Balance Transfers

As another way to get your business, many card issuers offer balance transfers. This can give you some leverage as a consumer and a opportunity to save some interest. Most credit cards offer a 0% APR for 6 to 12 months with no transfer fees. This is sometimes referred to as the teaser rate.

A balance transfer can be a good way for a you to consolidate debt. You can take your outstanding balance on one or two or more cards and transfer it to a card with a lower rate. Once approved, you would have all your payables on one credit card and essentially had taken two or more interest rates and transformed them into one lower rate.

If you want to carry on a balance, look for the credit card that offers the best interest rate or the annual fee offer. However, if you intend to pay for the credit every month, then look on the one that offers the lowest interest rate. Take note of the new rate after the introductory offer is over. Is it going to higher than what your have now? Are there any other fees involved? Make sure. Also does the introductory offer apply to balance transfers and purchases?

You can choose the credit card that offers the lowest annual percentage rate (APR). APR's could either be a "fixed" or a "variable" rate. Fixed rates do not change as the name implies but is higher. Variable rates changes depending on the economic trends. I usually avoid anything that's variable but you should explore your own options carefully. This is to be taken into consideration if you're deciding on carrying a balance and for how long.

Other factors involved in your decision for a balance transfer might be the rewards (reward points)or cash back a card offers. You may want to look into something you purchase often, like airline miles or gas rebates if you drive more than usual. Other cards even offer cash back for paying home utilities and mortgage, like the Citi® Home Rebate Platinum Select® MasterCard®. There is much competition for your money and if you take time to explore your options, you can turn some disadvantages on your present credit card balance back your way.

Advanced Prepaid Credit Card Features

Technological advances have been made in <b>prepaid credit cards</b> which give them features not seen in traditional credit cards or ATM cards. In this article we will go over these advances, and how they make using prepaid credit cards easy and convenient.

Because prepaid credit cards do not come with a line of credit, customers can load money onto the card via ATMs or at online websites. From here money can be transferred to a paypal or checking account. Some services still allow people to write a check in order to have the funds loaded onto their cards.

More recent advances in this technology have allowed people with cell phones, laptops, or other wireless devices to receive payment alerts about transactions which have been completed. You can also keep track of your credit line using these devices.

When using a prepaid credit card you don't have to balance it the way you would balance a checkbook. The balancing is done in real time and can be viewed via the internet or phone. This technology is allowing people to change the way they spend and manage money.

Many people are becoming aware of this technology since many employers are starting to use prepaid credit cards as an alternative to sending out standard checks. Once employers begin using prepaid credit cards to pay their employees they will save large amounts of money on check printing costs and other expenses.

People are beginning to see the benefits of electronically transferring and receiving funds. People will be able to avoid the high check cashing fees that for too long have been charged just to cash your own checks. Prepaid credit cards are changing the way that people conduct business.

Our society beginning advance closer to being cashless. There are both pros and cons to this that people need to be aware of. While using prepaid credit cards to make purchases and transfer money is convenient, cyber thieves are also anxious to begin defrauding and stealing money from people.

It is always best to use your prepaid debit card in safe locations, and keep track of all you transactions. If you see something on your account that looks strange or out of place, immediately report it. If your card is ever lost or stolen, cancel it as soon as possible.

No one wants to become the victim of fraud. Keep track of your expenses and if something looks suspicious, it probably is.

Credit Card Utilization Tips

Credit card utilization tips to help you maintain good credit and build a strong positive credit history.

1.  Keep credit card utilization below 30% .

2. By all means necessary never go beyond your credit limit.

3.  Its ok to carry a balance month to month and actually helps to show more on time payments than to pay off a balance.

4.  Take advantage of balance transfer offers with zero interest for any balances you do carry month to month.

5.  Find out when your creditors report to the credit beareus and if its a few days prior to your payments due date try to make your payment earlier so it will reflect the lower balance.

6.  Utilizing your available credit for small purchases your sure you can pay off reflects better than not using your credit at all.

Using Cash Back Credit Cards For Your Business

      
There are many different types of credit cards available out there and choosing which can benefit you and your business the most may be quite confusing. However, if you are one of those people who do not have problems in paying monthly credit dues and want to save your company a lot of money, then a cash back credit card just might be perfect for you. Through cash back cards, you are able to enjoy the usual functions of a regular credit card with an added bonus, and that is of course, by receive cash back rewards on the purchases you have made with your account. 

