The Save Money Blog

Archive for the ‘Credit Cards and Loans’ Category

Ever since debit cards came into existence I have been a steady user as opposed to using a credit card. I even went a long time with having one credit card that I only ever used for emergency situations only. I would pull my debit card out at every retailer I would visit and never use cash. I can remember long periods of time never even carrying cash with me for that matter.

I recently started to rethink my position after reading a credit card article. What benefit is there to me the consumer by using a debit card as opposed to a credit card? There are no benefits that I can think of.

Maybe one benefit would be that the money is taken out of my account that second so I can gage how much money I have within my budget and stay within it. It is easier to get into credit card trouble when you can spend, spend, spend all month long and not even realize what you are doing. If your bank account empties then you debit card is empty to.

The last six months I have only used credit cards when they are accepted and put my debit card away. What’s the benefit? Rewards, plain and simple. If you are going to spend money then why not get some swag back out of it. I have a nice collection of Air Miles being built up because I have been putting everything on my Air Miles Credit Card. It’s amazing how fast they can build up.

I also use a second credit card as a back up in case the first isn’t accepted. My second card has a cash back option based on the total amount spent during the year. I make a few of my annual large purchases using this card and enjoying getting a small bit of cash back when everything is said and done.

If you can handle a credit card then why not get paid to spend your own money.

Do you know how much your unpaid credit cards balances are really costing you? You will be probably be surprised if you thought about it in terms of a monthly cost or annual cost. Those interest charges on your unpaid balances can put a real dent into your wallet.

So How Much Does Your Credit Card Debt Cost? Think about your credit card debt this way. You are paying about $100 – $150 for every $1000 of debt at a 15% interest rate over the course of a year. That is quite a bit of money when you are trying to get yourself out of debt. Especially when you think about the fact that most credit cards have rates over 15% and that many people in debt are probably carrying over $1,000 month to month.

There are solutions to alleviate your debt load on your credit cards. People seek debt councilors or negotiate payment plans with the companies that they owe but in the end they are still paying that interest on top of the initial debt amount.

Another solution is the 0% interest rate credit card. You can find many credit cards that will offer a 0% introductory rate for moving your existing credit balance to their credit card. You are basically paying off your high interest card with a 0% interest card. You will save money over the term of the special interest rate and help pay down your debt.

If you are going to try this there are Balance Transfer Mistakes to Avoid. I have a friend that basically financed his inground pool this way. You have to make your monthly minimum payments or it will be all for not. You have to be mindful of what the new rate is going to be once the 0% rate period is over. My friend, he just simply moved the new balance over to a new 0% credit card before the old one expired and did this a few time until he was out of debt.

It takes a bit of planning but it is way to work off your credit card debt.

One of the hardest things you can find yourself to get out of is credit card debt. For many this is a heavy cross to carry. Once you find yourself in credit card debt it is just enough to make the minimal payments and get hammered every month with a crazy interest charge. Many people find they have no other option but to turn to credit card debt relief programs.

If you have mounting credit card debts you can see many benefits from debt relief programs. There many different types of programs available, each of them have a specific goal in mind.  If you want to rid yourself of debt, then you must choose a debt relief program that suits your needs and financial goals.

Debt negotiation is one common debt relief program that offers benefits to the debtor. It saves money since you will get to pay a reduced amount from the original amount of debt you owe, it will save you time as professional debt negotiators will be the one discussing this debt reduction process on your behalf. If you are able to choose a reliable and sound debt relief program, most people with debts find themselves free of debt within two or three years.

While there are several legitimate debt relief companies available in the industry, there are a few others who are looking to take advantage of people's urgency to settle their debts. Like with legitimate debt relief companies, they offer debtors a promise of the opportunity to become debt-free. Sadly though, they most often target individuals who are desperate to find debt relief since they cannot afford to lose their money.

There are a few common tell-tale signs that the debt relief program you are dealing with is a scam. Hence, identifying them will help you recognize whom to trust and whom not to in terms of finding solution for your debt problems.

There are a few debt relief programs who offer their services of cleaning out your credit report and any errors with massive fees. This process is quite intricate, which is the reason why most people often opt to hire professionals to do it for them. However, you need to be extra careful with choosing since some of them can be outright deceptive. Another reason why such claims are considered scam is that you can fix credit report free of any charge. There are three credit bureaus from which you can acquire a free copy of your yearly credit report. When you have the copy, study it for any false information or suspicious transactions.

