Average Credit Cards With Great Rates
Monday, October 13th, 2008
Average credit cards are usually low on features and carry higher rates when compared to other credit cards. Most of the credit cards that consumers will find online are designed for people with very good credit or poor credit. However, in today’s market, the average credit scores nationwide for consumers have been trending downward. This is forcing banks and credit card issuers to focus on consumers who have fair to average credit more so than they have in the past.
When shopping online for average credit cards, consumers are typically offered credit cards that are geared towards consumers who have poor credit. This is simple economics, credit card websites make money when you are approved for a credit card, and credit cards in this class will allow them to get more credit cards approved. Unfortunately, in this scenario the credit card issuers win and the consumer loses.
However, if you know where to look, and which cards to apply for, consumers with average credit can find great deals in today’s credit card market. They may be buried on the last page of most credit card websites, but they do exist. Direct Banc is one of the few credit card websites that prominently displays the best of the average credit cards up front. These credit cards will carry the lowest rates and the best features for applicants with fair to average credit. Here are a couple examples:
IberiaBank Visa
Credit Card Use Tips and Suggestions
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
A credit card is an amazing financial product that can provide you with a lot of benefits if you use it properly. Unfortunately if used wrongly it can also produce much harm and damages. As you can see, as any other financial product, these are only an instrument for achieving certain goals. It is the actual use that you give to that instrument what will eventually produce benefits or damages to your credit and financial life. Following are some tips on how to use them smartly to avoid the drawbacks while taking advantage of the benefits they provide.
Shop Around Before Signing Anything
Do not go for the first offer you receive. Actually do not apply for any credit card you are offered. Instead, shop for one that suits your needs and desires. Check the interest rates, the fees, the credit limits and other variables you are interested in before agreeing on any product.
Keep Your Balance Within Reasonable Levels
Never max out your accounts, it is important to follow this tip because by ignoring it you may end up buried deep in debt due to the accumulating interests. You may wonder what a reasonable level is. Anything below 60% of the credit limit is optimum. Anything reaching the 80% becomes risky and requires immediate attention.
Control Your Purchases
You should keep all the receipts for two reasons: It will help you compare the balance with the purchases to make sure that no unauthorized transactions are registered and it will also help you objectively analyze your purchasing behavior to see if you overspend or exceed the number and quality of purchases that you planned to make.
Protect Your Personal Info
Your personal information should be sacred. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous people out there preying on those who need financing and apply for or use these products. Therefore, you should try to keep your personal information from being exposed and thus, you should avoid sharing your credit card number and code with merchants whose security levels you have not confirmed.
Try Not To Pay Only The Minimum Payment
This would lead you to debt accumulation and conspire against financial and credit health. Instead, try always to pay the whole balance and if you are forced to pay less than that, make sure that you pay higher sums whenever possible. Also, if you see that you are currently not being able to afford the payments, immediately reduce your spending. If you cannot increase the amounts you destine to reduce debt, this is the only other way to keep it at bay.
Do not Keep Too Many Credit Cards
It is best if you do not keep too many open accounts because this jeopardizes your finances adding available credit to your report and if the lines of credit are maxed out, the situation will be even worse. A reasonable number of cards will depend on your income but for average earnings two credit cards are more than enough. However, remember not to close accounts altogether because this can damage your credit too. Try to keep old accounts (they provide you with a longer credit history) and close only one account at a time (every 6 months) if you have too many of them.
By: Jess Peterson
About the Author:
Jessica Peterson is a Personal Loan Consultant with more than twenty years of experience. For more information about Guaranteed Credit Cards, Unsecured Loans, Fresh Start Loans, Debt Consolidation, Student Loans and others please visit http://www.yourloanservices.com
Personal Finance Training for Young Adults
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
In many of my articles, I focus on young adults as my target audience. By young adults, I generally mean people between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Why target this group? Quite simply, time is on their side when it comes to saving for retirement, and because of this fact, small changes in their spending habits can make a big impact on their investing results due to compound interest. When these numbers jump out and “surprise” a person for the good, that person is more likely to take action to get their personal finances in order. Therefore, in this article I wish to provide basic personal finance training aimed directly at young adults, with the hope of positively impacting their financial futures.
Start a Roth IRA ASAP
Unlike a traditional IRA and 401k which are income tax deferred, the Roth IRA features contributions that are taxed in the year they are made, while gains and withdrawals are never taxed. Therefore, the best time to contribute to a Roth IRA is when your income is low. When are our incomes typically at their lowest point? While we are young adults, of course. As long as you have earned income, an individual can contribute to a Roth IRA up to the amount of his/her earned income or $4,000 (increases to $5,000 in 2008), whichever is less. For a married couple, both spouses can each contribute up to $4,000 for a total of $8,000 (increases to $10,000 in 2008). Think of it this way, some part-time workers don’t even pay income tax, due to their low income coupled with qualifying deductions. In such a case you could actually make Roth IRA contributions which would not be taxed, and the account would never be taxed. Pretty sweet deal!
Gradually Ramp Up Your Lifestyle Over Time
Some people make the mistake after graduating from college of buying a really expensive car, I guess as a reward to themselves for all of the hard work they put forth to earn their diploma. This is absolutely one of the worst, albeit most common, mistakes young adults make. Why? Because after buying a BMW at 22 years old, do you think we’ll buy a Honda or a Mercedes at 25? Of course, we’ll buy the Mercedes because we don’t want to go backwards on the “perceived” quality scale. The point is, it’s a good idea to hold back a little on the quality we demand as young adults because our taste will probably only get more expensive as we grow older. In other words, making a less expensive purchase as a young adult translates into a lifetime of less expensive purchases, even while steadily moving forward on the “perceived” quality scale throughout.
Base-Load Your Investment Accounts
Another trick to take advantage of while still a young adult is to base-load your investment accounts. By base-loading, I mean contributing a larger than normal amount to your accounts at the beginning of your investment career and little to none the rest of the way. This advice works great if you take advantage of it before you are married with kids and have a mortgage. Before you walk down the aisle and start a family, your expenses are typically low, so you are able to put some of your excess cash to work. That way when you do take the plunge, you can cut back or even eliminate investment contributions altogether, and it won’t even matter. For example, say at 22 years old you start contributing the maximum of $4,000 per year to a Roth IRA and continue until you are 30, at which time you decide to get married and start a family. Because running a household and raising a family can get expensive, you halt all contributions to your Roth IRA from this point forward. However, you allow the contributions you have already made to continue compounding. If we assume the Roth IRA compounds at 10% per year, how much will your account be worth when you reach 65? Surprise, nearly $1.3 million dollars! Pretty amazing.
Summary
Young adults have a distinct advantage over the rest of us because they still have the most valuable resource of all on their side – time. Making wise financial decisions early in life sets the stage for financial success during your retirement years. Hopefully, my simplistic personal finance training offered here will inspire young adults to take action now so they will be able to reap the benefits in the future.
By: Charles Hebert
About the Author:
Charles Hebert shares his views on personal finances from his website, Smart Money Advocate, which advocates simple strategies for achieving financial success.
