Latest Articles from Credit Card Posts

Does It Hurt My Credit if Several Reports Run While Car Shopping?

May 11, 2012 | No Comments »

Auto lenders will often view your credit report prior to offering you an auto loan. The information in your report determines your FICO credit score, which runs from 300 to 850. This information will impact the terms of your auto loan, including the...

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Is your car a filthy mess?

May 04, 2012 | No Comments »

How about your home? Your office? Your yard? Im a little embarrassed to say yes, yes, yes, and yes. Or, at least, that was the old me. Im a hyper, busy guy, so everything was a mess. When was I supposed to find time to organize my stuff when I was...

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Is Unemployment Credible Income?

April 07, 2012 | No Comments »

Unemployment income is temporary income you receive when you lose your job. This money is considered income, though you do lose it when you return to work. When you apply for a bank loan, the bank looks for credible income from sources that...

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Did The Credit Card Bill of Rights Get It Right?

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Mar 03, 2011 | No Comments »

Signed into law over a year ago, the credit card bill of rights was touted as protection against practices and fees imposed by credit card issuers on to consumers and which have long been considered arbitrary. Just to refresh your memory, banks must practice the following:

- No more arbitrary rate increases: cardholders must be notified prior to such a move.

- Periodic reviews and reduction of a cardholder’s annual percentage rate (APR) where it is warranted or requested: reviews should take place every 6 months.

- Allocate payments fairly: payments made should go towards balances accruing higher interest.

- No universal default: a cardholder cannot be penalized on Card B should he/she default on Card A.

- No double-cycle billing: banks cannot charge late fees on payment that has been made for a previous billing cycle.

- No phone-payment surcharge

- Elimination of due date gimmicks: payment made by 5 p.m. E

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Tags: Card Bill Credit Card Credit Card Bill Right

Four Ways Banks Wring More Money From You

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Feb 26, 2011 | No Comments »

Let’s forget credit card companies and the various ways they conspire to squeeze more money out of you for a moment. That’s a dead horse that’s already been beaten too many times with no resolution in sight. Instead, let’s focus our attention on banks. I can accept the fact that burying my money out in the backyard is not the acceptable way of “making it grow”. However, what I can’t swallow is all the sneaky, underhanded ways banks think up to use my money for their profit.

Fees for Foreign Transactions

Anyone would be excited to go on vacation, right? Most of the time, credit cards and travelers’ checks are sufficient to cover the cost of any expense incurred, and you won’t have to worry about not having enough money on you.

The bad news is, credit card issuers can charge up to 5% of the expenditure to grant you the convenience of using your own credit card outside the country. Not only that, th

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Tags: Money

Remember The Big Picture! Missing The Financial Forest For The Trees

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Feb 20, 2011 | No Comments »

Frugality is a virtue worth cultivating, but there are those of us whose desire to put money away means doing things that result in them missing the bigger picture when it comes to budgeting and savings.

Hoarders Unlimited

On the face of it, ensuring you have emergency funds is sensible. However, it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate your goals when it hampers your quality of life. Signs of stinginess include having few or no friends resulting from a reluctance to go out, or opting to wait 3 hours before eating (though you’re starving) so you can take advantage of a $2 discount at the local diner. It goes penny-pinching and is a sign you’ve gone completely overboard.

If you recognize yourself, or someone you know in this description, you might want to have a chat with a financial planner to put the fears to rest. At th

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Tags: Missing Missing Financial

Is Your Money Pulling Its Weight? 5 Ways to Whip It Into Shape!

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Feb 09, 2011 | No Comments »

We can’t all be Robert Kiyosaki (“your strategy is all wrong; buy my book”) but nothing can stop you from using the money you have to its fullest potential. I’d do what my favorite advisor, Tim Gunn, always says: “Make it work!”

Opt for investments that provide fair returns

Nothing is worse than having another person profit from money you gave them to invest. Sadly, that’s precisely what’s happening if your money is languishing in CDs (certificates of deposit), savings accounts or money market funds!

These financial institutions are effectively borrowing from you, loaning/investing it elsewhere, and waxing fat on the difference. If you want your money to earn its keep, so to speak, conservative dividend stocks are a viable alternative; there are a number of companies that pay out annual yields of up to 9 per cent. You could say t

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Tags: Money Money Pulling

An instant cash advance assistance with payday loans

Posted by admin at Feb 01, 2011 | No Comments »

With the reduction in funds offered by banks and the increasing availability of payday loans, people with no money are turning to instant cash advance loans. Recently payday loans were advertised in shop windows, while the Internet has a growing number of sites offering online payday loans. Consumers who do not need to look far can get money during a financial crisis.

A faxless payday loan is a small amount of funding which the borrower uses to withstand until the next paycheck. When you get the paycheck, you need to repay the borrowed amount. Don’t forget that additionally to paying the borrowed amount, the you must pay the interest rate. In other words, you make a cash advance on your next paycheck. Thus, these types of loans are also called cash advance loans. Payday loans are usually repaid in a short time that borrowers choose. So you can repay the amount in a week or two. Read more…

Tags: Cash Advance Instant Cash Advance Loans Payday Loans

Credit Card Debt Relief For the Holiday Season

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Feb 01, 2011 | No Comments »

At any time of year, credit card debt relief is a popular topic. But around the holidays, it suddenly spirals out of control. We’ve all been there: we want to give our families and friends a great Christmas season, so we let our spending get a little out of hand. And since most of us don’t have tons of spare cash lying around, all of that money goes on our credit cards.

But that spending catches up fast, and come January, you find yourself facing a pile of credit card debt. If that describes you, don’t panic: just follow these simple steps.

Credit card debt help

First of all, if it’s not too late, there’s something important you need to know. Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean you get to throw the budget out the window. It’s easy to think that your spending doesn’t count because it’s selfless — it’s generosity and not spent on you.

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Tags: Card Debt Card Debt Relief Debt Relief Holiday

Real Estate and the Small-Scale Investor: Is It Right for You?

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Jan 27, 2011 | No Comments »

Owning a home is one thing; many people often daydream about building their own real estate empire one day. However, just like blue cheese, real estate investing might not be the right choice for all small-scale investors.

Are you aware of the gravity of the investment?

A real estate investment requires serious commitment. You need to abide by basic business principles whether you want to deal in houses or apartments. Real estate is one avenue where the need to recoup your initial investment and thereafter make a profit is more greatly emphasized than other investments.

If you aim to sell, you have to get more than what it cost to buy and fix up the property. If you aim to rent, the income from rental should subsidize a generous portion of the mortgage.

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Tags: Real Estate Right

Balance Transfers to Start the New Year

Posted by Andrea Lewis at Jan 26, 2011 | No Comments »

The mountain of ripped wrapping paper has been cleaned up, the presents (charged on my rewards credit card, of course) are all put neatly where they belong, and the Christmas decorations are ready to store for another year. My mind has turned toward looking back over the past year and looking ahead to 2011.

I don’t really like to think in terms of making New Year’s Resolutions because so often those who make them, break them within a short while. I do, however, feel good about evaluating where I am and setting some goals as to where I want to be in the next year. If you’re like me, one of the goals you set is to be in better financial shape at the end of your selected time period be it 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years.

It’s not coincidental that at the time of the year when most of us naturally do some assessing of our lives, credit card companies are making some amazing offers. If you

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