    How Do Cash Back Cards Work? A cash back credit card basically gives you bonus points every time you use it to purchase goods. They would start off by offering you a flat percentage rate refund in the form of statement credits, a check, gift cards or deposits into your bank account on the agreed timely basis of receiving your bonus. Percentage rates may vary with the provisions of your lender. The methods for how cash is given back to you as reward often differ with your credit card's terms and conditions, and so it is important to choose which type of rewarding method would more probably be of help to your business. For example, if you want cash to come back sooner, then a statement credit method of rewarding will be best for you as this is done monthly. However, statement credits may seem as if they are just a mere reduction of your outstanding balance instead of an actual cash bonus. Checks on the other hand are usually only rewarded per year, but these can mount up as a huge cash incentive for your business. Another method of cash back can also be through discount cards that can be of big help if you run a type of company that does a lot of purchasing for your undertakings. No matter what type of cash back method you choose, such a credit card can really help your business a lot. How Do Cash Back Rewards Really Help? But how does a cash back system really help a company by merely giving rewards? Let us analyze how much a company may spend in a year purchasing supplies like printing materials, boxes and even calling cards to boost operations. The company basically purchases all of these things for a whole lot of money during the year. And when you think about it, the rate of buying these supplies won't stop anytime soon as long as the company stays afloat. After all, these are basic goods that a business needs in order to continue production and generate income. So we would see through this scenario then that if a company makes use of a cash back credit card for its purchases and gets rebated for that, it is as if the company is being rewarded for merely going about its normal transactions. An additional profit is generated to the company for no real cost at all since purchased goods with or without cash back would have been purchased anyway. And obviously, additional amount of money to a company�s account can always be very useful for any type of business. 

      The bottom line is, that through the use of cash back credit cards, not only is your business being assisted through the normal functions of a credit account, such as financing, but it is also given an extra incentive of earning more money through its reward process. If bad debt and making the payment deadlines are no such problems for your company, then you have nothing to lose with this type of credit card and may even have so much more to gain.

Excessive credit card debt

Most people advocate the case of credit cards, quoting the benefits and convenience that arises from them. However, there is another group/line-of-thought that strongly opposes credit cards. The reason being ‘Excessive Credit Card Debt’, which is one of the most serious problems faced by the credit card holders and credit card industry. However, you can’t pull the shutters on the credit card industry just because of a few irresponsible people (or even if it’s more than few). That is not a solution for beating excessive credit card debt. Moreover, you can’t overlook the benefits associated with the credit cards. 

The issue of excessive credit card debt can be looked at from 2 angles. First is addressing of the excessive credit card debt problem at the industry level and second is the addressing of the excessive credit card debt problem at the individual’s level i.e. at the credit card holder level. The first method involves increasing awareness of the excessive credit card debt problem to the masses. This is more or less being done currently too. However, there should also be an effort to tackle this problem of excessive credit card debt at an even deeper level. This means trying to devise a mechanism to nip the problem (of excessive credit card debt) in the bud. This mechanism should actually be a part of the overall system. A lot of thought needs to go into devising such a mechanism. Case studies should be taken up, statistics gathered and a proper forum formed (with representatives from the credit card holders and from the credit card suppliers). As of now, the credit card suppliers just seem to be engaged in coming out with new products and getting customers enrolled to those products. There is little attention paid towards addressing the problem of excessive credit card debt in the real sense. Something like attending mandatory seminars on the root causes of excessive credit card debt could be made part of the credit card application process. Another way of dealing with the problem of excessive credit card debt could be: developing a system for calculation of applicable credit card limit at the individual level i.e. no standard/product-based credit limits. Then there could be mechanisms for proactively warning the users about excessive credit card debt (based on their credit card usage) or even imposition of early restrictions on noticing the first signs that lead to excessive credit card debt At the individual’s level, the treatment of the problem of excessive credit card debt would include following of best practices (on credit card usage and avoidance of excessive credit card debt) by the individuals themselves. A checklist or a set of questions could be provided to individuals for recognising the first signs of excessive credit card debt. 

So, the problem of excessive credit card debt can surely be dealt with by putting together some serious thinking at a broader level together with discipline at the individual’s level.

