4 Tips to Credit Card Usage

While some people prefer buying on cash, there are advantages also to buying things on credit. Owning a credit card is a privilege and a responsibility and happy are those who know the art and science of managing it well. This article offers some tips to safeguard your credit standing and how to maintain a good business relations with your bank or credit card provider.

Just to show you that you can use a credit card to your advantage, let me tell you about my friend who owns a travel agency. Because of his good standing, he was able to secure a credit limit equal to flying a family of 5 to 10 members to overseas countries. He managed it well, paid well, earned the credibility and trust of his credit card provider, enabling him to have a high credit limit which he now uses to finance his business activities and operations.

Enroll in online banking

This is a good thing to do so as to readily see your transactions and credit card balance at any time you like. Aside from this, you can record expenditures in excel or word document or a notebook for there are times that a bank's website has to do maintenance or is down for some time. There was a time that I could not login to my online account for days due to the site's problem and I paid an over credit limit fee for not being able to know the updates of my expenditures. I tried asking for a reversal but it was not approved.

Always pay on time

Keep in mind your due date and pay on time. If possible pay in full to refrain from being charged by the bank. In spending, stay within your bounds or paying power. If you are able to pay 300 USD per month, then try to limit your spending within or less that amount. Wait till the cut off period before buying things on credit again.

Use of other payment channels

If you intend to pay on other channels or banking institutions other than your bank, pay 2-3 days ahead of the due date to have allowance for delayed posting. While your primary bank will post the payment on real-time, this is not the case with second or third party channels.

Decide on your card type

With the many services and consumer goods we have, some banks have come up with different credit cards also. There is the visa, master card, platinum, gold etc. and there are cards specialized for health care, travel or groceries only. Decide which card type is best for you depending on your needs. Credit cards have different membership fees too but the first year usually is free of charge.

To avoid from paying charges, read on the rules or terms of agreement. The more you know, the better you will be able to handle your finances.

Credit Card Score - How to Improve Yours

Your credit card score is an important rating and affects your credibility when you want to apply for a loan. So if you have a credit card, and have missed a couple of payments, it is probably time to get to work on your credit score.

Here are some simple tips to help you improve your score:

• Find out your credit score: The first step towards improving your score is to find out what it is. You can check with your credit card company and ask them to provide a transcript. You can even ask for an annual free copy from your local credit bureau. This will give you a baseline and will tell you where to start. If your credit score is less than 620, you should begin with your efforts.

 

• Piggyback on someone with a high credit score: If someone in your family has a high credit score, you can ask them to add you as an authorized user on their credit card. When they have a strong credit history, you will automatically start reaping the benefits. This could also be an opportunity to learn from them about healthy credit practices.

 

• Keep records: Studies have shown that almost 79% of credit history reports have some errors. This means it is likely that yours could have errors too. So maintain a history of all the payments you have made. If you have defaulted anywhere, make a note for comparison later on. This can help you correct any faults, should any occur.

 

• Automate your payments: Most people have their credit scores destroyed when they get late on their payments. This is considered a default. So to avoid making late payments, you could automate them. Leave standing instructions with your banking account to pay your bills on a set date every month. Most bank accounts let you do that, so automating the payments should not be a complicated task.

 

• Pay several times a month: If you are among those who use their credit cards rigorously and charge the card close to its limit often, your credit score is bound to go down. The solution for this is to pay off your credit card bills in small installments. As soon as you think you may reach the upper limit, quickly make some payment so that you do not cross it. You can make the full payment at a later, more convenient date. Try to at least pay the minimum amount due as soon as possible.

 

• Concentrate on the card that's closer to its limit: This way to improve credit card score is only for those who have several credit cards with them. In such cases, you should first pay off the bills of the cards that are closer to their limits. However, this does not mean that you can ignore the cards that are not close to their limits. You should be paying off all your bills, if you want to improve your credit card score. Missing out on a single payment could bump your score way down.

