Monday, April 30, 2007

Credit Card Deals with No Annual Fee

Is there a point in applying for credit card deals with no annual fee?


There are fee free credit cards for all types of credit. That means that this offer is avaliable for any credit card applicant. Not having to pay an annual fee means that you save money. But is it really true? The credit cards that offer the no annual fee option usually have higher APR. There might be hidden fees credit card applicants are not always aware of.


When you are considering applying for a fee free credit card don't forget to analyze the other features so you won't have to pay twice.

Virginia Ends a Loophole in Gun Laws

Finally. Governor of Virginia closed the loophole in gun laws that allowed mentally ill people to buy guns. According to New York Times only 22 states send their mental health records to federal database. I guess we will nee 28 more massacars like the one in Virginia to solve the problem of mentally ill people buying guns.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Credit Cards and College Students?

Todays question is 'Are college students mature enough to use credit cards'?
I would say yes.
Yes:
- They can vote. They can surve in the military. They can get married and have kids. If they are mature enough to do all those things why cannot they be trusted with their own money?
- Using a credit card is experience. It can be good or bad but it is still experience in money management.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

One Thought About Credit Card Score

Everyone knows that age is important for getting good credit score. The best age is 25-35. I can understand why. People in this age group have already achieved something professionally and financially. They are mature and have experience in perosnla finance management. On the other hand, they are still young, have fewer medical problems.
The funniest part is that people over 62 get the same credit score as those inbetween 25 and 35. It is requierd by he Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to protect the elderly from discrimination. Are banks really so eager to give credit to people over 62? What about someone who is 90?

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Addicted to My Cell-Phone

I am addicted to my cell-phone. I am absolutely sure. I take it with me everywhere. Even to the bathroom. It is always in my pocket (I know it's bad to carry cell-phones in a pocket, it might cause cancer, but what if i don't hear it in my purse?).
If I don't hear the familiar melody I feel uncomfortable. Sometimes I hear it when nobody is really calling. I guess I just want to hear it so much.
The most weird thing is that I am not waiting for a person to talk to. I am just waiting for my self-phone to ring. I am addicted to my self-phone.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

How to Make Money with Balance Transfer

A balance transfer is an option offered by many credit cards issuers which enables the card holder to use their available credit from one card to pay off the balances due on one or more other cards. Most balance transfer offers will come with an artificially low introductory interest rate, such as 1% or 0%, for a fixed period of time. After that time period the interest rate will rise to whatever was permitted by the terms of the offer.
However, it is a good way to make money. For example, if your credit card offers 0% balance transfer you can use the money borrowed from a bank to invest in something. It works especially well if your credit limit allows you to transfer significant amounts of money. Some people make more than a thousand dollars this way.

My Friend's Blog

I have received an e-mail from a high school friend of mine. She lives in Louisville, KY now and goes to school there. And guess what - she has got a blog too. It's not on blogspost, it's a livejournal and it's brand (not too many postings). But it was nice to know how much we still have in common!

She Is Back!

I will be pretty busy this weekend - my best friend is coming over from Minneapolis. She moved there 6 months ago to live with her boyfriend. Financial problems almost made them break up but fortunatelly, everything worked out fine. She will be staying for less than three weeeks and that's way to little time to dicuss everything that has happened in half a year!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

And One More Posting about Credit Cards: Some Useful Advice

Oh yes, this is one more posting about credit cards but I hope you'll find some useful advice in it.
People screw up their credit cards, don't pay off their loans and phone bills, etc, etc. I don't want to discuss why this happens but when it does it becomes quite difficult to get approved for another credit card. There are several options:
- apply for an instant approval credit card. However, your application will still be reviewed and you can not be 100% that you will be approved for the offer.
- apply for a secured credit card. You will have to open a bank deposit. Your credit limit will not exceed the amount of money on the deposit account.
- ask a family member or a friend to be your co-signer. The co-signer will not use your credit card but will be held responsible if you are not able to pay off your debt.
All of them will help you rebuild your credit history. Just choose the option that will work for you.

Good Credit Card Deal: How Should I Look for It?

What is a good credit card deal? It really depends on what you are looking for. Are you interested in instant approval? low interest? 0% APR? cash back?
First of all, consider your FICO score. Apply only to those deals that are meant for the kind of credit history you have. Take a close look at those top deals offered by specialized websites. These site are created for your convenience by professionals so you can use their knowledge to make the right decision. They also give you an opportunity to compare good deals offered by many banks unlike an official bank site.
Study the conditions carefully. It also helps to ask a friend or a relative to read the terms. Two heads are better than one!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Truth About Credit Cards

There has been a lot of talking about 'the truth' about credit cards. Why do banks lend you money for free? Why are banks so willing to give money to just about anyone? Who is paying the additional expenses accrued to the product's price when the retailer accepts credit card payment?
I can never know 'the truth' but here's what I think:
Banks want to give you money because they hope that you will screw up and they will charge you extra fees. Take any low interest deal, for example, a Chase bank offer for excellent and good credit. The default APR is more than twice as high as the ongoing APR. The late payment fee is $15.
And what about additional expenses? All of them are simply included in the price. Like any other expenses. There is nothing to do about it.
Bottom line: banks want to make money one you but you can avoid it by managing your account wisely.