Credit card debt management

Though a lot of people are comfortable with going forward with credit card debt management all by themselves, not everyone is. There are people who don’t really want to tread into the territory of financial issues (credit card debt management included). Such people generally prefer going to debt assistance companies for advice on credit card debt management or for getting the credit card debt management done through them. However, even before we talk further on this topic of credit card debt management, it’s imperative to understand that any external person or agency can only do a proper credit card debt management for you if you strictly follow the advice/guidelines that they formulate as part of credit card debt management. These credit card debt management guidelines are generally related to controlling your spending (which basically means perseverance and contentment). 

Going to a credit card debt management company or a credit card debt management advisor/professional is not meant only for people who are foreign to financial topics but is sometimes fruitful for other people too (who are going with credit card debt management all by themselves). This arises from the fact that these credit card debt management professionals (as any professional) would have more knowledge in that field than anyone else that is not from that field/profession. So, firstly, you wouldn’t know all the tips and tricks that the credit card debt management professional would know (and in fact this is something that you cannot read and learn overnight). And secondly, it will save you a lot of time; because the person who practices credit card debt management as a profession would know about all the latest offers etc that are available in the market e.g. balance transfer offers etc (and hence you don’t need to go looking for all this stuff all by yourself). All in all, a credit card debt management professional can help get you a better deal that might more than compensate for the fee charged by that professional. If you look around you will find that there are hordes of companies and professionals offering credit card debt management services. However, the key here is that you choose someone whose credentials are already established (or who can prove his credentials to you). One good way of selecting a credit card debt management company/ professional is to check with a friend or someone from your family, if they have used any such service in recent times. After all, references are the best way of building trust.

Eliminate credit card debt

      Well, anyone who makes this comment is sure to be labelled as a moron. However, let me remind you of a famous quote “Where there is will, there is way”. So that is how easy it is to find a way to eliminate credit card debt. What you really need in order to eliminate credit card debt is “Will Power”. No matter what method you adopt to eliminate credit card debt, no matter what debt assistance company you approach (for advice on how to eliminate credit card debt), no matter what your friends tell you, “Will Power” is essential if you want to eliminate credit card debt. In fact, this starts from the word go. Just examine the last part of my previous statement “… is essential IF YOU WANT TO eliminate credit card debt”, this statement itself implies that “IF YOU WANT TO” or we can rephrase that as “if you have the will power to” eliminate credit card debt. 

      Will power is what you need to control your urge to buy everything from the market. Will power is needed to persevere. Will power is needed to analyze your current financial situation. Will power is needed to sit and plan the ways and means that you can adopt to eliminate credit card debt. Will power is needed to approach a credit card debt assistance company. You also need will power and patience for researching the market for the best balance transfer plans. So really, will power is needed for every aspect of credit card debt elimination. Since “Will Power” is the only thing you need to eliminate credit card debt, we can say that it is easy to eliminate credit card debt. However, this is easier said than done for will power for anything (be it will power to eliminate credit card debt or something else) is hard to come by. One way of strengthening your will power, that is required to eliminate credit card debt, is to portray the life after you successfully eliminate credit card debt. Portray the peace of mind that you will get after you eliminate credit card debt. How much fun it would be!!  Moreover, the sense of achievement would be no lesser either (after all not everyone is able to eliminate credit card debt). Just think about all these good things and build your confidence and your will power to eliminate credit card debt. There is really nothing as powerful as will power. And remember “Where there is will, there is way”.

After you pay off credit card debt

Credit card debt is a very big problem that is being faced by a lot of people who have been irresponsible and undisciplined in the use of their credit card. Though some might have landed up with credit card debt due to some unfortunate event/emergency in their life, most people carry a credit card debt due to their own wrong doings (i.e. wrong usage of their credit card debt). There are a lot of ways to pay off credit card debt and a lot of people do achieve this feat (i.e. are able to pay off credit card debt). Surely, to be able to pay off credit card debt is really a great achievement in itself for not everyone is able to pay off credit card debt. It takes a lot of discipline, restraint, planning and perseverance to finally pay off credit card debt. However, there is more to paying off credit card debt then just being able to pay off credit card debt. 

