How many pieces of plastic do you have? Are you a credit card fanatic? You know, one of those individuals that acquire as many credit cards as possible? Now, first of all, this may get you into a serious financial bind.
0 apr credit cards
How many pieces of plastic do you have? Are you a credit card fanatic? You know, one of those individuals that acquire as many credit cards as possible? Now, first of all, this may get you into a serious financial bind. Sure, credit cards are a great way to deal with an unexpected expense, and can no doubt save your butt at times. However, these tricky little cards can also dupe you into spending carelessly. We all know their typical spiel. Those clever credit card companies know just what you want to hear. That’s why your mailbox is consistently filled with offers for 0 apr credit cards. They love to pitch that; don’t they? Let’s face it; we all light up at the number 0. It immediately tells us that we won’t lose anything.
Normally having the urge to splurge with your credit card is a bad thing. However, every now and then it’s not a bad idea to buy yourself something new. A shredder, for example, is an excellent and worthwhile expense (and small enough that you can charge it and pay it back quickly without having to pay interest!).
Let’s talk about different kinds of shredders and why you need them:
Types of Shredders
Price-wise, shredders can run the gamut. You can find cheap models for less than $20 and you can find shredders costing hundreds of dollars. Why the big price differences? Different shredders do different things, and they offer different levels of security.
A low-end shredder generally can only shred a couple of sheets of paper at a time. It will create long shreds / strands of paper, slicing the sheets into small columns. These cheap shredders might seem like a good value if you’re on a budget or don’t have a lot to shred, but they might give you a false sense of security.
Most of us don’t know the true cost of credit, we simply pay attention to what we’re paying in fees and finance charges.
But the cost of goods and services increases as a result of credit card use, as merchants need to pay fees to banks, credit card issuers, and other companies for the infrastructure, equipment, and convenience.
These merchant and interchange fees vary based on the type of transaction, merchant, and card issuer involved.
Visa charges an average of about 1.80% per transaction, while American Express charges around 2.50%, though smaller retailers typically pay between 3.25% – 3.75%.
This is why you’ll often find that not all small merchants accept American Express, as they don’t want to pay the extra fees (Amex also tends to side with the consumer, another drawback for merchants).
If the merchant has a special deal in place with a card issuer, perhaps based on a volume or exclusivity agreement, they’ll be able to secure lower pricing.
Take a look at these figures below, provided by TrueCostofCredit.com to get a better understanding of what credit really costs:
But even if you elect to pay with cash, more often than not the price already reflects the option to pay with plastic, unless you work out a deal specifically with the merchant.
The use of credit is already priced in, so it’s wise to get your hands on a rewards credit card, like the American Express Blue Cash, which offers cash rebates of up to 1.25% – 5% on all purchases.
Tip: Watch out for merchants that try to pass the “transaction fee” onto you directly.
If your credit card offers a personal identification number (PIN), it’s for your protection. While signatures can be forged, having a PIN attached to a credit card means someone needs to know your “secret code” in order to use it for certain kinds of purchases. Do you protect your PIN?
There are certain situations where it’s a good idea to change your PIN. How often do you do it? For most people the answer is probably “not enough.” Here are three scenarios where you should definitely change your credit card’s PIN:
1. You’re still using the original PIN the credit card company gave you.
It’s always a good idea to change your PIN from the default number the bank gives you to a number that you’re more likely to remember. Most banks even recommend this to their credit and debit card customers.
When you choose a PIN that you’re likely to remember (but something others still won’t be able to guess easily), you have no need to write it down.
Credit card holders are being advised to switch to a low-rate card if they are unable to repay a loan on a zero per cent deal .
Price comparison website moneysupermarket.com has informed its customers that changing to a new low-rate card could help ease the cost of borrowings.
In an uncertain economic climate, a significant percentage of credit card holders are finding it increasing tough to secure the most attractive deals.
Indeed, moneysupermarket.com says that only four in ten credit card applications are actually successful.
However, Peter Harrison, the credit cards expert at moneysupermarket.com, insists the best approach to tackling debts is largely dependent on credit rating .
He added: “Whilst the credit card market has seen better days, there are still some great deals out there, all be it hard ones to obtain.”
According to research by Santander Cards, in excess of ten per cent of Britons intend to transfer more than 3.2 billion pounds between cards in the first three months of 2010. Read more…