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New Credit Cards rules coming

New Credit Cards Rules

Credit cards: love them, hate them. After long negotiations between consumer advocates and industry representatives, the new credit cards rules are now set to take effect July 2010, and while it seems like a long time from now, you can expect some credit card companies to start phasing in some of the changes in the next few months.

The major changes are highlighted below:

Credit Card issues have to make disclosures easier to understand;
Consumers must be allowed a ‘reasonable amount of time” to pay their bill, at least 21 days;
No more double-cycle billing, where the interest is calculated using the average balance of this period as well as the prior period, a very complicated and – according to many – unfair process;
No more rate increase to existing card balances unless the consumer is 30 day late on payments;
Lastly, and maybe the most important of all: when different interest rates apply to different balances, credit cards issuers must allocate payments above the minimum to the balance with the highest rate first.

While these rules are a welcome addition to the industry, now more than ever it is important to make sure that you read any and all of the fine print, and pay your bill on time in order to avoid late fees and maintain your credit rating.

If your card uses double-cycle billing you might want to consider switching to another card with more favorable terms; and if you have a card with dual interest where you took advantage of a low interest rate for balance transfer, use another credit card for your necessary recurring expenses, and pay off this balance each and every month, this way all payments made on the old credit card will go toward paying down the existing balance.

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Photo Credits: Emmaline

December 22, 2008 | Filed Under Credit Cards, Debt Management | Leave a Comment

Friendly tools to help your New Year’s money resolutions

It’s that time of the year, celebrating the Holidays, preparing to party on New Year’s Eve, and pondering about our resolutions.

Is better managing your money in 2009 one of your resolutions? There are a handful of friendly web 2.0 tools that can make your life easier and help you manage your finances.

MANAGING your accounts: both Mint.com and Wesabe are web-based services that will perform the functions that Microsoft Money or Quicken perform on your PC; with the added benefits that Mint and Wesabe will gather the information from your various checking, savings and credit cards accounts without you tediously entering every transactions.
You can have snapshots of your situation, reminders of payments due, budget reports, and suggestions on how to save money.

If you have significant INVESTMENT accounts, Cake Financial can give you a consolidated view of all of your investment accounts, no matter which investment company holds them; you can then run performance reports, compare your returns with other investors (still maintaining anonymity) so that you can get suggestions from real life investors like you.

Everyone should check their credit report, remember that the only site authorized to do so for free is: www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Now there’s also Credit Karma , a site that lets you access your credit scores for free. From Credit Karma’s own web site: “Credit Karma believes consumers have a right to know this information with no charge or without the bait and switch of 30 days free followed by enrollment products with confusing opt outs. We subsidize our cost of pulling the credit scores by selling advertising on the site.” and “Our free credit scores are sponsored by partners who share our vision that consumers should have free and regular access to their score.”

These tools are both friendly and make your life easier, and if simplifying your life and spend more time with your friends and family, this is the way to go.

Enjoy!

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Photo Credits: Paul Worthington

December 20, 2008 | Filed Under Credit Score, Debt Management, Online Banking | Leave a Comment

Reining in Holiday Spending, without breaking the bank

Some people are looking for ways to spend less money this Christmas, and some others who are not, should. Thanks to the internet and the circulars in the Sunday paper it’s a no brainer to shop for the best deals on the gifts you have in mind for your close friends and loved ones.

But there are other areas where unexpected expenses can sabotage your budget, such as gifts for co-workers, neighbors, your child’s teacher, babysitter, mail carrier, etc. These are people you do want to acknowledge in some way, after all, its the thought that counts.

And those acquaintance gift costs will add up fast. You may have spent $10 to $20 per person in the past without realizing it, and with 10 to 20 people it will amount to $100 to $ 400, and in this economy, that money is better saved than spent. The good news is that cutting back on your spending doesn’t mean you have to look like Scrooge.

Home made gifts add your personal touch and can stretch a tight budget. But before you bake your favorite cookie or brownie recipe, consider how much money those ingredients are going to cost you. How many gifts can you produce from the recipe and how many treats will have mysteriously vanished by the time you go to wrap them? Is it worth the cost and your time? If yes, get the Sunday paper for the discount coupons; and remember to visit the brands’ websites for coupons you can print.