Here we are talking about the life after you pay off credit card debt successfully. As mentioned before, of all the people that try to pay off credit card debt not everyone is able to pay off credit card debt i.e. there are some failures too. However, some people fail after they have succeeded in paying off credit card debt. These are those people who let themselves loose and go on a spending spree as soon as they pay off credit card debt. Soon, these people again land up with a credit card debt and are again trying to pay off credit card debt. So, it’s not enough to just pay off credit card debt, it’s equally important to maintain a debt-free status even after you pay off credit card debt; only then can you enjoy a stress-free life in the world of credit cards. So learn your lessons well and do not let yourself loose on the path to another credit card debt. Most of the rules that you followed when you were trying to pay off credit card debt, will also hold good after you have paid off your credit card debt. Here is a quick synopsis of things that you should take care of even after you pay off credit card debt:
1) Do not overspend. Yielding to the sale offers for something that you don’t really need, is a big mistake that leads to overspending
2) Always remain within 70% of your credit limit.
3) Make credit card bill payments in time and in full.
4) Don’t hold more than 2 credit card accounts (two are enough for anyone)

These are just very basic things; you can add more based on your own experience and knowledge.

Breaking the Habit: How to Stop Using Your Credit Card

You know your debt is rising, but still cannot stop

using your credit card for purchasing items. Several

people get easily dependent on credit cards for

everyday expenses and impulsive buys. The fact that

you are borrowing money from the creditor for your

purchase might be tempting, but the truth is: you must

be able to pay it off on time. Neglecting those bills

can cause headaches in the future. You might get

malicious letters from your creditors, or even receive

threatening telephone calls.

Close, Shred and Leave

If you really want to avoid those from happening all

together or if you are starting to drown in your debt,

you have to stop credit card usage. Fortunately, there

are several ways on how to.

Firstly, many people would agree that closing your

credit card account is the best way possible. One and

simple call to your cardholder is sufficient enough to

inactivate your credit card. Doing so might even quiet

down that nagging feeling and desire to purchase items

using a credit card. Just think that there might be

one situation wherein the clerk says your credit card

has been denied; the embarrassment from that situation

is reason enough for you to inactivate your credit

card.

Shredding is also an excellent way to break the habit

completely. You can use an office shredder since it

works great on plastic as it does on paper. Since your

credit card is shredded into pieces, there is no way

that you can swipe it. However, if you do not have a

shredder, scissors are great too. Just cut the card

into small pieces and make sure that the credit card

number cannot be identified by potential thieves.

Another excellent way to stop using the credit card,

especially when you go out of the house, is to leave

them. If closing or shredding is not your style, try

taking your credit card out of your wallet when you

are about to go shopping. In this way, if you have the

urge to buy something you really do not need, you have

to think twice before buying it since you are about to

use your own money.

The Shock and What Your Can Do About It

You have been using your credit card for your expenses

but have you ever thought about the total amount of

cash you spend in interest alone each year? More so,

the duration of time it will take you to just pay off

your credit cards might shock you. It is all about the

numbers and these will put you into shock and can make

you think twice before using that credit card again.

For instance, if you have a balance of $1,000 and an

interest rate of 14%, it will take you about four and

a half years before you can pay it off; that is, if

you are making $25 in payments every month. By the

time you pay off the balance, you will have paid a

total of $347.55 in interest.

Since you know what credit cards can do, you might

want to stop using it once and for all. Learn how to

say "no" since this kind of discipline can help you

stop impulsive buys, thus stopping the use of credit

cards. Always think twice about swiping that credit

card for your purchases and you would not have to

think about repairing your credit in the future.

Reduce credit card debt

“Reduce credit card debt and eliminate it before it assumes a horrifying shape” – This is really the gist of the story. So, how do you reduce credit card debt? Well, you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing and by paying off what it is currently. Simple, isn’t it?

Not really. If it was that simple to reduce credit card debt, then we wouldn’t have had so many people with credit card debt related problems. We would have been able to reduce credit card debt problems and finally eliminate them (or reduce them significantly). There are all kinds of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt, but still nothing much seems to change. The problem still seems to persist and in fact, worsen. However, it’s not that difficult to reduce credit card debt. As we just said, there is a lot of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt and the only thing you need to do is put that advice, on how to reduce credit card debt, to practice in real life. Well, no one but you will benefit if you reduce credit card debt. 

So the first step to reduce credit card debt is to prevent it from taking dangerous proportions. The 2 most important ways of implementing this step are – balance transfers and use of cash. 

