-
Select the Card for You
Select by Type of Card:- Gas Rebate Credit Cards
- Airline Credit Cards
- Balance Transfer Cards
- Business Credit Cards
- Cash Back Credit Cards
- Instant Approval Cards
- Low Interest Credit Cards
- Prepaid & Debit Cards
- Reward Credit Cards
- Student Credit Cards
- Select by Credit History
- Select by Bank
- Friends
- The Consumerist
- Credit Card Watch
-
Recent Reviews
- If you need credit, and fast!
- New Credit Cards rules coming
- Friendly tools to help your New Year’s money resolutions
- Swapping Gift Cards: it’s now possible to get what you really want!
- Reining in Holiday Spending, without breaking the bank
- Credit Room: addressing personal finance issues for women
- Use Less Miles And Fly More Often.
- Election 2008: the day after
- Congratulations Mr. Barack Obama
- Today November 4, 2008: you can make a difference
Top Rated Premium Offers
Discover More Card 
Money spending psychology
In today’s way of living, most people don’t consider charging something to their credit card as having spent the money; they only look at their minimum monthly payment as the way they spend money. To make matters worse they consider the credit cards’ monthly payment a given, just another monthly payment at the same level as the electrical bill, water bill, rent, phone . . . a utility of some sort. This habits leads to the misconception, helped by many years of advertisement, that the sticker price is not as important as the monthly payment.
For instance, take the process of buying a car, car A has a price of $17,000 and can be financed for $390 per month for 48 months (4.74% interest), while car B has a price of $20,000 and can be financed for $331 per month for 72 months (5.99% interest). Most buyer will disregard the price of the car, the interest rate on the loan (interest rate = the price of money), and the length of the loan and look solely at the monthly payment, buying car B because it has a lower monthly payment. In reality Car B will have a much higher TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), since a higher priced car will surely translate into higher costs such as sales tax, excise tax, insurance cost; and generally speaking, higher priced cars have higher maintenance costs, and higher gasoline consumption.
The correct way to look at these transactions, is that once you charge something, or have signed the car loan documentation, you have indeed consummated the transaction; you’ve bought the car or the TV, and now you have a loan servicing agreement with the credit card company or the auto loan lender. Think of it as two separate events: in the first event you were given money in your hands (in exchange for the loan), in the second event, you have turned around that cash and given it to the seller of the car or the seller of the TV. Soon you’ll forget the excitement and novelty of the new car or the new TV, but you are stuck with the loan payments for a very long time.
The “I already paid that off” syndrome. Once you get into the game of revolving balance on your credit cards, whether you transfer from one card to another, or pay it off using a home equity line of credit, is is a condition, that persists until your total consumer debt is back to zero, as in $0.00. That trip that you took 10 years ago, adding to your pre-existing total balance. If you still carry on consumer debt, you haven’t really paid it off, you’ll never pay off. The rule of thumb is this: is your total consumer debt (all debt except your manageable mortgage, manageable car loan, and in some cases – but not all – manageable student loans) decreasing on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis? Numbers don’t lie. If you are playing the trick or robbing Paul to pay Peter, moving balances from one card to another one, charging monthly expenses like grocery or gasoline and then rolling over the balance every month in order to pay that 3 month overdue electrical bill, or if – even worse – you take cash advance to pay your rent or mortgage; stop fooling yourself, you are living beyond your means, and you might be in trouble. Stop fooling yourself, and take action to change things around.