What if baking isn’t your forte? With some imagination, you can repurpose items you have around the house into clever, practical gifts that cost little to make.

If you have house plants and a green thumb, look for those that can be divided into several pots. Aloe Vera and Spider plants are good candidates. Use clay pots you have on hand or purchase them from discount stores. Reuse holiday ribbon from years past to tie around the pot. Even if you give a plant to someone with a brown thumb, they can pass the gift along to someone on their list.

Do you have candles that you haven’t burned? Take a cutting from an evergreen in your yard, or from your own Christmas tree, and wrap it around the base of the candle. Tie with a ribbon.

If you don’t have access to fresh greens, go to a Christmas tree lot and ask if you can have the broken branch pieces on the ground.

Buy items in bulk and repackage them into several presents. A box of 12 taper candles can be divided into 6 gifts. Add a sprig of evergreen and tie with a ribbon.

A box of Fatwood firestarter at Walmart costs $10. Divide into bundles and tie with a ribbon and a sprig of evergreen. Make a tag from last year’s Christmas cards and write “Wishing you warm thoughts for a Merry Christmas” and include instructions for burning copied from the box. If the recipient doesn’t have a fireplace, they can re-gift it to someone on their list who does.

Think along these lines and you’ll be amazed by what you can come up with!

By Laura Bailey of DecoratorsGarden.com.

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Photo Credits: Aaron Jacobs

December 9, 2008 | Filed Under Budget, Debt Management | Leave a Comment

Election 2008: the day after

The day after Election 2008: So now what?
That’s what a lot of people are asking themselves this morning, now that the uncertainties of the election is out of the way, Obama is the Preseident Elect, and the Obama’s and Bush’s transition teams are working together to assure a smooth transition, and the Obama-Biden team are recruiting additional team members to lead and manage this wonderful country.
What about you and your situation? You surely cannot ask for help directly to either G.W. Bush, or to Barack Obama. They actually need your help, they need your help keeping the morale up, trust the political and financial institutions that once again prosperity will return to the US soil. If there something that most people have learned is that things are back to basic, wise use of credit, well thought out plans for important decisions like buying a home, a car, or a major appliance; carefully screening of financial advisors and more realistic investment strategies and expected returns.

If you have consumer debt: have a plan to pay it off as soon as possible.
If you have a house with a mortgage: have a plan to pay the mortgage off, sooner or later. If you need to refinance, do so, a home is a long term asset, and a necessary one if you can afford it. Make a plan to eventually pay off the mortgage.
If your financial situation is challenged, take matters into your own hands with a two-prong strategy:

Cut your expenses.
Increase your revenue: get a second job if you have to, or a third one. Clean up your attic and basement and sell all the stuff that you have and no longer use. If you don’t have time, and if eBay or Craigslist is not for you, consider donating your items to charity, and take the tax write off. Consult your tax advisor on that, and remember to get a receipt from the charity for your non-cash donation.

Start or continue saving: no matter how little you think you make, someone else down the street makes do with less than you have: simplify your life, eliminate expenses, cut down on your spending. There’s no alchemy math: living within your means is the new luxury.
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Photo Credits: Maria Leisa (cc)

November 5, 2008 | Filed Under Debt Management, Elections 2008, Financial Crisis, Financial Planning | 1 Comment

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.

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October 30, 2008 | Filed Under Budget, Credit Cards, Debt Management | Leave a Comment

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 \$
		$Jim Cramer\'s real money sane investing in an insane world$

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.

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October 27, 2008 | Filed Under Books, Debt Management, Personal Finance | Leave a Comment

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.
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Photo credits: mikebaird (cc)

October 24, 2008 | Filed Under Credit Card Articles, Credit Cards, Debt Management | Leave a Comment

Foreclosure, foreclosing, about to be foreclosed? Is that you?

