Personal Finance

Killing the myths about credit and collection agency!

carol — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 05:54:32 +0000

Killing the myths about credit and collection agency! carol Fri, 06/08/2018 - 05:54

In today’s world, we can’t think of a life without taking credits.

The reason behind this is that credit cards are taking over every single mode of transaction these days.
Going shopping? Use these credit cards as they may offer discounts.. Wanna eat out?? This restaurant gives 20% off on selected wines if paid with credit cards, and so and so.

Even though it’s way more convenient and hassle-free to use credit cards every day, still one big problem is inevitable. YOU MAY FALL INTO DEBTS!!

But today we won’t be discussing those age long topics of how to clear debts and debt relief options; instead, we will be reviewing the various misconceptions surrounding credit and collection industry.

Common credit and collection industry misconceptions:

Only credit cards are considered as credits:

This is the most common myth, while the scenario is, any money that you borrow is a credit. Be it a personal loan, car loan, mortgage, credit cards, payday loan, etc.

Always remember that whenever you go with the concept of “Pay later”, it is credit.

It’s okay to hang around with debts as everybody does:

Actually, it’s not okay to hang around with debts. Debts are hungry as hell; they keep on growing in interests and when you realize that, you are in deep problems.

With debts around you, you can never live freely, there’s always bindings. So, try to pay off your debts as soon as possible. There’s no such saying that what everybody does is correct!

Our country is already in a topsy-turvy state of the debt crisis, where the total debt amount has crossed trillions. You could at least be one responsible citizen among the many fools.

Debt settlement companies are fake:

This is a big myth and it is keeping debtors away from a debt-free life for a long time.

I can’t deny though that some settlement companies are fake. But most of them are not. They are in this business to make money by helping people come out of debt.

If by settling huge amounts for you, they can make a profit of a few bucks, why not give them the opportunity! I mean you are also being helped significantly, isn’t it?

So if you have big debts and you believe settling them might save you many dollars, then go for a trusted settlement company without much brainstorming.

Debt snowball is the best method to pay off debts:

Dave Ramsey said that debt snowball is an effective method to pay off debts. It helps you to clear out the lowest debt first and give you a momentary emotional boost to clear your rest of the debts.

But he never said that it is the best method to pay off your debts. It is no doubt that snowball is efficient in handling 2 or 3 debts where the interest rates are moderate and the debt amounts are manageable.

Now, if the debt amounts are high, and the interest rates are troubling, then you must target the one with the highest interest rate.

This process is debt avalanche, which you can google for more details.

You can never have a good credit score because you don’t earn much:

Another absurd thought that demotivates people a lot.

You must understand that credit score is all about your credit portfolio. The credit scoring model is concerned about how much money you borrow and how you pay it back. That’s all!

Still, there’s one small thing called the credit-to-income ratio, where your income is taken into account. But I would say, if you can maintain your debt payments regularly, and don’t incur too much of debts, then you can have a good credit score without much problems.
Collection agencies are goons:

When a debt is handed over to an agency for collection, it’s not that the agency will use all the worst means to collect the debt.

You should understand that there are two types of collection agencies; one is the in-house agency and the other is the third party collector.

If a bank or an institution uses its own professionals to collect any debt from you, then those are in-house collectors. But if the bank hires a group of professionals that are not associated with the bank, then these are third-party collectors.

Now, these agencies are not here to fight and quarrel with people. They have dignity and are very well trained. They will try their best to help you with the repayment options. They don’t want to waste time only with your case as they have other clients too.

So, if you cooperate with them, then they are helpful.

You can do nothing against the collection agencies.

Practically you can do a lot of things.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has laid down many rules and regulations that every third-party collection agency should follow.

The rules are very straightforward that no collection agency can use violence or threats, or obscene languages, to collect the debt from a consumer.

Also, they can only call a debtor from 8 am to 9 pm.

You can always refer to the FDCPA guidelines to understand whether or not any collection agency is breaking the rules and how.

If you find out by any means the agency is breaking the rules, then you can sue the agency in a state court or a small claims court, and with the help of attorneys, you can surely win the case.

The agency is liable to pay compensation charges that can reach up to $1000 in total.

That was all I could have said in a concise article like this.

This post is meant to turn you into a more credit-efficient person with more knowledge in the world of credit.

