Posts Tagged ‘credit card’

Credit and Marriage

Credit and MarriageGetting married is a wonderful thing and gives birth to a new life together as a couple. Part of being married means working together as a team in all aspects of our lives-physically, spiritually, emotionally and financially as well. In fact, questions of finance and debt have led to disagreements and splits between both married couples.

The main area of concern when it comes to finances is the area related to personal debt, especially credit card balances. Many couples go into marriage without being aware of the debt of his girlfriends. In fact, although debt is a personal burden, while you are single, married couples will finally have to face the debt problem together after being married. This can cause stress in marriage, which is why 70% of divorces in the United States are caused by financial problems.

It is best to exercise sound financial planning consolidated after marriage. This means that you should try to clear any outstanding debts you may have before you’re married. The union of these in marriage can mean asking your spouse to bear for a debt that he or she will not get into in the first place. Cancel credit cards that charge high interest rates and leave one or two that offer favorable rates. You can always inform the credit card companies that are getting married and are looking at closing some of its accounts.

The best way to eliminate your credit card debt is by planning your monthly expenses and budget an amount each month to pay its debt. You can transfer some of their outstanding balances to 0% APR cards lighten your load, you pay monthly. Also, do not pay any more to your credit card unless really necessary, since only increase the value of the debt you’re trying to bear fruit.

Apart from that, the both of you may also want to check their credit reports so that discrepancies can be sorted out as soon as possible. Doing so now, you will help prevent later disagreements arising from the debt you and your spouse had no knowledge of.

After your credit card debt is cleared, achieving a mutual agreement between the both of you on the type of expenditure to be charged to credit cards and those that should be paid with cash. In addition, make sure that the both of you understand that credit card balances must be paid each month. Another alternative is to have your credit cards issued under separate names even after marriage so that any credit problems do not affect the status of your spouse’s credit.




The Disadvantages of RFID Credit Cards

RFID Credit CardsRFID credit cards are leading the nation. Also known as Radio Frequency Identification, RFID for short, these cards allow you to make purchases with your credit card without even having to enter a PIN, swipe your card through a reader, or even sign for sale.

In theory, no one else could have this electronic fingerprint. Theory is not so much more. Some credit cards companies are already experimenting with RFID technology. It can be used at gas stations, convenience stores, maybe even in vending machines.

But this technology is as safe as all the experts say it is? Perhaps, but the idea of not signing for your purchase can cause you to have the Heebie-Jeebies. Moreover, usually with normal credit cards, the cashier is supposed to look at your card and compare signatures, to ensure that you are, whenever you make a purchase. With RFID tags, there is no extra step of security.

Another problem with RFID tags, and that you will not hear the credit card companies do, is that RFID tags can too easily to spend and raise its debt. If all a person has to do is wave your card at the fast food restaurant, to get gas so expensive to buy new flat-screen TVs, then chances are you start waving your card even more. In the long term, they will gain a ton more money for the Credit card companies. But for the buyer, which could mean a long life of living in debt.

Another potential problem with RFID is that it could be the next wave of the future for everything from passports to the security to enter the buildings. It could possibly be used to track their movements, even during the day, week and year. Imagine – the car, all buildings to be held, your house, your job – they all have RFID technology security. That makes for a chance of Big Brother to keep an eye on you. A thought of fear, and quite unlikely, “yes, but in reality it is not possible, because at least the RFID.




Protected Your Prepay Credit Card

Don’t like the idea of carrying lots of cash around with you? Even less comfortable with a standard credit card in your pocket due to the risk that you’ll get carried away spending more than you can afford? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then a type of prepay credit card – called a prepaid card – may be of interest to you.

Staying in control of your spending

It doesn’t matter how disciplined a person you are, it is can often be easy to slip into debt.

Typically the conventional credit card is one of the major sources of such debt because they are so easy to use and much of modern life demands a piece of plastic for payment rather than cash or credit etc.

So, it may be nice to have the convenience of plastic but without the risk of running up debts that you subsequently struggle to deal with.

The prepay card approach:

On the internet there are now specialist providers of these prepaid cards. Their cards offer the convenience and additional security that comes with plastic but without the risk of you getting drawn into runaway spending.

Despite often being referred to as a prepay credit card, these are not credit cards at all. They work on a very simple principle:

• You put money onto the card through any one of several methods such as direct bank transfer or via a PayPoint available in many shops and other outlets;

• You use the card as normal – but you cannot spend more than the maximum amount you have preloaded onto the card.

This puts you firmly in control. It may even prove an ideal way of giving children spending cash if they’re on a trip or just going out.

If the card is stolen or lost, it is PIN protected. You can typically cancel the card immediately with a single phone call. Even if the PIN had been discovered and the card used, you could not lose more than the maximum amount you had loaded onto it.

A managed debt-avoidance structure

Some specialist providers of prepay credit cards may also be able to offer e-banking accounts that link to the card, giving you flexibility in managing and dealing with your finances on a day-to-day basis and potentially helping you stay firmly in the driving seat in terms of your monthly budget.