July 21st, 2010
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
Today, Obama signs the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, known as the most sweeping financial reform bill since the Great Depression. In addition to overhauling entire financial sectors, the White House also blogged the Top 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Act.
In Letterman-esque fashion, the interesting list covers provisions of the bill that will further stabilize the economy and protect consumers, such as…
July 14th, 2010
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
Cardholders pay down debt by avoiding plastic, so credit card issuers are boosting rewards incentives to get consumers back to spending on plastic again. Plus, Keep up with your financial fitness with help from the following roundup of advice from credit-savvy writers.
December 7th, 2009
Monday Jumpstart to Credit Report & Personal Finance News
The National Retail Federation compared 2009 holiday shopping trends over 2008 and found credit-healthy and frugal are ruling consumers’ attitudes this Christmas. More consumers are planning to use cash than plastic when checking off their Christmas gift list, and there has been a dip in big ticket purchases like electronics and jewelry and a surge in cost-conscious gift categories like food and candy. This is expected given that the economy is still recovering, jobs remain scarce, and issuers are continuing credit card fee increases and credit limit cutbacks into the new year.
If you want to jump on this bandwagon of financially-fit shoppers, first jump into the helpful articles below for your credit report updates and personal finance needs.
Personal Finance News
- Scrooge teaches us to donate to charities, The Grinch reminds us Christmas isn’t about the presents, and 10 more money tips from holiday ‘experts’ at Bankrate.com.
- Wealth Pilgrim reveals the 5 best mistakes he ever made, and how they helped him with his personal finances.
- CNNMoney helps you stick with your financial diet with some strategies on how to avoid the risks of ditching your diet in 2010.
- What can be done in the next three months to get closer to my goals? Read all 4 questions you need to ask yourself to achieve your financial goals, brought to you by Gather Little By Little.
- Wall Street Journal suggests we try Christmas saving, not Christmas shopping, with some reasons to skip your next shopping trip.
Credit Reports & Credit Scores News
- The first of 9 steps for establishing credit is to establish credit relationships with banks and lenders. Read all the steps at Rich Credit Debt Loan’s blog.
- Herald Online answers the question, do credit scores matter in today’s world?
- Interested in loan modification but not sure what it will do to your credit? Check out No Debt Plan’s guide to loan modification and the affect on your credit score.
- MSNBC reports that the collapse in consumer credit may slow recovery.
- Ever wondered how many points it will cost you on your credit score if you maxed out your credit card? Or declared bankruptcy? Or had a late payment? ptMoney blogs credit score secrets revealed: FICO Negative Points.
November 25th, 2009
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
Thanksgiving is as much about delayed flights, crowded airports and highways as it is about turkey and cranberry sauce. As you prepare for one of the busiest travel moments of the year, know your travel rights and what to do in case you come up against any holiday travel snafus. Haven’t booked a flight yet but still want to make it for Thanksgiving dinner? For all you procrastinators, SmartMoney gives some last minute travel tips to get you on a jet plane and home for the holiday. In the meantime, this roundup of credit card and debt news can keep you busy if you have a long wait ahead of you at the airport terminal, or at your in-laws’.
Credit Card News
- Thinking about making the switch to debit? If you aren’t completely convinced yet, Kiplinger may win you over with the case for cutting out credit cards completely.
- Interest rates, new fees, and extra charges, oh my! Take back control of your credit cards with Reuter’s card tricks for managing credit.
- These horror stories of credit card bills from The New York Times might make you watch for your next bill statement a little closer–The great unknowns of credit card bills.
- Planning to shop till you drop? Follow Dallas News advice on being aware of credit card changes as you charge into holiday shopping and also to be careful of how you use debit cards.
- Should you get a credit union credit card? Bankrate.com offers a clear list of the perks and downsides to keep you in the know.
Debt News
- Merry news from MSNBC: late credit card payments dropping in 3rd quarter show that consumers are getting better at managing their debt.
- Here’s one way to calculate if you have too much debt– debt-to-income ratios. Moolanomy Personal Finance explains it all, and how you can measure if you are in over your head in debt.
- You are making late payments — one very good reason why you should not shop during Black Friday. Mainstreet offers 9 more tell-tale signs it might be better for you to sleep in that notorious Friday morning.
- How to go into debt to get out of debt, brought to you by Rich Credit Debt Loan. Sound like an oxymoron? Read on to find out how “good debt” can help you get out of “bad debt”.
- Go on WalletPop’s debtor’s diet this Thanksgiving and set your table on a budget.