Knowing More About Credit Card Processing Machines

Businesses cannot survive without the ability to process credit card payments. Although the process of completing a credit card payment takes only a few seconds, the process is overwhelmingly complex, as there are a multiple number of parties and processes that may be involved.

If you are a merchant, you may not need an in-depth understanding of the process, but a knowledge of the principles and the parties involved may help to clarify how, and where the fees that you are charged originate. On the surface, the process that takes a few seconds, may appear to be simple, but it depends almost entirely on the credit card processing machines to initiate the process. Knowing more about the types of available of credit card processing machines, may help you to make an appropriate choice that will apply to the type of business, and the manner in which it is operated.

Although they may be slowly headed toward obsolescence, dial up terminals are still in use in payment processing. The machines are an inexpensive option, as they are simple to operate. Communication and data transmission is done via telephone lines that connect the machine to the credit card processor. Despite the simplicity that is offered, these machines also present disadvantages that are difficult to overcome in today's fast moving world of instant communication. The major disadvantage is the length of time that is needed to complete the payment process. Dial up terminals can take up to 10 times longer than other types, and they are slowly being replaced by other types.

One type of payment mode that will displace the earlier models, is the use of wireless credit card processing machines. These machines use the 802.11 wireless communication protocols, which are the same technology used by cell phone service providers. Although they may be more costly at this point, wireless standards continue to progress, with the advantage of providing much faster processing speeds that are now necessary. The biggest benefit is that these machines can be used anywhere, and at anytime, without being tethered to anything else.

Some terminals connect to credit card payment processors with high speed Internet connection. They are an upgrade from the dial-up models, and with the use of Internet Protocol, they can be considerably faster than the dial-up models. As bandwidth costs continue to decline, the IP terminal may become more commonplace as more bandwidth offers the ability to support multiple credit card processing machines.

A virtual terminal can also be a suitable alternative. A virtual terminal is not really a terminal, but actually software that runs on your computer. The software processes the credit card payments, while the computer is attached to the card reader. Depending on the type of your business, this type of machine may present more disadvantages that make them unsuitable for your purpose. However, they can present several advantages, such as better control for the handling of recurring billing, and easy access to customer records, as well as compliance to PCI DSS. For a smaller business, it is easier to integrate payment methods with customer contact information, so that customers can be alerted with email messaging.

How To Manage Your Credit Card Balance

It is very useful to have a credit card because it gives you quick access to money when you need it. The problem is that you might just go crazy spending money on it and be left with a large balance to deal with. The best thing to do would obviously be to pay off the outstanding amount without any delay. However, this isn't always possible, in which case you will have to pay penalties at a very hefty rate of interest. The simplest (and cheapest) way of dealing with this issue is by doing a balance transfer to a new card that offers you a lower rate of interest.

You'll be quite surprised to find out that it is very easy to transfer your card balance to another card. You do need to look around for a list of cards that offer:

1. Low rates of interest on the balance
2. Zero percent balance transfer fee (or at least a very low rate)
3. Interest free period
4. Loyalty points, discount coupons or any other incentive

Interestingly, there are quite a few card companies that offer attractive introductory rates in order to draw in new customers. They will generally give you a new card without any hesitation because they are eager to do business. As a matter of fact, this is a well established practice in the finance industry to offer an attractive credit card balance transfer offer.

You need to be very careful about using this technique of dealing with your outstanding credit card balance. For starters, you need to use a credit card balance transfer calculator to understand whether the shift will be beneficial for you or not. Even so, you should be careful because this can give you a false sense of security regarding your ability to manage your finances.

Most money managers will tell you that you should work towards paying off your credit card debt instead of maintaining it because you will eventually have to pay for it at a higher rate of interest. For instance, if you have enjoyed zero percent interest for a certain period then you will likely have to pay a very high rate once the initial interest holiday is over. The total amount of money you pay in interest can work out to be very high. Even so, you need to think about managing your credit card balance well in case you are facing a cash crunch.