The fist step you can take is to stop adding to your existing credit card debt and consumer debt, this includes bank lines of credits. You’ll need to cut your expense. The secret of cutting your expenses is to eliminate as many expenses as possible: do you really need 300 cable channels? Dinner our is not a necessity, nor is take out food. The other addendum to the secret of cutting your expenses is to curtails those expenses that you could not eliminate. When was the last time you bought generic brands at the grocery store? In a blindfolded test, would you be able to tell the difference between the brand name peanut butter and the store brand? Try the blindfolded test on your significant one or your friends, you might actually like the store brand more, and save 30%-40% in the process. How much do you spend in grocery and food in one month? The typical family of 4 spends between $600 and $900 in grocery, dining out, and take out food (including buying lunch) per month. If you are in financial trouble start brown bagging your lunch, eliminate dining out and take out food, switch from buying prepared food to buying ingredients and cook, switch from brand names to generic; this way most family can cut their “food” budget by a factor of 40%-50%, even more in some cases. Could your family use an extra $5,400 per year?
Take a hard look at the choices you make when it comes to money, are they really YOUR choices, or are you being influenced by externalities like ‘everybody does that’, or advertisment? Regain control of your finances and your life, and free yourself from unnecessary debt and habits. It might be the best present you could ever give yourself or your family.
___________
Sponsored by:
|
|
Photo Credits: LyzaDanger (cc)
November 4, 2008: You’ve got a date!
Why we love Jim Cramer
Besides Jim Cramer’s colorful character, we like his ability to take his vast knowledge of finance and investment, and put it in simple terms that most everyone can understand.
He’s also humble enough to admit when he doesn’t know something, and when he’s wrong.
We also appreciate his transparency in his advice, indeed he manages his charitable trust posting on the web trades and positions according to his own advice.
One of his most colorful statements, that now in retrospect most people see as “right on the money”, is his August 2007 appearance on CNBC where when asked to comment on the Bear Sterns situation he states that “. . . [Bernanke] has no idea how bad things are out there, he has no idea . . .” Watch it for yourself.
Other things you might want to know about Jim Cramer**:
- Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1977, where he was also president of the Harvard Crimson;
- In 1978, while he was working as a journalist for the Tallahassee Democrat, he was one of the first on the scene after serial killer Ted Bundy attacked four women, killing two of them;
- After Tallahassee he worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner as a pot news reporter, covering “basically anyone who died violently in California”. While he was covering a shooting in San Diego for the Examiner, a burglar cleaned out both his home and his checking account. For the next nine months, he lived mostly out of his car;
- In 1984 he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School;
- In 1984 he joined Goldman Sachs as a stock broker;
- After Goldman Sachs he opened his own hedge fund, Cramer & Co. (later Cramer, Berkowitz & Co.), with Eliot Spitzer as one of the early investors;
- In 1996 Cramer co-founded TheStreet.com, where he is still its largest shareholder;
- In the 1990’s he co-hosted the CNBC’s show Kudlow & Cramer with Lawrence Kudlow. Kudlow and Cramer split when Kudlow called Cramer ’sweet potato bull macho’ on the air on October 17, 2002;
- Currently Cramer is the host of the CNBC’s show Mad Money.
___________
Sponsored by:
|
|
Photo Credits: epicharmus (cc)
(**) source: wikipedia
Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction
Warren Buffett once called speculation in Financial Derivatives “Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction” and presently the collapse of the markets for CDO (Collateralized Debt Obligations) is blamed for the present state of the World Financial Market and the main reason why you are dreading checking your 401K statement.
CBS’s 60 minutes has a very interesting segment on the issue, that might shed some light into the matter:
___________
Sponsored by:
|
|
Photo Credits: Ethan Bloch (cc)
Mortgage without surprises
It’s no surprise: house sales are down nationwide, some of the sales are attributable to foreclosures and homes being auctioned. Generally speaking the news is not that great, but on an individual basis, the present economic environment is a great time for some people to finally afford the house of their dreams! Prices are a lot more reasonable than they have been in quite a while, the inventory of houses on the market is high, an the mortgage rates are near historic lows: it’s a buyers’ market.
And if you are in the market to buy a home, we have a simple checklist for you. First you must collect the following information:
- Your yearly gross income;
- Your yearly loan payments that you make (monthly payment x 12), include credit cards, student loans, auto loans, personal loans, and any other obligations you have;
- Asking price of the home that you are looking to buy, I am sure you’ve set your eyes on a few, take the one that you like best;
- Your mortgage payment for that home, using the asking price (if reasonable, or a reasonable market price);
- Real estate tax for your new home;
- Yearly homeowner insurance premium (call your insurance agent for a quick quote).