Just the thought of having to deal with a foreclosure can arise emotions like fear, paralysis, and the desire to just wanting to procrastinate till tomorrow, one more day; unfortunately living one day at a time could be too late to mitigate the damage or even avoid foreclosure.
Your financial health is no different than your physical health, one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
There are a few things you can do right now:

Gather all the legal papers that you have, the deed to your house, the house closing documents, the documents from the mortgage closing, the documents from the home equity loan closings (if you have one), and the invoices paid and unpaid from the lenders, and all the notices. Be prepared.
Seek advice from someone that you trust, you can start with your lawyer or CPA if you have one, or you can call your local town or state government office to see if they have any programs, or if they can refer you to any of their agencies that might be able to offer you some assistance.

In a nutshell: do something, be proactive, don’t let a bad situation foster and balloon into something unpleasant.
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October 24, 2008 | Filed Under Debt Management, Foreclosure, Real Estate | Leave a Comment

If you are carrying a balance on your credit card, stop everything you are doing right now, it’s time to save some money

Do you know how easy it is to have your credit card lower the interest rate on the balance you are carrying? It’s as easy as making a brief phone call. For the non-believers in you, it was demonstrated by CBC News at a mall where they approached 10 shoppers at random who then called their credit card company on the spot, and 6 of them got their interest rate lowered, in one case from 18.9% to 10.9%. With the average household carrying a $8.500 balance on their credit cards, it would translate into a saving of over $680, what could you do with an extra $680? You would put it toward paying down your balance, of course!

In one more case one of the ‘lucky shoppers’ had been paying 18% for the previous 30 years.

Read the article Skeptics surprised after negotiating lower credit card rate which will give you an idea of what to say.

DO IT NOW!!!

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Photo Credits: Landii (cc)

October 23, 2008 | Filed Under Balance Transfer, Credit Cards, Debt Management, News | Leave a Comment

Credit Card surveys reveals the need for better finance planning

According to a national survey in the United States 35% adults said that their credit cards are maxed out, or close to being maxed out. Looking into the details, women are a more likely than men to have their credit cards maxed out (37.3% for women vs 33% for men). When analyzed by age group, the highest level of 43.1% occurs in the 25 to 34 years age group, speculating that in this age group, incomes are lowest and wishes are highest. As expected, the age group of 55 and older is the most conservative with a credit usage of less than 50% of their credit limit, or 47.5% to be exact.
Enjoying life through credit cards is risky business for the ones who don’t have a sound management of credit and spending.
Planning and budgeting is the best way to gain control of one’s finances, and the best way to avoid having finances take control of your life. And it’s not that difficult. Take a good look at your incoming cash flow, from all sources, from work income to royalties and investment income; then take a look at your necessary expenses like rent or mortgage, debt payments (credit cards, auto loans, student loans, personal loans), insurance, job related expenses like commuting expenses, groceries, dry cleaning etc. Account for savings for both long term savings and to build a cushion for unexpected expenses like car repairs or home maintenance; what’ left is your true disposable income that you can use to enjoy your life. What happens if there’s nothing left for your true disposable income, of if it’s not enough?

You have three choices:

Increase your income: either by finding a better-paying job, or get a second job, or both;
Decrease your expenses: simplify and eliminate how you spend your money;
Both 1 & 2 above.

Make a yearly budget, which includes your vacation budget, and your holiday budget. You can use a spreadsheet, or one of the financial softwares, or just an old-fashioned pen and paper, it doesn’t have to come more complicated than you can handle. Break down your yearly budget into a monthly budget, and then further more into a weekly budget. When you’ll be facing an expense which is not into your budget, don’t do it! Just say NO! If you think this new expense is still necessary to you and your life that you MUST do it, go back to the drafting table and re-work your budget, add the new expense, and cut off some other in order to have a ‘balanced budget’: there’s no free lunch, something’s got to give.
This way each week you’ll know exactly what expenses you’ll expect to pay, including enjoying your life in terms of going out to dinner, trips, movies, hobbies, and whatever else you like to do. And having to give up little things here and there, assures you that the big things like vacations, savings and investments are taken care of. That’s the difference between being in control of your finances and your life, and having your finances control you by having to manage collection calls, late notices, shut-off letters, bad credit, and not having the means to take care of the unforeseen expenses, those curve balls that life throws at you every so often.

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