Falcon Academy

Posts Tagged ‘credit cards’

Do you find that keeping control of your finances is becoming increasingly difficult?

In today’s society, advertisements bombard us with offers which encourage us to Spend! Spend! Spend! With promises such as-

“Easy Credit!”

“Pre-approved loans!”
“3 years interest-free credit!”
“Free gift when you apply!”

To most people this can all seem rather tempting, given the current “live for today” attitude. But too much can be spent on luxuries, leaving not enough to pay the bills.

Certain kinds of debt may be appropriate, such as a mortgage or a car. Many people, however, try to buy more than they can afford. Indeed, banks and businesses encourage us to do so.

Credit cards can be too easy to obtain yet too difficult to maintain, especially when people find themselves borrowing from one card to pay off another.

Credit may even be advertised as free – but we still have to pay in the end.
Many families can loose up to £1,000 a year in instalment debts, resulting in a drop in their future standard of living. Families often live from payday to payday with little or no savings for emergencies.

In America personal bankruptcies have doubled in the last 10 years. Most of these people had jobs yet unexpected bills or reductions in pay caused their bankruptcy.

Many economists agree that a global recession is on its way.
British people have over £130 billion of personal debt. It is estimated that, on average, there is £3,000 of debt from credit cards, loans and overdrafts for every adult in the country – and that’s excluding mortgages.

The amount borrowed from credit cards has more than doubled in the past 4 years.

Debt is fine, if you can afford the repayments. But what if you lost your job?

The time to get out of debt is now!

One major benefit of getting out of debt is avoiding interest payments. For instance; if you owe £1,000 on a credit card with an interest rate of 18.9% per year, and you only pay the minimum, say 3% per month, it will take over 13 years to pay it off plus a HUGE £848 in interest.

But if you double your payments to 6% per month, the debt will be gone in less than 5 years and the interest paid will be £292.

Savings can be gained by switching mortgages and if you fix your interest rate for 2 or 3 years then you can rest easy knowing what your repayments will be for the next few years. But make sure your mortgage is flexible so that you can pay off more if you do have some spare money.

Bank loans or hire purchase agreements can be trickier to pay off, as there may be penalties for early repayment. Just stick to the repayments and make sure that you don’t get tempted into any more debt. Remember that covetousness (i.e. desiring what we see) = debt! This is because we often get into debt over what we want, not what we need.

There are warning signs to indicate whether you are heading for financial difficulties. Look at the following list of 10 signals. If any one applies to you then it’s time to take a closer look at your budget. If more than one applies then you could already be in financial difficulty.

• Using a credit card for purchases that you normally pay for with cash.
• Taking out loans to pay off debts.
• Paying only minimum amounts due on credit cards.
• Receiving “overdue” notices.
• Using savings to pay bills.
• Cashing-in or borrowing from, life insurance policies.
• Working overtime to make ends meet.
• Using your overdraught to pay bills
• Juggling debts and only paying the most demanding.
• Obtaining credit card cash advances for day-to-day living expenses.

If you’re seriously worried about your overspending, The Citizen’s Advice Bureau offers free debt information.

Once your debt is under control, you need to think about saving. A standing order straight into your savings account is a good idea as the money goes straight out of your current account every month along with the bills.

Always remember never to get into debt over things that have no long-term impact on your life. For instance, do you really need an upgrade on your computer? Is a new DVD player really such a necessity? And what about a second car? Is it really essential or just an expensive convenience?

Don’t forget to also take a close look at the small things in life. For example, do you really need to go and have a cappuccino every time you pass a coffee shop? And packing a sandwich for work instead of buying one can save you about £40 a month.

But by far the most important thing to do when it comes to personal finance is to keep a constant check on your outgoings. Don’t wait for your bank statement to scare you next time it comes through your door. Remember the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

There are many credit cards that you can get from out there. Credit card is very important if you need emergency money while you are not bringing cash money. There are many credit card issuers that can give you credit cards. Those credit cards are usually offered with simple requirements. You only need to show your ID card and they will process the credit cards. To get the best credit card you need to compare between one credit card and the other. You can simply compare the credit card using comparison tools provided in many websites. One of those websites is Comparecards.com.

The website is able to compare many Credit Cards from various issuers. This website is very reliable in helping you getting the Best Credit Cards. They are also providing you with tips and tricks of getting credit the best cards. In fact, this website is also providing you with several good credit card issuers.

This website is very reliable because they have been helping people like you for several years. Their services are very excellent and the customer services are very friendly. Always open this website if you want to apply for the best credit cards for your daily needs.

1. Interest Backdating
Most card issuers charge interest from the day a charge is posted to your account if you don¹t pay in full monthly. But, some charge interest from the date of purchase, days before they have even paid the store on your behalf!

REMEDY: Find another card issuer, or always pay your bill in full by the due date.

2. Two-Cycle Billing
Issuers which use this method of calculating interest, charge two months worth of interest for the first month you failed to pay off your total balance in full. This issue arises only when you switch from paying in full to carrying a balance from month to month.

REMEDY: Switch issuers or always pay your balance in full.

3. The Right To Setoff
If you have money on deposit at a bank, and also have your credit card there, you may have signed an agreement when you opened the deposit account which permits the bank to take those funds if you become delinquent on your credit card.

REMEDY: Bank at separate institutions, or avoid delinquencies.

4. Fees Are Negotiable
You may be paying up to $50 a year or more as an annual fee on your credit card. You may also be subject to finance charges of over 18%.

REMEDY: If you are a good customer, the bank may be willing to drop the annual fee, and reduce the interest rate ‹ you only have to ask! Otherwise, you can switch issuers to a lower- priced card.

5. Interest Rate Hikes Are Retroactive
If you sign up for a credit card with a low “teaser” rate, such as 7.9%, when the low rate period expires, your existing balance will likely be subject to the regular and substantially higher interest rate.

REMEDY: Pay in full before the rate increase or close the account.

6. Shortened Due Dates
Most card issuers offer a 25 day grace period in which to pay for new purchases
without incurring finance charges. Some banks have shortened the grace period to
20 days‹but only for customers who pay in full monthly.

REMEDY: Ask to go back to 25 days.