Credit Card Penalty Interest Triggers

Not all credit card companies operate the same, not by a long shot. However, with the stricter rules and guidelines that many creditors are going by these days, in light of the current economy and tightening credit systems and increased defaults on payments, they are actually putting tighter restrictions on some things such as interest rates charged, late fees, and credit limits.

For instance, I never knew that there can be potential “triggers” that the credit card companies use to do one of a few things. One trigger that can increase you interest rate (mind you, a revolving interest rate) charged is late payments or exceeding your credit limit. I just did this unintentionally on the credit card that I use as my primary business credit card, and now I have to go back and check if they increased my interest rate for this little unintentional indiscretion.

I did however call the company and get the fee taken off and asked for them to increase my credit limit, which I was fortunate enough to get a positive response on, since I use it a lot for business and explained that I may unintentionally go over the small limit again since I have automatic payments taken out of it. This is not always the case though, as many companies now are tightening their restrictions on increasing credit limits as well as offering higher ones in the first place.

Good News in The Mortgage Foreclosure Arena

Apparently things might be softening up a bit for mortgage companies, or at least for homeowners, in the arena of mortgage foreclosures that we seem to hear about in the news now all the time. A company that started tracking foreclosure rates and housing trends back in 2005 (I know, that’s not that long ago really, so how valid are these statistics, I don’t know?) called RealtyTrac, has now come out and said that foreclosure rates have significantly dropped for the month of September.

As for the reason they are unsure, and are also quick to point out that although the September numbers appear to have dropped, in a good way, they are still significantly higher than any other stats the company has tracked in its short history of tracking mortgage foreclosure trends.

The worst hit state still remains California, where properties and the cost of living is sky high. Heck, you practically have to make at least a half a million a year just to live comfortably in California, whereas in my home state of Ohio, this would afford you a very nice house and property, plus a comfortable disposable income.

Other hard hit states are Florida, and also my hometown of Ohio, who follows with much less of a staggering figure, but still ranks as one of the worst foreclosure states for the time being. I’ve seen a lot of empty lots at developments, and it seems like way too many new ones are coming in, so I can see why we have a high foreclosure rate here, or at least an occupancy problem.

Living Above Your Means?

All of us, at one point or another, feel like we’re going to lose it when it comes to paying bills, keeping track of what you’ve paid out to whom, and the sheer frustration that occurs when you simply don’t have enough to pay the bills, and it seems like you are constantly “robbing Peter to pay Paul” so to speak. I’ve been there, and I’m sure many of us can identify with these feelings of stress, and yes, sometimes even hopelessness when we know we are simply not brining in enough income to justify our way of life.

And yet, so many Americans are still living this way, living paycheck to paycheck, that is, and worrying about it only when they sit down to pay those bills they’ve accrued and realize that they’ve overspent for the month. You have to realize that if you’re paying so much in bills that you cannot put away any money for retirement or any type of interest bearing account, that you are simply spending too much and bring in too little income to be able to comfortably and justifiably be spending that much.

So many young couples and young people in general are finding themselves in this same unfortunate situation, and this is a large part of the reason for the recent housing slump and the “mcmansion” phenomena where young families think they need to keep up with the Joneses or buy the nicest items and furniture on the block so that they can keep up a more lavish lifestyle than what their income comfortably permits.

My advice to those who are living in this financial fastlane without the income to back it up is to seek the help of a professional financial analyst or counselor, and they will in turn force you to write down all expenditures and come up with an alternate budget so that you can begin saving the way you should be again. We all need help sometimes, and there are tons of excellent counselors who can help us budget our money and get our financial priorities straight when we can’t seem to get them straight ourselves.

Income Gap Widening Even More

Yes, the rich people are getting richer, and the income gap here in the US, as if it wasn’t bad enough a couple years ago with the descrepancy between rich family income and poor family income, has widened even more according to reports by the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, the agency which has all of our tax information and collects and distributes tax money every year.

The numbers are actually quite disheartening, with almost 25% of all money in the US (this is just a basic estimate to illustrate the wide gap that this makes) going to a little over 1% of the US population. I’d say that leaves a lot of room for improvement in the distribution of wealth here in the US, to say the least, and in fact this is a very disturbing fact to me, as it always has been.

There is really no direct correlation between why this gap has been widening over the past few years, which hasn’t been this wide since an estimated time frame of the 1920’s (probably the industrial revolution had something to do with that discrepancy), but speculation is that possibly the stock market may have played a part in this widening gap.

I’m wondering though, since the stock market has supposedly been pretty flat and scary for the past few years after 9/11, how this correlation is made, but hey, that’s why they pay these genius economists big bucks and I’m in the dark!