My Dog

You shouldn't think that I am just a financial freak. There are many other things I enjoy. And one of them is spending time with my dog.
My dog is a sweet girl with beautiful eyes. Her name is Diva and she is a German Shepard. She is four but she is still a baby. It's a very big dog and that's what I especially like about her. It's like having a huge toy because she lets me whatever I want - use her as a floor-pillow, take a bone out of her mouth, etc.
Today she got in trouble. She stole and ate more than 3lb of meat! She ate it all! I don't feel sorry for the meat I just don't want her to get into a hospital. I haven't called a veterinarian yet, she seems to be quite cheerful. We'll see.

Online Application - Part II.

I have come across another article on the issue of online credit card application and management. Here are the major services online banking offers:
- Electronic bill payment
- Investment
- Account balance and history
- Credit card and loan applications and transactions
- Account aggregation which enables you to watch all your accounts in one place
- Bank statements, sometimes integrated with personal finance programs, such as Quicken etc.
- Funds transfer between the customer's savings and checking accounts
The article also gives some inspiring statistics:
"Latest survey showed that the percentage of people using online banking for credit card applications and other transactions increased more than twice since 2001 and goes on growing. At the same time, banking industry is expected to spend $248,1 bln this year on IT including hardware and software, IT services and telecommunications. That means each bank will have its online banking service every customer should be able to use."
So, I guess, there is no way to avoid using online banking service and no real reason to fear it.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Online Credit Card Application: Pros and Contras

More and more people apply for credit cards online. But there is a great discussion whether it is reasonable or not. The biggest pro is the convenience that special credit card sites offer. The main contra is the security issue.
Lets examine the process of applying for a credit card online. To be more objective we'll compare the two sites www.credit-card-online-offer.com and www.apply-online-credit-card.info.
Both sites provide you with basic information about credit cards. It's not very detailed but at least you can figure out the kind of credit history you have (if you know your score, of course, but if you don't there is the 'apply for a free credit report' option.
Then you need to consider the left navigation area. If you are looking for a specific type of reward credit cards choose the corresponding option. But in order to make the right decision you need to know exactly what for you need this card. Consider having several cards for different purchases: a gas card, a frequent flyer card , etc.
consider all the deals carefully. Make a separate chart and calculate everything.Always read the details.
You can also compare credit card offers by banks but I think this makes less sense than comparing credit cards by reward types.
If you have made up your mind to apply take a close look at the application form. Here comes the security issue. Identity theft is BIG. People feel very insecure applying for a credit card online because they don't want to show their personal information such as address or Social security number. Yes, it's dangerous. But remember that you are vulnerable every time you use your credit card! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Credit cards are a necessity and getting paranoid won't do much good for you.
So, to apply or not to apply online? I will say apply. When using a good site you are able to get all the information you need, compare the best deals and even ask a question by using the immediate credit card care service. And as for the security issue, as I have said, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

How Bad Is Your Bad Credit?

If you spend sometime at answers yahoo com in the 'Credit' section you will see that most of the questions asked are about bad credit. It seems like most people in this country have problems with their credit score.
What credit is bad credit?
The widely used scale is the FICO system. Here it is:
Excellent Credit - 750-850
Good Credit - 660-749
Fair Credit - 620-659
Poor Credit - 350-619
No credit - 0
So, what is bad credit? I would say that anything below 660 is bad. Of course, fair credit is slightly better than poor credit but it won't allow you to get best credit card deals and will make you pay higher rates and fees for your credit cards.
Why is your credit score so important? Even if are not planning to apply for a credit card there are good reasons to check your credit report regularly. First of all, whenever you decided to borrow money - get a mortgage loan, etc - the lender will consider your credit score. You landlord might be interested in it, too. Even your boss might check your credit report if you are considered for promotion because bad credit history portrays you as an irresponsible person.
Of course, no matter how bad your credit is, you can always get a bad credit credit card . But I will strongly advise to wait and rebuilt your credit history first.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

When Choosing a Credit Card

I have just read an article at www.requestcredit.com on what you need to know before applying for a credit card. Well, I think this article needs some explanation.
So, read Credit Card Deal Can Be A Pretty Set Back with me.
Lets start with Credit Terms Required by Law. Truth in Lending basically forces banks to disclose certain credit card information such as
- Finance Charge: the "finance charge" is defined as the cost of credit over the life of the loan, expressed as a dollar amount
- Annual Percentage Rate (APR): the APR is the cost of credit expressed as a percentage.
- Amount Financed: the "amount financed" is also expressed as a dollar amount
- Schedule of Payments: the "schedule of payments" tells you the day of the month, timing, number and dollar amount of payments due over the entire course of the loan
- Total of Payments: the "total of payments" is also expressed as a dollar amount
This information gives the borrower an opportunity to calculate the amount of money they will have to pay back.
For more information on Truth in Lending read Consumer Law: Truth in Lending: What you Must Be Told When Getting a Consumer Loan or Other Consumer Credit
There is also the Consumer Leasing disclosures that can help you compare the cost and terms of one lease with another and with the cost and terms of buying for cash or on credit.
Using a credit card means you are using the so-called 'open-end' credit. So you can use it over and over again till you reach your credit limit. The scheme provided helps you to evaluate the cost of your credit card deal.
Pay attention to the charging methods. They can considerably affect the cost of the credit deal, even for the same pattern of purchases and payments. I would go for the adjusted balance method as the most convenient for the borrower.
Anyway, when choosing a credit card you must consider all the terms and make sure that they will allow you to pay your credit back.