on how it’s used, but there are a whole host of different features that card issuers use to vie for your attention and custom.

The classic kind of credit card inducement was the balance transfer offer, where you could shift a debt from one card to another and avoid paying interest for an introductory period. Once it became clear that many people were avoiding interest almost indefinitely by constantly moving from card to card, and so costing card issuers billions, the balance transfer fee was introduced, making the whole exercise rather less attractive.

As the balance transfer craze waned, two features closely related to each other became the new battleground for credit card marketers: rewards and cash back.

Both of these operate on the same basic idea, that being each time you spend on the card you receive a benefit in return. With cash back, a small percentage of each purchase you make is credited back to your account, usually annually.

With rewards, the benefit is more subtle in that you build up points in relation to how much you spend, which you can then use to cut the cost of certain products or services, depending on the specific type of reward program your card offers.

Both rewards and cash back can be extremely attractive, especially for heavy card users, but which one should you choose?

Cash back cards give you the freedom to spend the rebate you receive on anything you want, but they have the disadvantage that the actual cash back rates are pretty low, usually at around 1%. Some cards, however, are upping the ante by offering much higher introductory rates, but only time will tell whether or not long term rates will rise much further.

In contrast, most rewards programs allow you to redeem your points against a strictly limited range of goods or services, but can often therefore afford to give more actual benefit. For example, travel enthusiasts might find a card which rewards them with hotel discounts and free flights much more useful than an across the board 1% discount on their purchases.

Similarly, wine buffs may find a card which gives them access to a discount wine club a more attractive way to benefit from their card use, and drivers may especially appreciate a rebate on their fuel costs.

In most cases, a rewards program that fits in well with your lifestyle is likely to give a more satisfactory overall result than a general cash back program, but this depends on being able to find a card that suits you well.

Whichever kind of card you choose, these days it’s no longer necessary to pay through the nose just for the convenience of using your card – you should be able to find a card which gives you something very worthwhile back.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Over time, as more and more banks and finance providers got in on the credit card act, there was more competition and so extra features became common. One easy way to make a card stand out from the crowd was to label it as a ‘Gold’ card, implying a level of prestige and even glamour, which would in theory rub off onto the cardholder. Generally these cards would offer some sort of premium service such as free insurance or travel benefits, although often at the cost of a higher annual fee and more stringent approval criteria – good credit was essential, as was usually a higher minimum income.

As gold cards became more and more common, and the features on standard cards began to get more enticing, a new level of prestige was needed, and so the platinum card was introduced into the market. Typically, a holder of a platinum card would have been considered among society’s financial elite, and the card accounts would have higher credit limits and access to a greater range of premium features compared to standard or even gold cards.

These days, however, even the most humble of credit cards will probably offer features considered inconceivable a few decades ago. Balance transfers, interest free periods, rewards, cash back, free insurance, telephone help and information lines – all of these can be found in one form or another right across the credit card spectrum. So what reasons remain for choosing a platinum card over another one?

Although some platinum cards can still offer benefits that you wouldn’t normally find on a standard card, such as entry into business class lounges at airports for example, it’s rare to find a general platinum card that can’t be beaten by a more specialized card on a lower rung of the prestige ladder. A proper travel rewards card, for example, will likely still offer the airport lounges feature as a backup to its main travel points program.

The main reason for the existence of platinum cards is still the perception of them as a status symbol. Even this benefit is under threat, with the emergence of ‘black’ credit cards which are aimed at supplanting platinum cards as the highest status cards on the market.

If you can find a card which suits your needs and offers the features you desire, and it just happens to be a platinum card, then that’s not a problem at all. Just don’t be fooled by the marketing hype into thinking that a platinum card is necessarily a good deal or of higher status: you should judge a card on its features alone, and not on any pretensions of prestige.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Unfortunately for many people, it is all to easy to cause damage to your credit rating either through financial misfortune such as losing your job, or perhaps more commonly, by building up debts in the naivety of youth which then become difficult if not impossible to repay in a timely manner.

Missing payments on loans or credit cards will leave a black mark on your credit file, thus lowering your credit rating, and defaulting on finance altogether will have an even worse effect.

If you find yourself with a poor credit rating, you may be tempted by the advertisements you’ll no doubt have seen plastered across the web which promise to rebuild your credit rating and solve all your credit problems at a stroke. Does this maybe sound too good to be true?

Many of these schemes are at best dubious and unlikely to achieve the promised results, while others are at worst outright illegal as they advocate the use of fraudulent techniques to leave your old credit persona behind. So is there anything you can actually do to improve a damaged credit rating?

The first thing to do is to obtain a copy of your credit file from one of the major credit reference agencies. There will be a small fee for this, but you have the legal right to see all the data which is held on it. Check it over carefully to see if there are any small outstanding debts which you’ve overlooked, and can be repaid without too much difficulty, removing these default notices from your file.

Also ensure that all the information on your file is correct and complete, paying special attention to any debts marked outstanding which you think you might, in fact, have cleared – it’s far from unknown for a cleared debt not to be accurately reflected on your file, leaving your credit score worse than it really should be.

If you find any such errors, and can prove that a mistake has been made, the credit reference agencies must by law correct the information.

Now that you’ve cleared any overlooked debts and made sure that your file is up to date and correct, you need to start to take active measures to improve your rating. It is unfortunately impossible to remove genuinely adverse information from your file until it expires naturally, which can take up to seven years depending on the nature of the offence.

What you can do, however, is to add ‘good’ information to balance the ‘bad’. The most effective way to do this is to take out a form of financial service which you are almost certain to be accepted for – a high APR credit card specifically aimed at people with poor credit is a good example. A no-frills bank account which allows no possibility of going into debt is another.

The trick is to make sure that this new product you take out reports your activity to the credit reference agencies. Thus, by operating the account responsibly and not missing any repayments or otherwise getting into trouble again, you will slowly begin to build up the number of positives in your file.

It’s by no means a magic bullet and it requires time and patience, but slowly your credit score will begin to improve to the extent that you can consider applying for a more advanced form of credit, and steadily work your way back towards a neutral or even good credit rating.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

When a dispute is filed with the credit bureaus, they must contact the creditor and confirm that the information in dispute is accurate, verifiable, and not obsolete.

If the credit bureau has not received verification from the creditor within 30 days, then the credit bureau must promptly delete the credit listing.

Bad Debt

It is difficult to get your credit repaired without somehow taking care of your outstanding debts. When you have an outstanding debt, in some cases you may be able to negotiate the deletion of the negative credit as part of the debt payoff.

You do have some negotiating power with the creditors after all they do want their money, so make the most of the little bit of leverage you have and try to negotiate.

Be aware that by paying a bad debt off, that alone will not improve your credit rating much.

By paying an outstanding debt you will change the account status to “paid collection,” “paid was late,” or “paid was charged off” – which will still stand out as very negative credit. And negative credit is allowed to stay on the credit report for a maximum of seven and a half years, except for bankruptcy which may remain on the credit report for ten years.

Keep in mind that it is almost always prudent to seek professional help to settle your debts before any further damage is done to your credit.

100 Word Statements

As a part of the revised Fair Credit Reporting Act, they have included an amendment to allow you to post a 100 word statement to your credit profile allowing you to explain some of your negative credit.

Many credit repair sites will recommend that you prepare a 100 word statement to add to your credit profile. The fact is that most, if not all, creditors will not even see this.

They will simply take your numerical score from your credit report and make their decision from that alone, not even looking any further into your credit. Not to mention your FICO score won’t even take this 100 word statement into account when calculating your score.

What this 100 word statement does is that it validates your credit problems and makes it a much more difficult task to try and remove these issues in the future.

Therefore, it is best not to file one of these statements with the credit bureaus as it will only serve to make your, or the credit repair specialists, task of repairing your credit much more difficult.

Legal Credit Repair Methods

To better understand what legal credit repair is, it would be helpful to understand a few types of illegal credit repair:

Illegal: Changing your social security number to obtain a clean bill of credit.
If any company should suggest this type of credit repair, report them to the authorities.

Illegal: Disputing every item on your credit report, regardless of nature.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically states that only items that are unverifiable, inaccurate or misleading should be disputed. Items that are clearly yours, and reflect your credit history should not be disputed.

Illegal: Charging for services that have not yet been completed.
This is to protect the consumer from fraudulent companies that charge for services that never get completed (charging to “repair your credit”, then hitting the road…)
So, what exactly is Legal Credit Repair?

Legal Credit Repair consists of removing the negative items on a credit report. There are a few different methods of going about this, the most common and effective are:

“Goodwill” Negotiation Negotiating directly with creditors and asking them to “please” remove negative items from your credit reports is a viable method of credit repair for mild late-pay accounts.

There are no laws that require that negative items stay on your reports for any amount of time, and creditors have the ability to simply remove these items if they see that it could somehow work to their benefit, even if that simply means a pleased customer.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to contact credit bureaus directly and dispute items on your credit reports. Just as in a court of law, you have the right to plead “not guilty” to negative information on your credit reports, and leave the burden of proof to the credit bureaus.

You can dispute any and all items on your credit reports that you feel classify as inaccurate, unverifiable, or misleading. If the bureaus cannot verify that the information on your reports is indeed correct, then those items must be deleted.

Summation

In theory and law, the process is deceptively simple, thus leading many people to think that they can easily handle this themselves “for the price of a few postage stamps.” Most quickly discover that the credit bureaus have made it much more difficult than one would imagine. For help in this, it is recommended that you seek out a qualified and reliable credit repair company that will go to work for you to resolve your credit problems. The really good credit repair companies can do this quicker and easier than you would be able to and most are quite affordable as well.

Repairing your credit on your own is possible and you can do it yourself. But you must remember that the credit bureaus are more interested in the failure of credit repair efforts and are very skilled at discouraging these efforts.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your

request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the

files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s

consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve

been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the

information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to

evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the

same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you

to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every

12 months.

Q: Are there any other situations where I might be eligible for a free report?

A:Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you

such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment and you ask for your report

within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and

phone number of the consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to one free report a year if

you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report

is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. Otherwise, a consumer reporting company

may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your report within a 12-month period.

Q: Why do I want a copy of my credit report?

A: Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get a loan – and how much you

will have to pay to borrow money. You want a copy of your credit report to:
• Make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan

for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
• Help guard against identity theft. That’s when someone uses your personal information – like

your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number – to commit fraud. Identity

thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they

don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate

information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Q: What if I find errors – either inaccuracies or incomplete information – in my credit report?

A: Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is, the

person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting

company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take

full advantage of your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the

information provider.
1. Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate.
Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question – usually within 30 days –

unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you

provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the

information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must

investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting

company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify

all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the written results

and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. (This free report does not count

as your annual free report under the FACT Act.) If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer

reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information

provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send

you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.
2. Tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Many

providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting

company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct – that is, if the

information is found to be inaccurate – the information provider may not report it again.

Q: What can I do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won’t correct the

information I dispute?

A: If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company, you can ask

that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the

consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in

the recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this service.
If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice of your dispute must be

included any time the information provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company.

Q: How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information?