Credit Card Survey

Recently, a study was done by J. D. Power and associates of California, from a survey of almost 8,000 consumers to assess customer satisfaction with the 10 biggest credit card companies in America. Different features of the credit cards that were evaluated were the card’s benefits, the fees and rates, the billing and payment process and the rewards programs.

Also evaluated was the general overall satisfaction with the credit card company. Certain variables came into play with the responses from the survey. The customers who held the credit cards mostly for convenience and did not carry a balance had more favorable reviews of their card. The credit card companies that cater to lower credit score people with a lower income rated lower on the survey responses.

Some of the most important issues to consumers in the survey were the interest rates and the terms of the credit cards. Another issue of importance in the survey was resolution of billing problems and posting bill payments on time.

Of the 10 credit card companies surveyed, American Express was the top rated in all of the areas surveyed. American Express has a market niche of the high income, high spending population. American Express has perks that include guaranteeing that if an item is lost or stolen within 90 days, they will reimburse the customer.

Coming in second in the survey was the Discover Card. They got the top score in the billing and payment feature and for their rewards program. They feature a cash back program for up to 1 % on all purchases and as high as 5 % on certain categories on a rotating basis.

The lowest rating in the survey was the HSBC credit card issuer, rating tenth place out of the 10 companies. Bank of America came in at ninth place and Capitol One was rated at number eight.

In the middle placements on the survey was Citi Cards at third, Chase at fourth, US Bank at fifth,Washington Mutual at sixth and Wells Fargo at seventh place. If you’re thinking of getting a credit card, this survey offers valuable information about which companies offered the best service and overall package deal based on a track record of about 8,000 consumers’ experiences.

Heat Bills Higher?

It seems we get this scare every fall, in prospect of the coming winter, that heating costs are going to rise, especially in respect to gas heat. Well this year the biggest rise is expected out of electric heating, which is a change from previous years, with all the fluctuations of gas prices as of late. We have gas heat, and have signed on for a set rate on our gas, just in case it gets too high, especially since we now have a larger house that could become a gas guzzling nightmare if we let it get out of hand.

That coupled with the fact that the Farmers Almanac is predicting a very cold and snowy winter for the northeaster portion of Ohio is making many folks do the same thing so that they don’t find themselves without two nickles to rub together in the winter months. This is in contrast to a story I read about how temperatures on average are going to go up around the US, and the highest prices on heating will be oil, not electric, so you can see how the stories are never straight and we never actually know which types of heat are going to really be the highest price until it’s over, and all variables have settled in what actually causes those prices to be higher.

Some of the ways you can deal with higher costs of heating are to invest in new windows, which can keep a substantial amount of heat in your home instead of letting it out into the cold winter air. You can also invest in insulating your attic better, since heat rises and a lot of heat will go directly out of the top of a home that does not have a well insulated attic or crawl space.

Or you can just go about it the good old fashioned way and wear sweaters and make sure you move around a lot to keep that circulation going. A fireplace is another nice addition to a home which can also reduce heating costs since it gives off substantial heat. Then you have to buy wood though, and that’s not necessarily the best thing for the environment either so I suppose it’s always a double edged sword.

Black Friday Shopping Already?

Yep, I can never believe when it is barely the end of September, and I’m already seeing the Christmas bags at fast food restaurants, the ads to online shopping deals on Black Friday (the playfully named day after Thanksgiving, which is the most notorious holiday shopping day according to mythology, but has actually been proven to be only one of the busiest shopping days, including online).

Is it really time for this already? Apparently so! I guess we’re all ready to get started extra early this year, huh? What’s that, you’re not ready yet? Well I for one know I’m not, as the weather has barely broken below the 80’s lately here in Ohio, and the mood is far from a holiday one since it’s more like a Bahamas vacation type of weather force.

Some of the tips we have to keep in mind as we begin to shop this holiday season, whether that season starts early or late for you, are that we must keep our credit card numbers safe and hidden at all times. It might be a good idea to scratch out the last or first digits of your credit card number when signing credit card receipts, just to be sure in case the number falls into the wrong hands, and can be used to online shopping at your expense failry easily.

Also, be aware that you should stick to a budget after you’ve made lists of what everyone wants who you are buying for. A lot of families now are getting tired of paying thousands of dollars or even hundreds for multiple family members, so many people, like my family, are choosing to instead do a secret santa, which cuts down on the number of gifts being given and the amount of money that everyone is spending on everyone else. Makes sense right? It did for us, since we cut everyone’s Christmas expenditures by more than 4 times or more.

