banking - 5 Things Your Credit Card Company Keeps Quiet About

Credit Cards can bankrupt you if you let them run away from you. The various Credit Cards companies are in it for profit so they will not generally alert you to things you can do to save yourself money. Here are a few secrets that the card companies try to keep to themselves: Minimum Payments - If you only make the minimum payment appearing on your credit card statement, then on an average balance of $4,000 each month, it will take you over 40 years to repay the balance. It means there is no real time set down for you to pay the debt back. It's an open-ended type system and it is in the interest of your credit card company to let you pay only the minimum amount, because they get high interest on the outstanding amount month by month. It is in their interest that you are in debt, because this is their business. Once you pay back your debt, they no longer have an income. Most credit card companies will let you pay off your credit card balance forever if you let them. In fact, a lot of credit card companies do not like you to have your credit card at a nil balance from month to month because it slashes their income considerably. Just Keeps Going - When you take out a normal loan it is usually for a particular term and therefore your repayments are geared to clear the loan by the end of the term. With credit cards however, there is no fixed term and therefore there is no end set down. Someone said it's like the energizer bunny seen on TV that just keeps going, and going and going and going. Teaser rates - Credit card companies usually have what is known as a "teaser rate". This is a low rate, which encourages you to take out a card. After a period, (usually 6 months) it's bumped up to a very high rate. This introductory credit card rate is heavily advertised, but what you don't see is the fine print. The fine print (which is so small that you need a magnifying glass to read it) clearly sets out the conditions, and one of these is that the rate will increase. Be careful, because like any other offer or business opportunity put before you - if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is. Before Due Date - Remember that credit card payments are due mostly on the last day of the month or on the first day of the next month, or on the date shown on the credit card statement. You must ensure your payment reaches them before that due date or you will be hit with a late charge. What also happens is that you will be charged interest on the entire balance from the time the balance was debited on to your credit card account. It is very difficult for you to win with your credit card in this type of scenario. The moral is to make sure you pay your credit card off so there is a nil balance each month and if you cannot afford to do that, then always pay the minimum amount and pay it by the due date. Watch Promotions - You need to watch promotions where credit card companies offer you incentives to transfer your credit card balance to their card. They usually entice you with a lower rate of interest and it really sounds like a generous offer. However, just check that there are no catches. With some cards, if you don't charge something new on the new card each month, the interest jumps up to the regular rate for that credit card, which is usually very high. If you make a late payment, the promotional rate disappears and you will be hit with the regular high rate. You have to carefully check out what's in the offer, and if necessary ask questions before you accept the proposal put before you, however attractive. Copyright 2005 StartRunGrow http://www.startrungrow.com StartRunGrow (http://www.startrungrow.com) is a global online information organisation that specialises in creating, developing and marketing business help information specifically with the aim of "making business easier" for entrepreneurs around the world. The StartRunGrow objective is to become a dominant player in the business help arena providing end to end solutions for the millions of small and medium businesses worldwide who continue to struggle daily with the difficulties of starting, running and growing a successful business. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Viliamu banking - Money Matters - Internet Shopping Security - How to Buy and Sell Online Intelligently! Computers and money...with the widespread use of the Internet more and more people are using credit cards for online purchasing. Even with all the encryption and "security" technology out there today, identities are stolen, credit card fraud occurs and people get hurt everyday. Using debit cards is especially risky IF that debit card is tied to your primary checking account, which brings me around to the point of this article. How to set up a dedicated online E-checking/debit card account for ALL online purchasing so you run the least risk of taking a financial hit on the Internet... a concept you may want to implement. First, you have to find a bank that offers free (and I mean free) checking. Secondly, open a DEDICATED checking account with a small amount of money (say $20.00 to $100.00) and set this account up for online banking access and order a debit card for the account. (A debit card is tied directly to a checking account, it looks like a credit card and acts like a credit card but its purchasing power is limited to the amount of money in your checking account). Thirdly, this E-checking/debit card account should be treated like a "self-funded" line of credit to be used STRICTLY for online transactions (don't write checks from this account-just use the debit card like a credit card). The idea being that IF your account numbers are stolen or you are a victim of an online scam, your loss is limited to the amount of money in this dedicated account. The primary benefit of this arrangement is that it keeps your online purchasing completely separate from your other accounts and limits the amount of damage you will experience if you are ripped off. The downside of this arrangement is that your purchasing power is limited to how much money you have in the E-account and you don't have the same "return of goods" provision with a debit card as with a credit card, so you still have to be careful. All things considered this is one of the more intelligent ways to purchase online. Of course, if you treat this E-account like a self-funded line of credit it will keep you from charging beyond your means and you can use this particular debit card for other "credit like purchases" like dinners out, booking hotel rooms, etc. Again, if something bad happens, your loss is limited to the amount in the account. But there are more benefits to this strategy: 1. Having a (dedicated) "E-checking account" online will allow you to setup a Pay Pal account (Pay Pal is a secure way to send and receive money online). Pay Pal is, in essence, an "electronic wallet" that has become the industry standard for transferring money between buyers and sellers online. Pay Pal set up is free, easy to do and allows you to buy and sell online securely. Another benefit to Pay Pal is it allows you to conduct merchant processing-which means you can sell online to people using Pay Pal, Master Card, Visa, American Express, Discover Card, etc to complete the transaction. It's all very cool, secure and easy to do. 2. Having a dedicated E-account will also allow you to set up an Ebay account-most everybody knows about Ebay...another reason to setup a dedicated E-checking account! Setting up a dedicated E-account in this manner is also a good way for people who don't have credit, have gone bankrupt, have had lenders revoke or suspend credit cards, or people who are just tired of paying high-interest credit card debt to operate online. This way they still have some form of "plastic" to use in a world that virtually demands its use without paying the ridiculous interest rates associated with credit cards. The key is to keep just the amount of money you need in the E-account as you need it and no more (just in case) you get whacked by a crook. If you are interested in receiving a really cool "no strings attached" report called E-Tailing! Email us at the address below and let us know...we will send it to your email address absolutely FREE. It has click-able links to take you everywhere you have to go-an Ezine reader exclusive! Copyright ? 2006 James W. Hart, IV All Rights reserved