Consolidating and Eliminating Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt can handcuff you. You need to make some home improvements but you cannot purchase the materials because you are at or over your credit card limits. You need to take a trip somewhere but you cannot purchase the airline tickets or reserve the hotel.

You find yourself staring at a mountain of credit card debt and you do not think you will ever get around it. But you do have some options even if your credit rating is poor.

Debt Consolidation

One of the problems with having a lot of credit card debt is that ever credit card requires you to make a monthly payment. Miss one payment and the interest rate gets jacked up and you incur more debt as the fees increase.

You can consolidate all of the credit card payments into a single payment through the use of a debt consolidation loan. You take the money from the debt consolidation loan to pay off all of your credit card balances. You are left with one loan and one payment each month.

But I Have Bad Credit

It was not that long ago that a bad credit rating would have prevented you from obtaining a personal loan. But then we went through the crazy real estate period where anyone could get a mortgage and buy an overpriced home.

We all know what happened next; financial industry collapse. All those high mortgages written on overpriced homes purchased by people who should never have been able to afford either suddenly disappeared. Some were too big to fail but the rest of us just got financially beaten up.

Now traditional lenders are not lending to even grade A credit people. But there are not many of them around since the credit collapse hit them even if they had not taken out a huge mortgage.

Result: those of us with poor credit are locked out of the credit market. But that is not entirely true. We only are locked out of the traditional credit market.

New Lenders to the Rescue

Where there is a sufficient demand, suppliers will emerge. This is true in the world of loans to people with bad credit.

Use your favorite search engine and look for the term "debt consolidation." You will see that there are thousands of web links to companies offering loans to people with bad credit.

This new breed of lender specializes in debt consolidation loans. They know these loans are being used to pay off credit card debt. They know that when the credit card debt is paid off that the credit rating will automatically improve.

Do not confuse these lenders with payday loan lenders. Payday loans are extremely high interest rate loans that are designed to be paid off in a matter of weeks, not years. These loans can come with annual interest rates of 100 percent or higher.

What Should I Do?

Just like any purchase or financial decision, you must do your research. How much do you need to pay off your credit card debt? What is your current debt-to-income ratio (e.g., how much can you afford per month for loan repayment)? Can you get a cosigner for the loan?

Once you know how much you need and how much you can afford, you need to research the lenders. Always be prepared for scam artists out to get your money and your personal information. It is illegal for a lender to charge a fee to guarantee a loan acceptance.

Once you have a short list of lenders, research their reputations. Check with the Better Business Bureau. Check their individual terms and conditions.

Once you have selected the lender, make the strongest application possible. Obtain your debt consolidation loan. Pay off your credit cards and keep them paid off. Watch your credit score rise and stop worrying about the next financial crisis.

Best Way To Consolidate Payday Loans And Cash Store Loans

If you regularly rely on payday loans to help you cover important life expenses, odds are, you also have a bit of debt to deal with as well. This is because these products can be very costly and most of the people who use them are already living in a very hand to mouth fashion. Even when their next paychecks arrive, many consumers do not have extra funds left over to restore the funds that they have borrowed. Luckily, you can find a range of offers that will help you to centralize your debt from many different lending institutions. This way, you can tackle one bill each month, rather than having to may money to numerous different entities. Following are a few tips that will help you get optimal benefits from the consolidation process.

Know your goals. It is important to have a clear understanding of what you hope to accomplish with this process. Some consumers simply want to have the ability to qualify for new payday loan offers. Others, however, want to make long-term improvements to their credit scores. They are seeking products that will help them to eliminate debt and educational resources that will help them avoid similar problems in the future. Different products are structured to meet different needs and goals.

Understand how different offers will impact your consumer credit profile over the long term. In some instance, the companies that offer to centralize these bills will also work to negotiate lower settlement amounts for their clients. This allows consumers to pay a lot less by reducing some of the associated interest and fees. Taking these offers, however, may not have the best benefits for your consumer credit score.