Look for sales in the paper. Christmas time is one of the absolute best times to get some of the greatest deals you will find of the year, especially if you’re looking for some kind of electronics. Think of the $300 Wal Mart laptop sale that infamously was sold out in minutes. This is the only time of the year where you’ll find retailers fighting tooth and nail for your business through price wars, so take advantage! And keep only one of those credit cards on you, to avoid the temptation of overspending!

Bad Credit Repair Needs?

I was perusing this website which helps its clients clean up their bad credit by using a systematic approach of working with creditors and helping you to stay on track by tracking your progress and negotiating possible lower rates to get the credit help they need. I had to go through such a program years and years ago, and I’m so thankful that I did it now, because looking back I really feel that I lacked the wherewithall or knowledge that I was given to have the power to clean up my bad credit.

The website I was looking is for credit repair, and they have a solid knowledge of the best way to go about cleaning up bad credit and getting people back to good financial standing so they can quit worrying about high interest debts that seemingly never get paid off or even paid down significantly enough to releive the burdens they put on people’s lives and relationships.

If you find yourself in this boat, constantly struggling to make the minimum payments every month on high interest revolving debt, and choaking on high interest rates and payments that never end, I suggest you take a look at any of the provided links as they are an established company who has helped many people repair their bad credit and get back to somewhat of a financial freedom through solid debt management and elimination.

Ah, can you feel the relief already? Trust me, it’s a huge load off so it’s worth your while to look into a reputable source for helping to get your credit in better shape.

Get a Credit Card Without Signing Up?

Hmm. This was a weird one, I must say. You know how many credit card solicitations in the mail for all kinds of different credit cards like low apr credit cards, balance transfer credit cards, credit cards for bad credit, and every other credit card under the sun, comes with something that looks just like a real credit card, but only it’s on carboard like paper, and it’s showing you the card you “could have” since you are preapproved and all you need to do is call them or send back the paperwork, and you’ll get a real, live credit card?

I myself have gotten tons of these, especially since my credit has been cleaned up and is back in pristine condition. This one I got today though from Capital One, threw me for a loop, because I cannot remember for the life of me signing up or applying for this credit card, and yet, I got a real live credit card – a plastic one, with the sticker on it and everything that tells you to call to activate it as soon as you can. I racked my brains trying to figure out if maybe I had somehow applied for this card and forgotten, but I’m too responsible for that to have happened, so I’m still confused!

So, I looked at the insert that went with the new card, and tried to find a clue that this might be a solicitation that was rather clever, since if I didn’t know any better, I would have possibly called to activate the card and unknowingly activated a solicitation, not something that I had already signed up for intentionally.

I couldn’t find any indicatino it was a solicitation, so I’ll have to do a little more investigating on this one. I didn’t want to just cut it up without knowing whether it was an active line of credit that I had forgotten about. That’s another thing I was confused about, is that I thought maybe it was simply a renewed card that I had forgotten about, but I couldn’t find any indication of that either. Hmm!

What’s the Security Code on a Credit Card?

Well, before the massive popularity of online shopping really took hold, and you pretty much had to have a credit card to take part in any online commerce at all, no one really knew what a “security code” was on a credit card, let alone where to find this necessary little identifier of identity and security for credit card users.

This little three digit number, at least it’s three digits on US credit cards whether it’s a credit card for bad credit, a college student credit card, or special balance transfer credit card, is a powerful code that can prevent you from making online purchases, and with good reason, if you can’t provide it to specially encrypted shopping cart programs of online shops and other online stores like Ebay and so on.

The code is a three number code that is found on the far right of the back of anyone’s credit card. Usually the online shop you’re buying from will provide an explanation of where to look on your card for the special and necessary code, but if not, you really should know it for future reference if there is no explanation in the future.

The purpose of a credit card’s security code is so that people cannot just write down your credit card number or get it in some other fraudulent way via credit card number generators or any one of the other numerous scams out there involving credit card fraud. Without the security code on the back of the credit card, which only the credit card owner should have access to, a fraudulent holder of the card should not be able to make any sort of purchases with it.

However, when this doesn’t work, of course, is if someone actually stole your credit card right out of your purse and you have not noticed it was missing, and so could not report it as stolen so that any activity after the point it was stolen can be denied by the credit card company. This is why it is so important to do spot checks of your wallet and make sure nothings’ amiss, especially if you rarely use your credit or debit card.

For someone like me who uses my credit and debit cards nearly every day, it’s not as important, since I’m constantly looking at them, but for someone who seldom does, it opens them up for the possibility of not noticing their credit card is missing until it’s too late and someone has already racked up charges on their card.