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Credit Card Debt Management
Credit cards that are used in moderation could be helpful in
managing your finances. This means that splurging through the
use of credit cards is almost financial suicide.
Here are few tips to manage the way you use your credit card...
Credit Card Minimum Payments Create Debt
A credit card minimum payment means that you can spend more and
pay as little back as the credit card issuer will allow you.
Sounds great in theory but it is a system that will turn out to
be your worse nightmare. If you stick to it before long...
How To Read Your Credit Report
Once you've received a copy of your credit report, you'll need to know how to read it. The first thing you'll notice is a bunch of confusing numbers, terms and abbreviations. Examples of these are - Trade lines, account review inquiries and...
Let your business soar with an American Express Business Gold credit card
American Express has everything your business desires. Let it take you where you need to go! With one of America’s most widely used and accepted credit cards, you simply cannot go wrong with an American Express business gold credit card. The best...
What is Credit Counselling?
Ever wondered what is Credit Counselling? There are occasions when you might encounter a financial situation that is beyond your scope which is when a session with a credit counsellor could be beneficial. If you're not disciplined enough to create...
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Credit Card Expenses are Killing Your Budget!
Do you know the costs associated with your credit card? Do your really know? Many people assume they do but aren’t aware of the hidden fees that many credit card companies are charging you month after month. In fact, if you don’t keep a close eye on your credit card, you may end up paying hundreds of extra dollars per year—without ever knowing it! And if you’re trying to budget your money, those hidden fees can add up!
Let’s take a look at some of the most common credit card fees, and then talk about how you can avoid them.
Late Fees
This is the one that likely gets most people and it’s a compounding charge so it affects several other factors of the total amount of your credit fees. When is the last time you checked to see what amount your credit card company charges you for a late fee? The truth is that these fees have doubled in just the past ten years, and that, combined with the reduced grace period which I will discuss shortly, means that the credit card companies are raking in a lot of dough on late fees!
If it’s possible, you should try and send off the check (or electronic transfer) the day that you receive your credit card bill each and every month. There are three reasons why it’s important never to be late and these are critical to abide by to maintain a good credit score and lower fees. The first is obvious; you will want to do everything in your power to avoid a hefty late fee. Next, if you are late, it will likely be reported to the credit agency and you will have a bad mark on your credit report which will mean it will be difficult to retain low interest rate cards until you are able to repair your credit. The third is the interest, and we’ll discuss it below.
Interest Rate Hikes
Did you know that if you are late even once on your credit card payment, the company will in all likelihood raise your interest rates to astronomical levels! That’s right; one late
payment gives them the right to do it and most times it’s written in tiny little letters on the back of your credit agreement. You read that part right? Yeah me too! What’s more, that isn’t just limited to your credit card payment. Any late payments from any lender that show up on your credit report gives them the justification to raise your rates, so be careful! Sites like http:///www.internetcreditcardlist.com clearly list interest rates and benefits of credit cards in readable text sizes so people like you and I have no surprises when signing up for a new card.
Grace Periods
We could always count on grace periods before we ever had to start paying interest in the good old days. For example, if we charged our card to the limit, and could get it paid off before the grace period expired, and then it would be like a free loan with no interest.
The credit card companies are making this harder and harder to do and many of them have reduced the traditional 30 day grace period to 20-25 days or eliminating it all together. That means you are instantly paying interest any any charge you make right after you make it.
How about your credit card? You need to take a close look at the fine print and find out what kind of grace period you have. If your credit card company has reduced it significantly, or eliminated it altogether, you should seriously consider canceling it and getting a more user-friendly card. Also remember the credit card companies need you to profit. Ever tried canceling a card? They don’t like that very much because you bring in profit so if you don’t like your interest rate, or your annual fee, or your grace period, call them up and tell them your switching. Chances are they will be very willing to listen!
Jason Jell is the editor and webmaster of http://www.internetcreditcardlist.com. A site geared towards providing people with clear concise information about credit cards and credit card offers.
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| Springboard - Non-Profit Consumer Credit Management |
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| National Credit Union Administration - Home Page |
| An independent federal agency that supervises and insures 7152 federal credit unions and insures 4240 state-chartered credit unions. |
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| Credit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| Credit (finance) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| The National Foundation for Credit Counseling |
| DebtAdvice.org is a service provided by the Members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), most of them known as Consumer Credit ... |
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| FreeCreditReport.com | Free Credit Report and Credit Score Online ... |
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| Credit magazine, corporate bonds, derivatives, structured credit ... |
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| CUNA: The Credit Union National Association |
| News and resource directory about credit unions. |
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| Credit/Debt Management - Tools and Advice for Managing Credit and Debt |
| Drowning in debt? Trying to improve your credit score? This is the place for you. Get real world information and tips, as well as the legal low down, ... |
| credit.about.com |
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