But, as the last reminder I want to say, always stay away from credits. It’s not that credits are bad, but at the end of the day, you are borrowing it. The creditors always have an upper hand over the debtors, because you are taking hold of his money forcefully.

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Credit

Know whats of debit cards and how to use it wisely!

carol — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 10:00:37 +0000

Know whats of debit cards and how to use it wisely! carol Fri, 03/09/2018 - 10:00

Debit cards are useful. No doubt in that. But is it the most convenient way to live a cashless life? Obviously not, because we have credit cards and other prepaid cards.

Giving a one-liner, debit card grants you direct access to your personal savings/checking account, hassle-free and easily.

But one can seriously argue, why to use debit cards, when we have credit cards, prepaid cards, and retail cards!

In this post we will try to give an overview of debit cards, how significant it is to use debit cards, and the dos and don’ts of debit cards!

What is a debit card? And how is it used? An overview:

A debit card can be called your portable savings or checking account that you can carry with you anywhere.

With the coming of debit cards, the need to carry liquid cash has decreased quite a bit.

Even if you need liquid cash somewhere, you can easily go to the nearest ATM and have your cash withdrawn.

But remember, unlike credit cards, debit cards access cash straight away from your personal bank account. So, if you are not responsible while using your debit card, then you will just drain out all the cash from your personal account.

Previously the only convenient way to withdraw money from an account was to use cheques and withdrawal slips available at the cashier’s counter.

But now we have debit cards to ease out the process and make money transfers and withdrawals lot less time taking.

How significant is it to use debit cards?

This question is a bit childish but I hear it quite often even among my peer groups.

We have progressed to debit cards from paper cheques and slips because of a lot of reasons.

The first was the invention of ATM cards that were only used to withdraw liquid cash from ATM counters.

Then these cards could be used to make purchases at few popular stores and while booking flight tickets, movie shows, etc.

But finally, we have debit cards, which we can use nearly anywhere we want, from normal day to day transactions to transferring money from one account to another.

So the above question is pretty much invalid in the present day as nobody wants to carry on with liquid cash, which is so inconvenient and dangerous in bigger amounts when we can use square inch sized thin plastic that fits in our pockets.

Moreover, debit card withdrawals are not limited as before. Previously your total transaction amount could not exceed your total available account balance.
As of now, every bank has an allowance called overdraft limit to cater the emergency needs of a debit card holder.
You can now exceed your account balance limit while doing transactions, but there will be interest for the extra amount you withdraw, just like a credit card.

So, if your account balance is $1000 and overdraft limit is $200, then if you finish your account balance completely, you can then withdraw an extra $200, but you will be charged extra on this amount.

But with every single invention comes more and more problems associated with it.

Since debit cards are directly linked to your personal accounts, there are bigger chances of fraud activities taking place surrounding debit cards.

One such example could be identity theft. Your debit card can exactly reveal the same information as displayed in your personal account details, like your account no, and other important hidden codes.

Losing such information can bring in huge problems, with the biggest one being your account getting hacked!

Keeping all the things in mind here are the dos and don'ts of debit cards:

Never try to exceed your account balance while doing transactions, because this amount works like credit and you will have to repay it back with interest.
Never disclose your account information, card number, or other details to any third party, so as to avoid chances of fraudulent activities and account hacks.
Usually, it is advised to do online purchases with credit cards, especially during Cyber Monday or Black Friday shopping, coz if you want a refund on any item and you don’t get it, at least your personal account balance won’t get dinged.
Change your debit card PIN at least twice a year to avoid getting your PIN getting copied or duplicated.
Also don’t set predictable PIN as hackers are really brilliant at finding probable PINs while initiating fraud activities.
To avoid hefty debit card fees, try to avoid overseas transactions and have a detailed talk with your respective bank’s personnels to see how you can cut down debit card fees.

I hope by now it is clear how a debit card works and how you should use it.

Debit cards are very personal items and should be used carefully. If lost, you can block your debit card over the phone by calling your respective bank’s customer care support and issue a second card within a few days time.

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Credit

9 essential tips to follow if you rent a car using your debit card

carol — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 10:37:53 +0000

9 essential tips to follow if you rent a car using your debit card carol Fri, 12/15/2017 - 10:37

Thinking about using a debit card to rent a car? It is quite possible, but it’s not so easy. Normally, rental car companies prefer that their customers use credit cards instead of debit cards.