A: A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and

bankruptcy information for 10 years. There is no time limit on reporting information about criminal

convictions; information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than

$75,000 a year; and information reported because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of

credit or life insurance. Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be

reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.

Q: Can anyone else can get a copy of my credit report?

A: The FCRA specifies who can access your credit report. Creditors, insurers, employers, and other

businesses that use the information in your report to evaluate your applications for credit,

insurance, employment, or renting a home are among those that have a legal right to access your

report.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Banks, on the other hand, have made it incredibly easy for the average American to obtain nearly any item without having to pay for it. Simply whip out a credit card, given to the consumer regardless of income or ability to pay back the amount borrowed, and the newest extravagance is magically paid for. And when the over-spender inevitably starts to feel the weight of the debt, there is almost always another new credit card offer waiting in the mail. The consuming culture of debt has caused many of the current economic instabilities, and neither banks nor consumers are blameless. But, it will be those who have borrowed who will pay the ultimate price for poor financial decisions, as banks can count on bailout after bailout from central banks.

Thus, it makes sense for homeowners with large mortgages and other debts to plan for the stability of their family’s economic future. Banks begin pushing credit cards on college students, ostensibly in an effort to “establish a relationship” with the consumer, whether the student has a job or can afford a credit card at all. The temptation for abuse is insurmountable, in many instances, and the new consumer begins the habit of spending more than what is earned. The banks know this is the likely outcome, but they are full aware that the parents will bail out their children.

Every person should take extreme care when deciding whether to borrow money for purchases. Besides a very large purchase, such as a house, credit is most likely unnecessary and will cause undue harm. Borrowing $10.00 for lunch, which will end up costing $35.00 or more in finance charges over time, is simply bad financial management. But consumers do this all the time, and they can produce credit card after credit card in order to keep spending.

Unfortunately, though, borrowed money is much different psychologically than earned money. Homeowners are much more likely to spend the money they save very carefully, guarding it against unwise or impulsive decisions. But money given to them from a bank through a credit card is often spent as quickly as possible with little regard for the consequences.

Families have to establish good spending and borrowing habits and pass those habits on to their children, if there will be any lasting avoidance of the credit trap. That means impulse buying and unnecessary extravagant purchases must be avoided, and a little bit of money from every paycheck (or every allowance for the kids) should be put aside in a separate account to be used only for savings. And savings should have a future goal attached to it, such as a new car purchase in the long term, or a family movie night once a month if the savings goal is met, for example.

Good spending habits and working together to get out of debt can foster a family relationship that does not suffer from the financial instability present in so many homes, a problem that can lead to divorce, bankruptcy, or foreclosure. And for consumers who are already deep in debt, cutting up the cards and selling off the ill-gotten gains of a lifetime of overspending can bring the family back together. Never having to worry about an unnecessary load of debt by paying off and destroying credit cards and going on a “selling binge” is one of the longest-lasting positive projects a family can take on. It is also one that will dramatically reduce the chance of facing a devastating financial hardship leading to repossession, a scarred credit rating, or the loss of a home to foreclosure.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

As APRs are so important when making the choice of which new card to apply for, many advertisements and promotions feature strikingly low rates, at least initially, in an effort to lure in new custom. This is all well and good for people applying for new cards, but what about existing cardholders? Why is keeping an eye on your APR important?

The first thing to note is that when credit card companies refer to the APR of a card, they invariably use the word ‘variable’ enclosed in brackets, and this is vitally important. This one word basically means that the card issuer has the legal right to change the amount of interest they charge on a card debt, regardless of the rate they quoted and delivered when you first applied. All they need to do is to inform you in writing before they make any changes to your account, although this is often done via a longwinded ‘terms and conditions’ document which might not make it immediately apparent what’s actually changed.

So what’s to stop credit card companies from dramatically increasing their rates, with the potentially devastating consequences that could entail for the financial health of their customers? In recent years, competition between issuers has ensured that any rises would be small enough to keep their customers happy – it was far too easy a matter for a customer to jump ship to another bank if they were upset. These days, the situation isn’t as simple.

The credit crunch that we’re hearing so much about, along with troubling times in the economy in general, means that it’s getting much more difficult to be approved for a new credit card. Already issuers are tightening their acceptance criteria, and the number of rejections is rising fast. Some analysts predict that by the end of the year, the average rejection rate for credit applications will be over 70%.

What this means for existing cardholders is that they’re much more at the mercy of their issuers, who know that many customers have nowhere else to go. Couple this with falling bank profits because of bad debts, and it’s clear that there’ll be a temptation to increase rates to squeeze more profit out of each account, especially for customers with less than perfect credit ratings.

Because of this, it’s vital to pay attention to any letters you receive from your card company. If you’re told that your APR will be increasing, write back expressing your displeasure, and say that you’ll be looking for a new card from one of their competitors as a matter of urgency. This can often have the effect of making them back down and leave your rate unchanged, but if this doesn’t work, seriously consider applying for a new lower rate card and transferring your balance onto it, before the credit crunch really begins to bite and makes it nigh on impossible to escape the clutches of your current bank.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

However, if you’re going to secure yourself a worthwhile deal on your next card, you need to avoid being blinded by all these extras, and to start your decision making process by concentrating on the bare minimum of features that you can expect to get with any card. If a card gets these basics right, only then is it worth looking at any extras it might offer.

The first and most obvious feature to look at is the card’s APR or interest rate, and the lower this is the better. A good target to look for is an APR in the low to mid teens range – there’s really no excuse for a card to charge 20% or more these days, unless there are adverse credit issues to take into account. It’s quite usual for a card which offers extensive benefits to have a slightly higher interest rate, but a great rewards program, for example, shouldn’t excuse a rip off APR.

Next, you should make sure your card doesn’t have an annual fee which you have to pay whether or not you actually use it. Annual fees used to be very common, but now the only cards which generally feature them are some of the top-end platinum cards which offer VIP benefits to the cardholder, but only at a price.

Another thing to look at is the interest free ‘grace period’ of the card. If you pay your statement in full and on time every month – that is, you don’t carry a debt from one statement to the next – then you should be rewarded by not having to pay interest on your spending during this period. The grace period should be long enough to ensure that by settling your debt you should avoid all interest charges completely, and in practice this means that it should be a minimum of 50 days.

The final thing to take note of is how much fraud and consumer protection your card offers. It is the legal standard that you can’t be held liable for any losses caused by fraudulent use of your card account, providing you haven’t been negligent in any way, for example by giving your card details out inappropriately. However, some card issuers take this further and offer active fraud prevention measures to help you avoid identity theft and other potential difficulties you could face through card misuse. You should also expect to receive a good level of protection against problems such as non-delivery of online orders or being sold defective goods.

This, then, should be your starting point when comparing credit cards. No matter how attractive some of the more glitzy features might appear, you can bet on it that if these underlying basics aren’t up to scratch, then the offer you’re being tempted with might well be a better deal for the issuing bank than for the customer.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

This practice was hugely popular for the next five years or so, and was costing the card issuers a small fortune in lost interest charges, and so the balance transfer fee was introduced, whereby a fee of between 2% and 3% of the amount transferred was charged, This fee quickly dampened enthusiasm for balance transfers, effectively ending the loophole that allowed free debts. This doesn’t however mean that there’s no point these days in making use of transfer facilities, it just means that a little more care needs to be taken if you’re going to get the best out of them.

The first thing to check is the size of the balance transfer fee. It’s very difficult indeed nowadays to find a 0% card that doesn’t feature one, although there are tentative signs that this may be changing. It of course makes sense to get the lowest fee possible, although you also need to check if there’s an upper limit to the amount you’ll be charged. For larger balances it my make more sense to have a larger percentage fee with a capped upper limit, rather than a lower percentage with no limit. You need to do the maths.

Next, how long will the 0% rate last? Six months used to be the norm, but now twelve months is increasingly common, with some of the best deals extending to fifteen or even eighteen months. The longer the period, the better. Make sure you take note of when your introductory deal will expire, and give yourself plenty of time to arrange a new 0% card in advance so you can transfer the balance again before interest charges kick in.

Now that you’ve chosen a card and got a great deal, there are a few things to do to make sure you get the best out of it. Firstly, and most importantly, never use your balance transfer card for spending, as the standard rate will likely be uncompetitive so as to finance the costs of the balance transfer. Also, your repayments will go towards clearing your balance transfer first, leaving your expensive purchases debt sitting untouched, happily building up interest. And, each month, you’ll be charged interest on the interest too, meaning your debt can grow alarmingly quickly.

Also, try to ensure that you never miss a payment or repay late, as not only will you be charged a penalty fee, you might even find that your balance transfer facility is withdrawn, saddling you with interest payments on the debt instead of your nice 0% deal.

Finally, although it’s tempting to use a balance transfer as a sort of ‘holiday’ from your debts, only making the minimum repayments required, the fact that you’re not being charged interest means that any extra repayments you can make are wholly used to reduce your debt, and so a little can go a long way. Try and make use of the opportunity to reduce your debt, even if only by a little, as in the long term debt will always end up costing you – whatever tricks such as balance transfers you can use to postpone that day.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

So how can you avoid falling into the trap of bad debt? You can start by avoiding the most common mistakes that other credit card users make:

1. Not reading the small print
Credit card companies might tell you that the reason Terms and Conditions are printed in such small text is that they don’t want to bore you with the details. But as you may know; that is where they hide the true cost of whatever you’re signing up to.

As the consumer, it is your duty to check everything and make sure there aren’t any traps that you could easily trigger. If the text on the form is too small for you to read, visit the company’s website; in many cases the information is provided in full details.

2. Misunderstanding introductory offers
It’s very easy to fall for an attractive headline; marketers are paid to make them as attractive as possible. In paying too much attention to the positives of a credit card offer, most people ignore the details (mistake one above) where the negatives are usually kept.
For example; if an offer says 6 month interest free balance transfer, look out for transfer fee and the interest rate after the interest free period comes to an end.
Also usually included in the small print are conditions such as; if you miss a single payment, the remainder of the offer will be withdrawn.

3. Making just the minimum payment
One of the advantages of credit cards is that servicing the debt is easy; you only have to pay a minimum percentage of the balance every month (e.g. 3%).
Paying just the required minimum will cost you a lot more; credit card interest is calculated by the day; for everyday that you have a balance on the credit card, you’re paying interest on every penny.

4. Having too many credit cards
It is widely believed that having multiple credit cards can help your credit rating. That might be true depending on how much balance you maintain on them. The downside is that it will make it harder to get new credit; lenders would wonder whether you have too much debt already and might be incapable of paying it back. The other downside is that it increases the risk of getting deeper into debt.

5. Assuming that every decision is final
Have you ever made a late payment and got charged for it? Some credit card companies can forgive you for a late payment if it is your first late payment in a 12 month period; all you have to do is phone them with a logical explanation as to why your payment was late. It helps if you have a good credit rating; they want to keep you.
Negotiation skills can also get you better rates on your credit card; if you have an offer that’s about to come to an end, or happen to see a good deal offered by another credit card provider, phone your credit card provider and inform them that you’re considering switching to another provider because of an offer you saw. You’d be surprised to know that in most cases they’re willing to match that offer or at least lower your rate a little bit to keep you put.
Note: this only works if you have a good credit rating.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Late Payments

The number one rule of using credit cards is to pay your statement on time. Not only do late payments cause damage to your credit rating, they also cost you money – both in the form of the late payment fee, but also in the form of a hike in your interest rate for repeat offenders.

