|
Credit Card Machines
By: Alan Jason Smith
Site: http://www.creditcardspdq.com
Credit Cards Machines come in all shapes and styles. Credit card machines come in a variety of price ranges, offering enough choices that you can select exactly the model your business...
Do it yourself Credit Repair
Many of us believe that it is only through an agency that we could possibly have any hope for repairing our own credit. Rest assured that this is not true. It could possibly cost you more money and time to arrange through an agency than it would to...
Low Interest Rate Credit Cards
There are many credit card offers that advertise a low interest rate but not all of them are necessarily as good of a deal that they want you to believe. You will have to read the fine print to determine the legitimacy of the credit card offer....
Should I cancel my unused credit cards?
Should I cancel my unused credit cards? This is a question many
people ask themselves and searching for a right answer. If you
are one among them this comprehensive guide will help you how
your unused credit cards can affect your credit scoring...
tips on how to get higher credit card limit
All credit card holders are aspiring for a higher credit card
limit. This is because a higher credit card limit will enable
them to make otherwise unaffordable purchases. Credit card
holders need to remember that to get a higher credit card...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Escaping the Credit Card Death Spiral
You’re burdened with crushing debt and at the end of your rope. There’s got to be a way out. You go to the door every day, expecting bad news. Your minimum credit card payments are eating up most of your paycheck every two weeks. You can’t go to dinner, go on a trip, or save for your kid’s education, and it just keeps getting worse. You’re using your credit cards for living expenses now. This really sucks!
Many people are finding themselves in this situation; the “Credit Card Death Spiral”. As the nation’s credit card burden continues to climb, the number of people facing this credit nightmare is increasing at a frightening rate. It happens for many reasons and is depressing and debilitating. Credit card companies have relaxed the initial requirements to get a card in the last few years. The change is allowing people with marginal credit scores to get a number of credit cards. In addition, many of these cards have higher credit limits than in the past. This combination has encouraged many consumers to take on much higher levels of debt than in the past.
In addition to the relaxation of credit card requirements, lenders are changing the way they do business once a consumer has the card. In the past banks and other credit card issuers would not let you charge over your credit limit. This has changed. Now, many financial institutions will accept a charge even if it puts the account over the credit limit. When the account goes over the limit, they charge a hefty fee, raise the card holder's rate, or both. Many credit card issuers are doing this and it can raise rates on a credit card to over 40%!
Here’s one common scenario. You have a card with a 12% rate and a $5,000.00 credit limit. Your card’s current balance is $4,475.00 and
you're picking up some clothes and school supplies at a back to school sale. You visit a few stores and pick up some items. Like most people, you don't have your exact account balance memorized. Your last purchase takes you a just few dollars over your limit. The charge is approved anyway.
Imagine your surprise when you get your next credit card statement. Your interest rate has been raised to 30% and your minimum payment, which had been $88.00, is now $168.00. To really pour salt in your wounds, the bank has added a $39.95 charge for exceeding your credit limit. It gets much worse. Not only does the 29% interest rate apply to the purchases you just made, it applies to your credit card's entire balance!
This type of scenario occurs hundreds of times every day. If left unchecked, you’ll enter the “Credit Card Death Spiral” that many times ends in bankruptcy or, at least, a horrible credit picture. There are ways to escape this chain of events. One choice for many is through a debt consolidation loan.
A consolidation loan consolidates the borrower’s debts by paying off the smaller loans with one larger loan. This type of loan typically uses equity in the borrower’s home as collateral for the loan. Having a secured loan enables the interest rate to be much, much lower than the unsecured credit card loan. The lower rate creates one payment that is substantially lower than the total of the previous credit card payments.
For more on how to escape the Credit Card Death Spiral see my website at The Debt and Loan Consolidation Guide
About the Author
Steve Faber writes about a variety of topics from business to home theater systems.
|
|
|
|
|
Credit Reports - Credit Cards - Car Loans - Home Loans - Credit.com |
Credit.com offers a variety of credit related products and services including credit reports and credit scores, credit cards, car loans, home loan and ... |
www.credit.com |
  |
Equifax Personal Solutions: Credit Reports, Credit Scores ... |
National consumer credit reporting company that offers credit reports, FICO(R) credit scores and identity theft protection products to consumers and small ... |
www.equifax.com |
  |
The FTC's web site on Credit |
Credit is much more than a piece of plastic, and the resources on this site can help you become a more savvy consumer. You’ll also find compliance ... |
www.ftc.gov |
  |
Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Credit Center |
Features an assortment of helpful articles related to credit issues. |
www.ftc.gov |
  |
AnnualCreditReport |
Site set up by the big three credit reporting agencies in the United States, to furnish free annual credit reports, as required by federal law. |
www.annualcreditreport.com |
  |
Springboard - Non-Profit Consumer Credit Management |
Our mission is simple: To offer education on the wise use of credit. ... SPRINGBOARD has been approved to provide credit counseling services and issue ... |
www.credit.org |
  |
myFICO - FICO Credit Scores, Online Credit Reports and Identity ... |
myFICO.com: Get your Free credit report and Free credit score with a 30-day trial of Score Watch. All three FICO Scores and Credit Reports Available now ... |
www.myfico.com |
  |
Credit Suisse Global |
Credit Suisse Group is an international financial services group. - Shares part of SMI. |
www.credit-suisse.com |
  |
Experian: Free Credit Report and Credit Score, Credit Check ... |
Credit referencing and consumer targeting for the USA and other countries. |
www.experian.com |
  |
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. |
www.ncua.gov |
  |
Credit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Debits and Credits, a type of bookkeeping entry; Credit (creative arts), acknowledging the ideas or ... Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit" ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Credit (finance) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Any movement of financial capital is normally quite dependent on credit, ... Sometimes if a person has financial instability or difficulty, credit is not ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
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 ... |
www.nfcc.org |
  |
FreeCreditReport.com | Free Credit Report and Credit Score Online ... |
FreeCreditReport.com: Free credit reports and credit scores from Experian. Get your free credit report and credit score now. It's free, fast, and easy! |
www.freecreditreport.com |
  |
Compare credit cards | apply for a credit card | 0% balance ... |
Compare over 300 credit cards, including 0% offers and balance transfers, and make a credit card application online... |
www.moneysupermarket.com |
  |
Ford Credit - Auto financing for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars ... |
Ford Credit provides auto financing to finance a lease or purchase a car or truck through Ford, Lincoln or Mercury dealerships. |
www.fordcredit.com |
  |
The Credit Card Prank |
In my lifetime, I have made nearly 15000 credit card transactions. ... Credit card signatures are a useless mechanism designed to make you feel safe, ... |
www.zug.com |
  |
Credit magazine, corporate bonds, derivatives, structured credit ... |
Credit magazine provides information on the international credit markets for credit investors, issuers and market professionals. |
www.creditmag.com |
  |
CUNA: The Credit Union National Association |
News and resource directory about credit unions. |
www.cuna.org |
  |
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 |
  |