Now, the time tested calculation is as follows:
- Take your yearly gross income;
- Deduct your yearly commitments. This is your adjusted yearly gross income;
- Multiply your adjusted yearly gross income by 0.28 (or 28%), this is your gross income available for housing;
- Multiply your mortgage payment by 12. This is your yearly mortgage payment;
- Add the real estate taxes;
- Add the homeowner insurance premium; now you have your expected yearly housing expenses.
- Is the amount of your expected housing expenses (point 6 above) lower than your gross income available for housing (point 3 above)? If yes, congratulations, you are on your way to home ownership.
We made a few assumptions on the above exercise:
- You are able to make a 20% down payment on your new home from your existing savings. Buying a home with a lower down payment is a riskier proposition that we advocate only in few selected cases, for individuals who are in complete control of their personal finances. Buying houses with no money down is one of the leading causes of the present financial mess that a lot of inexperienced homeowners find themselves in.
- You are able to pay the closing costs from your existing savings.
- You are applying for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage. 30-year, fixed rate mortgage are the surest and safest bet, many people have gotten into trouble by taking on variable rate mortgages, or - even worse - mortgages with introductory rates (teaser rates).
- You are currently under no other mortgage obligations, therefore you are renting, living with relatives, or other arrangements. If you are leasing, read your lease agreement, you might be responsible for substantial payment penalties in case you break the lease.
- Your commuting expenses will not increase significantly with your move to your new home. If this is the case, deduct your new commuting expenses from your gross income available for housing (point 3).
- You are buying a home and not a condo. If you are buying a condo deduct your condo fees from your gross income available for housing (point 3).
- Your new home is in good overall condition and doesn’t need any major work in the short term such as a new roof, heating system, hot water system, plumbing or electrical system, bathrooms or kitchen. If that’s the case, get an estimate of the work to be done, add that to the price of the home, and re-do your calculations. You can have your lawyer draft an offer and related purchase and sale agreement where the seller makes the work necessary, increasing the selling price accordingly, so that effectively you finance such necessary work with your mortgage, with the associated favorable interest rate and tax treatment.
- After paying for the down payment, closing costs, and moving expenses you will still have at least 6 months worth of living expenses (with the new mortgages) in a savings or money market account. This is one of the basics of sound Personal Finances.
What to do if the above exercise shows that you can’t afford your dream home? There are a few things you can do:
- Search for a lower priced home.
- Search for a home in a different town with a lower tax rate.
- If your target home requires flood insurance, search for a home that is not on a flood plane and does not require flood insurance.
- Make a bigger down payment (if you can afford it).
If all of the above remedies still won’t work: WAIT! Someone recently on TV stated that while home ownership is still part of the American dream, “there’s no shame in renting“. Look at it as a process, curtail your spending to save more money for a larger down payment, get a second job and save the extra income toward a larger down payment. In the meanwhile continue to keep an eye on the real estate market, home prices might decrease, interest rates might decrease as well, and your dream home might come on the market at the right price.
For a mortgage without surprises, we recommend:
|
|
___________
Photo Credits: Sabrina Campagna (cc)
What you should know about credit cards for students
Most credit card issuers have special credit cards for Students. Usually these credit cards carry a higher interest rate because of the higher risk represented by students with little or no credit history and little or no income. At the same time, if used properly, student credit cards provide the best chance for young Americans to start a credit history that will ultimately give them a good credit rating.
From a student’s perspective, building a good credit rating is essential upon graduation to secure a car loan to commute to work, and to obtain a mortgage to buy a condo or a house instead of wasting money in rent. Moreover, more and more employers are using credit score in their hiring process, and a good credit score will add an advantage against other candidates for the most prestigious positions. And last but not least, insurance companies are starting to use credit scores as a way to assess risk and therefore rate, meaning that all other things being equal, individuals with a better credit score will pay lower premiums than individuals with lower credit score.