Minimum Payments

Even if you keep to a good repayment schedule and always pay on time, only paying the minimum amount required on your statement is a major mistake that most of us make – not least because we’re actively encouraged to do just that by setting up automated payments such as direct debits. The problem is, with minimum payment levels set at only a few percent, nearly all of what you pay is swallowed up in interest charges leaving your debt virtually untouched. Sticking to the minimum amounts will all but ensure that you stay permanently in debt, and will cost you dearly in overall interest charges.

Cash Advances and Withdrawals

Most credit cards now offer the facility to withdraw cash from a huge number of ATMs worldwide. Don’t do it, except in a real emergency when you really need cash and have no other way of getting it. Not only will you be charged a fee, the interest rate charged is usually much higher than your normal rate, and because more expensive debt is usually the last to be cleared, you’ll be charged this high rate each and every month while you’re carrying a balance.

Credit Card Convenience Checks

These are a bad idea as they suffer from the same drawbacks as cash withdrawals – i.e. high interest rates. Even if your card is one of the few still to offer this ‘facility’, avoid it – there’s little benefit in using a check, and plenty of cost!

Spending on Balance Transfer Cards

Balance transfer deals can save you a fortune in interest on your debt if you handle them correctly. The problem is, many people fail to get the full rewards by using the same card for balance transfers and purchases. Because of the way most cards allocate the payments you make, your purchase debt will never be lessened until the balance transfer is fully repaid, and so will attract interest without any of it being repaid. Use separate cards for spending and balance transfers.

Impulse Purchases

One of the major causes of problem credit card debt is the casual use of cards to fund impulse purchases. As you’re not actually parting with any cash, using a card doesn’t feel as expensive as ordinary purchases, when in fact it’s much more expensive! Think carefully before you buy whether or not your purchase will seem as good an idea when your next statement drops on to your doormat.

Paying for Essentials

While using your card as much as possible s a good idea if you’re benefiting from a reward or cash back scheme, you should only do this if you pay off your balance in full every month. Using your card to pay for essentials such as food and energy bills, and letting your debt build up unchecked, is a sure sign that you’re living beyond your means and need to have a hard look at your budget.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

First, be sure to use an authorized credit reporting site. The free annual credit reporting process does not require a consumer to sign up for monthly monitoring, fraud alert protection service, or any other optional services provided by that specified reporting agency. If there are any previous credit reports available, gather them up for review and comparison purposes. It is also necessary to have on hand any banking, past residence, or current credit card information, as sometimes it is needed during for verification purposes during the credit checking process.

Next, choose which agency you wish to start the credit checking process with. If there have been previous credit reports in your name, it would be prudent to select the credit reporting agency that issued the oldest report. This way, all information can be compared to previous information contained in the old credit report for a more-long term comparison. Be sure to keep a log of when you performed the new credit check, with what company you chose, and make sure to highlight any changes or discrepancies from the old credit report on to the new one.

To take full advantage of this process, try to space out the credit checks over an annual basis by performing a credit check every quarter. A good schedule to keep would be to perform checks in March, July and November. By checking your credit report with once agency during these months, a consumer is guaranteed to receive three updates during the year for free.

In addition to performing free credit checks, it is also a good idea to go ahead and spend the small investment (usually less than $10) and check your FICO score. This is especially important for consumers planning to purchase new insurance, real estate, vehicles, or other avenues which require a company to perform a credit check. Having a clear, error-free credit report, along with an excellent FICO score, will greatly improve your chances of appearing to bank and finance companies as someone who is very responsible with their personal credit management.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

1. What services do you offer?

Most credit counseling agencies include services such as budget counseling, savings and debt management training. Try to look for an organization that offers a range of services so that you can get the counseling in all areas of personal finance that are necessary to help you effectively manage your money and resolve your debt issue. The counselor should first understand your entire financial situation before he/she propose a personalized plan to solve your money problems. Avoid organizations that keep selling their debt management plan as your only option before getting to understand in detail about your debt problem.

2. Are you licensed to offer your services in my state?

Most states required credit counseling agencies and the counselors to obtain license before they can offer their services in the states. Before you approach credit counseling agency, do some homework to understand the licensing requirements of a credit counseling services for your state. Do not accept credit counseling services that do not fulfill the requirements for your state.

3. Do you offer free counseling services?

If you can get it free, don’t pay for it. Most credit counseling agencies provide free counseling services to their clients, you just need to pay a reasonable fee if you agree to enroll into their proposed debt solutions such as debt management plan. Avoid getting services from credit counseling agencies that charge for “free” services.

4. Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you?

Don’t enroll into a debt management plan (DMP) that does not have any written contract or agreement. Even there is an agreement for the proposed DMP, you must not sign the agreement in hurry, read all documents carefully to ensure all the terms and promises by the credit counselor are written correctly in the documents. If you are urged to act immediately, consider finding another credit counseling agency.

5. What are your fees? What are these fees for?

Get a detail price quote in writing on all fees involved and specifically ask whether the fees quoted cover all the necessary fees, this is to avoid any potential hidden cost charge by the agency after you have signup with their plan. If your current financial capability is not able to support the fees, try to negotiate with the agency to waive or reduce the fees. If the agency won’t help you to resolve the fees problem, look elsewhere for help.

Summary

You want to get a credit counseling service that can help to solve you in your debt problem. Hence, it is important you ask the right questions that can help you to identify the legitimate and responsiveness of a credit counseling service.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

This situation has seemingly come to a screeching halt, with many people finding that it’s far more difficult these days to get a new card. Why is this?

The basic answer is that we’re facing a global credit crisis, where banks themselves are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain the credit they need in order to finance lending to their customers. The causes of this crisis are complex and beyond the scope of this article, but in essence the years of easy lending have come back to haunt the banks. Lending criteria had become so relaxed that finance was extended to people who would never have been considered previously, because their credit profile made them a risky prospect to lend to. The banks thought that they had covered the risks of lending to these customers via a complex system of financial machinations, and so lent money with what many analysts now say was reckless enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, many of these loans are now being defaulted on, leaving some banks facing huge losses, and the whole system of lending money is freezing up as financiers worry about who owes what and how much will be lost. This is feeding through into consumer lending in the form of higher interest rates and drastically raised acceptance criteria, making it much harder to have your credit card or loan application approved.

This doesn’t mean that you really can’t get a new card with better features though – you just might need to try a new approach. Firstly, you may well have to lower your sights a little, and apply for one of the second tier cards rather than an all singing and dancing one from the best buy tables. These elite cards are only available to the select few, and many people who were once considered prime customers are now slightly less than prime as lenders adjust their criteria.

Also, it makes sense to give your credit file a spring clean, making sure that it doesn’t contain any inaccurate information, and that you don’t have any overlooked debts unpaid that you didn’t know about. Sorting out any small problems of this nature will improve your chances of being approved.

If you already have a number of cards, try canceling ones that you don’t use any more, as having too much credit available to you already will be a hindrance to obtaining further finance. If you still have balances on these cards, then you may consider a debt consolidation loan to be a worthwhile idea, allowing you to get rid of those old expensive card debts and package them up into a cheaper and more organised loan.

There’s no telling how long the current financial problems will last, and indeed we don’t know if we’ll ever see a return to the days of easy credit, but by following the above steps you’ll at least maximise your chances of having your application approved, whatever the future might bring.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

We get asked this question frequently. When do I start repairing my bad credit? In reality there is really not a bad time to repair your credit. Actually you should do it the earlier the better as almost everything you do in life these days is tied to your credit standing and credit history. A good portion of the American population has poor, very poor or bad credit and the cost of it by far exceeds the investment to repair credit. Most people realize that they need to repair their bad credit the moment they are in need of credit while applying for financing. Unfortunately credit isn’t repaired overnight and the best services will repair your credit on average in 6 to 7 months. It is true that you can challenge the Credit Bureaus for items reported on your credit history, yet that doesn’t guarantee that they will be removed from your credit history. Not many services will guarantee you the removal of any or all items, few will offer you money-back warrantees…check those out!

While you are in the process of repairing your bad credit, there are a few things to bear in mind: credit repair only addresses past items so make sure to stay current on all your financial obligations at all time. One time late payment will undo all the work (and cost) you have placed in repairing the past negative items. Also, make sure to not open new credit lines or apply for new credit during the repair period. Applying for new credit will appear as inquiries on your credit and negatively impact your credit status.
The time is now to start repairing your credit. Don’t wait and take action today to have great credit soon. Your life will never be the same again!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

We all have it…good or bad and most of us go through a phase of bad credit at one point in our lives. Most of the times it is in the earlier phase of our adulthood. The reason for this: irresponsible behavior or misinformed? What about not informed at all? Banks line up like predators to hand adolescents credit cards, persuade each of the 17 year olds with the freedom access to money will bring. Our 18th birthday isn’t even there and we get flooded with credit card offers. We don’t even know what the consequences are of using it. At least not for using it beyond what we can afford. And what can we afford at that age? None of the banks’ business? Wrong! All of the banks’ business! Lurking you into using and abusing your fragile credit only leads to high interests earned on your naive being.

So here we are, merely a few months or years into the big world…and many thousands of dollars in the red later. Unfortunately it isn’t bad enough that you were being abused by those institutions preying for your innocence and future earnings that they’ll gladly take. Sooner or later you will have to fix your credit and go through a sometimes painful credit repair exercise. Being denied new credit, a house, a car or in the best case suffer from outrageous interests if you do get qualified for financing.

Looking back you think why weren’t you taught about this Black Box? Why wasn’t credit or credit repair never explained or made mandatory in high school? Do you think the government may have its own agenda? Who benefits from high interest rates? Who decides what courses you must have in school? What’s best for the economy…great or bad credit? It is high time you learn all about credit and to teach every single person in this country about credit before they are given any credit!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The basic premise behind cash back cards, as the name suggests, is that you are credited back with a small percentage of everything you spend using the card. This money will accrue on your account, and usually be paid yearly either by personal cheque or by direct refund to your account.

The actual concept of these cards is by no means new, but what’s different nowadays is the size of the cash back percentage on offer. In previous offers, a cash back rate of 0.25% was considered generous – after all, it was seen as money for nothing (however misguided that view). Today, that figure looks decidedly miserly.

It’s far from uncommon to see cards offering a standard rate of 1% cash back, which for heavy card users can easily add up to a tidy sum over the course of a full year. There is however a new and welcome trend towards offering higher introductory rates which in some cases have hit 5% for the first few months. Think about how great this offer really is – effectively a 5% discount across the board on everything you spend at any store or on any web site, lasting for a period of three months or more. Could you take advantage of this?