There are strong reasons behind this typical mentality of rental car companies. Most of the time, they become anxious. What if the debit card renter returns the car with empty gas tank and don’t pay for it? The renter’s insurance policy doesn’t cover that loss at all. So, they have no choice left rather than pushing their customers to use credit cards.

However, the rental car companies also want to keep their customers happy. So, on many occasions, they’ll allow you to rent a car using your debit card. But there are some strict rules.

While renting your card through a debit card, you might have to encounter few hassles and spend a longer time at the rental car counter due to those rules.

So, let's talk about how you can ease up the process of renting a car using a debit card.

Read on and know about some situations you might have to face, and a breakdown of policies by the rental car companies.

You’ll need cash available in your account

You need to have enough money in your bank account or the debit card you are using. It is quite possible that the rental car company might lock up the full rental amount in advance. They might also deduct a little more initially to cover up any sudden mishaps. The extra money will be refunded back to you when the rental deal ends. The entire process may take up to three weeks to complete.

You may encounter a credit check

Many rental car companies will perform an automatic credit check for customers who wish to rent a car using their debit card. If you have a low credit score, the car company might reject your application. You might know that every time someone runs a credit check on you, it can practically harm your FICO score from 5 points to much more.

You need to carry extra ID proofs

In addition to a driver’s license, you might have to provide few more IDs. So, keep all of your iDs’ up to date, especially your passport. You can also use your utility bill as an address proof if the address is similar to the one on your driver’s license.

You’ll need proof of insurance

Many car rental companies will ask you to submit your insurance policy papers. The process will take time as the rental car agent will verify the documents by contacting your insurance company. If you do not have enough coverage, or if the agent finds anything fake or inappropriate, the agent will ask you to buy a proper policy. If you don’t respond to them positively, they’ll just deny your application to rent a car using your debit card.

You might be asked for evidence of return travel

Some car rental companies may ask you to show your return tickets too . This practice may depend on company to company, and even from one place to another .

For an example - Enterprise, Alamo, and National car rental companies” may want you to produce your return ticket if you want to use your debit card for non-airport locations. The ticket could be for an airline, a cruise, or a train.

You can expect a cap on vehicles types

There are also some top class cars that you cannot hire. A Mercedes sedan, a Lincoln Navigator, a Volkswagen Touareg, or a Land Rover SUV – all these cars are not rentable with a debit card at several rental locations. If somehow you manage to rent any of these luxury cars, their charges will be very high and the deposit money also is huge.

Your age might be a restriction

Some rental car companies do not allow people below a certain age limit to hire their cars. For an example - Budget and Avis company provide cars to the people over the age limit 25, with debit card payment facility. Thrifty also provides same service for off-airport locations. Other companies may also need more than one age proof for the car rental service.

You’ll pay full amount at vehicle return

Normally, rental car companies are interested to take your money as soon as you book the car. They’ll accept the money through different monetary forms like cash or credit cards, debit cards, etc. Hertz and Thrifty will offer you to pay only a part of the rental money upfront when you book a car from them at least 30 days in advance with of their Cash ID cards. However, you’ll have to pay $15 surcharge for a new card every time you reserve a car from them.

Rental policies may change according to your location

You should know the debit card policies at your rental car location. You can check out the policies by logging into their website online. Select your location where you plan to rent and then check the fine print at the bottom. Review all the details of that location’s policy and choose accordingly.

Apart from that you can call the agency directly and get quotes. You can visit their local office; it is the best way to verify and negotiate rates.

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Miscellaneous

Credit report changes in 2017 are helping people with medical debts!

carol — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 12:39:02 +0000

Credit report changes in 2017 are helping people with medical debts! carol Fri, 11/03/2017 - 12:39

Medical bills have always been a burden in the economic market of our country. It is highly expensive to fall ill these days.

A normal knee-cap replacement can cost us somewhere around $50,000. So, incurring medical debt is not a big deal.

And that’s not all. The credit reports start to burn red with all the unpaid debt accounts in it!

But things are about to be a little different!

From 15th September 2017, medical bills are bothering us a bit less.

The consumers are now given 180 days time to decide how they are going to pay their medical debt.

You have a decent number of months in hand to dispute your debt with the hospitals, medical institutions, and your insurance company.