Of course a student credit card doesn’t come with all the perks as a regular credit cards. Usually there are restrictions on credit limit, no-fee student credit cards are hard to come by, and there are few rewards offered. Think of this as the “starter credit card”, you can use it to build credit and to make life on campus easier. Use it to charge necessities like your books and school supplies and then pay off the balance in full at the end of the month. Parents also can benefit from their students carrying a credit card, so that instead of sending money and not having a good account of where the money was spent, they can better monitor expenses by checking the credit card bill, and then pay it on a monthly basis. And in case of emergencies, like an unforeseen trip back home, when time is of the essence, the student can easily manage without worrying too much about having the parents send money, check clearing, or wiring fees.
It’s a very good idea for parents and student to discuss and plan the use of a credit card as a way to ease college life, to better manage the money aspect of education, and to prepare and educate the student to life after college.
___________
Sponsored by:
|
|
Photo Credits: Patrick Haney (cc)
Educate yourself = Empower yourself
Personal Finance can be a confusing matter, but it doesn’t have to be.
The first step when dealing with money matters is to understand exactly what you are doing. Don’t rely on the marketing information given to you by the very same people and companies that are trying to sell you something, instead use a simple two-step methodology:
- Be informed about what it is that YOU need, depending on your lifestyle and philosophy, your individual needs are unique to you and your family, and no one-size-fits-all measure will do;
- Seek out the products and services that meet YOUR needs in the marketplace.
The web is a great vehicle for step 2, Credit Cards Mojo and other sources give you timely and useful information about what’s available in the marketplace in terms of credit cards, mortgages, home equity lines of credit, home equity loans, student loans, auto loan, personal loans, and other personal finances tools.
At the same time we believe that good books are essential for everyone to learn a good foundation on money, money management, and personal finance in general.
This is a short list of the best books available for you:
 |
 |
![Debt cures \](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511Ps5Z3DCL._SL160_.jpg "Debt cures \") |
 |
 |
 |
Don’t forget, when you are asked to buy something, or to sign something, anything: if you don’t understand it, don’t do it! It’s a principle that holds true for anything, from investing to getting a loan.
___________
Sponsored by:
Photo Credits: Elvire R. (cc)
Confused about the stock market? Puzzled by Wall Street?
It can be overwhelming! Too many buzzwords, too many conflicts of interests between the people on Wall Street making editorial comments that sound like news, and selling their opinions of buy buy buy as facts, while the individual investors like you are left seeing the stock indices decrease, with the same people who stated buy buy buy yesterday coming up with a new spin on the bad news today.
Our position at Credit Cards Mojo is to never trust the advice from the people who are going to benefit first and foremost by the actions that you are advised to take. Wall Street operators at any levels, from the large investment banks to your personal investment advisors, make money from you no matter what you do: when you buy, when you sell, or when you hold. You can say that you’ve got something good going on.
Keep in mind that investing per se is only a part of overall Personal Finance, and investing in stock, bonds, and other securities, directly or using mutual funds is only a portion of investing. There are other investment vehicles like savings accounts, bank money market accounts, certificates of deposits (all FDIC insured up to $250,000), treasuries, U.S. Savings Bonds.
If you are all set with your overall Personal Finance, and you need help with your investments, we advise you to subscribe to our motto: education is empowerment. Learn the tools, the dynamics, and mechanics of what’s available out there, then you can go ahead and do it yourself or seek help from a professional. And if you choose to seek the help of a professional, we believe that it should be a partnership between you and your advisor, where you have to take a proactive approach, where you have to be knowledgeable and on top of news and development, not a passive and silent partner.
There’s help. Why not enlist Jim Cramer as your advocate and cosigliere?
