At one time or another most all of us apply for and get more credit cards than we need. We feel like we have to be able to purchase almost any type of item at anytime, whether we can really afford it or not. Having several credit cards allows one to buy products and services at will. Is that a good thing or bad?
There are many companies offering credit cards and loans online, but all may not fit everyone's needs. A credit card is a great financial tool that needs to be used wisely and cautiously. Never allow yourself to get so far behind on your creditcard balance totals that you can only afford to pay the minimum payment amount or small amounts each month towards the reduction of your debt. That is the interest rate trap. Once your cornered on paying minimum amounts, you will most likely be stuck there for years if not for a lifetime.
However, having credit cards can be a positive, productive personal finance tool and does not have to be a negative to your credit status or your lifestyle. A couple of key points:
* Convenient to use and carry * Offers valuable consumer protections * Use it with caution and good judgement * Pay off your monthly bill in full each month, * which eliminates interest charges
Having credit cards is a priviledge and huge personal responsibility. You must utilize and manage your credit rating wisely and carefully at all times. The saying ' if you can't afford to pay cash, then you can't afford it ' is a true statement and we should all take heed to its warning. Using creditcards in this manner makes them your friend and not your foe. Having credit cards in your name is not bad just take care not to go into debt for more than can repay. Doing so will only serve to damage your credit rating and it can and will create larger credit problems for yourself into the future that may be difficult or impossible to repair.
When shopping for a new credit card, comparison shopping is important, because it can save you money. Be sure to consider all of the costs and terms of each of the credit offers. These can make a real difference in how much in fees and interest charges you will possibly be paying each month. Be sure to compare these costs with any of your existing financial instruments, cards, loans, mortgages, etc. You may be able to replace some of your current debt with less expensive options. Some of the costs and terms to consider are the annual percentage rate (APR) for goods and services as well as for any cash advances you may request, the annual fee, and the grace period. Also compare other fees, late-payment charges, and over-the-limit spending fees.
About the author: Greg Smith publishes timely information on Credit Card issues. For more information please visit: http://www.apply-credit-cards.com/ . This article may be freely reprinted as long as the author's resource box and URL links remain intact.
An Emergency Fund in Action: Our $500 Weekend
Direct your browser to just about any personal finance blog, and you’ll be able to find at least one post about emergency funds: why you should have one, how to build it, when you should start, and exactly how much (or how little) you should sock away. What I don’t see a lot of is emergency funds being used for, you know, emergencies. (A planned car purchase is not an emergency.) Maybe they don’t have many emergencies, or perhaps personal finance bloggers aren’t willing to admit it when their warranties expire. Whatever. Here’s some real life for you.Since the day we bought this house, the to-do list has included replacement of the basement door. It’s warped and in sad shape. The jam is a little rotten, and it lets in water during really heavy rain. Still, it opens and closes and behaves in a sufficiently door-like manner that we weren’t all THAT worried about it, until today. Today, that basement door went from a “to-do” to a “to-do now“. You see, Friday night, Boo (the resident cat and benevolent overlord) caught a mouse.For Boo, this isn’t a particularly unusual act. She’s a retired member of a hardware store extermination team, and it probably felt pretty good to shake the dust off the old stalk-n-pounce skills. She is a master mouser. For us, this isn’t so good. Nobody wants mice in their house. It’s just… oooky. *shivers*Dani did some research, and we poked around our basement, and decided that the first important step was to either fix or replace the back door to eliminate the wide gap at the bottom (and the ham-handed repairs of the previous owner). If you have mice, it seems, the first step to eliminating them is to cut off their points of entry. If you have any sort of holes in your house, it’s recommended that you stuff them with steel wool — apparently, mice don’t like the texture, so they won’t chew through it. Mice can enter the house through any hole larger than a US dime — like the yawning gap under our basement door.
Protect yourself against identity theft09Apr08
Identity theft is when someone uses, without permission, your personal information in order to commit any frauds or crimes. Identity theft is a felony that is becoming more and more common. That is because some of us are not very careful with personal information, making the job easier for those trying to steel our identity. We should always be careful with information like Social Security number, credit card number, birth date, employment information, driver’s license number, etc., because if they enter into the wrong hands the consequences can be very serious. People that have experienced identity theft spend months trying to repair what others have damaged, and in the meantime they cannot get a loan or lose a job opportunity or, sometimes, they can get arrested for something they didn’t do.
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