- The holidays should be a time of celebration, not depression. Dismiss dampening your yuletide cheer by following Mainstreet’s tips on how to avoid a holiday debt hangover.
November 11th, 2009
Wednesday’s Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
The U.S debt load, a measurement of the total amount of debt the federal government has accumulated, is now at $11,893 trillion and rising closer to the self-imposed $12,104 trillion ceiling limit imposed by Congress. The interest on that alone could cost the country $4.8 trillion between 2010 and 2019! What happens after that, you might ask? The limit will soon be raised, and lawmakers are working on putting together a bipartisan commission to push Congress to make more decision-forcing actions to inch the huge national debt downward.
Should you take a page from Uncle Sam’s book in being that aggressive and gung-ho when it comes to dealing with debt? Read on for more updates on the battle against your personal debt, plus credit card news this week.
Credit Card News
- Newsweek puts it to the test: Credit card company or loan shark? Find out if consumers are being overcharged.
- Can you believe it? Free Money Finance can’t either– now even god takes credit cards.
- Mark your calenders for the top 10 consumer credit events of 2009 from The Wisdom Journal.
- You might have suspected it, but The Business Insider says its true– 10 ways credit card companies are still screwing you.
- “My credit card raised my interest rate! Here’s what to do,” a lesson learned from Money Under 30.
Debt News
- You can handle debt issues better than agencies MSNBC tells consumers.
- Chip away at your debt with some not-so-common-sense money saving tips from Being Frugal.
- Beware of ‘debt-relief’ offers warns The Wall Street Journal.
- More ways to save money to pay off debt with Bible Money Matter’s great big list of 75 budgeting tools.
- How to sue debt collectors blogs Bargaineering.
- Tired of the dealing with debt the same way? Check out The Digerati Life’s DIY Debt Management Plan: GO On Oprah’ Debt Diet!
November 9th, 2009
Monday Jumpstart to Credit Report & Personal Finance News
Saving money is a tricky business in our economic climate– credit is still tight, debts are high, and paychecks go straight to bills and necessary expenses with not much left over for a rainy day fund. This extra-big roundup has more than 50 ways to help you cut back on spending so you can start saving up more. Isnt’ it about time to start saving money for yourself and your future, now?
Personal Finance News
- Daily Finance makes a good point: Its the end of the recession as we know it. Why don’t we feel fine?
- Money Ning sets you straight with 3 easy steps to determine your financial priorities.
- How disposable is your money? asks Almost Frugal.
- Best way to invest $1,000 right now writes MSN Money.
- Want even more tips on investing? Read The Digerati Life blog, Where to invest extra cash and savings today.
- Gather Little By Little suggests 10 small ways to save money that make a big difference.
- 10 tricks for staying warm this winder without huge energy bills straight from The Simple Dollar.
- If you want to cut back on auto insurance, follow Saving to Invest’s 5 things to look for in getting low-cost auto insurance rates.
- Paying too much at the pump? SmartMoney suggests 5 ways to cut down on gas costs.
- 3 ways to save money on health insurance from CNNMoney.
- If you just can’t help it for the holidays, SmartMoney shows you how to splurge on a budget.
- Smart year-end tax moves to read before the new year! From Wall Street Journal.
Credit Reports & Credit Scores News
- Tips from Liz Weston on how teenagers can build credit.
- Consumer credit falls for 8th month reports CNNmoney.com.
- Your credit score can affect how to get the best deal on a new car; read ahead at SmartMoney.
- Ever wondered why aren’t credit scores free? Walletpop has the answer.
- NBC Bay Area makes credit health as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4.
November 6th, 2009
Friday Scoop on Credit Karma & Housing Market News
The bigger and better extended Home Buyer Tax Credit cleared both the House and Senate vote this week, and now sits on President Obama’s desk expecting to be signed and approved today. As soon as pen hits paper, the law will go into effect and ensure that the original $8,000 tax credit is extended to April 30 plus qualified repeat buyers can take advantage of a new $6,500 credit. It could be a stabilizing force for the crippled housing market, or it could be a band-aid that won’t last long. Read ahead for more opinions and perspectives on what new measures Uncle Sam is taking to cool off the heat of recession.
Credit Karma News
- Money Matters: when ‘free’ isn’t free from Keloland Television.
- The Today Show mentions CK in their Wednesday morning segment!
- The New York Times puts in a good word about CK in, “A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill.”
Home & Mortgage News
- 6 signs your home will increase in value straight from SmartMoney.
- DebtKid asks, if money = freedom, why buy a home?
- The New York Times reports on fraud watch for homeowners.