What’s more, you can really boost your cash back earnings potential if you shift your regular spending such as groceries, fuel, and energy costs onto your card, although you should check if your particular card has any restrictions on what kind of spending qualifies for cash back. In particular, some cards specifically exclude payment of utility bills from their cash back calculations.

So far so good, but surely there’s a catch? Of course, as the card issuers aren’t going to simply give their money away, are they? They’re banking on the fact that most customers will go on a spending spree when they first get their card, racking up a debt which won’t be cleared in full and so will begin to attract interest. With interest charged in double figures in most cases, it’s easy to see that any cash back earnings will be more than canceled out if you rack up a balance.

The ideal way to take advantage of cash back offers is to use the card only for spending which you can clear in full on your statement date so as to avoid interest being imposed. Ultimately, you should be using your card purely as a payment option rather than as a means of borrowing, and not spending anything you can’t afford to repay.

Used sensibly but frequently, cash back cards really can transfer money directly from the banks’ accounts to your own, so shouldn’t you be grabbing a slice of the action?

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

When you apply for a mortgage, you definite want a package with the lowest interest rate possible. A mortgage term may get up 30 years, for any extra percent in interest rate can cost you pay more in the total interest of the loan. According the MyFICO, a division of Fair Isaac, a person with credit score between 720 and 850 might get a 5.922% rate on $200,000 mortgage with a 30-year fixed interest rate term. As compare to a person with credit score between 675 and 699 who only can get the best rate at 6.584% on the same loan. The monthly payment for the person who gets 5.922% is $1,189 whereas the 2nd person who gets 6.584% of interest rate needs to pay $1,275 a month; If you calculate the total interest pay over the life of the loan, the first one is $228,072 and the second one is $259,074. It is a $31,002 different. Do you see how much it will cost you if you have low credit core?

Do you know that an insurance company may reject your application just because you do not have good credit score? Some insurance companies use your credit report information to predict your likelihood of filing an insurance claim and the amount of the claim. Based on the risk factor analysis, the insurance company will determine the amount of premium they will charge on your insurance protection plan. You will get a good premium rate if you have good credit score. Bad credit score will cost you more in paying your insurance premium. That’s why you need to improve it if you do not have good credit score.

Although credit scores are usually associated with getting loans and credit cards, they also can be used by employers to evaluate you capability for a job, especially if it is a finance related job. Your credit score will serves as a general measure of responsibility and organization. Many employers believe person will higher credit score is able to mange their financial better than the person who has lower credit score; hence the person with higher credit score will also able to manage their job and be more responsible at their job position. This means that you can potential fail to get a job just because you have low credit score.

The summary is a high credit score always enjoy more benefit in term of lower interest, more choices of attractive loan packages, lower premium on insurance coverage, higher odds of getting hire for a job application. Nowadays, credit score is becoming more important as many private and public organizations are using the credit score stated in credit report to evaluate a person before they approve for any application, offer a job, approve a credit card application & etc. It is important to ensure you have a good credit score, and if not you must put in place a plan to improve.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Some credit cards offer you a low APR, others cash back or rewards but that doesn’t mean that they are right for you. Life, at least the part of it that includes credit card offers would be so much easier if you could shop around before signing your life away to a credit card company.

My website will help you do just that, but before you go there let me just offer some tips from my own personal experience. Be sure to look at a couple of cards before you apply to one, read the terms and conditions so you know just what you are getting.

There are several different types of cards offered here. I would suggest that you look to the left of the screen and search for a card in one of the categories that best fight your personal needs. I understand how hard it can be to find a card if your credit is on the not so great side that’s why you’ll find credit rebuilding cards here also. These are a great tool for you to use if you’ve hit a few road bumps in life and your credit has suffered because of it. Many of these cards report to the three major credit-reporting bureaus therefore, regular monthly payments and good account maintenance can begin to boost your credit score. In addition many of them will start you off with an easy to control minimum balance. These minimum balances are usually between $200 and $500 dollars and are subject to increase after a time period of usually 4-6months. (Assuming of course that you have kept your account in good standing through that period.)

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Before you apply for any credit card you need to analyze your own personal situation. Some of the things you want to consider include the following:

- Your Credit score

- Your Spending habits

- Amount you spend monthly

- Amount of time you spend traveling

- How much you use your card for business expenses

- How often you pay your card in full each billing cycle

For those who pay their bills in full each month, the higher interest rate that most rewards cards carry is probably of little concern. On the other hand if you frequently carry a balance on your credit card, you may want to forgo the rewards bonus in favor of a credit card with a lower interest rate. That doesn’t mean that all rewards cards have higher interest rates, but in most cases if you are earning a bonus or points for using the card, the card issuer has to recover those benefits in some way, which is usually by charging a higher interest rate than they would charge on a card with no rewards points.

Your credit score is going to determine the type of card for which you qualify, so you have to keep that in mind when you begin searching. The higher your credit score, the better the chances are of being approved for a low interest high credit line credit card. In fact, for those with high credit scores, it’s easy to find offers for rewards cards that have introductory interest rates that are often as low as zero per cent for up to one year. You may even find an offer with zero per cent interest and no annual fee if you have good credit.

If you are the kind of person that only uses your credit card for emergencies or traveling, you may not have much use for rewards cards. Quite often there is an expiration date for the redemption of the points, so with minimal use your points are likely to expire before you have enough points to spend on anything. In fact, a prepaid card may be the best option for you since there is no interest or annual fee – some cards do, however, charge a fee for activation and reloading. Prepaid cards are also beneficial if you do not wish to reflect debt on your credit report.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

By the 1980s, almost anyone could get a credit card, regardless of their financial status. Still, most consumers used their credit cards to purchase ‘big ticket’ items: furniture, televisions, vacations – the kind of purchases that people were not likely to make every day. Now, credit cards are used for everything. You can walk into a fast food place, buy a cup of coffee, and with a swipe of your credit card the transaction is completed. It’s convenient but it’s also risky.

One of the biggest risks is failing to realize how quickly the balance goes up on a card when it is used to handle everyday transactions. Opening a credit card statement and facing the awful truth that the card has been maxed out, is something that most card holders have had to deal with at one time or another. What many card holders do not realize is how quickly the APR (annual percentage rate) on a credit card can jump from a merely outrageous 14.9% to a usurious 28.9% in the blink of any eye. An unsuspecting card holder need only be one day late In making the minimum required payment and that will be enough to trigger a jump in the APR on that card.

Moreover, it doesn’t matter if the minimum required payment – or even the full balance payment – was made for the preceding 10 months. Bank card companies take into account only the fact that the most recent payment was late by one day. Even worse, the APR does not go back down when payments are back on track.

At that point, the best bet is to make sure you can pay the entire balance each month, thereby avoiding huge interest charges tacked onto your bill. For the sake of your credit rating, it is also a good idea to try and pay down your balance each month so that you are showing a balance due of less than half your credit limit. When credit report companies look at your card history, that is one of the things they take into account in determining credit rating.

Staying on top of your credit card situation is a key factor in your economic well-being. So be aware of how you use your credit card on a daily basis, what your APR is, what you due date for payments is, and how much of a balance you are carrying on your card at any given time. Paying attention to a few credit card details can save you a world of difficulty and protect your credit rating.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Another important benefit of bad credit repair comes in the form of de-stressing you. Everyone knows about the harmful effects of stress; so, if bad credit repair means postponing your purchases for later, you should do so. There are no goods out there that can give you as much joy as bad credit repair can.

Besides postponing the purchase of your favorite goods, there are few more things that you need to bring into practice in order to get debt relief. Most of these bad credit repair mechanisms advocate restraint spending e.g. preparing a (tight) monthly budget and sticking to it. Using cash instead of a card for making the payments for your purchases is another advice.

Debt consolidation is another popular way of helping to repair your credit. You will find a lot of advice (and you can even hire a consultant) for ways to achieving credit card debt relief. So, there is no dearth of advice on credit repair or credit card debt consolidation or credit card debt elimination. However, what is not so common is the advice on how to act in the post credit repair period i.e. after credit card debt elimination.

It goes without saying that if you don’t exercise care in the post ‘credit card debt relief’ period, you might again fall a prey to credit card debt. So, if you have been refraining from making purchases, you should not, all of a sudden, start purchasing all those favorite goods that you had been avoiding.

The recommended guidelines for achieving and maintaining good credit are; 1. Plan your expenses using a monthly budget 2. Do not buy anything that you don’t need 3. Do not go for too many credit cards (just one or two should be sufficient) 4. Always make full payments of your credit card bill and do it before the due date 5. Never use more than 60-70% of the credit limit available to you.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Lenders will take a look at your payment history when they are making the decision to lend you money for a mortgage or a new car. You must have been taking care of paying your credit cards in a timely fashion in order to look favorable to the lender. Establishing credit early in your life and making sure you pay your bills on time will save you headaches in the future when you decide to purchase your first home.

It’s a good idea to shop around for a credit card that suits your lifestyle when you are young and building a good credit history. Take the time to research the many credit card companies and select a card that will provide you with the benefits and rewards of a credit card. They are not all created equal so you will have to read their terms and conditions very carefully before you apply.

Once you receive your first credit card you should make it your habit to pay your bill on time every month. Credit is very valuable. It’s too important to develop bad habits or get yourself into a great deal of debt. With discipline credit cards can be managed quite effectively and will tell future lenders that you are someone who consistently pays their bills.

The best practice for credit card use is to pay off your balance every month. Many people believe that you must carry a balance to show that you are paying monthly payments in a timely manner. This isn’t necessarily true. Purchasing things that you can afford every month is a great way to show that you are able to handle credit wisely.

Start off with a secured credit card if you are trying to establish credit worthiness. You are able to obtain one quite easily with a deposit in the amount of your credit line. The lender is not taking a risk by asking for the deposit and is likely to provide the card. Over time you will establish yourself as someone who pays his or her bills and will be able to switch over to an unsecured credit card.

Use credit wisely and you will reap the many rewards of being a credit worthy consumer. You will be able to buy a home, car, college education if you are a wise credit consumer.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

You can always live your life with just your checking account and cash for your transactions, but a credit card allows you to gain so many benefits. You are able to keep track of your money more easily with a credit card. If you are disciplined with your cash and write down all your expenditures, you can do the same thing that your credit card statement will do, but it requires a great deal more work. A credit card will provide you with a monthly statement that can show you where you may need to tighten your belt.

When you are traveling and wish to rent a car or a hotel room you might find that it is nearly impossible to do so without a credit card. Companies are protecting their investment by requiring you to use a credit card and are not as willing to extend their business to someone who chooses to pay with cash.

Later in life you may wish to buy a home. If you have used the services of a credit card company wisely throughout your life you will have established a good credit rating. Without this good rating you will find it very difficult to obtain the lending for a home. Using credit in a smart manner shows the lender that you are able to manage your money and that they should not worry about your ability to pay the money back.

