Saturday, March 11, 2006

Pros And Cons Of Credit Cards

Credit cards are very convenient. There's no need to carry any
cash; you can just take a credit card with you to the shop and
charge for your shopping.

When you shop on the Internet or over the phone, it's the only
good way to make purchases online. This is more convenient than
posting a cheque for payment. Like anything convenient, though,
having credit cards have its cons.

Not Keeping Track of Your Shopping Charges May Land You in
Trouble.

When you walk into that shop and hand over the card, you don't
pay cash rightaway. This can mean that as you do not see less
money in your purse or wallet, you may lose track of how much
you've spent.

Everyone has a tendency to underestimate what they spend, and
smaller amounts can add up quickly on a credit card without you
even noticing. It's like taking the way phone bills work and
applying it to everything you buy - and that can't be a good
idea.

Also, imagine the scenario if you have more than one credit
card. You will have to consolidate your charges on all of them
as well as those on your debit cards to derive your total
spending for the month.

You May Pay More Interest than Earn Interest.

The moment you run an outstanding balance, you're paying the
credit card company interest. You're also paying your credit
card bill as soon as you get your wages, so you may not have
the chance to earn any interest from your bank balances.

You Charge More to Your Credit Cards to Earn More Reward
Points.

The more debt you show you can pay back, the more credit card
companies will offer to you in terms of limit and cash
advances. The offers are so attractive that sometimes, it's
tempting to apply for more than one credit card. Credit card
companies also try to make you charge more to credit card by
awarding you reward points. The result is that you end up
spending more as you get enticed by lucky draws, discounts for
shopping, etc.

But Credit Cards If Used Wisely Can Be Useful.

When you need money in an emergency and you just don't have
any, there's no doubt that credit cards can be useful. They are
also a very useful way of proving to credit rating agencies that
you can handle debt, and this may be taken into consideration
when you apply for car loans or a mortgage.

Just remember that whenever you handle credit cards, you've got
to learn how to manage your finances. Keep your loans to a
minimum, and you will be in greater financial health.


About The Author: Elaine Lim used to be a research analyst from
a bank and now hopes to share her expertise through publishing
information on consumer credit. She hopes to help others in
their financial planning, debt management and credit repair.
For more free tips and resources, please visit
http://www.credit-cards-eguide.com .
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http://www.debt-elimination-program-reviews.com/scams.html

Bill Consolidation: Freedom From Debt?

Stated simply, bill consolidation is getting loan to pay for
other loans so that the borrower is left with only one loan to
finance. Debt consolidation is a step taken by borrowers for
the advantages it may allow like lowered interest rates and
focusing his payment to a single loan.

This often takes placing a property as collateral. When
collateral is guaranteed the interest gets lower because the
risk to the lending company is decreased. When the borrower
fails to meet his obligations, the lending company forecloses
the property as payment for the debt.

People with multiple credit cards often resort to debt
consolidation. Carrying multiple credit cards is almost
surefire formula to carrying high interest rates. Credit cards
are one type of an unsecured loan. As such, credit cards carry
high interest rates and people with multiple credit cards are
often tempted to spend more than they earn.

One good way of solving this is through debt consolidation.
Secured loans from the bank or a lending company (one that is
covered by collateral) have less interest rates than the
unsecured loans for credit cards. Paying then all his credit
cards from a secured loan from the bank enables the borrower of
saving from the lowered interest rate. As mentioned, this is a
good way of doing it, if the habit of spending more than what
one earns is not changed. The process starts again and the
interest rates will soon start to climb, sometimes, worse than
it was resulting to foreclosure of properties.

There are many ways to consolidate debt. There are for example
the student's consolidation loans and the home finance debt
consolidation. But no matter how it is termed, debt
consolidation is little more like transferring one unsecured
loan to another unsecured loan. The debt is still there and
most people thought that by consolidating the loan, something
has already been done. Again, nothing has been done if the
habit that started it all is not resolved.

A better way to real freedom from debt is, when the debt
consolidation has been done and is working, have a plan and
stick to it. One of the generic approaches to that are the
obvious:

Do not spend on that one single credit card the way you were
spending when you have many. This seems to be very obvious and
so people who have consolidated their loans starts out fine.
After a while, the temptation to spend on loans starts. One of
the many reason is that the interests are lowered, the other
one is by habit. So once the debt consolidation is on, have the
plan not to spend on the things that you can live without and
stick to it.

Then, have a plan to pay for the loan that was secured with
collateral. About 80% of the time, people who consolidated
their loans dos not have a plan to assure the payment for the
loan with an extra job and other ways of generating extra
income. When emergencies strikes, the most convenient way is
again to resort to additional lending and the debt grows back
over time, higher interests are charged and the cycle
continues.

The best way to get out of debt and gain back that freedom is
to consolidate and then have a plan that one can stick to. No
amount of loan consolidation will work if the habit that placed
one in debt is not avoided.


About The Author: Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher
based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and
reports in various ezines and provides bill consolidation
resources on http://www.about-bill-consolidation.info

Getting A Loan If Your Credit Is Bad

When you're learning about something new, it's easy to feel
overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information
available. This informative article should help you focus on
the central points.

Bad credit is the worst type of credit that you could ever
have. Imagine all the doors that good credit opens and then
imagine them being slammed in your face. This is the reality of
bad credit and many people are living this reality even as you
read this. You might even be one of these people. If you are,
you should already realize how frustrating this kind of a
lifestyle can be. You have to pay the highest interest rate
possible on credit cards and you are constantly denied for
loans. You can't live a prosperous life with such financial
impediments standing in your way.

If you are stuck in this type of financial rut, you are in need
is some good old fashioned credit repair. You need the best help
you can find to improve your credit rating. The sooner you
repair your credit score, the sooner you can be rid of the bad
credit curse that has been plaguing you for so many years.

If your bankruptcy facts are out-of-date, how will that affect
your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let
important bankruptcy information slip by you.

Why should you be stuck in financial hell? Stop dealing with
bad credit. You can improve your credit by acting more
responsibly with your money and living within your means. With
a little help, you will learn how to pay bills on-time and how
not to spend more than you can afford to. Even though there are
lenders out there who will agree to approve your high risk loan,
they will charge you an insanely high interest rate. You don't
want to be in more debt than you have to be in, so you want to
find a lender that specializes in bad credit personal and
business loans.

Although it may seem like your credit will forever be screwed
up when your credit is bad, a bad credit loan may help to
establish some good credit. As long as you can make your
payments every month, you will begin to build your credit back
up again. Everyone makes mistakes, but you don't have to suffer
for your entire life because of them. At least not now that they
have bad credit loans there to help you out.

To find a lender that will guarantee you approval, you have to
search online. It is the only way to do it these days and you
can get some real help from real people like you who have used
the service before. When you search in person you are much more
likely to be denied or approved for a ridiculously high loan
that you could scarcely pay back. By going online lenders will
fight for your business and you will end up not only being
approved by several different lenders, but will find lower
interest rates as well.

Don't limit yourself by refusing to learn the details about
bankruptcy. The more you know, the easier it will be to focus
on what's important.


About The Author: James Mahony is the founder of
http://www.thecreditsource.com - A site dedicated to Credit
Repair Free Credit Repair Guide
http://www.creditcardapprovals.com
http://www.articlesforwebsitecontent.com