Something I’ve said numerous times here is that 0% balance transfers are great if used correctly and extremely dangerous if used improperly, that’s why a post over at Blogging Away Debt, titled 0% Balance Transfers Are The Bait, Understand The Trap is so valuable. It lists three traps that most people may not be aware of when it comes to 0% balance transfer offers.

The first is in the form of fees, often these offers have 3% balance transfer fees that eat into your savings. The second is in the rate after the promotion, some could be higher than what you’re doing now, so do the math to make sure it’s a smart decision. Lastly, don’t fall into the same cycle of debt over and over again. You’re getting a breather, use it to catch up, not fall farther behind.

Do you have a mortgage loan that you can no longer make the minimum payments on? Well, you’re not alone. Have you decided to stop paying your credit cards so that you can make more payments to your mortgage? Well, unfortunately again you are not alone… credit card defaults are up.

The credit rating agency Moody’s told the paper the problem could be due to the property market slowdown and fewer homeowners opting not to refinance their residences.

“The combination of higher interest rates and a softer real estate market diminished the attractiveness of mortgage refinancings in which many borrowers reduced their more expensive credit card debt by drawing on the equity in their home,” Moody’s told the paper.

Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a list of six credit cards giving away a combined $700 in free money after your first purchase. It’s a combination of points (that can be converted to gift cards) and statement credits but it’s an easy $700 to be made if you have a good enough credit history to be accepted.

Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment VII. Carry just what you need.

The Motley Fool recommends that you only carry one or two cards - one for purchases and another for emergencies, and that more than that is overkill. Personally, I carry several cards based on their cash back potential (one for restaurants, one for gasoline, one for everything else) and I recommend that if you have the discipline then you should do the same. The key to using credit cards is to maximize your cash back potential at every opportunity and lower your incidence of mistakes (missing a payment, exceeding your limit).

Source: The Motley Fool

Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment VI. See yourself through others’ eyes.

This tip is another good one, from a general personal finance perspective; review your credit report from the three major reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) and you can get a free report each year because of a federal mandate. Review your report for errors, omissions, and inaccuracies because each one of those will reduce your credit score, which will affect what sort of rates you’ll get on loans - including car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. It’s imperative that you review your report every few months to ensure your credit history is being correctly recorded.

Source: The Motley Fool

There are a lot of spammy, scammy, and downright fraudulent credit history and credit score websites so you should be, by nature, suspicious of every website that offers to give you a free credit report or score. The only credit history website that you should ever remember is AnnualCreditReport because it’s the only one sanctioned (and legally ordered) by the federal government. Once every 12 months, you can get a free credit history report from each of the three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. A great strategy is to stagger the requests so you essentially get your report once every four months.

What you won’t get with that free credit report is your credit score, which is what lenders care about anyway. If you have to get a free credit score, either for your housing application or something else, you’ll have to use a service like FreeCreditReport.com. Now, didn’t I just talk about how there are a lot of spammy, scammy, and fraudulent credit score websites? Well, this one isn’t one of them because it’s run by one of the credit bureaus - Experian.

When you get your free credit score, they sign you up for their Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring program trial of 30 days. Cancel within the first thirty days or they will start billing you $12 a month.

Problem solved!

The Federal Trade Commission halted the operations of EdebitPay on July 30th because they believe that EdebitPay began deducting application and processing fess of $159.95 from their applicants’ bank accounts without authorization. EdebitPay offers a number of prepaid debit and stored value cards under the names Acclaim Visa, Impact Visa, Sterling Visa, VIP Advantage Visa, Vue Visa, Elite Plus MasterCard, Impact MasterCard, Secure Deposit MasterCard, VIP MasterCard, and Vue MasterCard.

If you recently applied for one of these cards, usually through a website that would require you to input bank information, check your account for an unauthorized charge. For more information, here is the full FTC press release.

Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment V. When you get into trouble, stop charging.

This is a great tip… if you can’t make the minimum payments, please please please stop charging to your credit cards (they recommend “stop, drop, and roll” - hence the title of the post) because you’ll only dig yourself into a deeper hole that you’ll have to dig yourself out of later. Stop charging, drop the card, and roll that balance to a lower interest rate (or simply ask for a lower interest rate) so you can stem the bleeding.

Source: The Motley Fool

Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment VIII. Teach your children well.

What a great way to end this series… this is something you should do in every aspect of your life, teach your children responsible credit use so that they won’t make the mistakes you and I probably did in our youth - over spending and living beyond our means. With the direction our society is going in terms of credit (less cash, more credit) it’ll be crucial for our children to know how to use credit cards responsibly.

Source: The Motley Fool

Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment IV. Play the system.

They want you as a customer more than you need them as a creditor so use that to your advantage, ask for a lower interest rate or a fee taken off - they’ll most likely oblige because that fee (or that interest) is nothing in the long run. You make them money when you swipe (they charge the vendor a large chunk of fees) and you make them money when you carry a balance, so they want you to keep making them money - make them pay for that right to be the top card in your wallet or purse.

Source: The Motley Fool