Credit cards are a handy financial tool that can make your life much easier with than without. It’s important to understand how credit works and choose the correct products for you. Research the credit cards available and make certain that you are making wise decisions. Credit cards teach valuable lessons in how to manage money and how not to spend more than you can afford to pay back. These lessons are important to learn as you move into the world of home buying.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

One of the easiest ways to minimize interest payments on your credit cards is to pay them off during your grace period, but that is not always practical, especially if you have a high credit line and use your card to make larger purchases such as furniture and airline tickets. If you frequently make these types of purchases, you must get into the habit of making substantial payments on your credit cards each month. Making only the minimum payments will not only add to the amount of interest you pay, you will soon find that you have no credit to make additional purchases.

Another way you can minimize interest on your credit cards is to choose the cards with the lowest interest rates and look for those that offer low or no interest for a trial period. Prior to the expiration of the introductory interest rate you secure another card with a low introductory rate that includes balance transfers. With so many different offers today it makes little sense to remain loyal to a credit card issuer. A few decades ago customers tended to be true to their credit card issuer, but there is too much competition today and credit card issuers are less likely to give their customers a special price just to maintain their business.

Even if you are unable to pay your credit card balance in full each month, making larger payments and paying on time will minimize the interest you pay. This is especially important today since many credit cards have a special interest rate that is only effective if you pay your bill on time every month and don’t go over your credit limit. If you do either of those things your interest rate may increase as much as twenty per cent, and depending on the credit card issuer, it may remain at that rate for a substantial amount of time. Make sure you know the regulations concerning the interest rate on your credit card so that you can avoid any pitfalls.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Reward programs are designed to encourage card owners to make use of their credit cards by rewarding users for amounts used or specific types of purchases. Programs are designed in a variety of ways. Some are set up on a point basis, where users are rewarded with points based on the amount of credit used or specific products purchased. Other cards offer cash back incentives. For instance, a card may reward the card holder with a 1.5 per cent cash back bonus for each purchase made with the card.

Consumers need to consider their intent of use before agreeing to acquire a credit card. Most card companies offer a portfolio of products. Some products use promotional rates and specials to entice consumers, others use the rewards or incentive programs, others offer grace periods as a way to appeal to borrowers who want to avoid high interest charges. While borrowers with excellent credit may find a card that offers all these benefits, some people may have to pick the products that are most advantageous based on the highlighted benefits.

Points based rewards programs, or those that offer cash back rebates, are essentially intended to promote more use of the card. Credit card companies make money from retailers with transaction fees. By rewarding consumers for using their card, the card companies also generate revenue from the retailer transactions. This enhances the card company’s sources of income.

Other card reward programs involve retail networks and special bonuses for buying from specific companies or buying specific products. Card companies sometimes negotiate with certain retail chains in order to set up a mutually beneficial network for consumers. The card companies promote special bonuses or rewards for consumers who buy from retailers within the card network. For instance, a typical 1 or 1.5 per cent cash back program may offer a 5 per cent reward for buying from a network retailer. This rewards the consumer, and also benefits the retailer due to increased demand, and the card provider because of the consumer interest charges and retailer transaction costs.

So are reward programs worth having? If you’re a regular card user then you can certainly profit from what you’d be spending in any case, but be sure that the benefits aren’t drowned out by interest charges on your borrowing.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The concept of a prepaid credit card has been almost a saving grace to many. If you can’t qualify for a regular card, for whatever reason, it’s simple to go to the store and pick up a prepaid VISA card. Just purchase, load as much money as you want onto the card, and then it is ready for use. In some ways a prepaid credit card is almost better than a traditional one.

With a prepaid card you are only spending the money that you can afford to spend and you don’t have to worry about any bills with outrageous interest rates being mailed out each month. It’s still a form of credit card so that you can easily order off of the internet, television, or catalogs with ease. Plus, the worry of having your card stolen and thousands of dollars of damage done to your credit is completely eliminated. Some brands of prepaid cards will even reimburse you for any funds that are on a lost or stolen card.

If you tend to overspend on your credit card each month, a prepaid card is definitely the solution. Since you can only spend what’s on the card, there are no fears of overspending. If you want to let your teenagers go shopping for new clothes, but don’t quite trust them with your credit card, a prepaid alternative is a quick and easy solution. It’s safer than carrying around a lot of cash, easier, and accepted anywhere that major credits cards are accepted.

There is no longer a reason that anyone can’t have access to a credit card, just purchase a prepaid card, load it with money, and you are ready to use it for whatever purchases may arise. Secured cards are great for any occasion such as birthdays, weddings, graduations, or even for your college student that is leaving home for the first time. Prepaid credit cards offer all of the benefits of a regular card without any of the worries.

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In addition you may discover that the rewards cards with the lower interest rates are identified as available to those with excellent or good credit. That doesn’t mean you won’t qualify for a rewards card if your credit score falls into the fair or lower category, but you will have to look harder to find the card that is right for you.

By keeping in mind that many rewards cards carry a higher interest rate and annual fee that cards without rewards, you can make a decision concerning the necessity for a card which pays points for usage. If you are someone who only uses your credit card occasionally, you may find a card with a lower interest rate is more beneficial. On the other hand, if you frequently use your card, the benefits attached to a rewards card may be well-worth the cost of owning it. You want to evaluate your personal situation before you apply for any new credit card so that you know where to direct your search for the perfect credit card.

If you discover your spending needs justify using a rewards card, you want to look at the different offerings. Some issuers limit the number of points you can accumulate in a year and/or have a specific period during which you must spend the points you earn. You want to choose the card that meets your lifestyle so that you can gain the most benefits from your rewards card. That means looking at what the offers are and whether you would be likely to participate in those offers. For example, don’t choose a rewards card that offers points for American Airlines if you only travel on Delta.

Even credit card issuers have different rewards cards. Some pay cash bonuses of a certain percentage while others offer points toward purchases at certain retail outlets. Your personal spending habits make some rewards cards more attractive than others – an important reason for evaluating your spending habits before you apply for any credit card. It isn’t worthwhile unless you can use it to its full advantage. If you are a small time user, a credit card without rewards points and a lower interest rate is a better choice.

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In case you are looking for bad credit loans or a bad credit personal loan you should consider a few things first. If you are looking for a bad credit loan then obviously you already have poor credit so in order to improve your credit ratings you should make sure that your loans are reported to the major credit bureaus.

Finding bad credit loan offering lenders is not a problem because millions of people already had bad credit problems but they are now enjoying a better situation probably because of a better job or some extra earnings from here and there enabling them making their loan payments properly but still shadowed with bad credit ratings. Today you can find better deals than you could a few years ago though, you will still pay higher interest rates than someone with a good credit score due to the fact that bad credit loans are still viewed as a risk to financial institutions.

You should remember that before you apply for a loan, you should be able to comfortably cover the payment. This is your chance to try to get your credit back on the track. Don’t turn this into a situation where you’ll find your credit worse than before. Analyze your expenses and try to work out a proper budget and avoid getting over-extended. Keep in mind that it’s always too easy to put yourself on the road of financial ruins and try not to rely on a number of loans for the rest of your life after all, that’s how banks make their money from loans.

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Many card companies allow consumers to search through credit card products from their web sites. By simply filling in some basic information about them, many consumers with good to excellent credit are eligible for almost instantaneous credit decisions. Consumers can complete a simple form and allow the card company’s search engine to sort through its database of products and rates to come up with a selection of offers. Based on the borrower’s credit, card interests, and other factors, the borrower may receive several card offers immediately.

Card offers vary in terms of promotional rates and terms, rewards programs, and standard APRs. Some excellent credit borrowers may find premium cards that incorporate all of these card perks. Other borrowers with fair or good credit may have to choose from a selection of cards which benefits are most appealing. They may have to balance the benefits of promotional rates, rewards programs, and ideal standard rates that apply after the completion of the promotional period.

Once the consumer selects their preferred card, the application process can in most cases be completed rather quickly. Most credit card applications simply ask for your basic name and contact information, income level or other simple financial information, and a few other essential details. Many cards offer instantaneous decisions, or 30 to 60 second decisions online. Borrowers with good to excellent credit can usually hear back right away on the credit decision. Borrowers with poor or fair credit may have to wait a few days to allow the creditor to more thoroughly examine credit details and financial information before making their decision.

Consumers do not to be careful when comparing credit card providers and products. Reading fine print is important to fully understand the terms and rates of credit card offers. Promotional terms and reward programs are nice, but consumers sometimes assume too much or misunderstood how card plans work. Credit cards can be very useful when the benefits are well understood and the credit is used responsibly by the card holder.

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Zero per cent promotion credit card offers vary with their terms. It is important that consumers examine the details and fine print of offers before signing on with a card. Some offers are specifically for balance transfers, meaning the promotional rate applies only to balances transferred from other loan products. Other offers are for new purchases only, and are not applicable to transfers. The most competitive promotional card plans include promotional rates for both balance transfers and new purchases.

Consumers turn to these kinds of cards for a variety of reasons. Consumer borrowing and credit card balance levels continue to rise. Some borrowers look to promotional cards as a way to move balances from more expensive cards in order to reduce finance charges. Debt consolidation experts sometimes refer people to 0% credit cards as a way to consolidate debt from higher rate loans and credit card balances. Others simply enjoy the idea of buying now and paying later and consider that there is no interest charge for a period of time.

There are some limitations to most zero per cent interest promotions from credit card companies. Most cards that promote special rates for up to 12 months, or 15 months, reserve these longer periods of zero per cent rates for excellent borrowers. Borrowers with good or fair credit may still get a promotional rate, but the length of the promotion may be much less. Again, borrows need to be aware of the length of the offer before signing an agreement.

Finally, for zero per cent promotional cards to be effective, users need to understand all aspects of the offer. Some cards maintain the promotional rate on balances acquired during the promotional period. Others apply standard APRs to the remaining balance after the promotion is complete. Many companies also apply payments on balances to lower rates first. Thus, if a debtor has some balance at low rates and some at higher rates, the higher rates would be paid last. Additionally, many cards apply charges to balance transfers made as part of the promotion. Be aware of the full details of the promotion.

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If you have bad credit it might be harder to get a loan. Before applying for any type of loan you should check your credit report to see what your credit score is. Some banks or lending offices might require you to put up some sort of collateral to back up your loan. You also might need to put up some cash in order to do this. If you want to start your own business you might need to show a business plan for your company with some projections on the revenue you will be making. Starting with the first year and going to the next five or ten years. You need to show the lending companies that your business will be profitable and will be able to pay the loan back. Once you have achieved paying those creditors off and getting your credit back on track will help relieve the stress that you might have. It will also improve your credit along the way. When you start paying off your creditors to re-establish your credit it will be better for you later on. You will be able to build your credit up if you can start paying your creditors on time. Taking on responsibility of paying your bills can only help when trying to achieve your goals and dreams in life.

Whether you are looking for financing for a business loan or another type of loan it might be difficult if you have bad credit. Remember that you will need to have some sort of collateral if you obtain a loan from a bank or other financial facility. Before trying to obtain a loan consider all of your options. When you think you can not get any help you should consider another option. Another great way would be to find a website that can help without paying the money back and not costing you a ton of money to start. There is another way of obtaining your dreams whatever they may be. We have found a way of getting money and not having to pay back any of it. You can use this money to pay your bills off, go on vacation, buy a house or whatever you want. Even after you have achieved your goals you can still make money. All you need to do is check out this website to start making your dreams come true. So come on and click on the link and start making all your dreams come true.