This particular scam technique affects debtors in two ways. First, you are charged for a loan that you are not even qualified for to begin with. Therefore, the money you spend trying to settle the loan is put to waste since you could have used that trying to settle off your previous credit card debts. Next, although your creditor makes claim that you have loaned out money, you never get to receive any money. Worse thing is, these scams do not provide you with a legitimate company name so they basically run away with your money while you are left with no way to trace them.

This is a sure sign that you are dealing with bogus credit repair companies. When they ask you to create a new credit identity to attain a high credit score, then you need to realize that this is a complete illegal move. Even if you are unfamiliar with legal laws, then everyone might be aware that creating false identity is a clear violation of law.

Therefore, make it a point to screen out the credit repair company you are dealing with before you decide to work with them. If you are serious about getting rid of any credit card debt you currently have, then opting for illegal means is not the best way to do it. Moreover, being subjected to scams would cause you money that could have been used to pay off your credit card debts.

I was walking by a co-workers desk today and she had a calendar on her desk with eating healthy and living right tips. Some of those tips were about saving money. They were some of the usual tips about shopping smartly and turning down the heat but one stuck out in my mind. It stated that to save money you have to tackle one issue at a time.

At a quick glance I thought okay but the more I thought about it I think I disagree. Saving money is no easy task but by not facing a few or more of your challenges at once you are going to be throwing out bad money while trying to save money. So they are saying to you if you have bad credit card debt and shop poorly just to focus on one and not the other.

I would suggest writing down your main places that your money goes and try to improve each one at least a bit at a time so you can tackle your main expense. For example, lets say you have terrible credit card debt. I would focus on saving money at the grocery store by buying in bulk and buying no name products and put that savings into paying off your debt. At the same time work on how you can save on your daily transportation expenses and put that savings into getting your credit card debt paid down. You get the idea.

To say you have to work on one point is misleading. You can't pay off your credit cards if you don't work on saving money elsewhere first. It doesn't grow on trees.

Obviously you have to pay your credit card off each month or you will suffer an intrest charge which is going to kill your bank book and plunge you farther into debt. Well, I missed a paymet by a couple of days over the holidays. I payed my card off in full as I said a couple of days past the deadline.

Today I got my bill and was tagged for a $30 interest charge. I called to find out why when I had payed it off in full a couple of days later. Here is how the conversation went:

Credit Card Girl: Why were you late?
Me: Why did I get out of bed today, I have no idea.
Credit Card Girl: You don't know why you missed a payment?
Me: It was in December, I don't recall how I got home Saturday night let alone what happend in December. You know what, cancel the card.
Credit Card Girl: Well sir, I am just trying to find out why you missed your payment.
Me: Little Grey men showed up in a ship and took me to their home planet and they didn't have an ATM. I had to wait until I got back to Earth to make a payment.
Credit Card Girl: I will reverse the charge sir. Make sure you make your payment each month.
Me: Thanks.

If you are missing payments every month then they aren't going to help you but if you miss one call and see if they reverse it for you. It's worked for me a couple of times.

A couple of people I know were talking about how much their children owed for their educations and I could not believe just how far in debt these kids were as a result of their student loan. I too found myself owing a lot of money when I graduated from university. I was paying off more in interest every month than I was paying for my loan.

My solution was to go to my bank and talk to them about my loan. It was the best thing I ever did and he actually said that If I had come to him a year or two earlier I would have been debt free. How did I pay it off? Debt consolidation. I took my two student loans and a car loan and consolidated them into one loan from the bank. The interest rate was so much lower it was crazy. I paid everything off in about a year. I probably would have been paying those two student loans off today. Talk to your bank and lower your debt.

Is your credit card debt out of control? It seems the more and more I read the news I am reading more and more about problem with credit cards. In fact, the Canadian government just enacted some changes to the way credit card companies work just a few weeks ago with the aim of helping credit card holders. This must be indicitive that many have credit card problems. It is easy to concieve that many people may run into a jam and have to use their credit card but many just use them to spend irresponsibly and then can't get out of the hole they dug themselves. Paying off your credit card debt can be hard and requires much discipline but what do you do after you have payed off your debt? Where do you go and what do you do with your money?