Compare the benefits that are provided by several different companies before picking one to deal with. Never assume that all offers and lenders are exactly alike. One product can be very different from the next. Thus, even though you may not have found an offer that appeals to you, this does not mean that there isn't one out there. Take some time to scout the web for different companies that provide this assistance. Use comparison sites to know more about the value of the offers they are making and compare their programs to your actual needs and ability to repay.

Look for providers that offer educational resources also. Developing responsible borrowing habits is vital, especially if you want to maintain the improvements that you gain from these processes. Statistics show that most people who do not receive financial counseling when using debt consolidation products tend to repeat their same mistakes. Although they are able to pay down their accumulated bills, it will only be a matter of time before they are again experiencing the same problems. Taking the time to learn better money management strategies will help you to make lasting improvements in your consumer credit score and in your level of overall financial stability.

Start looking for alternative ways to bolster yourself against hardship. With better spending and saving strategies, you may be able to avoid future payday loans. These products can be highly beneficial for consumers given their ease of use and accessibility, but they should only be used for emergencies. Once you have accumulated a considerable amount of this type of debt, it is generally wise to start learning more about the other financial options that exist. This way, you can try to resolve urgent money matters without collecting extensive fees and paying higher than average interest rates.

Check around for lenders that offer extended repayment periods, in case you ever need to secure another cash advance in the future. If you ever again need to use cash advance loans as a way to ward off a cash flow crisis, you want to be sure that you can restore the resulting funds before the account goes delinquent. By better studying the products that are out there, it becomes much easier to lock into payment terms and features that are right for you. After consolidating your bills, you do not want to create a lot of new ones and cause your financial situation to again spiral out of control.

Avoid making official commitments to any consolidation process until you have learned all about the pros and cons of doing so. Although payday loans are easy to get, they are not always easy for consumers to pay down.

Learning more about the programs and products that exist for helping consumers manage this debt is a great way to start putting your financial back on track. With the addition of quality educational resources, you can improve your credit score and reclaim your purchasing power.

Key Benefits Of Instant Payday Loans

There are many individuals who take loans in order to meet their specific requirements but they are provided these loans on certain terms and conditions and on a specific rate of interest. They are also required to pay back these loans within a certain period of time. But sometimes the situations are so worse that they are not able to collect the amount to be paid at the payday. It is this situation when payday loans come into play. These are instant short term loans which are provided to the individuals whenever they need it. There are various financial institutions that provide these types of instant loans to the needy people. The individuals can also get payday loans online which makes the process easier and less complicated. There are various benefits of getting cash advances online. Some of them are further discussed in the article.

You are not required to wait

In order to get cash advances from a financial institution, the individuals have to visit their offices and submit their application. This requires a lot of time as you will have to meet the financial executives of the company to fulfill the formalities. Going online provides you an opportunity to collect all the details regarding the loan and apply online. You just need to visit the official website of the company from which you wish to take a loan. This prevents you from standing in queues for hours and allows you to apply for a loan from the comfort of your home.

Access to wide range of rates

Going online also provides you an opportunity to browse the various companies offering paydays loans. This provides you an opportunity to compare the rate offered by different companies and select the best one that suits your budget. Different companies offer online payday loans at different rates in order to attract more customers and beat the competition. You just need to do an in-depth research in order to get in touch with a company that offers the best rates in the market.

Get instant payday loans

Seeking payday loans is an easy process and you can get it instantly. All you need to do is to go through the details of the application thoroughly and collect all the required documents. Providing all the required details and documents within time will help you in getting the loan approved and the cash credited to your bank account immediately. In most of the cases the approval is quick and it is due to the fact that the process is very simple.

