4 Easy Ways to Build Your Credit During College
If you’re in college or have recently entered the working world, you know first-hand that your credit score has suddenly become more important than you ever thought it would be. Go to buy a phone, and they will run your credit. Try to rent a nice apartment, and you better have zero flaws on your credit history to get approved. Your credit score will affect every financial move you try to make after college, from small to large purchases. And, if you don’t have an established credit rating, it can be even worse than having poor credit. That’s why all young adults should actively work to establish a great credit score early on. It’s not hard to do; all it takes is a little planning and a few helpful tips. But it won’t happen overnight so you need to get started as soon as possible. Continue reading
5 Steps toward a Stronger Financial Future
By Kim Moore
Learn How to Build a Secure Future for your Family
For the most of us, financial security is a huge priority when it comes to our family. Being able to provide food, shelter and a good life is paramount. There are many things that can stand in the way of a strong financial future, which is why we as moms need to do all we can.
One of the best things you can do is to eliminate any debt that your family has. Debt interest is a huge drain on families’ financial resources. And if you’re still using credit cards – stop. Here are 5 quick tips to help you take back your family’s financial future. Continue reading
How to Juice Up Your Credit Score
By Alex Summers
Your credit score is one of the most important numbers in your financial life. No matter what you think about credit and debt, there’s no shaking the fact that a lot of companies use your credit score to make decisions about you. Everyone knows that banks and credit card companies use your score to decide whether or not to extend credit. A good score means favorable rates and access to the best credit cards. A bad score means high down payments, higher rates, and limited access, if any, to credit cards that aren’t as good. What you might not know is that landlords, cell phone companies, and utility companies also use your score to make decisions. Landlords decide who to rent to based on credit scores because it’s a sign of your risk. Cell phone companies, who give out free phones for long term contracts, want to make sure you meet your obligations and continue paying during that contract. Having a good score is more important than you might have expected.
So how do you improve it? Continue reading
Credit Utilization Ratio and Your Credit Cards
What is a Credit Utilization Ratio?
When it comes to your credit score, we all know that things like your account and payment history are factored in. However there is one important component that most people aren’t even aware of – your “credit utilization ratio”.
In a nutshell, it is the percentage of available credit which you are using. Here’s an example:
- Your credit card has a limit of $10,000.
- Your current balance is $1,000.
In other words, out of $10,000 in available credit you are using $1,000. That equals 10% which is your credit utilization rate for this account.
How does it affect your score?
On FICO’s website, there is a good breakdown of what’s in your FICO score. You will see the “amounts owed” category makes up 30% of your score. If you scroll down you will see these two things listed under that category:
- Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limits on certain types of revolving accounts)
- Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing (proportion of balance to original loan amount on certain types of installment loans)
To put that in layman’s terms, revolving accounts are credit cards. Installment accounts are loans where you pay a fixed amount each month (think mortgage, car loan etc.). So as you see, both types are taken into account when determining your score. Continue reading
10 Ways To Ensure Online Credit Card Security
Shopping has never been this convenient… with the Internet boom and just a few mouse clicks, you can preview all the information you need to decide whether you’re going to make a purchase.
Are you looking for the latest novel by your favorite author? Just log on to Amazon
The other side of the equation
Shopping online may be fun and fast, but it does have its downside as well. One very distinct disadvantage to placing orders with online stores is that you don’t get to physically inspect the product you’re buying. Unlike walking into a real store, you have to trust the seller’s word that what you paid for will be exactly what you will get once it is shipped.
Another pressing issue to making online purchases is the danger of credit card fraud and identity theft. Buying stuff online means going through a paperless transaction. All you have to do to pay for your purchase is to enter your personal information and credit card details. These are highly sensitive details that can be used improperly by those who know their way around the Internet better than most of us.
There is big money to be made from online shopping, especially those that are paid for through credit cards. In the UK alone, an estimated 6.4 billion British pounds have been spent for online credit card purchases in the past year. There are a variety of benefits built into credit cards these days like No Annual Fee Cards, Low Interest Cards, and cards with travel rewards to help you earn free plane tickets.
This certainly means that a lot of people are using their credit cards to pay for products and services online, but not all of them are aware of the intrinsic dangers Continue reading
Reward Points: The Best Credit Cards with Family Friendly Prizes
ABC’s Good Morning America has reported that 40 to 45 percent of all existing credit cards are now connected to a rewards program. These cards are offering consumers of all ages great rewards that meet their lifestyles. Those consumers include families with kids of all ages.
If your family hasn’t been utilizing rewards credit cards, now is a great time to start. Here is a breakdown of the types of rewards that are available with these cards and how they are benefiting families like your own:
Cash Back Cards
Cash back is a great option for parents who are looking to earn some extra money for Christmas or birthdays. With cash back rewards cards, you accrue cash back based on a percentage of the purchases you make with your credit card.