- Good news! Mortgage applications rose 8.2% last week reports MarketWatch.
- More good news! Mortgage rates fall below 5% reports The Oakland Tribune.
- WiseBread gives fun tips on how to make money from what you could find in your attic.
- Deadline for home tax credit extended writes The Money Times.
- Moolanomy throws in its two cents– Why the first time home buyer credit is terrible for the economy.
- The Baltimore Sun’s blog has a few points to make about the expanded home buyer tax credit.
Here’s a glance at current mortgage rates to keep you up-to-date. The table shows the overnight average interest rate for two of the most common mortgage loan types (keep in mind, refinance rates typically vary from purchase rates listed below). Happy house hunting!
November 4th, 2009
Wednesday’s Trends in Credit Cards & Your Debt
Debt is the new four letter word to avoid. Everyone, from Uncle Sam to the average American, is taking action to get out of the red: Bloomberg reports that the U.S Treasury Department is selling a whopping $81 billion of long-term debt next week to steer away from the country’s legal debt limit of $12.1 trillion; and Philly.com reports that Americans have been buying less stuff on credit cards, which helped drop the total U.S credit card debt peak of $975 billion in Fall 2008 to below $900 billion this summer.
Your card balance may not be in the billions, but are you taking steps to take care of your credit and eliminate your debt? This week’s roundup is especially for you to start taking steps to get out of the red too.
Credit Card News
- Thinking about canceling your card? Before you do, read The Wall Street Journal’s article, “Credit cards: break up or make up?“.
- Is it possible to live without credit cards?, FiveCentNickel asks.
- If you are shopping for a credit card, do your homework first with The Boston Globe.
- Reduce Debt Faster shares 3 ways to lower credit card payments.
- Prepaid credit cards gaining favor reports The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Study finds prepaid cards less expensive than debit cards from banks blogs Almost Frugal.
- The BBC looks into what’s in store for the future of credit cards?
- Credit card debt elimination guide @ Clear Choice Credit Cards.
- The Digerati Life looks at how to opt out of interest rate increases.
Debt News
- Cash Money Life asks an important question: Do you know how much interest you are paying each month?
- A fun, alternative approach from Five Cent Nickel: Use weight loss strategies to get out of debt.
- Don’t wait until January to think about budgeting Being Frugal warns!
- Good debt vs bad debt: isn’t it all bad? Your Money Relationship answers the burning question.
- Gather Little By Little recommends using your emergency fund to pay off your debt.
October 28th, 2009
Wednesday’s Trends in Credit Cards & Your Debt
Here’s something fun to take your mind off the long work week: a little bit of Jaywalking on Money Matters on All Financial Matters. While you’re sharing a few laughs with co-workers, make sure you browse the rest of these links so you don’t end up like those Jaywalking victims. Enjoy!
Credit Cards
- The Chicage Tribune announces that those annoying gift card dormancy charges are now canceled.
- Credit cards are indeed an indulgence confesses Money Ning.
- Market Watch reports that Congress to take aim at overdraft fee limits.
- Check out Money Under 30′s two-part series, “Radically re-thinking credit cards“.
- You won’t believe what the latest bank fee is for: paying off credit card on time every month, USA Today reports.
- Mighty Bargain Hunter responds to the article above, and takes a different side — anti-credit card legislation hurts just about everyone.
- Credit cards to charge good behavior fees blogs Frugal Dad.
Debt
- Liz Weston answers a question on ways to pay off costly debt.
- Graduation present or pay off debt? wonders Clever Dude.
- CNN Money reports that unemployment in cities eases in September.
- Did you know that even good debt can be bad, blogs Moolanomy.
- Have good credit? The Digerati Life suggests best debt consolidation loans for you.
- Not my debt – what do I do? PT Money solves this dilemma.
October 21st, 2009
Changes To Your Credit Card Terms – What to Look For & How to Avoid It
If you own a credit card or read this blog regularly, you should be familiar with the restrictions and fees credit card companies have been imposing on cardholders in recent months. Cardholders have been complaining about jacked-up interest rates, sudden fees, lowered credit lines, closed accounts, and unfair penalties. These changes to the terms on your user agreements for credit cards may not necessarily be due to your poor credit management or late payments; another reason is that banks have been trying to increase the profitability of consumer accounts before the reforms of the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights take effect in February 2010.
With the credit crunch and rising consumer defaults, banks are doing what they need to do to stay in business. Consumers need to look out for the fine print on any notice of changes to your credit card from your issuer, like the one that Bank of America customers received, and see what you can do to protect your credit and your credit score.
