To Charge or Not To Charge?

The Stock market is down, the stock market is up; Congress is about to approve the bailout bill, Congress did not approve the bailout bill, Congress is in recess for two days; the Credit market only has one day of float, three days, a week . . . the bailout is good, the bailout is bad.
Confused by conflicting reports? You should be. Like they say, if you are not confused you are not paying attention.
In the meanwhile people on Main Street and on Wall Street realize that the balances on their credit cards are getting unmanageable, and some are wondering if they should even use credit cards at all.
As usual each individual situation is different, but if you have decided to do something to cut down on the amount of personal debt, step # 1 is to stop adding new debt. And while it’s easy to say that you’ll pay off the new charges at the end of the month, some people don’t have the discipline to curtail their spending in order to be able to pay off their monthly charges.
We have some suggestions for tactics that you can use to manage your spending:
- Use a credit card the same way you use a checkbook: put as a starting balance the amount of money that you can afford to spend, and each time you charge something you write it on as if you’ve written a check and deduct the amount from the total.
- If math is not your forte, round up the numbers of what you’ve charged to the whole dollar amount, so if you charged something for $26.06 write in $27.
- If you need to, you can write in as starting balance a (lower) weekly balance, and deduct (spend) from there, adding a new amount (deposit) every week. Make sure to NEVER go into negative balance, you are trying to bring discipline into your spending.
- On a weekly basis you can send a payment to your credit card company, either via mail, pay by phone, or internet banking. Credit card companies don’t mind if they receive 4 or 5 payments in a month. And if you are carrying a balance on your credit card, this method not only will decrease the amount of interest that you’ll be charged, but it will practically eliminate the risk of you being late in your credit card payment.
It might seem like a lot of work, but it’s not. It’s an investment of time to learn money management skills, well worth the time, it will pay dividends for a lifetime.
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Credit Card rewards and the turmoil on Wall Street and the Banking System
Maria M., a reader of CreditCardsMojo.com asked us: “Are my credit card rewards with [redacted] safe?”
Great question Maria! We have done some research, and called and emailed some very smart people in the industry, and the answer is: “Probably, but it depends”.
Let me explain: there are three major categories of rewards
- Airline Miles
- Cash Back/Rebate
- Points and similar rewards
In case of Airline Miles, the issue might arise with the fate of the Airline for existing miles, and not with the credit card issuer, unless you are concerned with your ability to continue earning miles.
In the case of Cash Back/Rebate, and Point rewards, when a credit card issuer that is a bank is taken over by another bank, without filing for bankruptcy, operations continue and slowly are integrated into the acquirer’s operations, so the credit card holder should have a long notice of things coming down the pipeline. When a credit card issuer files for bankruptcy, the issue gets a bit more complex, since depending on which state you live, which state the issuer has the charter, and the terms and conditions, you might risk losing something there.
While Cash Back / Rebate rewards are probably safe, the general consensus here at CreditCardsMojo.com is that you should keep an eye on your balance, and have the credit card company send you a check as soon as you hit that threshold, so that you can save it, use it to pay some bills, or spend it and reward yourself!
For the points, why not enjoy them now? Week-end away, hotel stays, restaurant meals, magazine subscriptions are all welcome now that most people are on a budget. Enjoy them, you’ve earned them!
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Urban Myth: Debt is bad
Debt per se is not bad, and it’s not evil either. Debt, any kind of debt, including credit card debt, is a tool; and just like any tool must be used according to its purpose.
When it comes to personal finances, you must run your household like a company, with the same principles and strategies of corporate finances.
Those of you who went to business school and didn’t fall asleep during Corporate Finance 101, might remember the principle which states that assets should be financed for the same length of time as the duration of the asset itself.
In plain English, there are two components to effective debt strategy:
- Only finance assets, actual tangible things that last longer than one year, and that are productive,
- The length of the loan should match the life of the asset.
Therefore monthly expenses like rent, mortgage, grocery don’t qualify because they fail the test of duration. And things like jewelry, vacations and large screen TV don’t qualify either.
