Thursday, September 6, 2007
As you probably already know, there are many credit cards out there. The one you choose however, should reflect your lifestyle and your ideal spending amounts. If you are looking for the best possible deal and the best company for your credit card, you’ll obviously need to look around at what you have to choose from and what works best for you.
The first thing you’ll need to decide when choosing your credit card, is why you need one in the first place. Some people choose to get a credit card for cash flow purposes. With a credit card, you can make purchases and buy things, leaving your paycheck or other source of income in your bank account to draw interest. This way, your money will continue to grow while you continue to buy the things you need. Then at the end of the month, simply pay your bill.
Others will choose to get a credit card and use it for instant cash purposes. This way, they can use their credit card at an ATM and get instant cash, which is great for travel or going on a long and extended vacation. If this is why you want a credit card, you should look for one that has the lowest rate possible for instant cash transactions.
With a credit card, you’ll also need to think about the payments. You’ll need to decide if you want to pay the balance in full each month, or only the required amount. When you select your credit card, you should look at the introductory rates, balance transfer rates, and other offers that may apply to new credit cards and new holders. Some will offer you truly amazing deals, especially if you have good credit.
Another important area to look at when choosing your credit card is the incentives. There are several cards out there that will give you incentives, such as reward points and even cash back with purchases that you can use towards paying back what you owe. There are several incentives out there with credit cards, all you have to do is look around and compare.
The key area you’ll need to look at and compare is the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). The APR is what you will pay on what you purchase when the incentive period runs out. APR rates will vary among credit cards, so it is always in your best interest to compare and shop around. The lower APR rate you get, the better off you’ll be.
Another concern with choosing your credit card is the minimum payment amount. Most minimum payment balances will start around 3%, although some can be lower while others tend to be quite a bit higher. The interest free period is a concern as well, as you will obviously want to choose the longest period that you can keep the payments down.
When you make that final decision and choose your credit card, you should always make sure that you know exactly what you are getting. Credit cards are great to have, although they can lead to a downfall if you don’t choose them carefully. If you put some time and research into choosing your credit card, you’ll find the best one for you. As long as you take care of your credit card and pay the bill on time, you’ll help raise your credit and eventually be able to purchase even bigger things - such as a car or even a house.
You can find the best choice of credit cards and pre-paid cards at www.CreditCards.us (http://www.creditcards.us)
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The Benefits of Retirement Protection Disability Insurance
Americans place a significant amount of importance on retirement savings. According to a global retirement survey conducted this year, U.S. workers save just shy of $700 a month for retirement—a figure double the amount saved by workers in Germany, Italy, and France and over ten times the amount saved by workers in China. With Social Security’s uncertain future, Americans see saving for retirement as more vital than ever before.
Now consider how a disability could affect your ability to save for retirement. The two primary aspects of most successful retirement plans are positive annual returns and consistent contributions. A disability will not affect the performance of the money you have already invested in retirement, but it certainly can bring your contributions to a halt. Fortunately, there is a way to ensure that a disability will not derail your retirement contributions.
A retirement protection disability insurance policy pays the insured a benefit of up to $3,670 per month that can be contributed to a retirement plan if he or she becomes disabled. This benefit not only pays the insured’s current contribution, but will also cover the amount their employer matches.
A retirement protection disability insurance policy is independent of other disability coverage you might have, but it shares many of the same great features of a personal disability insurance policy. Retirement protection disability policies can be own occupation specific, non-cancellable, and guaranteed renewable to age 65. They also offer the flexibility of a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to guard against inflation, and a Future Increase Option (FIO) Rider that allows the policyholder to increase coverage without providing evidence of medical insurability.
While they have different functions, retirement protection and personal disability insurance policies both prevent your hard work and careful planning from being destroyed by a disability. A personal disability insurance policy prevents financial disaster, but retirement protection disability insurance allows you to continue saving for retirement on your terms.
For more information, visit Doctor Disability Insurance
Managing your credit score
Here are some things to be aware of that may have nothing to do with how well you manage your finances. People who are very conscientious with their money are sometimes surprised to discover their credit is not as good as they might have imagined. And folks who assume their number got to be really low based on their high debt load may have higher expectations of their credit scores. Some of the things which we'll reduce your credit score are: the history of payment, many cards, and many credits inquires.
The history of payment…well, some people think it's smart to avoid credit card and other debt entirely, preferring to pay for things as they go with checks or cash in order to avoid living beyond their means. This is prudent in terms of keeping within one's limits, but as far as your credit score goes, it leaves a black hole on your record that can be just as lethal as having too many cards or getting in over your head with debt. The problem is that without a paper trail, no one really knows how good or bad is a risk. Just having a card, creates that paper trail for you. It also shows that you can handle credit -- and that's ultimately what it's all about. This is especially important for young people which just entering the work force. How well you keep up with your current obligations, any record of late/missed payments, etc. will negatively affect your score even if it happened several years in the past and you've had no incidents since that time (credit records typically go back seven years).
Even if you never carry a balance, or always make your minimum monthly payment, having too many credit cards can hurt your credit score as badly as having some or no credit cards at all. The assumption is that with access to all those potential lines of credit, you might overspend yourself into the poverty without realizing it until it's too late. It's easy to fall into the trap of having too many cards given the weekly deluge of offers most of us get in the mail each week but to keep your credit score healthy, avoid having more than four credit cards.
If you're thinking about a car, a house or other loan, avoid applying for new store cards, a home equity line or other forms of credit during the weeks/months prior to applying for your loan. Each time an inquiry is made into your credit history during the application process, it is reported and that can negatively affect your overall credit score. The assumption is that you're too extended, or in danger of becoming overextended.
Everything from your monthly mortgage payment to extraordinary credit card balances. If the proportion of your debt relative to your income is too high, your score will be lower. The more established you are, the better your credit score will generally be.
Finally, everyone should periodically check their credit report for accuracy and immediately contest any erroneous information that may have found its way onto your record.
Summary : Managing you credit is key in keeping your credit score in good standing with you creditors.
About Author : Mary L. is the owner of http://www.thegoodcredit.com where you can find useful information about credit repair as well as the most common issues regarding this matter.
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