Payday loans have provided an opportunity to the individuals to meet their expenses and pay of their loans with ease and comfort. In order to get an instant approval for cash advances, the individual seeking the loan should be of 18 years. You should also hold the citizenship of the country where you are seeking the loan. You should also have a regular employment and savings account in order to get qualified for cash advances online. So, these are some essential requirements which should be fulfilled by you in order to get a payday loan easily.

Payday Loans: Learn Your Rights and Responsibilities

Payday loans are a convenient way to quickly acquire needed cash however it is important to educate yourself about your rights and responsibilities before you apply for a payday advance loan. During the repayment period it's also important to understand your responsibilities and the difference between collection and harassment from the loan provider.

Advance payday loans usually allow a person to borrow between one hundred and one thousand dollars unsecured upon the agreement you will repay the loan in lump sums usually direct debited from the borrowers' bank account. Advance payday loans are easy to apply for; where a person only needs to fill out an application online, provide bank details, photo identification and confirm all information in the application is correct with the loan lender.

Your responsibilities about repayment

Once you have reached the repayment period you must repay the loan and the agreed fees or interest of the loan, usually this is by agreed direct debit. If you do not repay the loan amount the lender has the right to contact the person to arrange repayment. Should a direct debit fail or the borrower has unauthorized the direct debit not only can the individual incur fees by their bank but also be in breach of their original loan agreement.

Your rights about repayment

If you have agreed to a payday loan contract you have the right to enquire about a reduced repayment method should you not be able to meet the agreed repayment loan amount. A lender can contact an individual about repayment however lenders must not contact the borrower more than three times a week, must not frighten or make threats towards the borrower. Should this incur the individual has the legal right to report the lender for harassment. A lender can also only contact borrower's between reasonable hours, usually business hours.

What can happen if you refuse to repay an advanced loan

If for any reason a borrower fails or refuses to repay an advanced loan a lender has the right to take the matter to small claims court if a repayment cannot be agreed upon. If the lender takes the matter to small claims the borrower may also be responsible for the lenders legal fees, however in some circumstances the lender may not take the borrower to court if the loan amount is small. If the original loan agreement was for an unsecured loan the lender cannot reposes items such as furniture, protected items under the law, however if the borrower has reliable income the court may garnish wages until the loan amount if repaid in full. If the borrower is not working and reliant upon welfare a court will not force a borrower to sacrifice welfare income as welfare is strictly for living expenses only does not cover debt repayment. If you are reliant upon welfare you can refuse to repay the loan until you are receiving a working income.

Responsibilities of the lender

A lender is responsible to make the terms of the loan agreement clear to the borrower as well as post any legal warnings on the website which can be accessed before applying for a loan. In Australia lender's must include an FTC warning about borrowing disclaimer on the website. When applying for a loan, explore you are applying with a responsible lender that provides a warning about borrowing FTC legislated statement on the website.

In conclusion

As a potential borrower it is you must aware of the responsibilities and legal obligations you're obliged to uphold when applying for an advanced payday loan. It is also in the borrowers best interest to educate themselves about their rights to report harassment or any irresponsible behavior on the lenders behalf.

How To Make Payday Loans Work For You Better

We are all facing some sort of money problems. In life, this is a real situation that bothers families. However there are also some solutions for such dilemmas. If you could only find the best source of assistance, you can solve your problems. Apparently, one can easily apply for a payday loan. This way, it would be easier to cover any payment dues or existing debts. If you are interested in getting a loan, then you should read on. Here we will give you a few tips on how you can manage your money. At the same time, we will provide you some guides on getting a payday loan. It is quite easy to avail one these days.

One way to make your budget fit is to save money. There are people with minimal salary earnings. This is not a problem as long as you know how to manage your money. At the same time, it is best that you know the possible sources of help when a crisis comes along. For one, you should not spend money on things that are not important. Set aside funds for any of your utilities. You should also have money for food, shelter and health expenses. This way, any savings you will have will be used for emergencies. On the other hand, it is not good to use a credit card for simple purchases. You just have to use it during critical times. A credit card account can help but if it is used wisely.