What does qualify are: a house as a mean to secure a place where to live, not as a mean of investment or speculation; a car as a mean of transportation, tools that you need for your job or business, and few other major expenses.
For everything else, there’s a long forgotten principle: it’s called saving for rainy days.
So if you are buying a house, unless you have special circumstances where you are sure to have your income and cash flow increase in the future, the safe principle is: 20% down payment, and a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, with a payment that you can afford. Should the interest rate decline by 1% or more, refinance with a new mortgage that has the same duration as the remaining time left on your mortgage, and it’s also a good idea to continue paying the same (higher) payment that you are used to in order to eventually pay off your mortgage. Having a house fully paid is the #1 step in retirement planning (that’s another topic).
If you are buying a car, a 5 year loan is usually a safe bet for a brand-new car. If you are buying a good used car, a 3 year loan is usually appropriate.
Student loans are a separate case, educations is the greatest asset that anyone could have, so student loans to finance one’s education is indeed one of the best investment anyone could make. Of course while in college, it’s a good idea to stay away from credit, and – if your courseload and time allows you – to pick up a part time job to take care of everyday expenses.
Debt is not bad, bad use of debt is bad. Debt is a tool, that when used correctly can make a difference in overall quality of lifestyle.
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FICO score and Credit Cards
FICO score: art, science or alchemy? Most people believe it’s more alchemy than anything else, but in reality the algorithm used to calculate individual’s FICO score is secret and proprietary and it is often adjusted and refined, therefore the mystique surrounding it.
However the overall principle is still the same, maintain a good rating, or improve a bad one, and the rules of engagement in this game are:
- Always pay your bills on time, and since it is such an important factor, don’t wait until the very last moment to send the payment, and account for eventual mail or other delays. Unlike your taxes, the payment date is not the day by when you have to put the payment in the mail. A good idea is to set up an automatic payment with your credit card company, so that you are not responsible for any eventual delays, since they are the ones managing the entire process. And if you set up to have the minimum payment withdrawn from your bank account automatically, you can make additional payments by sending a check in the mail, online banking, or pay by phone.
- How much credit you are tapping. This is a ratio of the total amount of the balance outstanding and the total amount of available credit, the lower this ratio, the better. Try not to tap more than 50% of your available balance, better if you can stay in the 25% range, or less. If you are trying to improve your FICO asking your existing credit card company to increase your credit limit it’s a good idea, and better than opening a new account since the length of time that you have had the account matters as well.
- Length of credit history: as we were saying before, the older a credit relationship with an institution, the better. So if you are carrying a balance on one card and you are trying to play the game of moving the balance from one card to another, it pays not to close the old accounts, moreover when the introductory rate on the new card is about to expire, chances are your old card will gladly take you back and offer you a promotional rate to transfer the balance back to them.
- New accounts. This is actually an extension of #3 above, since once you acquire new additional credit, other institutions will be wary about extending additional credit to you.
- Quality of credit: depending on what types of credit accounts you have, lenders will be more or less willing to extend you additional credit. A classic example is that when people buy their first house and become homeowners and have their first mortgage, they are inundated with both credit cards offers and store cards offers, since traditionally homeowners are considered to have lower credit risk.
This are general guidelines, at the end of the day patience and diligence always prevails in maintaining good credit and improving not so good credit.
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Wordwide acceptance of Credit Cards no longer true for U.S. Credit Cards
If you’ve been to Europe recently, you know that the majority of vending machines like kiosks or public telephones only take Credit Cards with the security chip in it.
While all of the credit cards issued in Europe have this security chip in them, only a handful of U.S. Credit Card issuers use such a feature. When traveling it can result in a waste of time, since it is a lot faster to get tickets at Museums, Train Stations, Subways, Airports using kiosks that also have English language menus, than to wait in the long lines and having to experience the language barrier.
But it’s getting worse. In order to counteract credit card fraud due to identity theft, credit card cloning and stolen cards, Europe is switching to a “Chip-and-PIN” system. The “Chip-and-PIN”system has extra protection since only credit cards with the security chip are accepted, either at vending machines or in person (like in a restaurant), and the point of sale machine will ask the consumer to enter the PIN, a procedure similar to what happens today when you use your ATM card.