The scenario till date / What is the problem with huge medical bills?

In our country, making a visit to a good hospital means compromising your financial standing to a huge extent. Prices of medicines, doctor’s fees, hospital charges, even those paper cups in which your pills come, all adds up to a mountain size amount.

Elizabeth Rosenthal, a medical practitioner and a journalist, who is also the author of “An American Sickness” says “We pay 2 or 3 times what other countries pay for healthcare, without getting better results, which is the key here”.

This is the sole reason that’s making us angry to look at our medical bills.

Our country, on the other hand, is taking no steps against this huge medical cost! The reason being that our nation doesn't allow foreign competition in the field of pharmaceuticals and health industry.
What makes things more harassing is that the medical institutions don’t handle the debt accounts themselves; instead, they pass it to the collection agencies!

How medical debts are affecting us:

The first thing that needs to be done after coming home from a hospital is call a medical debt advocate and explain the whole situation with every minute details.

At least that’s what usually people do who have suffered from medical debts.

We become financially ill! We then have to call the insurance company, see how much they can cover and ask them to negotiate with the hospitals.

But no matter what steps we take, within one month, the account starts getting reported to the credit bureaus, and we can do nothing but see our credit scores drop dramatically.

Medical debt has become a prime reason in the US for people filing bankruptcies. To avoid such a condition, many of us are traversing borders for affordable medical treatment.

You can’t deny that the price of healthcare is increasing rapidly in our country. Even if you compare with our neighbors like Canada, Panama, or the other leading countries like Japan, the medical costs are a lot lower than what it is in the US.

But with the introduction of new credit scoring models, namely FICO 9 and VantageScore 4.0, in 2017, things have become a bit different. The credit bureaus are going to be lenient in reporting your debts and calculating your credit score!

How we can be benefitted

The credit bureaus have acted on this notion that medical bills cannot decide a person’s creditworthiness. This is an emergency.

If you start defaulting on your mortgage payments or car loans, then it’s purely your fault. But, medical debts fall under unplanned expenses.

So wrap up your medical bills and figure out a suitable solution to repay them. You can easily take time to negotiate with your insurance company.

As already mentioned, the credit bureaus have taken a real good step for people who have pounding medical bills.

They are offering you 6 months to decide how and when you are going to pay your medical bills. But, if you don't pay back within this period, you can expect your credit scores to fall down.

So, be wise and utilize this time fruitfully. Immediately after you receive your first medical bill, call your insurer and negotiate the amount. Don’t waste much time. If you can already clear a good amount in these 6 months, you may see your credit score rise way up!

Just to summarize, you now got 180 days to deal with your medical bills, even though our government is doing nothing to decrease the medical cost.

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Credit

Store credit card: What are the pros and cons you should consider?

carol — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 08:20:48 +0000

Store credit card: What are the pros and cons you should consider? carol Fri, 08/04/2017 - 08:20

Whenever you go for shopping, the store executive or sales clerk might ask you “Do you want to save an extra 25% today?" It’s nothing but a sales trick to convert you into a full-time store card holder.

Store credit cards are available at any store near you where you frequently shop. The moderately-expensive stores might give you approx. 40% off with additional discounts already applied on items.

But just because a store salesperson is offering you a lucrative discount to sign up on the spot, it isn’t necessary that you must do it immediately without giving it a thought. You need to understand why you should/shouldn’t open a store credit card in the first place.

Pros and cons of getting store credit cards

Let's have a look at the pros:

1. Create credit history

Store credit cards can be categorized into 2 different segments. a) Private-label retail cards , and b) Co-branded store credit cards.

a. Private-label retail cards

These are issued for using at the retailer's stores and are also sponsored by them. These cards are normally easy to get with low credit scores. People looking to establish or rebuild a credit history will find these cards useful. Retail store card issuers approve the applications of low credit score applicants, more than conventional credit card companies.

Why?

If you are a regular customer at a store, retailers don't want to hurt you by telling you that you've been rejected for a card. That means private retail cards may be used for building credit for people trying to establish credit.

b. Co-branded store credit cards

These are sponsored by the retailer but aided by one of the major credit networks like American Express, Visa, Mastercard, or Discover.

These cards can be used in any retail stores. Unfortunately, underwriting standards on co-branded cards are identical to traditional credit cards, so people having low credit score won't qualify.