Balance transfer is often treated as the number one measure to reduce credit card debt. This is really something that can help reduce credit card debt by slowing down the pace at which your credit card debt is getting built. It also provides you relief in terms of the APR being 0% for initial 6-9 months (and hence helps reduce credit card debt faster). To reduce credit card debt using this mechanism, you need to transfer your balance from your current credit card(s) onto another credit card that has a lower APR than your current card. Thus you reduce credit card debt by preventing it from increasing so rapidly. 

The other preventive measure to reduce credit card debt is to use cash instead of card (as such, hard earned cash is difficult to get out of pocket as compared to just a credit card). So you reduce credit card debt by not adding more to it. That is the simplest way to reduce credit card debt.

However, you can reduce credit card debt only if you stick to your resolution to reduce credit card debt; otherwise it will fail miserably.

Stupid Credit Card Tricks

There has been an ongoing skit on the David Letterman Show called “Stupid Pet Tricks”.  It was an aptly named bit because the things people teach their pets to do are truly silly.  Letterman did so well with that skit, he followed it up with another series called “Stupid People Tricks.”   Well, when it comes to the dozens of credit card offers that you get in your mailbox every week, you might think that some of these credit card companies would like to be on the next series called “Stupid Credit Card Tricks”.

These promotions that you get for credit cards seem to be playing on just about every tactic they can find to get you to take out yet one more credit card.  You would think that the fact that credit card debt is a virtual epidemic in this country would let the credit card companies know that its time to get on the side of the consumer to learn responsible use of credit.  Instead they do all they can to get you to have more, not less, credit cards and use them as much as you can.

We need to be smart consumers because as much as credit card companies try to make credit cards seem fun and happy and like big toys in your wallet, they are not toys.  We should never forget that a credit card is nothing more than a way for the credit company to extend to you dozens of small unsecured loans that they will create credit payments on the fly to enforce through your credit card bill that will include high interest rates and additional fees as they see fit.

This is not to say that having a credit card is not a good thing.  Good credit is one of the real assets any responsible adult will use to help make life easier and to make the necessary purchases in life.  And more and more credit is becoming the currency of choice replacing cash and checks as the preferred method for paying for gas, at restaurants and any more even at retail outlets and grocery stores.

While the spread of credit as actual currency is a fact of life for us, it is also a major move by the credit card companies to take over the economy and to make you even more dependent on them.  So the best defense is to take charge of your credit card life and make sure that you are the boss of your credit cards, not the other way around.

The stupid credit card tricks can be really fun to look at and sometimes enticing.  They will appeal to your sense of school pride by giving you a credit card in your college school colors.  You can get credit cards that give donations to save the environment, help the poor or create a college fund for your kids.  There are all kinds of premiums, cash back concepts, frequent flier miles and gifts and toys that credit card companies will fork over just to lure you into getting more credit cards and using them a lot.

To put it bluntly, you and I need to learn not to be suckers for these deals.  We can laugh at the stupid tricks they try to use.  But if a credit card company is going to try to trick you into getting a card or using one, they are not doing business honestly with you.  You want a credit card company that deals straight with you.  They should offer fair rates that don’t change at the drop of a hat.  They should sustain a reasonable credit limit and not always be jacking it up to try to get you to buy more stuff on the card.  And they should have good customer service and be ready to renegotiate your relationship with them so you are getting good value from their service, not just paying for a bunch of toys and frills that do you no good whatsoever.

By keeping in mind what a credit card company actually does and that credit cards are mature adult tools, not games or toys, we can keep in perspective how to use our credit cards and how to keep from abusing credit which will lead to the nightmare of credit card debt.  

Teen credit card debt statistics

What do the teen credit card debt statistics tell?

Well, you don’t really need to look into the teen credit card debt statistics to tell what’s going on. The teen credit card debt statistics would probably look very similar to any other. I think I read somewhere about teen credit card debt statistics and those teen credit card debt statistics indicated that a lot of   teens in US had a significant amount of balance on their credit cards;  something which they shouldn’t have (considering their limited needs for credit). Though these teen credit card debt statistics would give you a fair idea of how our teens are faring in the world of credit cards it’s really not so important to talk about teen credit card debt statistics as it is to talk about the ways of bettering the teen credit card debt statistics (I mean bettering the teen credit card debt statistics in a positive way).

So how do you better teen credit card debt statistics?

