Tag: credit cards

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Bad Credit Card Debts: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls

How can you avoid getting into trouble with bad credit card debt? You can begin by avoiding the following mistakes people with credit cards make:

1. Failure to Read the Smaller Print:

Providers of credit cards might tell you that the reason the Terms & Conditions are printed in small text is that they do not like to bore you with all the details, however that is where they disguise the true cost of whatever you are signing up to.

As the consumer, it is your responsibility to check everything and see to it that there aren’t any traps that you could easily trigger. If the text on the form is too small for you to read, call your card issuer.

2. Misconception on the Introductory Offers:

It is easy to give in to an inviting headline. The people who write such headlines are paid to make them as alluring as possible. Usually, when users of credit cards pay too much attention to the pros of a credit card, they tend to miss checking the details, where the drawbacks are often hidden.

For example, if credit card offer says six months interest free balance transfer, look out for interest rate and transfer fee after the interest free period ends. In additions often included in the smaller print are conditions like, if you miss a payment, whatever is left on the offer will be withdrawn.

3. Making Only the Minimum Payment:

Servicing the debt with ease is one of the advantages of using a credit card — you just have to pay the minimum percentage of your balance for each month ( 4%).

Paying just the required minimum each month will actually cost you more. This is because interest is calculated by the day. For each day that you have a balance, you are being charged on interest for each penny.

4. Having a lot of Credit Cards:

It’s commonly believed that having many cards will help their credit rating. This might be true based on the balance you maintain on your credit card.

The downfall is that it will make it more difficult to obtain new credit. Lenders will wonder whether you already have too much debt and may not be able to repay. Another negative aspect is that it increases the chances of getting deeper into debt.

For more free legal advice on finance, credit, and banking, check out Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Inc by clicking on the given link.

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How To Spend Your Credit Card/Gift Card Cash Back Money

How To Spend Your Credit Card/Gift Card Cash Back Money

by: Robert Alan

It’s a little bit exciting to get credit card cash back money. After all, how to activate a gift card that you already made those credit card or gift card purchases and forgot about them so it’s not like you’re really expecting to get anything else?

The cash back credit card offers you a little bit of a reward in addition to your purchase so that you can have some spending money in your pocket. But what do you want to spend that money on? Different people find that different purchases can make their cash back credit cards really benefit them.

Pay Your Credit Card Bill

Some people find that the best use of their credit card cash back money is to pay off their credit card bill with it. Many cash back credit cards make this easy by offering that as an option in your rewards package.

In other words, when you sign into your online account to see what your dollar amount cash back is, you’ll also see an option to use this amount to pay your bill. This allows you to save the money that you would have normally spent on your monthly credit card bill and to use it for something else down the line.

Get Rewards Other than Cash Back

Many cash back credit cards and gift cards offer a certain percentage of your purchase amount back to you in cash but will give you more than that amount if you choose another reward. For example, how to use visa gift card that you might get 3% cash back on purchases? Let’s say that you’ve earned enough off of that to get $100 cash back.

Your credit card company might offer you the option of choosing a $150 gift card instead of the $100 cash. This lets you actually get more from your cash back credit card companies than you would have thought to begin with. However, it’s only good for people who are really interested in the items or gift cards that are available through the rewards program.

Gifts for Others

Perhaps you’ll find that there are gifts in these rewards programs that are better for someone else than they are for you. When it comes time to buy gifts in bulk, such as during the festivals, you can cash in your cash back credit cards points to get a bunch of gifts for other people.

Since that money was just sitting on your cash back credit card, it almost feels like you didn’t have to spend anything to get nice gifts for the people that you care about.

Something Nice for Yourself

There are some people who find that the best thing that they can do with their credit card cash back money is to use it for giving themselves a gift. After all, your credit card or gift card purchases usually don’t go to things that spoil you?

They go towards buying groceries and paying bills and taking care of daily expenses. When you make a commitment to spending your cash back money on a treat for yourself, you really reap the emotional benefits that can come along with having a cash back credit card.

Savings Accounts

Other people find that what they want most from their cash back credit cards is a little financial security. They take the money that they get in cash back and they use it to start a savings account.

Every time they get more cash back, they add to that account. They’re not spending anything but they’re allowing their money to work for them.

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Simple Steps To Help You With Your Personal Finance

Personal finances are one of the major causes of stress and frustration for many people. However, taking the time to educate yourself can make the entire process much easier. Provided below is some sound advice that you might use to reach your money management goals.

Success in business can be directly related to money management. Always protect profit as well as any invested capital. If you put your profits into your capital you can build a better foundation; you need to keep a careful watch on them so you can see more profits. Set standards for profits and what you put into capital.

Once the statute of limitations passes for certain kinds of debt, collection agencies and creditors cannot legally threaten to sue you for old debts. The statutes vary by state, usually ranging from 3-10 years. Talk this over with an expert, and see if you can find out when your current debt will expire. If you can get this information, do not pay a dime to any collection agency.

One way to improve one’s personal finances is to cut back on expensive restaurant trips and, in fact, to avoid all sorts of ready-made meals. Fast food menus may seem cheap, but they really are not. Cooking at home with better quality ingredients produces better meals than you get at a fast food or carry out place, and also saves you a lot of money. You will also come to appreciate the art of cooking.

Try using free checking accounts. Look into local community banks, online banks and credit unions.

Purchasing a vehicle is a major decision that will affect you in many ways over the next few years. Comparison shopping with all of the different retailers available to you is the best way to make sure you get a good price on a car. The Internet is a good resource for good deals on cars.

If Christmas time has typically meant a lot of cash spending, then consider making your gifts instead. You can save hundreds of dollars around the holidays by reducing spending at department stores. Think of creative ways to cut costs, and show your friends and family your artistic side.

It is crucial to pay all of your utility bills promptly each month. Paying them late can damage your credit rating. On top of that you will most likely incur late fees which only drain more money from your wallet. It is not worth having a headache because you had to pay late; always pay on time

Your FICO score is determined in large part by your credit card balances. The bigger the balances on your credit cards are, the worse they will affect your score in a negative way. Fortunately, you can start increasing your score rapidly by paying off your cards. You should keep your balance at 20 percent less than what your limit is.

Try setting up monthly bill pay with your bank to make sure all of your credit cards are paid on time. You may not be able to pay off the card completely, but pay what you agreed to on time to improve your credit rating. If you schedule an automatic bill payment, then you never need to think about your bills or worry about being charged a late fee. Additional payments can still be made with that tax return or Christmas bonus.

When trading internationally, let your stocks sit while they turn a profit. Do this sparingly; do not let greed take over. Even if you’re making a profit, there comes a point where you need to get your money out.

Do something to save money every day. Forgo store brands for generic brands, and check out which food items are on sale. Be willing to substitute food that’s on sale.

Follow your credit rating. You can do this once year for free, more often if problems are found. It’s good practice to review your credit report twice a year. When you review it, check for charges that you aren’t aware of or any other information that does not seem correct and look into it immediately.

Again, dealing with your personal finances can be extremely stressful. Knowing how you can administer your personal affairs will aid in relieving a bit of that burden. The article above was written to help you manage your finances more effectively.

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