If you use these cards for a long time, it’ll affect your credit score positively and help you raise your score. Using these store cards often and keeping statement balances low can reduce your debt-to-credit limit ratio, which makes up 30% of your credit score.

2. Special benefits

Both private and co-branded store cards would provide you a one-time sign-up discount and great rewards at any particular store or merchant. A co-branded store card might also give you base points with good point-earnings rate, for example - 1 point/$2. But you’ll miss these points if you shop and spend outside of the sponsoring store.

Some store credit cards have reward programs that’ll provide special benefits, such as bonus coupons, complimentary gift wrapping, waiver of shipping charges, financing offers, and so on.

In few cases, you can get your hands on a better combination of discount and rewards than you'd expect. But you must remember about the hassle and cost of opening/maintaining that card.

The cons of having a store credit card:

1. Your debts will be expensive

Signing up for a store credit card can be riskier. It is basically because of the APR on these cards tend to become high.

According to a report conducted by the creditcards.com, the average APR on America's largest retailers’ credit cards was 23.84% in 2016, which was much higher than the current national average APR (15.07%).

So, if you shop errantly, you might easily build up a huge credit card debt burden that you can't afford to pay off.

So, think twice before opening a store credit card and falling into a debt trap.

2. Effect on the credit score

Another important drawback of having a store card is the low credit limits available on these cards. The more you use these cards for buying things, the more your credit utilization ratio will increase. Thus, it could wind up hurting your credit score.

Finance experts would recommend that you should keep your credit utilization ratio as low as possible. It’s better to keep it below 20% - 30%.

Apart from the credit utilization ratio, you must also keep the number of hard inquiries low. Each time you want to open a store credit card, or even apply for it, it’ll also generate a hard inquiry on your credit report.

So, if you want to apply for many store credit cards from different retail stores within a short period, that would lower your credit score.

3. Affordability issues

It depends on how you’ll use the card. If you want to carry a balance on your card, you must look for a low-interest store card. If you like to buy from one particular retailer most of the time, and want to avoid any more hard inquiry on your credit report, a low-interest card will be very useful for you.

But, if you are more interested to get high discounts of your card, normally a high-interest card will fulfil your desire. High-interest store cards are generally bundled with attractive offers.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully. Keep an eye on every details; for instance, if the card carries an annual fee, determine the go-to APR after the interest promotions lapse.

When people open these store cards, sometimes they might forget about it. Eventually, they’ll miss the payments too.

You could easily miss your first payment, incur late fees, interest and other important penalties. The missed payment could also hurt your credit score, about 70 to 90 points, depending on your current score.

So, considering the above pros and cons, you must decide if you should/shouldn’t open a store credit card.

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Credit

Card sign-up bonuses: 3 Important points to know before cashing in

carol — Fri, 12 May 2017 12:24:40 +0000

Card sign-up bonuses: 3 Important points to know before cashing in carol Fri, 05/12/2017 - 12:24

Credit card sign-up bonus has become very popular these days. Many credit card companies offer sign-up bonuses for opening a new card. You may get rewards like cash back, points, double cash back, miles, free hotel stay, etc. All the sign-up bonuses are enticing. Many people are applying for a credit card just to get those sign-up bonuses. But there is a big catch that they might not be aware of.

The catch is, to get the bonus, you need to spend a certain amount on the card within a stipulated time after opening the account.

Apart from this, many terms and conditions are there behind the card sign-up bonuses.

Gary Leff, the writer of the “View from the Wing” said, "The bigger the bonus, the higher the spending requirement. Minimum spending requirements can range from less than $1,000 to $5,000 or even more. It’s fairly common to see offers in which you must spend $3,000 in 3 months."

Here are other untold credit card sign-up bonuses catch you need to know beforehand.

1. Understand the offer's terms and conditions

As I have said in the introduction that getting the sign-up bonuses is costly. You have to spend a certain amount within a certain period to get the sign-up bonus.

So, the truth is credit card sign-up bonuses is pushing you to overspend.

So, if you want to apply for a credit card just to get rewards, then think twice. Make sure you know every term beforehand. Try to know how much you have to spend to get the point or cash back.

After knowing the exact amount, ask yourself whether or not you are comfortable spending the particular amount within the stipulated time.