Typically, families earn 1% cash back. However, some cards offer promotional periods where purchases at certain merchant categories (like gas, hardware stores, restaurants and grocery stores) earn a higher percentage of cash back.
Gift Cards
Many rewards programs allow their cardholders to redeem rewards points toward gift cards. Gift card options range from restaurants to clothing stores to toy stores. There is typically a big variety in the options and they are for popular chains that you can find throughout the U.S. For instance, you can use an American Express rewards card to get a free Lowes Gift card. There is no limit to the number of points you can earn with an American Express Lowe’s credit card.
Gift cards are a great option for families as it provides you the opportunity to share the reward with the entire family. They also can be used for gifts; especially for teens who are looking for independence and like to go shopping on their own.
Entertainment Merchandise
Rewards program merchandise has come a long way. People often associate the merchandise rewards with cheap toasters and coffeemakers. But nowadays, there are options that are sure to please the entire family, from baby to grandpa.
Entertainment merchandise options typically include video games, movies and music. Each category has a large selection with options that are appropriate for different ages and interests. This is a great way for your kids to try out a new type of game or genre of music without having to drain their (or your!) savings.
Travel
Traveling with kids can be expensive; especially when you’re trying to fly the entire family across country or needing to stay in a hotel for a week. Thankfully, rewards programs often include travel rewards as an option.
With travel rewards, cardholders use their points to redeem for airfare, hotel rooms or rental cars. If you don’t have enough points to cover the entire purchase, you’re often able to apply the points you have available to the overall cost of the trip. This reduces your out-of-pocket cost making that trip to Disneyland more affordable.
Experiences
The last category that we’re now seeing with rewards credit card programs is experience rewards. These are classes or activities that you can do as a family. Popular experiences that are available through these programs include cooking classes, rock climbing classes, surfing classes, paintball, offroading in a Land Rover and whitewater rafting.
Experience rewards are a great way to treat your family to a fun stay-cation experience, or to take your upcoming vacation to the next level.
If you have been researching rewards credit cards, you’ve probably noticed that there is a big variety of cards to choose from. If the choices are making you overwhelmed, you may want to look into a Chase Freedom or Chase Sapphire card.
Both of these cards allow cardholders to choose the type of rewards they redeem their points for; this is great for families who don’t want to get strapped into always utilizing their rewards points toward travel or cash back. Others have recognized the value of these Chase credit cards, as demonstrated by Chase Freedom being named “Best Overall Card” by CBS MoneyWatch for 2011.
Stephanie Phillips is a social media advocate with the credit card comparison website, CreditDonkey.
Consumer Credit Counseling
Being in debt causes life to be more stressful and less enjoyable . By the time most people see the error of their ways, they’re already in so much debt that it will take them many years to get out of it. Fortunately, there are options that can help you get your debts paid off more quickly. Here is some borrowing advice to help you.
Two of those options are credit counseling and getting a debt consolidation loan. With credit counseling, a third party negotiates lower payments and interest rates for you. You then start making one monthly payment to the credit counselor, and he forwards the monthly payments to your creditors on your behalf. With a debt consolidation loan, you simply take out a loan, use the proceeds to pay off your existent debts, and then repay the loan.
Either of these approaches can help you reapy your debts . Which one is best for you depends on your individual circumstances. Here are some pros and cons of credit counseling versus debt consolidation loans to consider. Continue reading
What is a Credit Card Balance Fee?
Balance transfers are one of the most sophisticated ways of saving money on a credit card. They do come with a number of catches that have to be borne in mind and these include balance transfer fees.
A balance transfer offer is when it is possible to get a lower interest rate on the balance that is transferred from another credit card than the credit card interest rate. Sometimes a fee is charged on a balance transfer offer. This is known as the balance transfer fee. It is most often worked out as a percentage of the balance that is transferred on to the credit card.
Banks and other credit card issuers spend a lot of money selling credit cards. A balance transfer offer makes sense as this can be lower than the marketing and advertising costs, and the credit card company can share some of the savings with future consumers. In most cases a balance transfer offer is only available when a credit card user does not have an account already with the issuer. Continue reading
Credit Cards
There are many differing opinions about credit cards, especially among Christians. My husband and I have had credit cards all of our fifteen years of marriage. We made the commitment that we would always pay off the entire bill when we received it. We made a few rare exceptions to this but only with careful planning before we made the charge. For example, a couple of years ago we needed a “new” car. It was an uplanned purchase since we expected to keep our then-current vehicle for a couple more years. We figured out how much we could afford to spend, how long we could pay finance charges, and when we could repay the entire credit card debt. I believe that we only paid two months’ finance charges. Continue reading