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When you consolidate your credit cards, you want to be careful as well so that you don’t take something with a higher interest rate in order to have the freedom to make balance transfers at a low rate. For example, you may find a card with no interest on balance transfers for the first six months but which has a higher overall interest rate than any of the cards you consolidate. It’s essential to look at all of the angles and choose the one that is the cheapest in all ways. Card issuers use balance transfers to lure customers in to their programs and then raise the interest rates substantially when the introductory period is expired.

Sometimes choosing cards with an introductory rate on balance transfers is not in your best interest. For example, if you are paying on several cards at an average rate of 19.9%, the 3% balance transfer fee that most card issuers charge is minimal if you’re accepting a card with a 9.8% interest rate. The key is finding a card with a lower interest rate that is going to be beneficial to you as a card holder. Paying a one-time 3% transfer fee from a card with a 19.9% interest rate to one with a 9.8% interest rate is certainly in your best financial interest.

In order to avoid these situations totally, develop the habit of paying off your credit cards each month and applying for cards that have a lower interest rate initially. Even if you are establishing or re-establishing credit, there are card issuers who offer lower interest rates on small credit lines with regular credit line increases. Look for the offers on those kinds of cards instead of taking high interest ones and looking to consolidate later in order to save money on interest payments and monthly payments.

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In spite of this fact, making use of balance transfer facilities could still be worth your while. The recently introduced fees for transferring debts does increase overall costs but a careful analysis and calculation will still show that in many cases you’ll save money by doing so rather than keeping your old credit card loaded with debt. However, it’s not the simple matter it once was and so it is important to consider a few points regarding transferring one’s balance on credit cards if you’re to make a success of the process.

It’s now all but impossible to find a credit card without a balance transfer fee, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to separate different cards. The most common fee nowadays is 3% of the transferred balance, but as always it’s worth checking if there’s a card with a lower fee – ones spotted recently boast a less stinging 2% which could save you a lot on a large transfer.

There’s also the question of maximum charges. Some cards limit the total transfer fee you have to pay, usually to around fifty pounds or so, but many cards ave no such upper limit. Depending on the size of your transfer, it may well make more sense to use a card with a high percentage fee but a cap on the total payment size rather than one with a lower rate but no upper limit,

Once you’ve selected a card with the least onerous balance transfer fee, you need to find one with a decent overall transfer offer. Where once 0% for 6 months was the norm, this is looking pretty unimpressive these days. You should be looking for an introductory interest free period of at least 12 months, with some of the best cards now offering 15 months or even more.

Whichever balance transfer card you choose, it’s important to stay focused on why you’ve taken out that card; the avoidance of interest payments on your debt. Don’t be tempted by rewards schemes, cash back, or other incentives to spend using your new card as this will negate the interest-saving benefits. Always keep your balance transfers and purchases separate if you want to get the best out of your cards and to keep the amount you pay for using them to a minimum.

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A credit card that offers gas rewards can work in a variety of ways, depending on the credit card company and the particular credit card. Many gas credit cards will offer a certain percent rebate amount on all gas purchases at any gas station for the first 90 days or so. After that timeframe has expired, the rebate amount usually decreases, but still gives credit card users a certain percent rebate amount on all gas purchases at any gas station. The savings don’t normally stop there; they will also offer something like a 1% rebate on all other purchases that you make. Since most people pay for their gas on their credit or debit card anyways, why not take advantage of the chance to save a little bit of money while filling up your vehicle.

Unfortunately if you want to drive from point A to point B, you will have to fill up your car with gas eventually. With a gas rewards credit card you can fill up your vehicle while saving money. There are tons of purchases that you have to make on a monthly basis such as groceries, paying bills, personal needs, clothing, and whatever else that might come up each month. With a gas rewards credit card, you can still save when you make these types of purchases. There are many types of gas rewards credit cards out there; you just have to find the one that is right for your needs. Some companies that offer this type of credit card will even make it possible to perform balance transfers onto your gas rewards credit card in order to compile all of your credit card charges into one card.

Many people are definitely finding that saving money anywhere they can is a great thing. You can easily accomplish the task of saving money with a gas rewards credit card. Without even trying you will quickly see the rewards add up so that you can spend your hard earned money where you want to, not where you have to.

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A question you should be asking yourself before you decide to apply for a credit card is why you need one in the first place. Maybe you are looking for the benefits and ease that a credit card offers consumers. You might want a convenient way to track your spending and wish to reap the many rewards that credit card companies are offering their customers. Or you might already have a few credit cards and you are looking to decrease your interest rate and transfer your balances to one card.

Another point to consider is the amount of spending you will require on your credit card. If this is your first time applying for a credit card you may want to consider a smaller line of credit at first. It is a good idea to gauge your own habits before you become involved in a high limit credit card. The higher limit cards can get you into too much trouble too quickly. Or maybe you just want one in case of emergencies. We all have those times in our lives when the car breaks down and we don’t have the money available for the repair right away. A credit card provides you a way to get your car repaired and pay it off at a later date when you are more able to pay.

Different cards offer different payment structures. You may be the kind of person who plans to pay off their card at the end of each month. You might want to look for a credit card that rewards this kind of behavior.

All of these considerations are important factors when considering which card to apply for. The obtaining of a credit card is a serious business and requires your careful thought and planning. Understand your habits and your ability to pay back your balances. When you are choosing a credit card you must know yourself and whether a high limit credit card is too much of a temptation for you. Choose wisely and take advantage of any special perks the credit card companies may be offering to get your business. It can be a sound financial decision.

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Amazingly, many borrowers with bad credit are actually finding credit card offers within a few percentage points, or less at times, of offers made to borrowers that have excellent credit. As the market for cards tailored for excellent credit borrowers becomes more saturated, card providers have started to turn their attention to the large and growing segment of the population that have experienced some type of adverse credit.

The higher risk posed by bad credit borrowers has limited some lenders from aggressively pursuing this audience in the past. However, market factors have forced them to do so in today’s market. Many credit card providers are marketing themselves as a leading provider to borrowers with bad credit.

Bad credit borrower do have to realize there are some protections that companies still regularly use to reduce their risks of offering credit. Most card companies require some type of up front or annual fee for cards used by these borrowers. This is a way to help cover the costs of a higher risk of non-repayment of card debt by spreading the risk out over the bigger group. Some companies also offer smaller credit lines and limit daily spending amounts. However, as with other components of cards for bad credit borrowers, these features have been improved significantly in favor of the borrower.

Finding and obtaining a credit card with bad credit is very simple in the internet-driven economy of today. Bad credit borrowers, like those with excellent credit, can often fill out an application online and receive an instant approval decision. Card processing is also fast. Another advantage of the current credit environment is that an influx of independent loan and card brokers has given card shoppers an easier way to compare cards and offers. Brokers collect the best offers from various companies and present those to consumers after collecting basic information and background details. This has also increased card competition, and simplified finding a good credit card offer for bad credit borrowers.

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Many companies offer credit card products specifically tailored to people that have bad or poor credit. These cards are often surprisingly similar in a lot of ways to cards more generally available to excellent and good credit borrowers. Many card companies offer instant online approval processes, 24-hour online account access, and excellent customer service to bad credit card borrowers.

The difference with cards for those with bad credit lies more in certain fees and some of the aspects that impact the creditor risk. The biggest difference with credit cards available to excellent credit and bad credit borrowers is with the interest rates charged. Bad credit borrowers obviously face slightly higher annual percentage rate costs with cards. Again, because of the competitive card industry, bad credit borrowers are still finding access to cards with more reasonable rates than ever.

Another difference with bad credit card offers is related to annual fees. While excellent credit borrowers can regularly find credit cards that offer no annual fee, or waive fees for certain reasons, cards for bad credit borrowers usually have a required annual fee. These fees often range from $50 to $150 depending on the benefits of the card and the car services. The annual fee helps offset some of the increased risk lenders take on by offer credit access to borrowers with a bad credit history. The fee revenue helps spread the risk as well, alleviating the higher percentage of card users that will not meet obligations.

Bad credit consumers need to carefully consider their goals with credit cards, as well as common credit behaviors. Some cards for bad credit borrowers are developed to offer consumers an opportunity to conservatively rebuild their credit rating. Others are intended to give card companies a larger customer base by offering cards to a big group of consumers. Borrowers do need to be cautious as some companies use fine print to hide unfavorable details of card offers that take advantage of desperate borrowers. Borrowers with bad credit should be especially diligent about researching card products.

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For many small business owners, credit cards are a vital source of funds when an emergency, or an immediate business need arises. Many small businesses are started with a modest cash investment. As businesses grow, they often must make purchases of products for resale, supplies for business use, or travel for business needs. The ability to make some of these purchases with an affordable credit card solution is a huge advantage to a small business. Small businesses often look to leverage great ideas or products early and then cover the costs of doing so as business picks up over time.

There are many unique opportunities and advantages that come with small business credit card offers. One significant difference between consumer credit cards and business credit cards is that most card companies allow small businesses to have multiple cards linked to the same account. This enables a company to provide several people within the company access to the credit line as needed. This is much more feasible than attempting to pass one card around for use by multiple business parties. Business owners can also place limits and track spending with small business cards. This allows owners to budget and managed spending when multiple cards are in use.

Another benefit of small business credit cards is that rewards and discount programs are often more valued than they are by consumers. Because small businesses often make more and larger purchases, they typically reach worthwhile reward milestones sooner than individual consumers. This is a great advantage for small businesses that use rewards or cash back incentives to fund other purchases for business use. Some card companies also offer discount purchase programs to small businesses by establishing a partner network of companies that agree to provide the discounts. Ultimately, a small business credit card is a necessity for most small businesses. The cards offer a more efficient, convenient, and beneficial source of financing than most other types of credit and loans often used by small businesses.

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In order to avail unsecured loan for tenant, an applicant is required to be an adult and he should also have a definite source of income. In addition to this, he may also be asked to submit details about his active bank account. Nowadays, almost every finance institution including banks is extensively dealing in this loan plan, which further makes it easier for the people to access a good amount of cash in a trouble free manner. The financial aid of unsecured loan for tenant is specifically designed by the intelligent finance planners with the motive of offering economic support to all non homeowners. Hence, all those borrowers who cannot fulfill the provision of submitting collateral can easily apply for this loan. Moreover, this loan service is perfect to meet all sorts of demands such as buying a car or paying your child’s higher education fees.

Unsecured loan for tenant has gained humongous popularity among the populace because of its several advantages. The first and the foremost facility attached to this loan plan is, undoubtedly its non requirement of collateral submission. Secondly, this loan scheme is open for all sorts of borrowers including the category of bad credit holders. Thirdly, the loan amount retrieved through this financial assistance is totally free from the lender’s hold and thus, can be used for any kind of purpose as per the borrower’s requirements. Therefore, if you have an urgent business trip to plan or wish to take you forsaken family out on a vacation, then consider this loan option for collecting a good amount of funds in the bag.