Well, the bettering of teen credit card debt statistics would, as you must have guessed, start with education. This education has to start early in the life of the teens. Here we are not talking about just credit cards related education but the education about managing their finances in general. Teen credit card debt statistics cannot be improved without explaining the actual value of money to the teens (and also teaching them how to use it). So, for bettering teen credit card debt statistics, we need to give them an all round education on managing money and finances. This can start with asking them to maintain a record of their pocket money and how they spend them. Also, engage them into education related to money management (of course, you have to customize the discussion to suit their level of knowledge and maturity). The next step would be to open a bank account for them and teach them the various aspects of managing it. Teach them what debt it and when it is considered bad. Debit card could be the next step for them. Once they start becoming comfortable with doing their bank transactions by themselves, you can get a prepaid credit card for them (something that has a preset limit of $200-250). You could also use a low limit credit card (with $250 credit limit) and teach them how to use it. 

Thus you can follow a step-by-step approach to ensure that your teens learn the best practices (and hence you can keep them out of those horrifying teen credit card debt statistics, thereby contributing to bettering the teen credit card debt statistics).

Inside Out Credit Card Management

When the economy or personal issues and problems result in a high credit card debt, we often find our debt spread over three or four or more cards.  So you may have a Visa, several MasterCards, a Discover card and a Capital One card and maybe many more each carrying several thousands of dollars of debt.  The result is an ugly parade of bills from each company each needing a minimum payment that pays the interest and takes just a small amount off of your debt.

If it seems that the debt mountain never seems to go down, that’s not an illusion.  The situation is not designed to help you get that debt down.  It’s a cruel mixed message the credit industry sends us because if you have high credit card debt, your credit rating goes down.  But even if you have too much debt, the credit card companies just keep raising your credit ceiling and sending more and more credit card offers to lure you into more debt.  

The instinct is to keep taking out more accounts and transferring money to those deceptive zero percent offers that expire in a matter of months and leave you with yet another bill to pay that only makes managing that debt even more impossible.  If you do get a little money ahead, the instinct is also to pay more down on the debts that have the highest interest rates to try to slow the erosion of your finances due to high rates.  

But there is another approach to handling this debt that goes completely opposite your instincts and gives more control to you to begin seeing headway against those debts.  But to use this approach, you will have to think with your head, not your emotions and not panic but think about how to get as much principle paid down as possible.  This inside out approach to paying down your credit cards is simple and gives you a roadmap to freedom from debt.

First of all, stop taking out more accounts.  That only gives another credit card company access to your money.  They can charge you membership fees and try to lure you with credit insurance.  If you have three or more credit resources already, that’s plenty.

Second, use short term offers wisely.  If one of your existing accounts offers you a zero percent deal for a few months, take it but transfer a small amount to that account.  Then you can focus on paying off that transferred amount and see 100% of your payment go against principle which is the fastest way out of debt.

Third, pick a card and pay it off.  It might be the card with the lowest balance which is one you might give the least to so you can respond to the higher level debts.  But if you pay that card off, that is one less bill coming in each month and it gives you a great feeling to know you are slowly killing off the monster of credit card debt one card at time.

That brings us to the cornerstone of the inside out method.  Instead of paying on the card with the highest interest rate, pay them the minimum payment and put your excess funds against the cards with the lowest rate.  In this way you are getting the most bang for your buck with the small amount of extra funds you may have to pay on the debt.  That debt will go down more quickly and then you can attack the bigger accounts and begin to whittle away at them too.  And by using a smart approach to the credit card debt you have, you take control of the problem and put it on a program to go away.  And that will be the greatest feeling of them all.

Maximizing the potentials of a low APR credit card

Indeed, if a credit card is used properly, it can be the most powerful financial tool. But not everybody can afford all the expensive rates of most credit card issuers offer. This is where the low APR credit card ushers in—to help people who plan to maintain a balance on their account and not to pay the full amount monthly. But, what does APR stands for in a low APR credit card?

Basically, APR is the cost of credit as a yearly interest rate. APR stands for “Annual Percentage Rate” of charge can be used to compare different credit and loan offers. The APR on credit cards is usually calculated monthly based on the current amount in the card. The monthly interest is calculated as if the current card balance would remain the same over a year; the interest on the amount over a year (APR) is worked out and divided by 12 to give the monthly interest. It is a must that all lenders tell the client what their APR is before signing any agreement. 

