February 23rd, 2009 Admin
Marketing to Students?
Think back to when you were in college. Do you remember all of the credit card offers you received? Credit card companies spend millions of dollars targeting college students. Why? Because these students don’t always know how to use credit cards responsibly and can end up paying a great deal in interest payments.
Plus, these students will have good jobs and be in their careers in a couple of years. So, why not let students rack up credit card debt and then nail them in interest charges once they are finally in a career?
Many students don’t realize that their colleges and universities are helping the credit card companies. Not them. Many colleges and universities actually sell student contact information. Some institutions even give contact information to credit card companies. All of this is always done without any consent from the student.
Florida has already begun discussion about prohibiting these actions. A Republican lawmaker from Florida, Carey Baker, brought the item to the table. He has worked closely with The Consumer Warning Network to expose higher-education institutions and credit card companies.
In July of 2008, The Consumer Warning Network showed us just how dangerous things have gotten. It reported that some colleges/universities “pocket” a portion of the proceeds every time a student applies for or qualifies for a credit card. It also exposed exclusive marketing schemes from Bank of America to college students.
Now, lawmakers are extremely interested in what the relationship is between credit card companies and institutions of higher learning.
Carey Baker has proposed new legislation that would prohibit these practices. His bill would completely prohibit any college or university (public or private) from working with credit card companies. These institutions would now be prohibited from “offering or facilitating the marketing of credit cards to undergraduate students.”
This would be welcome legislation. Instead of helping credit card companies, maybe colleges and universities would take a more active role in educating undergraduate students about the proper ways to use credit cards. After all, the students of today will be the financial and economical leaders of tomorrow.
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February 20th, 2009 Admin
The Importance of Payment Scheduling
One of the biggest problems that credit cardholders face is remember when a payment is due. Many cardholders try to juggle several different cards, each with a different due date and payment amount.
Here are a few reasons why you should schedule your credit card payments or automate the payment schedule.
1. You’ll Save Money. How many times have you paid a $10 late fee? How about a $25 late fee? Add up all of the money that you have wasted by missing due dates. Think about what you could do with that money now. Scheduling your credit card payments is a great way to keep all of that money in your wallet. You could even put that money into a savings account and watch your responsibility grow. Many bank accounts also offer a free bill pay service. Try using this service to have your credit card bills paid automatically every month. You can stay on top of your due dates without even having to think about it.
2. Your Credit Report Will Thank You. Many people don’t think that being a few days late dings their credit. Well, here’s a news flash. It does. Lenders can look up your payment history and see if you make it a habit to be late while paying your bills. Just because your bill paying tardiness doesn’t get reported to the credit bureaus each month, doesn’t mean that it won’t affect your ability to qualify for loans down the road. For instance…I used to work at a credit union. Each time a member came in to apply for a loan (whether it was an auto loan, a second mortgage, a line of credit, etc), we looked at their payment history. Those individuals who always paid their bills late usually didn’t get approved for the loan they were seeking. Keep this in mind.
It’s time to think about scheduling your credit card payments. You can create your own scheduling system or try an automated one. Either way, you’ll be better off than you were before you started scheduling your payments.
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February 16th, 2009 Admin
Wouldn’t it be helpful to have a condensed guide that gave you all of the credit card secrets that you needed to know to stay ahead of the game?
Well, today is your lucky day. Pay close attention to these credit card secrets to know what you need to do to make the most of your credit card experience.
1. READ and UNDERSTAND the fine print. Most consumers don’t read the fine print and this is a dangerous habit to get into. Before signing up for a card, make sure you read all of the fine print and understand all of it as well.
2. Pay your bill on time. Paying your credit card bill on time can not only save you money in late charges, but it can ultimately save your credit history as well. Most consumers don’t realize that if your payment is late on one card, the interest rate on any of your other cards could go up.
3. Get rid of those annual fees. Do you have a credit card that has an annual fee? Do you have good or excellent credit? If your answer is “yes,” you are in good luck. All you have to do is call up your credit card company and ask them to get rid of the annual fee. Seventy-five percent of the time, this really works. So take advantage of it.
4. Pay in full all of the time. Don’t waste your time paying minimum payments. Minimum payments will get you no where. Paying interest on credit cards just doesn’t make sense. You end up paying much more than what a product is worth.
5. Pay attention. How many credit cardholders really read their statement every month? Not many. It is so important to pay close attention to your monthly statement. You can catch due dates that have changed. You can also keep a close eye on credit card fraud and unauthorized charges.
6. Waive it. You will always pay your credit card on time and in full. However, things do come up. If you don’t make it a habit to pay your credit card late, you can often get that “occasional” late payment waived.
7. Security insurance. Most credit cards come with insurance. You don’t need to buy extra insurance, but many people do. Check and make sure you aren’t spending unnecessary money on security insurance that won’t do you any good.
8. High-interest cards. Try not to use high-interest rate credit cards. Many of these cards come with a great “introductory offer.” However, once the offer has run out, the interest rate skyrockets. If you do have a balance on a high interest credit card, try and pay that one off first. The idea is to pay off the cards with the highest interest first. You can save yourself a bundle in the long run.
9. Credit Union Credit Cards. If you are looking to get a new credit card, try going through your local credit unions. Credit unions often have better rates and fees than other credit cards.
10. Insurance. Credit card insurance is different from credit card security insurance. In the event that you become disabled, unemployed, or experience other unforeseen situations, credit card insurance puts a stop to your payments. The downfall to this insurance is that it is extremely expensive. It also delays your debt instead of eliminating it.
There you have it. All of the credit card secrets that you need to know. Understand and follow these tips to make the most of your credit history and credit card usage.
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