The Street, Jim Cramer’s company, can provide a plethora of useful information for free, and also a more personal and in-depth paid service. Now for a limited time, when you sign-up for a FREE 14-days trial, you’ll receive a copy of Jim Cramer’s latest bestseller Stay Mad For Life.
To order your FREE 14-days trial and the free book:
|
|
___________
Photo Credits: Rob Young (cc)
Time to save money: how much is your checking account costing you?
Long gone are the days when banks used to pay interest on their checking account. Some of them still do, but they require a high minimum balance, and the interest rate that they offer is laughable.
Additionally, should the balance fall below the stated minimum balance, you might be hit with a maintenance fee, and using your ATM card at ATM machines that are not operated by your bank usually cost you $2.00 and up to $3.50.
As we approach the end of the year, everyone is re-evaluating where they spend their money, and make appropriate adjustments. We have a couple of suggestions for you:
Why not do so earlier this year? Instead of waiting for January, why not start saving money today?
Always look at your expenses on a yearly basis, not on a monthly basis.
Take a look at your bank’s checking account, how much do you get charged for maintenance fees? The average nationwide is $15 per month, not including ATM fees. On a yearly basis that is $180. Can you think of something better to do with $180 other than give your bank free use of your money?
There’s a better solution, ING Direct Orange Checking account to your rescue:
- No minimum balance;
- No maintenance fees;
- Interest on your balance, currently 1.50% APR, (higher for higher balances);
- Free ATM access at over 35,000 locations nationwide;
- Free MasterCard Debit card;
- Send money securely for free with Electric Checks;
- Free bill pay;
- Free online banking;
- Fully integrated with other ING Direct accounts, and easily integrated with your current bank accounts;
- FDIC insured.
Time to say goodbye to your old bank, and join ING Direct. Apply now at:
|
|
___________
Photo Credits: catatronic (cc)
Young Adults and Credit Card Debt
U.S. Statistics revealing credit card debt among young adults are frightening, young Americans are being strapped along by the burden of credit card debt. These are some of the facts:
- Between 1992 to 2001, the average credit card debt among young adults increased by a whopping 55%;
- Between 1991 to 2001, the rate of bankruptcy among young Americans have the second highest rate after the age group of 25 to 44 years; which signifies that they were more likely to file bankruptcy than any other age group once you account for the number of people in each age group;
- In the income bracket below $50,000, which is 2/3 comprised by younger households in the age group of 18 to 24 years old, the debt hardship occurs nearly one in seven cases, and it is due to credit card debt in 94% of the cases;
- The average young American spends nearly 25 cents of every dollar of income in payment to non-mortgage debt, mostly credit card debt and personal loans;
- 96% of the college seniors have credit card debt;
- In 2007 the rate of late or missing payments among the 18 to 24 year olds stood at nearly one out of every five.
In order to control the credit card debt among young Americans, they need to learn to live within their means. A recent Reuters report stated that young American are the worst offenders when it comes to credit card debt. This is probably due because they are new to the workforce and they are trying to cope with the rise in energy cost, food bills and gas prices, but also because their apparent addiction to frequently use credit cards whenever they want something and have no money in their checking account. According to another survey by the Ovisory Group, individuals 19 to 35 year old feel that they are making less money compared to the higher and rising cost of living; while 43% of them feel that rising gas prices hits them the hardest.
Therefore they feel somewhat justified in their use of these credit cards as the only way for them to afford their lives. The side effect of such nonchalant use of credit cards, is that most young American will grow into adults with little or no Personal Finance planning skills which will hurt them in the long run, leaving them unprepared for life’s emergencies like unexpected loss of work, or big medical expenses.
No matter where you find yourself in your life, if you don’t have a good grip on your finances, your fist step has to be to learn how to control your temptations to purchase big ticket purchases like a new car, or that large screen HDTV, and then to gain control of what, when and where you spend your hard earned dollars, so that you can make the most of your life.
___________
Sponsored by:
|
|
Photo credits: mikebaird (cc)
|
|