Under this loan provision, the applicant is assured of curbing all his major financial needs that demand a loan amount up to £250000. However, it is highly recommended to search well before applying for unsecured loan for tenant as a good, productive market research multiplies your chances of availing of beneficial loan deal at a very low and affordable rate of interest. To execute this purpose in an easy and efficient manner, you can take the assistance of internet. Apply for free quotes from all the reputed lenders by filling up the requisition form on their personal websites. Selection of a perfect loan plan becomes easy, if you try to compare these quotes with your set of requirements. Moreover, these sites are also a great source of information, when it comes to gather information about the loan plan and its features.

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Cash back credit cards vary in terms of the amount of incentives and the set up for the programs. Some cards simply offer a percentage of cash back for each dollar spent. While rewards do vary, most card companies offer cash back rewards in the range of 1-1.5 per cent. Some cards reward every purchase equally, while others reward users with bonus rewards for buying products from network companies. Card companies are partnering with retailers and other businesses and some cards pay rewards up to five per cent or so for in-network card purchases.

Points based cash back programs are also very popular. As opposed to offering a percentage of cash back for purchases, some card companies award points to card users for certain amounts and types of purchases. Users can then exchange points for cash back or other types of rewards.

Credit card companies reward users for various reasons. Sometimes card companies want consumers to spend money to carry higher interest-bearing balances. Others reward consumers more for frequent card uses as a way to increase revenue for transaction fees charged to merchants. Merchants typically pay transaction fees to card companies to process card purchases. Thus, a modest 1.5 per cent cash back payment to a card user is reasonable to the card company who gets significantly more in transaction fees from the merchants.

The biggest decision for consumers considering cash back and rewards programs is what types of benefits and perks are most preferred. Some credit card companies offer cash back only cards that pay the percentage rate in cash back. Others use the point based system but offer a wider selection of reward perks. Many companies rely on their partner relationships to offer higher value non-cash rewards to consumers. Additionally, there are combination rewards programs that allow consumers to choose between cash rewards and other product and service rewards at any point in time.

As with any type of credit card offer, borrowers need to consider their own spending habits, and optimal benefits when reviewing card options. Cash back incentives are most beneficial to users who use cards regularly and in the ways rewarded by the card company.

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You may have already heard about zero interest credit cards but did you know that even business credit card providers offer zero APR cards as well? If you’re in business, you should certainly be interested to know what they are and why you need one. This article discusses the basic facts of 0 APR business credit cards.

Business Credit Cards with 0 APR

How do 0 APR business credit cards work? Technically, they are similar to regular balance transfer credit cards. If you currently have multiple business credit cards and is are trying to keep up with your existing balances with each card, transferring them over to a zero interest business credit card will help you get out from under your debts more quickly and easily.

As the name suggests, 0 APR business credit cards do not impose an interest rate on the balances you transferred over. This means, you can focus on paying off your credit card debts without worrying about the additional interest rate payments. Although this offer is only for a limited time period, you can still save a significant amount of money by submitting interest-free payments to your card.

How long does the zero APR offer last? This depends on your business credit card company. Some business credit cards offer from 3 months, 6 months or up to 12-months. To get the most benefit, you’ll want to choose a business credit card with a longer introductory offer.

What other factors should you look for from a business credit card?

You should take a look at how much the interest rate will be after the introductory period ends. Also, you should check on the other credit card fees you’ll be paying. For example, will there be a balance transfer fee each time you transfer a balance? If so, how much will it cost you? What about the late penalty charge and the other penalties? How much would they cost?

It’s important to weigh all the fees involved and make sure that they are reasonable. To do this, take the time to read your business credit card’s agreement in full. Remember that the ads do no reveal everything that the card offers. The real deal lies in the fine print and if you don’t have the patience to read through it, you may end up with the wrong kind of business credit card in your hands.

There are a number of small business credit cards in the market today. To help you with choosing, it is recommended to check credit card review sites so you can have an idea of the available business credit cards in the market and which ones have the most potential. However, bear in mind that credit card review web sites are meant to be used as a guide only. It is still your responsibility to examine your chosen business credit card thoroughly by reading and understanding the agreement.

Finally, after choosing the zero interest business credit card you want, use it as a tool to help you get off your balances as soon as you can. Also, do a self-check on your business spending and make the necessary changes when needed. If you need a zero APR business credit card to keep up with your credit card debts, it can be a sign of financial mismanagement in your business. Take the hint and take action now before things get worse.

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It is true that the incorrect use of business credit cards can cause serious debt problems but if you know how to handle your credit card responsibly, then surely you and your business can benefit from the flexibility and conveniences that business credit cards bring. In this article, let’s focus on the advantages of small business credit cards and how you can use them to their full potential:

Keeps Your Cash Flow Steady. Every business is confronted with the challenge of keeping up with daily expenses. There may be times when your petty cash isn’t enough to cover for everything. On these occasions, having a business credit card on hand is indispensable. When unexpected expenses arise, you can simply charge them on your card and pay at a later time. Nevertheless, don’t take this as an opportunity to spend more than what you can afford. Although a business credit card can cover some of your operating costs, make sure that you can pay back your charges on time.

Build-up Your Business Credit. Building your business credit history is definitely easier with the help of credit cards. Bear in mind that building good credit and maintaining an excellent credit status depends on your timelines of submitting your credit card payments. Furthermore, you should also pay attention on how much of your credit limit is used. Ideally, to keep a high credit score, you should not exceed more than 50% of your allotted credit.

Track Your Business Spending. Even with the use of business accounting software, having a business credit card is another way to easily monitor your accounts. Monthly billing statements as well as quarterly and yearly account summaries from your credit card company can be used as references to your accounting particularly when filing your business taxes.

Account summaries present an itemized and detailed record of all purchases you’ve made for the past year. If you’re a home based business owner, you can easily determine which of your purchases are tax deductible and which ones are not. You can even find business credit cards that offer downloadable account summaries so you can use them along with your accounting software.

Get rewarded from your credit card spending. A lot of business credit cards in the market offer rewards. You can find a wide variety of credit card rewards programs that are especially created to meet the needs of small business owners. Since businesses generally spend a lot on their operations, they also have more opportunity to earn bigger rewards at a faster rate than personal credit card holders. By choosing a business reward credit card that complements your business’s spending, you can certainly get more from a reward business credit card.

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The most important factor in choosing a credit card is how you plan to use it. Before any other considerations, such as rewards, interest rates, or annual fees, decide what you will be doing with the card and how you plan to pay it. Basically, there are three types of usage to consider before proceeding any further. Figuring out which of these best describes your situation will go a long way in determining what card to get.

First, if you plan on paying off the card balance in full each month, the interest rate is not much of a concern. You should probably look for a card that has no annual fee, as well as a longer grace period in which to pay. Conversely, if you have a tendency to carry a balance from month to month, the interest rate becomes a determining factor. Finally, if you often use a credit card to get cash advances, you need to be aware that many cards charge a higher interest rate on cash advances than on purchases. Therefore, you need to make sure to look for a card that charges the same rate for both.

With all the credit cards on the market today, it is easy to get distracted by all the ancillary features offered. However, before deciding on a credit card based on bells and whistles, decide what kind of card user you are. This will vastly simplify the process at the start and help you focus on choosing extra features of those cards to which you are already best suited.

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Credit card balance transfers are routinely offered by card companies as a way to entice new customers away from competitors. Promotions vary, but the most aggressive offers typically include zero per cent APRs on balance transfers, for a specified length of time (the best offers are for 12-15 months). Some cards also combine rewards programs or other perks as part of this initial inducement.

Transfer offers are also used by companies when customers have low balances in their account. Companies throw promotional offers, convenience checks, and the like at customers to get them to transfer balances from other accounts. The idea is to infuse more balance into the customer’s account and to get them back into the ‘borrow and pay’ cycle.

Using credit card balance transfers can certainly be beneficial if consumers use them wisely. Reading the fine print of transfer offers is essential. Some zero per cent offers come with transaction fees for each transfer. Additionally, timeframes vary. Borrowers need to know what happens with the remainder of the transfer balance at the end of the promotional period. For instance, at the end of a six month, zero per cent offer, does the balance return to the normal purchase APR?

Borrowers also need to know in what order credit payments are applied. Many companies slyly apply payments to the lower rate balances first, which leaves higher rate balances sitting on your account to accrue interest. This can actually lead to more interest payments over time than if you had not accepted the balance transfer, if the transfer offer comes from a card with a higher rate than the card the transfer is coming from. Beware of accepting zero per cent offers from cards that have high regular rates and that stipulate that makes apply first to lower rate balances.

Finally, consumers must be aware that while there are some good financial opportunities with balance transfers, transfer of balances do not make them obsolete. Some struggling borrowers simply move money around and take on new credit cards to transfer balances for lower rate promotions. When considering the benefits of credit card balance transfers, the borrower must think both about the short-term gain and the long-term results of a move.

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First off you need to come up with a plan of action. Unfortunately you can’t send an application to every credit card company on the face of the earth without having a real negative impact on your credit score. Credit bureaus watch very carefully how many lines of credit you apply to at a time. Applying to too many card companies at once will be a red flag to the credit report companies, who will subsequently lower your credit rating. Potential lenders will also have access to how many lines of credit you have recently applied to. Too many recent applications will be an almost automatic rejection for a line of credit with their company.

Your first option for credit cards is to look at rebuilding your credit through store credit cards. Many stores offer their shopping cards to those with less than perfect credit. Remember that the goal is to continue to put your credit on the right track, so be sure and pay at least the minimum on your card.

Your next option is to look at cards that are specifically marketed to those with bad credit. Keep in mind that since you have a bad credit score you are a risk to the company issuing the card. This means that in exchange for giving you a card regardless of your credit score, they will charge you an incredibly high interest rate, much higher than if you were to have even ok credit.

Your final option, and probably the most recommended, is to start with a secured credit card. Secured cards work by you putting down a deposit to secure the line of credit you will be given. So for example, if you were to put a deposit of $300 dollars down, your credit line would be $300 dollars. If you fail to pay your bills on time, the credit card company will just take what you owe them from your deposit and refund whatever is left. The great thing about secured credit cards is that if you prove yourself to the credit card company, most of them offer unsecured cards that will eventually be offered to you as a reward for doing so well with your secured card.

As long as you stay vigilant on your finances, only use less than half of your credit limits, and pay your bills on time, you will be on your way to having a normal credit card, as well as a normal credit score, in no time.

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College students are an extremely importance audience for card companies. While this group has always been a big target of card companies, they have never seen as many quality customized card solutions as are available today. The reason college students are targeted by card companies is that they offer an excellent opportunity for growth and future revenue. Many college students have had limited exposure to lenders and credit card companies, thus offer a great emerging market that all providers desire to tap into.

Although student credit cards are much the same as conventional credit cards, they usually offer a few unique components designed specifically for students. As most college students have little to no established credit, many marketers try to position their cards as a low-risk way for these young adults to build a solid credit history. Student cards generally have lower borrowing amounts, which both protects the lender, and reduces the potential of the irresponsible borrower digging himself a huge debt hole.