Although the arrangements and terms may vary from lender to another, it is better for people to avail a low APR credit card because the lower the APR, the better the deal for them to spend more money in shopping around.

Why choose a low APR credit card?
Low APR credit card is a good choice for those people who are into a tighter financial budgeting. Being the most important attribute of a credit card, APR determines the significant balance over a longer period of time. 

In a low APR credit card, the amount of interest one must pay on his or her credit card balance depends on its APR because the lower the APR is, the better it is him or her because it means they have to pay less interest. APRs in a low APR credit card can either be “fixed” or “variable.” 

If you are planning to have a low APR credit card, there are so many cards that offer low APRs that can be found online. These low APR credit cards are chosen using a factoring scheme that organized these cards by computing a number of their attributes to place the best deals at the top. 

Some of the questions one have to ask when looking for a low APR credit card includes the charges—if they vary or a fixed rate; and if these charges are variable because it might affect the repayments and if these rate are fixed or will it stay the same. Searching for a low APR credit card may also include inquiries on the possibility of any charges that are not included in the APR like optional payment protection insurance or an annual charge. If there are any, make sure that you understand what they are and when do you have to pay them. Lastly, looking for a low APR credit card should include questions on the conditions of the credit and how would these conditions suit you. 

 If you are now seeking for a low Apr credit card you may begin looking for a scheme that could help you save hundreds in interest with a low interest credit card and low cost processing. 
Most low APR credit card offers 0% APR for the first months on purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. Through these, low APR credit card can warn rebates towards any item purchased. They also offer $0 liability on unauthorized purchases, and no annual fees. 

Some low Apr Credit Card that have very good intro rate for purchases is recommended for those who would want to avail one. They also offer good deals if one carry high balances on other cards and need to transfer the balance.

Indeed, having a credit card can be useful and convenient, and can even help build a strong credit history that will help you with future activities like home-buying, paying for higher education, and even finding a job. But, before you apply for a card, consider the advantages and disadvantages especially with the current financial situation you are in. 

Eliminating Credit Card Debt

How to eliminate credit card debt? – A questions that is asked by a number of individuals around the globe. These are the individuals who somehow (mostly due to uncontrolled spending) landed into the mouth of this monster called ‘Credit card debt’. So what are the ways to eliminate credit card debt?

If you are looking to eliminate credit card debt, you have already reached 50% of your goal because your decision to eliminate credit card debt is the first and the most important step towards you being able to eliminate credit debt. Having said that, it is important to mention that you also need to be firm on this decision and stick to it with complete sincerity and seriousness, till you finally eliminate credit card debt (and even after that). 

To eliminate credit card debt, you need planning. This starts with analysis of current situation in terms of your debt and your finances (current and as expected in near future). So to eliminate credit card debt, you need to first check the amount you owe on various credit cards. Just use a notebook to note down the amount you owe on each credit card and the corresponding APR associated with them. Once you have this information handy, you can total up the various amounts to get the total amount of your credit card debt. After all, you can’t eliminate credit card debt if you don’t know how much it is actually. The next thing is to see if you have enough cash handy e.g. in your various bank accounts, which you can put to use to eliminate credit card debt (of course, you will need to take a view on how much cash you will need to fulfil your day to day and specific future needs). If you find that you have enough to eliminate credit card debt completely, just go ahead and eliminate credit card debt and earn your peace of mind. However, if you can’t eliminate credit card debt completely, check the amount that you can use to eliminate credit card debt partially. Next step, as you must have guessed, is to check how best you can use this amount to eliminate credit card debt (even if partially) i.e. which portion of credit card debt should you eliminate first. So, first eliminate credit card debt on the credit card which has the highest APR and which is hitting you the most. Then eliminate credit card debt on the credit card which has the next highest APR and so on and so forth. If you are incurring additional late fees etc on some of your credit cards, you might decide to reserve some amount to make minimum payments on those credit cards (before you finally eliminate credit card debt on them). 

What we have seen is just some basic analysis and first steps on how to eliminate credit card debt. You might need to take some other steps to eliminate credit card debt e.g. consolidation of credit card debt is one good option. However, it’s imperative to understand that any and all methods to eliminate credit card debt will fail if you don’t inculcate controlled spending habits.