Boston.com is reporting that “Nearly all the credit-card terminals in Britain, Ireland, Denmark, France, and Spain have been changed. Canada is scheduled to convert in 2010. And as many as 50 other countries around the world are converting.”
Unfortunately U.S. credit cards issuers have no plans to adopt the “Chip-and-PIN” system, not even for Business Cards. This is going to be a major inconvenience for international travelers, especially frequent business travelers. Until then, if you are planning a trip abroad, your best bet is to call your credit card company and ask when they are going to adopt such a system, the more people signal their feedback the sooner the credit card companies will get their act together and do the right thing.
We are going to be on the lookout for the first enlightened credit card companies that will understand this issue, and will add such a feature on their cards. As soon as we spot one, we’ll report promptly. If you spot a credit card company that offers such a feature, do not hesitate to email us at our tipline: MojoTipLine (at) gmail (dot) com.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Credit Cards. Part I: An inside look into Interest Rates
Credit Cards: love them, hate them; when used properly they are wonderful tools for Personal Finance, but just like any other tools when misused and abused, credit cards can come back and bite you where it hurts the most: in your wallet.
Proper use of credit cards starts with understanding how they work, inside and out. Today we’ll start taking a look at how interest rates work, from the inside out.
- Interest rate is nothing else than the price of money. Money is bought and sold every day, and it’s paid for with interest. When you get a loan you are buying money, and the price is the interest on the loan. When you make a deposit into your savings account, you are selling money to the bank (the bank is buying money from you) and the price is the interest rate that the bank gives you on your deposit.
I know what you are thinking: why is it that I have to pay 18% interest on my credit card, when the bank gives me 3% on my 12-month CD? Good question. It’s called Profit, and fuel the American Way: you buy low, you sell high. Of course it’s more complex than that, the bank has associated expenses with marketing their products and services, the bank pays employees, rent on their facilities, has to write off some loans here and there while they guarantee that when you want money from your account with them it will be there. (It is more complex than that, but let’s keep it simple and go over this in principle). - Buying and selling money: credit card companies, like all other companies that lend money, don’t have huge vaults full of money waiting for people to charge something on their credit cards, they “borrow” money wholesale, and they resell that money to you at retail. In principle it’s no different than selling fruits and vegetables: buy wholesale in bulk at low prices, divide up and sell retail in small quantities at a higher price. But there are a couple of twists: Duration and Risk.
Duration: the longer the duration of the loan, the higher the interest rate. Look at rates for CD (Certificates of Deposit) where the bank borrows money from you, the shorter the duration of the CD the lower the interest rate. Longer terms demand higher rates. Again, there are exceptions to the rules; these exceptions are determined by what the forecast of the expected interest rate in the future; let’s stick to a normal scenario in order to understand the principle.
Risk: No matter what anyone tells you, credit cards companies and other lender tell you, they are in the game for making money, not to do you a favor. Treasuries, the bonds issued by the U.S. Government are by definition the risk-free securities because they are backed by the government of the United States (insert your own joke here for your own amusement: ____________ ). These securities too have a duration factor, longer term Treasuries carry a higher yield.
The investors behind credit cards or any other lenders, look at the yield of these securities (the Treasuries) and then add what they deem is a reasonable factor (reasonable in their eyes, for the benefit of their wallets) for the higher risk that they undertake. That’s why generally speaking conventional mortgages have low interest rate (secured by the real estate asset) while unsecured loan like a credit card have higher interest rates. - 1+2=3. So in principle, when you are facing a loan, any loan, the interest rate is the result of an mathematical addition:
interest free rate + compensation for duration of the loan + compensation for risk = your interest rate
That’s why different FICO score leads to different interest rates, and that’s why it is a common practice from credit card companies that if you are late on your payment with anyone, not only with them, they assume their risk is now higher and they increase your interest rate.
Stay tuned for Part II of A Beginner’s Guide to Credit Cards, coming soon to your RSS feed or your email.
