1. Credit Card Debt: Remember You’re Not Alone
It’s easy to feel helpless–and to see your situation as hopeless–when you’re up to your neck in credit card debt. But for most it doesn’t have to be like that.
The first thing to remember is that you’re not alone. Millions of Americans are in similar situations. Indeed, Fitch Ratings reported Friday that 4.18 percent of all credit cards are at least 60 days overdue, while 5.53 percent are 30 days late. You don’t have to be ashamed. You don’t have to feel helpless. You don’t have to give up hope of regaining control.
2. Time to Stop Being
Going out to eat can be awfully expensive, especially if you have kids. If you’re like me, you love to save, and since you’re on a coupon site right now, I wanted to give you some great tips on how you can save some killer money, no matter where you eat out. I wanted to give you some cool pointers that I use that allow me to save a ton of money!
#1 – Kids Eat Free
There are countless restaurants out there that allow your kids to eat free. If you have children that are 12, and under, I always recommend that you head out to a place that allows you to have your kids to eat for free. Do a
Does it matter to you what your credit card looks like? It must matter to some, because many credit card companies go to great lengths to design their cards. Chase recently made a subtle change to its Slate(SM) with Blueprint card–they turned it vertical and added the Visa logo.
The terms of the card haven’t changed. It’s still a top pick if you are looking for a no annual fee card with a solid 0% introductory rate offer. But the question is whether the new design will be a marketing boon or bust. Your
My wife and I are considering relocating to be nearer to her family. That means a lot of work for us in the near future, including prepping our house for the market, selling our house, and searching for a new home.
I’ve never gone house hunting before and so far I feel somewhat overwhelmed with information. Very quickly I discovered the need to eliminate as many options as possible so we can more easily narrow our search. One of the first criteria is location, and in our case, that means relatively close to her family and in an area with good school districts and a little land. The next two major criteria are home size and price. W
Credit Card Regulation Failing?
The Credit CARD Act of 2009 has some simple objectives. For example, according the White House’s website, the legislation:
- Bans Unfair Rate Increases
- Prevents Unfair Fee Traps
But today’s Wall Street Journal raises real questions about whether this latest wave of credit card regulation has seriously prevented card issuers from gouging customers, even in these two respects.
Credit Card Companies “Outflank Law?”
Take credit card rates. The new law says that credit card companies can raise them only in exceptional circumstances. But at least one card issuer has issued an ultimatum to some of its customers–waive your rights so we can raise your rates or we’ll more than double your monthly minimum payments.
Another of the credit card companies circumvented fee restrictions by hiking rates before the act came into force. Those who are late paying or who exceed their limits now pay penalty fees that are lower than before, but they don’t receive the rate “refund” that they would have received had they not breached their credit card terms. To mangle Shakespeare, “That which we call a fee by any other name would stink as high.”
A third issuer has also been clever in manipulating its credit card terms. It charges a $95 “processing fee” before a credit card is even issued, thus avoiding the law’s restrictions on how much they can charge in fees during the first year after an account has been opened.
Business Credit Cards to Remain Unregulated?
Tuesday’s BusinessWeek discussed a new report from the Federal Reserve that argues that business credit cards should remain unregulated. The Fed says that credit card companies:
…have more difficulty assessing the creditworthiness of small businesses than consumers. Therefore, the willingness of issuers to extend the relatively large credit card lines that small businesses require may depend importantly on issuers’ ability to adjust prices in the future, as they learn through experience about businesses’ ability and willingness to pay. Restricting the ability of card issuers to adjust interest rates may lead to higher initial interest rates, which would harm those firms that borrow on small business credit cards.
That sounds convincing until you remember that Bank of America announced April 1 that it was voluntarily extending the protections offered by the Credit CARD Act to its business customers. Are we supposed to believe that BoA is subject to different economic laws from the rest?
Credit Card Rewards Offers–Two Hot Tips
Today’s Chicago Tribune contains advice for those who are looking out for great credit card rewards deals. The article is particularly keen on the Chase Freedom Card, which has no annual fee, pays a full one percent cash-back on every purchase, and can pay up to five percent cash-back on some defined goods and services.
The writer also mentioned–but was less keen on–the Discover® More® Card. It’s true that the Chase product can suit some lifestyles better but the Discover card could be a winner for the right person. Check it out.
Most popular / best credit cards according to IndexCreditCards.com visitors:
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1. Discover® More Card – 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months & 6 months on purchases, 5% cashback bonus in popular categories, up to 1% cashback bonus on all other purchases
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2. Chase Freedom Card – 0% Intro APR and no Annual Fee, 5% bonus cash back in popular categories , 1% cash bank on everything else
- 3. Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® – 0% on purchases & balance transfers for Up to 18 months, APR as low as 9.99% variable. $30 statement credit.
- 4. Blue Cash® from American Express – Earn up to 5% cash back on gas, groceries and drug store purchases, and up to 1.5% back on all other purchases, no annual fee, fast approval under 60 seconds
- 5. Slate SM from Chase – 0% Intro APR, Now with Blueprint, patented fraud protection
- 6. American Express® Gold Card – 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards bonus points when you use the card for at least $500 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- 7. TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco & American Express – 4% cash back for annual gas purchases up to $6,000, 3% restaurants, 2% travel, 1% everywhere else, 0% APR on purchases for first 6 months
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