A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks
Credit cards can be a gateway to debt but can also be a powerful personal finance tool. See articles that will teach you about credit cards,keep you up to date on credit card rules, show you the best credit cards, as well as show you reviews.
Are you looking for a new credit card to transfer a balance to?
How about one with 0% APR for new purchases? Maybe a credit card that offers cashback rewards?
The Discover® More Card offers all of that and is worth looking into.
Let’s take a closer look at the features of the Discover More Card:
[Read more…] about Discover® More Credit Card Review – 14 Months of 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases
Sometimes you just need more money—we all do sooner or later.
It could happen because you’re hit with a flood of very large and unexpected expenses. Medical bills, legal fees and major home repairs are some of the expenses that come to mind.
It can also come as a result of an income disruption.
The loss of a job, or of certain employment related income sources, such as bonuses, overtime or commissions. You may also decide to leave a steady job to start your own business and that will require money, not only for business investment but also for living expenses for the first few months.
At a time when credit is so available, there can be a temptation to tap credit lines to cover the losses. You might do that with the assumption that you’ll be able to pay them all back when your expenses have passed or when your income goes back to normal levels. But we should never assume that.
One of the problems with tapping credit to cover living expenses is that once you get comfortable doing it—or other options fail to develop—you run the risk of maxing out your credit lines. That’s easier to do than you might think.
Once you max out your credit lines, you’ll have a new set of problems to deal with.
According to CreditCards.com, the average credit card debt (per household with credit card debt) is $15,956, and the average APR paid on that debt is 12.78%.
Annually, the average household is paying over $2,000 a year just in credit card interest.
If you do not want to or are unable to transfer your balance to a credit card with a lower interest rate, your next best line of defense is to negotiate with the credit card company to get a lower interest rate.
Before you call to negotiate, remember that you will need to be calm and polite the entire time.
Do not let your emotions enter into the negotiations. Also, keep in mind that credit card negotiations are effective about 50% of the time. Don’t use this knowledge as an excuse to give up, but also recognize that you may not always be able to get the credit card company to budge.
When used in the right way, a credit card can be a powerful tool.
The best credit cards provide you with free stuff, and even cash back.
While we often we think of credit cards as debt traps, the truth is that, used responsibly, credit cards actually provide a number of benefits. Savvy credit card use can lead to the earning of valuable rewards, as well as cash back. You can actually make money simply by making purchases that you would normally.
The goal, of course, is to get the best credit card possible.
This includes a credit card with generous rewards, as well as easy redemption. Many of the best credit cards also come with a signing bonus. When you sign up, and then spend a certain amount of money within a set period of time, you receive bonuses worth $100, or even $200.
[Read more…] about The Best Credit Card Offers
Many of us with small and home businesses don’t think a lot about getting a credit card.
After all, what do we need with a business credit card, when everything is so…small?
However, a small business credit card can be a good move for just about any small business — even if you don’t think that you need one. There are advantages to having a credit card in the name of your small business.
[Read more…] about Why You Need a Small Business Credit Card