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How To Improve Your Credit Score
As most people know by now, the ability to qualify for a credit card is almost solely dependent on your Credit Score. Many people suffer from a low credit score but simply don’t understand how to improve it. There truly are quite a few ways that this can be accomplished, but we are going to focus in on just 5 on them. If you can put your mind to working on these 5 things, your credit score will reflect it and you will not only qualify for a credit card but a quality credit card, one that will provide benefits you will enjoy. The 5 points are as follows:
- If you fall behind in your payments due to illness, unemployment or family issues TALK TO YOUR CREDITORS. Arrange a payment schedule with them. Talking to them is a lot better than having them call you with threats of foreclosure or bailiffs’ seizures.
- To minimize the number of inquiries on your credit report don’t apply for multiple credit cards. If your credit rating is important to you, then you also need to consider that when you shop from lender to lender, there is an accumulation of inquires on your credit bureau report, affecting your credit rating and ultimately the rate and terms of your mortgage. This isn’t the case with a mortgage broker who only does one inquiry yet can still get many competing lenders to quote on your business.
- Pay bills on time, since any payments more than 30 days late will affect the credit score. Note that a bill issued March 15 with a due date of March 31 does not become 30 days late until April 30, but if you have the means, pay earlier rather than later. A single late payment may result in a drop of over 20 points.
- Correct any incorrect information on your report. Credit reporting agencies are notorious for the errors they have on credit reports. If you find an error call the credit reporting agency and tell them about it. If it is the bank or store’s fault get them to fix it.
- Keep your credit balances as low as possible. You can also ask the lender to increase your credit limit which can increase your credit score.
We know and understand that it might not be easy, but get the support of your family and friends and stick to a disciplined method, improving your Credit Score will make your life a lot easier down the road.
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How To Pay Down Your High Interest Debt Without Feeling The Pinch
Are you one of the millions of Americans that have a credit card bills each month that, added together, seem to engender the same response in you as a novice climber would have when setting their eyes on Mount Everest? Many feel that the debt they have accumulated over the years is uncontrollably and irrefutably overwhelming. We all know from the many commercials which are advertised on the television from so called do-gooders and financial analysts that the minimum monthly payment is virtually all interest and it takes years and years to pay off a card when only choosing that option each month. Yet with the economy in shambles and the cost for goods at an all time high coupled with stagnant wages, how does one come up with a better alternative?
Well, a multi-pronged approach is in many cases the best route to take.
- The first step is to analyze how high the interest rate is on each of your credit cards. There are many credit cards out there that lure new customers in by offering a 0% or very low interest rate on balance transfers for at least 6 months. Take some time to do the math and see how much you would save by just paying the minimum payment amount for 6 months, but instead of it just going in the bank’s pocket, it would go directly toward paying down your principal. However, there is need for a word of caution; make sure to determine what the interest rate will adjust to on the new card after the introductory period. As long as that is competitive, then transfer your balances over and enjoy the savings! (See: Balance Transfer Cards)
- Secondly, for many of us the fact that we didn’t compromise our desires and wants is probably the reason we are in the situation we find ourselves now. We really need to cut back in areas of spending that are frivolous. Taking 10 or 15 minutes to do this will often reveal a significant amount of money we could put towards credit card bills instead of our daily Starbucks fix, going to the mall shopping to kill time, or buying expensive clothes; and the list goes on. How bad you want to get out of debt will determine how much motivation you bring to the table.
- Lastly, commitment to a long term plan of action is necessary. It took a while for most of us to get into substantial debt; it will also take time to remedy the situation. However, by committing to this new financial responsible attitude each month one can see themselves chipping away at that mountain of debt and over a relatively short period of time, it will get much more manageable.
These 3 strategies used in cohesion with one another can limit the difficulty of paying down your credit cards and the feeling that your situation is insurmountable. Pretty soon, you will once again be one of the few, one of the proud that can call themselves debt free!
Related articles:
- Credit Cards Kiting
- How long will it take you to pay off your Credit Card? (The famous one year plunge article)
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How long will it take you to pay off your Credit Card?