ATM surcharge and fees
The Cost: As high as $5 per transaction. Every time you go to use another bank’s ATM for quick cash, you are likely to get slapped with increased fees from both ends of the transaction—the ATM’s bank and your own bank. You have to pay an average surcharge of $2.22 to use another Bank’s ATM, up nearly 13% since last year according to Bankrate.com. Then there is the fee your own bank will charge you for using another bank’s ATM, which has risen to an average of $1.46 from last year’s $1.25.
How to Avoid it: You can only plan ahead and be prepared with cash, or you can switch banks. If you want to stick to your bank, the best way to avoid this fee is to estimate how much cash you need for the day and withdraw what you need from your own bank’s branch so won’t be desperate for cash and tempted to use any ATM. If you’re sick of surcharges and fees, opt for an online bank, such as ING Direct, Bank of the Internet, NetBank, and First Internet Bank, that will reimburse ATM surcharges up to amount per month. Charles Schwab Bank and E-Trade off unlimited rebates for ATM surcharges.
Annual Fees
The Cost: Anywhere from $29-99. Bank of America announced last week that they plan to tack on a $29 to $99 annual fee to an undisclosed amount of its credit accounts starting in February. If cardholders don’t voice too much of a protest, other banks may follow in BofA’s steps very soon.
How to Avoid it: BofA calls the annual fees an “experiment”, so complaining might get some results. If you have an excellent credit score in the mid 700s range, you are in luck. You can try and negotiate with your issuer and even mention that you will take your business elsewhere; chances are they will want to keep a reliable customer like you. If you have poor credit, you can close your account to dodge the fee, but your already-low credit score will take a hit. If the account happens to be your oldest credit card, you might want to consider paying the fee because your credit score will take a big drop with closing your oldest credit line.
Reduced Limits
The Cost: None, but you will have lowered credit limits and a potentially lowered credit score. About 20% of U.S cardholders between October 2008 and April 2009 saw their credit card limits slashed involuntarily, and in some cases, their accounts arbitrarily closed, according to a FICO study. However, 73% of the cardholders complained that they were penalized with no apparent credit problem. Lowered credit limits means higher credit utilization (a ratio of your current credit balances against your total available limits) which unfortunately also means an average of a 20 point drop on a credit score; that could be the difference between being approved or not approved for a loan.
How to Avoid it: You can fight back, or at least make the most of it. Try calling your bank and asking to have your credit limit increased, especially if you are in good credit standing. Otherwise, you can minimize the damage to your credit score by lowering your credit utilization accordingly and paying down your balances. Make sure you don’t go over your new credit limit or maintain a high credit utilization rate—your funds and credit score will shrink.
Overdraft fees
The Cost: As high as $35 per overdraft. If you make several purchases on an overdrawn account in a single day, banks often charge more for repeat overdrafts. That means that you don’t just pay an increased fee on overdrafts—you’d pay it several times over in a single day. Some issuers, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, are planning to reform overdraft fees following criticism from Congress over the exorbitant practices.
How to Avoid it: Monitor spending on your debit card or stick to using a credit card. When you do get overdraft charges, especially if it was multiple charges in a short amount of time, call your issuer and try and pare it down to a single fee–sometimes issuers will do 4 overdraft fees in a single day while the customer doesn’t even realize they overdrew on their account. Avoid using this by using a credit card so you can’t overdraw your account–however, make sure you pay off your balance in full each month and don’t exceed your credit limit or else you’ll be paying fees all over again.
Interest rate hike
The Cost: As high as a 29.99% interest rate hike. Issuers have been squeezing in interest rate hikes for the last few months and will continue to do so in the upcoming months to profit as much from consumer accounts before the credit card reform legislation sets in. Rates rose by 20% just in early 2009, which is already taking a big financial toll on consumers who rely heavily on credit cards or with outstanding balances.
How to Avoid it: If you have good credit, try calling your issuer to have the interest rate dropped. Doing a balance transfer to another credit card with a lower interest rate is another option to ease your payment charges; make sure you don’t get hit with a transfer fee on the new card. However, the best, long-term way to avoid getting burned with these ever-increasing rates is to pay off the debt you have and to hold back on spending so you don’t carry a balance from month to month.
If you want to know more specifically the changes on credit cards each issuer is taking, check out Credit Card Changes by Issuer and Date for a good list of the fees that you might be unaware you are being charged. As banks look for ways to make a profit on plastic while they still can, these fees and hikes might be a red flag to ease up on your credit usage to avoid unnecessary charges all together.