The problem many people find themselves with is that they get their credit cards payed off and then find themselves right back in debt again. Here are a few tips to not land yourself back in credit card debt.

Do not overspend. Yielding to the sale offers for something that you don’t really need, is a big mistake that leads to overspending. Like I have said before, take a day or two and think about if you really need that new item. Chances are after sleeping on it you won't need it or can survive without it. 

Always remain within 70% of your credit limit. It may sound tough but if you keep falling into debt it's a good rule of thumb to live by.

Make credit card bill payments in time and in full. Don't go over your head with your card. Make sure you have enough at the end of the month to pay off that card and if you can't, put it away and stop spending.

Don’t hold more than two credit card accounts. I have two cards and can't foresee myself needing anymore than that. Having more cards is just going to land you in trouble.

Put a cap on your credit card limit. If you don't have one thousand dollars to spend then don't have a one thousand dollar monthly limit. That is just going to get you into trouble. If they offer you a higher limit, learn to just say no.

If you have a Citibank credit card you might want to check your next statement or look for a nasty little letter that is appearing in peoples mailboxes. In some cases people are reporting that their rates are being jacked from numbers like 7.95 all the way up to 16.99. It's called rate-jacking and it's exactly what Citibank is doing to it's loyal customers. Merry Christmas.

If you have a Citibank card you have until January to "opt out" of the rate jack and continue to use your card at the lower interest rate until the card expires. At that point your account will be closed and you will have to find a new card.

A word of caution though, if your credit rating is bad or if you are cards are all maxed out or you have no other source for a credit rating like a loan than you might want to think about cancelling your card. If you can find another card or perhaps speak to the customer service department like this guy did in comment number 13. 

Good luck and I would love to hear some of your Citibank horror stories.

Source

The world of credit cards can be overwhelming and confusing for a lot of people. There are just so many choices out there and all of them have different terms, rates and risk and rewards. I recently happened upon a credit card review site that lays out all of the latest credit card offers and rates them so you can make your decision easier. They specialize in helping consumers like you and me in choosing a credit card that is right for us and how to use our credit wisely. The only thing you need to do is to research your new credit card, compare it to other credit cards and then apply for it online. It really simplifies the process.

Each credit card is presented with a description of that card, its introductory rate, regular rate, annual fee and reward type. It is then given a rating based on its benefits us as consumers. Credit cards are also split into categories so that they are easier to find. They are searchable by credit card issuers and by features such as low interest cards or reward type cards. It makes finding a credit card easier than ever.

Stay up to date with credit card information with the blog that brings you the latest in credit card news, humorous insights and shows you the most popular credit cards each week.

How much money do you think you spend each month or each year paying off your bad credit card debt? You would be surprised. I was reading recently that by making the minimum payments or less that then minimum it can take you seven years to pay off two thousand dollars. That's staggering. That money that you are using paying off the interest could be better used.

If you want to save money on your credit card debt the first thing you should be doing is making sure you are paying more than your monthly minimum payment. If you are not making more than the minimum you are just paying down the interest and not lowering the principle. You will never get the debt payed off doing this.

Another tip is to utilize a balance transfer. There area million offers out there for credit cards. It is very competitive and they want your business. If you search hard enough on the internet you will find offers for zero interest rate cards. Just make sure that interest rate at the end of the free term isn't higher than you existing rate, get the new card and use it to pay off you existing high interest rate card. Why pay interest when you don't have to.

Call your credit card company and try to negotiate a better rate. If your credit isn't bad you can always try and talk them into giving you a fairer interest rate. Just tell them that you are thinking about getting another card with a better rate.

Would you like to know how a credit card balance transfer can save you hundreds of dollars from your credit card bills? Do you currently have trouble keeping up with your credit card balances? If yes, then a balance transfer may just be what you need.

Getting a Balance Transfer Credit Card

What is a Balance Transfer credit card and how is it different from standard credit cards in the market? If you try to shop around for credit cards, you’ll notice that some credit cards offer 0% APR as part of their introductory offer. The 0% interest rate will usually apply on purchases but if you take a look closely at your choices, you’ll find credit cards that offer 0% rate on balance transfers. If you’re lucky, you can even find a credit card that offers 0% APR for both purchases and balance transfers.
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