The other day we published the article How Much Credit card Debt do Americans Have? where, according to data released by Consumer Federation of America, the average American Household has $8,500 on credit card debt.
We love numbers, and we started wondering how long will it take the average American Household to pay off their average credit card debt, so we fired up our spreadsheet and we started calculating.
Obviously we had to make a few assumptions. This is what we used:
- For interest rate we used 11%, which is an average rate for a low interest credit cards.
- We assumed that this typical average American family would not accumulate any additional debt.
- We also assumed that this typical average American family would not charge any additional purchases on the existing credit cards. As you know we advocate that you keep one credit card for every day purchases and that you pay off the balance each month, therefore incurring in no additional debt, no interest charges, and you get the benefits and protections of using a credit card for your purchases.
- We assumed that the monthly payment is 1/50th of the balance or $ 10, whichever is higher.
- Lastly we assumed that this typical American family will continue to make the minimum payment indicated in each statement.
The answer is shocking! At that rate:
- It would take 27 years and 4 months to pay off the $ 8.500 debt.
- It will cost a grand total of $15,441.14 in total monthly payments.
- This family will be enriching the pockets of their credit card company by a whopping $6,941.14 in interest.
And this family is lucky, they have good credit and they qualify for a low interest credit card.
Families with bad credit have to deal with 18% and more on their credit card debt, but let’s take 18%, in which case:
- It would take 54 years and 11 months to pay off the $8,500 debt.
- It will cost a grand total of $32,487.76 in total monthly payments.
- This family will be enriching the pockets of their credit card company by a whopping $24,309.88 in interest. Remember, it started as a $8,500 debt.
Shocking, isn’t it? It’s the power of compounded interest, which was the one thing that puzzled and fascinated Albert Einstein.
Without trying to be Einstein, let’s see what happens to the same family once they make the commitment to eliminate debt, leveraging an easy and simple first step: keeping the same monthly payment constant, without decreasing it for any reason. As the outstanding balances at their credit cards decrease, they continue to send the same amount each and every month.
In the case of the interest rate at 11% that family will:
- Pay off their credit cards in 5 years and 7 months (instead of 27 years and 4 months).
- It will cost $11,422.46 in total monthly payments (instead of 15,441.14).
- They will paying only $2,922.46 in interest, saving $4,018.68.
What if they have bad credit but they adopt the same strategy and continue to send the same monthly payments regardless of the minimum payment indicated in their statements?
In this scenario the family will:
- Pay off their credit cards in 7 years and 11 months (instead of 54 years and 11 months).
- It will cost them $15,829.00 in total monthly payments (instead of 32,487.76).
- They will paying only $7,329.00 in interest, saving $16,980.88.
We believe that used correctly credit cards are great tools for personal finances; credit cards offer convenience, protection, perks, and rewards including cash back. But at times credit cards can become a burden; if that’s your situation, we suggest you rid of your personal debt as fast as you can. It could take as little as one year, if you take the plunge; but if that’s too radical for you, take a look at your total monthly payments for this month, and continue sending the same amount every month, as you can see from the numbers above it can make a huge difference.
You can find additional tactics to accelerate your repayment schedule in the following articles:
- The fastest way to pay down your credit card debt: the one year plunge.
- How Many Credit Cards? And How to Reduce Credit Card Debt.
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The fastest way to pay down your credit card debt: the one year plunge
Beth sends us an email to our tipline asking:
“I am 27 years old, single, and I have too much credit card debt.
What is the fastest was to pay down credit card debt?“
There are questions where if you were to ask 10 people the same question you will get 10 different answers, if not more. And this is one of them: the fastest, best, optimal, way to pay down credit cards debt, or debt in general.
From a strategic perspective, there are three principles:
- Stop accumulating more debt.
- Slow down the compounding of interest.
- Pay down as much as you can, every month.
From a tactical perspective, what brought you to the point where you have to ask this question, will not take you out of debt, up to today you’ve spent more than you were earning, so a change in habits is overdue. What got you here, won’t get you there. And it has to be something that you feel that it is you, that you can “own” and be proud of it.