Now, if you wish to avail of a payday loan, you can find them online. It is quite easy to search for them with online companies. There are things you need to consider however. The first one is to check the feedback of the company. If it has many positive ones, then you can rely on it. Second, it is best if the company offers multiple features. You should get a package from them so they can attend to your needs. They should have multiple promos that will fit your lifestyle. You can avail of a minimum loan amount to a business type loan. Lastly, it is best that you could contact them anytime. For any concerns that you may have you should be able to get in touch with them.

Managing your payday loan is easy too. If you have submitted all the requirements, then you will get approved soon. But you should also be able to pay for the loan. In this case, you should allocate some amount every month to cover the dues. You should also pay in full so that no interest rates will be applied. As you know, the loan interest could expend if the dues are not paid. In this case, you should always strive to pay the full amount. Also, it is best if you could talk to a loan agent to help you. If you have sufficient funds, you could cover more loan amounts. This way, you will only need to pay minimally every month.

Make sure to always read the company's terms and agreement before applying for a loan. A lot of people make the mistake of applying for a loan only to find out that there are certain terms that does not fit to their liking. Computing the interest rates is also one important thing to take into account to determine if you are able to pay it or not. Do not be hesitant or embarrassed if you want to discuss this with their financial consultant. It's better to be transparent and to know each and every detail even if it's just a payday loan to avoid mistakes in the future.

Payday Loans - Your Rights and Responsibilities

Payday loans are known as a quick and simple way to access emergency cash. But do you know your rights and responsibilities as the borrower of a short term cash advance? It is important you educate yourself and understand your responsibilities as a borrower before you finalise any loan.

There seem to be more and more tales of people being harassed by bad lenders for money. Be careful which lender you chose to borrow from. There is a huge difference between legitimate money collection and harassment by a lender.

Payday loans are short term loans which allow individuals to borrow money until their next pay day. The borrower agrees to pay back the sum borrowed, in full, plus interest when their next wage arrives in the bank. Loan repayments are debited from the borrowers account on the agreed date.

It may sound simple but your main responsibility is to pay back your short term loan on the date agreed. If you do not repay your loan on the agreed date, your lender has the right to contact you and arrange for repayment. If a payment fails, you as the borrower would be liable for additional charges and interest on your loan because you will be in breach of the original loan agreement.

If you think you are going to be struggling to repay the full amount, do not leave it unresolved, this can prove to be extremely costly in the long run. Much better to contact your lender and en-quire about a reduced payment until you can clear the remaining amount. Responsible lenders will do everything they can to help you stay in control and provide you with repayment options should you need them.

A lender is entitled to contact you about repayment of a loan, however, they are not permitted to contact you more than three times per week or during unsociable or unreasonable times, and they must not be intimidating or threatening in any way - this is regarded as harassment and you are entitled to report the lender if you receive this kind of treatment. Good lenders will call you, send you an email or letter and you will only hear from them during business hours, Monday to Friday.

In some extreme cases, if a borrower refuses to agree a repayment plan and does not repay the loan, the amount can become a matter for court. When this happens, interest is still applied and court judgements can seriously affect your credit rating. When you are struggling to repay a loan, try to arrange a payment plan and avoid a court judgement.

Difficulties can arise for any of us at any time. The biggest reason people struggle to repay their creditors is loss of employment. If you lose your job and are on benefit then you should get professional advice immediately about dealing with your debts until you are working again and have a regular income once more.

Responsible lenders will always make their terms and conditions clear prior to a loan agreement being finalized. They will also clearly give you a breakdown of the cost of your loan, the interest charges and any fees associated with it. You should also be told exactly what you will be charged if your loan repayment defaults or is late.

If you are considering a loan, whether short term or otherwise you should always make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities. In addition it is vital you are aware of the agreement you will be entering in to with your lender. Making sure you are borrowing from a reputable, responsible lender will help you to borrow with peace of mind.

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