While risk reduction is an important selling point with student credit cards, perks and rewards are often a more enticing way to appeal to this group. Many card companies combine the need for groceries and gasoline with the desire for cool toys and technology. By rewarding card users with cash or rewards rebates for everyday purchases, card companies offer the users an opportunity to earn rewards in the form of cash or products from their partner network. For many college students, the ability to earn rewards from card use is an important consideration.

It is important that students carefully examine any credit card offers put in front of them. Again, college students are a common target of aggressive credit card companies. While all lenders are in the lending business to make money, some do a better job of supporting card users and protecting them. Others are more out to snag an inexperienced borrower and take advantage of them to generate interest revenue and other fees.

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Many rewards program items have inflated price tags. Gift cards usually require another expenditure, since most gift cards only offer a percentage off your purchase price. Some cards offer conversion between cash and gift cards.

Cashback credit cards have grown in popularity. One of the reasons is the so-called transaction fee. Whenever a credit card is used, the merchant must pay the credit card company a transaction fee for the credit card service. Since credit card companies make more money with each purchase, they have encouraged usage of their cards by splitting the fee with their consumers through these programs.

Most cashback credit cards have rates between 0.5% and 5%. There are many specials, promotions and bonuses offered for purchases at specific online merchants, favorite shopping venues, grocery stores – the list seems endless. Some target when you buy – weekend purchases.

Credit cash back can go towards many goals. It can pay down your credit card debt, mortgage or even be added to your IRA account.

The high price of gas has led to gas rebate credit cards, with rewards calculated monthly.

Rewards programs usually have higher Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) or ‘Prime +’ Rates.

If you can; avoid credit cards with point expiration, earning caps, spending requirements, short grace periods, or default rates. Be sure you know which purchases count towards the total.

Most, if not all of the most clever ways of maximizing these deals require financial discipline and paying off your balance, so the penalty doesn’t wipe out any accumulated cash or rewards. One easy benefit is to use your card where you shop already. You can oftentimes multiply your gains with discounts and coupons at these stores.

Linking your credit card to your savings or checking account (especially when it receives direct deposit,) can optimize your returns; if you channel your basic expenses through the card, then pay off the balance before the end of the month.

Caveat Emptor: you don’t really gain new money in cash back deals – you really only receive a discount. So far, this discount has never been considered taxable. Be smart, careful and disciplined if you want to make the most out of credit card cashback deals.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Regardless of whether or not one thinks universal default is right or wrong, it is important to understand what can happen if you default on a payment while carrying a balance on cards that enforce the universal default language of your agreement. Obviously, the best defense against any repercussions is to make all payments in a timely manner. Unfortunately, if through some misfortune that is not possible, the consequences can be severe, to say the least.

The first problem is that someone in dire financial straits may default on one payment. Suddenly, several balances will be subject to default rates, creating a cascade effect that will essentially make it impossible to catch up. Worst of all, even after someone turns the corner financially, the default rate applies until the balance is paid in full. Anyone making minimum payments knows how long that can take.

However, it is possible never to default on a payment and still run afoul of the rules. For example, suppose through some sort of fraud or institutional error a payment is not properly credited. Suddenly, every credit card you have starts charging the default rate. While it is possible to get the error corrected on your credit report, credit card issuers are under no obligation to normalize your interest rate.

So, while legislation has been repeatedly proposed to get rid of such perceived abuses as universal default, it still exists. The best way to deal with it is to see to it that your credit card issuers do not engage in the practice. As of now, only about half of them do; and in 2007, Citibank became the first lender to discontinue the practice voluntarily. So it seems that the day may not be too far off when universal default is a thing of the past. Until then, it is one more thing consumers need to keep in mind when choosing what credit cards to carry.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Lately, international banking has seen a credit crunch related to high debt levels, real estate problems and job losses. With all of these economic troubles damaging banking’s bottom line, lenders are reducing their risk. Banks have lowered their credit card approval rates accordingly.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled, Credit Cards Play Hard To Get, by Jane J. Kim, on February 4, 2008; where Robert Hammer, CEO of R.K. Hammer (a bank consulting firm,) said that credit card approval rates have declined from 40% to 32%.

This decrease can be blamed both on banks reducing exposure to high-risk customers and the diminished financial health of consumers worldwide. Big card issuers are requiring higher credit scores for new card issuance due to higher credit-card delinquency rates. Wary lenders are sending out fewer offers through the mail. There is more intense scrutiny for all applicants, but consumers still find many options available.

Consumers can apply for Guaranteed Instant Approval Cards; by phone or the internet, offering approval in minutes. This fast, convenient process allows for comparison of different credit card features. It still takes time to receive physical cards by mail.

Experts disagree about the success rate for these sites; some say that good credit is required, others say that few customers are turned away – as sites adjust interest rates based on the credit score. Avoid e-mail schemes trying to lock you into a credit card with high interest rates and fees.

Your credit score is determined by your address, work and speed in paying bills. A high credit score and low debt will improve your credit card approval chances.

If you have a credit history, you might want to contact the credit card bureaus – (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax) – to receive your free annual credit report. If you’ve been denied any service, product or job due to a bad credit score, you have the right to request a free credit report within 60 days. If you dispute a bad credit report and win, you can raise your credit score. Also, applying for too many credit cards at any one time is seen by bankers as an expression of a worsening credit position. So be careful.

If you research your options carefully and make sure your credit rating is accurate you will optimize your chances of being approved for a credit card.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

One option that may be valuable to you in the hard fought battle to obtain/restore your good credit is a prepaid credit card.

What is a Prepaid Credit Card?

It works like any major credit card and is accepted at the same locations. The biggest difference is that you are not using a fixed line of credit which you are ‘borrowing’ from the credit card provider based, essentially, on the equity of your name… your identity. (Who you are is representative of the assets you hold.)

With a prepaid credit card, you are extended a credit line based on one of your most solid assets… your actual cash on hand. It works much the same as depositing money into a checking account and using checks to make purchases, but with a prepaid credit card you stop spending the minute your cash is gone… no ‘bounced checks’, as it were.

And unlike major credit cards, there’s no spending limit with a prepaid.

Needles to say, the benefits are all too readily apparent. You have the spending power and convenience associated with checks and credit cards, without all the negative fees and sky-high interest rates.

You do have some small fees, however. It costs up to $10.00 just to open an account and you will also have to pay a minimal fee each time you deposit cash into that account.

But when you consider that this opens up a whole new world of opportunities you didn’t have access to before, you might definitely consider it a ‘must’.

What benefits, you may ask. Remember, in today’s society you can only secure a car rental with a credit card. You can also only pre-order movie, concert and sporting tickets using a credit card. Most major expenses or purchases can only be broken down into payments with a credit card, at the very least you avoid the heavy financing charges associated with a payment plan done any other way. You can also recharge prepaid cell phones and cards with credit cards. You can also only make hotel and airline reservations using credit cards.

The world runs on a credit line, and in today’s society it’s a much more accessible option than it ever used to be in the past.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Prepaid Credit Cards Are Really Debit Cards

The advantage of using prepaid credit cards for teenagers is that they can only spend the amount that you prepay to the card company. This prevents them from running up credit card debt. You can also have money automatically transferred to the card when you get paid.

Anyone can qualify for a prepaid card. Your credit report is not checked because you are not borrowing any money. There are no interest charges either. However, a prepaid card will not establish credit.

During College is the Best Time to Establish Credit

It is easier to get a credit card while you are a college student then if you wait until after you get out of college. This is because several credit card companies offer college student credit cards because the student’s parents will usually bail them out if the student cannot pay the bill. The student cards will start with a low credit line of up to $500.

The first step for establishing credit is to have a checking account.

Establishing first time credit will be very difficult if you have not had a checking account for at least six months. The credit card companies want some way to measure whether you can handle money. If you have ever had a parent co-sign on a loan, that also helps establish credit.

The second step is to apply for one credit card.

Do not apply for multiple credit cards at one time. This can hurt your credit because each request shows up on your credit report. If the second and third company see that you have already requested credit, they could turn you down for fear that you will get multiple cards and charge all of them to their maximum limits. Each inquiry to your credit report can remove two to five points from your credit score.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

First of all, decide what kind of credit card you would like to have. An unsecured card is more difficult to acquire than a secured credit card. Once you have decided what kind of card you are seeking, I would first try to get a second job for a few hours a week to boost your take home pay. Credit card companies want to know your debt to income ratio before they will issue a credit card to you. The higher the take home pay, the more free cash you have, and the less likely you are to default in the eyes of an underwriter.

If you find that your extra take home pay is not enough, then you can open a savings or checking account at a bank. Take as much extra money as you can spare from each paycheck and put it into the account and let it accumulate. Next, ask the bank what the minimum deposit required would be to open a Certificate of Deposit. If it is low enough, say $250 or $500, move your cash from your bank account to the CD.

Next, ask the bank if you can have a loan in the amount of the CD and pledge the CD as collateral for the loan. Your bank won’t refuse this; they have the CD if you default. Begin paying on the loan and pay ahead of schedule; pay off the loan early. Now, ask your bank for another loan of $500, but without the CD as collateral.

If they will not grant the loan, you can call a credit card company at this point and ask for an unsecured credit card. If they still won’t give you credit, you can take the money out of the bank account and send it to open a secured credit card. Secured credit cards will want to see that you can send some money to open the credit card before they put any of their credit in.

As you make timely payments on the secured credit card, you are issued more and more credit. You can either keep the credit card at this point and gradually up the limit to your liking, or you can call for an unsecured credit card showing that you have made timely payments on your secured credit card.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Most financial organizations offer credit cards with a low promotional interest rate on balance transfers. But while these special rates usually expire 6 or 12 months after you open the new card, some cards make these special transfer rates permanent. If you qualify for a life-of-balance transfer, take advantage of it!

Life-of-balance transfer interest rates are often lower than normal credit card rates, varying from an amazing 0 percent to 9 or 10 percent, which is still much lower than traditional interest, which can be as high as 30 percent. If you have a balance on another credit card that’s gathering 20 percent interest each month, why not move it to a card with half that? The savings will quickly add up. Plus, which a lifetime rate guarantee, you can take your time paying off the transferred balance (though, as always, it’s best to pay as much as you can as quickly as you can).

However, be sure you do your homework before you jump in. For example, some cards only guarantee the life-of-balance transfer rate if you also use the card regularly for purchases, say twice or three times a month. This way, the company can offer a great deal but can still squeeze some interest payments out of you, the customer. However, read the fine print – the company may not specify exactly how much those purchases must be; buying two or three packs of gum each month might be enough to ensure you keep your premium transfer rate. But keep in mind, other cards will yank away your low interest rate if you DO make purchases with your card. Be sure you read the fine print!

Also, realize that what you’re initially offered might not be what you’re ultimately approved for. The envelope you get in the mail may promise a $10,000 transfer limit at 3 percent interest, but if your credit score is low or your history is short, the specifics of your contract will vary. Always call the company and ask them to explain the specifics of the plan.

As mentioned before, make sure you’re diligent and consistent with payments. Your special 3 percent rate could be hiked to 30 percent automatically if you miss even one payment.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.