Most people will tell you to curtail your spending by going on a budget, buying generic brands instead of premium, cutting coupons, walk or take public transportation instead of driving, and these are all good ideas. But if you are like most people, you look forward to a budget as much as you look forward to a root canal.
So, if you have tried the usual budgeting, cutting back, and coupon clipping and it didn’t work, we are proposing a new creative idea: we’ll call it, take the plunge to get rid of debt right now. This is the one-year plan, so while it might seem a bit radical, it’s truly like a root canal: it doesn’t last long, and the benefits last a lifetime:
- Change job: go out there and find yourself a job that pays more and has a shorter commute. No matter what you hear about the job market there are always companies out there looking to fill a position. It’s very easy to find a job that pays at least 10% more than you current job, and once you get it, put that extra 10% from your paycheck into your monthly credit cards payment.
- Get a part-time job: The holiday season is coming, and stores are ramping up by hiring seasonal help. There are also telecommuting jobs that you can do, they might be using the same skills that you use at your full time job, or you can expand your horizon and follow your dream by getting your feet wet into a market or industry that you’ve always dreamed about working in. Put the extra money to work by increasing your payments to your credit cards.
- Now that you are looking for a new job and you have a part-time job, you will ave less time to shop. Give yourself a moratorium on shopping: no new clothes, no new stuff for your apartment for one year. Go dig into your closet for retro-look clothing, mix the shabby-chic look with funky, before you know you’ll be a trendsetter.
- No eating out, and pack your lunches. Do your grocery once a week, and make sure you are covered for your lunches at work, and your dinners at home. You don’t have much time anyway since you have two jobs.
- Sell your unused stuff: look in your closets, basements, storage area. For sure you have old clothes, electronics, furniture and other objects that you no longer use, or that you have no used in a couple of years. List them on Craigslist or eBay and sell them off, take the money and sent it to your credit cards company. Not only it will help lower your debt, but you’ll make someone happy by letting them buys something that they want and need at a good price. And you will de-clutter your life as well. Everybody wins.
- Social life: you do need a social life, but a friend in need is a friend indeed. Tell your friends that you are taking the one-year plunge to rid yourself of your credit cards debt, so while you will still be able to go to the movies, and for one drink here and there, you won’t be able to try the newest and greatest restaurants in town, or those awesome concerts coming to town. In exchange, offer your place as a venue for dinner and a movie (potluck), game board night, cranium night, book club, the possibilities are endless. Money doesn’t buy friendship. And if you know any of your friends who could use a break from their own credit cards debt, ask then to pledge with you the one year plunge.
- Holiday presents: tell your family and friends that this Holiday season you are giving yourself the best present ever: you are getting yourself out of debt, so you will not be able to buy them presents and they should not buy you a present either. If feasible bake them something like home made cookies just as a token of appreciation, and instead of a ready-made card, get pen and paper and write each one of them an old fashion letter telling them how much you love them, and how much they mean to you, and thank them for their support: past, present and future. And mean it.
Keep at it, keep a journal, and keep a monthly total of your total credit cards debt, how much you’ve paid down and how long it will take to bring the total balance to ZERO! And every month celebrate by treating yourself to something nice yet inexpensive, like a movie, or a small dinner with friends or a friend. Some people have even gone as far as to keeping a very public blog, documenting their progress, getting support, and also collecting donations and advertising their wares for sale.
Think abut this time last year, time flew by, and your credit cards debt is still unmanageable or worse.
Then think about a year from now, how will you feel once you see that all of your credit cards statements say:
Balance = $0.00 PAID IN FULL
How good will that feel, and it was because this article that started it all, that made you take the plunge, and now you have a brand-new job, closer to home, a shorter commute, experience in a new industry where you’ve always dreamed of working, and you are debt free: life doesn’t get any better, does it?
For additional tips on how to lower the rates on your credit cards and how to make the most of your monthly payment see the article: How Many Credit Cards? And How to Reduce Credit Card Debt?
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