If your answer is yes, then go ahead and apply for the credit card to get the rewards. If you think you are able to spend $3000 within the time, then leave the idea of applying for a new credit card.

2. Not all spending will go on your new card

Remember, not every dollar of your spending will go on the new card.

Often, mortgage servicers, insurance companies, local utility companies, and landlords charge a certain fee to pay by a credit card; and it will cancel some of the benefits of a sign-up bonus.

3. Know the exact timeline

The terms and conditions of sign-up bonuses varies from one company to another. The common rule is that the credit card holder needs to spend a certain amount in a fixed period.

The catch is, knowing the "fixed period" is very tricky.

Make sure you know the period for meeting the minimum spending criteria to get the rewards.

It is advisable to ask the credit card company about it. The company will tell you in detail and also inform you regarding the spending progress you have made for the sign-up bonus.

Lastly, the cards with good sign-up bonuses usually come with annual fees.

Don't assume that the annual fees will count as your spending; only your purchases count. Card related charges and fees are excluded from the spending goal. However, be aware of credit card debt. Don't purchase things that you can't afford; otherwise, the credit card debt trap is waiting for your grand entry.

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Credit

How to pursue a good credit card behavior and fulfill financial goals

carol — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 09:34:39 +0000

How to pursue a good credit card behavior and fulfill financial goals carol Fri, 04/28/2017 - 09:34

Credit cards are both beneficial and harmful in our modern finance world. You can free yourself from the need for cash, use it to build a good credit score, and buy anything/anywhere easily. But you must know that credit cards can easily accumulate huge debts and harm your credit score.

Getting your first or a new credit card is easy, but to maintain that card you’ll need intelligence, deep insight, and planning. If you become careful, you may fulfill your big financial goals through good credit card behaviors.

Here are some:

1. Using online banking facility

Today most of the banks offer online banking facility. So, you must also register your credit card for online use. By doing so, you can check your account activity anytime and can also track your spending. This is a better option than having your monthly statements, as we often forget our expenses. Checking accounts online will help you to monitor your spending and keep your finances under budget. Moreover, banks also develop apps that let consumers check accounts and pay credit card bills by using smart phones from anywhere.

2. Setting notifications or reminders

Being a responsible credit card user, you must update yourself about spending and payment history. If possible for you, pay off your credit card bills on the day you receive it. If it’s not possible, try to set a reminder on your smartphone or PC calendar regarding your credit card payment dates. This way you can get SMS’s or other notifications and pay your credit card bill on time.

3. Making small activities

It is wise to use cash rather than credit cards. But you also need to keep in mind that by using credit cards, you are actually boosting your credit score. So, you must use your active credit cards at least once in a month. Using those high-end cards will boost your score and you’ll be benefited from the purchases you make.

4. Paying up in full

The best way to handle your credit card is paying in full or as much as possible for you. This helps you to pay off the total bill every month without incurring any penalty.

But, this particular credit card behavior is not suitable for everyone. Not everyone can empty their wallet and put all the money towards credit card bill, at least not in every month.

Through this behavior you can keep your credit debts minimum along with winning more good credit points. You may also be eligible for future lower interest rates from other lenders and credit card companies.

Remember, your credit card is designed to help you buy anytime, anywhere without paying a single dollar in cash.

5. Negotiating other charges

After considering its rate of interest, you must decide if you want to keep a credit card with you or just depend upon cash. Interest rates may vary according to different card providers and different cards, but usually they are negotiable.

As early as you can build an outstanding payment history (with full and on time payments), you can start negotiating with your credit card provider for reducing your annual fees and other charges.

6. Not closing old cards

Cutting up old or extra credit cards might look like a wise decision to prevent yourself from accumulating more debt. But, do you have any idea that this could damage your credit score in other ways?

Closing an older credit account will reduce your credit history and harm your credit score deeply. The length of your overall credit history makes up 15% of your credit rating. Closing an older card will simply shorten the history associated with your score and negatively affect it.

So, if you really want to close some credit accounts, it’s smarter to remove newer cards rather than older ones.

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Credit

4 Ways to turn unwanted gift cards into cash

carol — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:11:35 +0000

4 Ways to turn unwanted gift cards into cash carol Fri, 03/31/2017 - 11:11

Often people receive gift cards that they know they are not going to use. Why so? One of the common reasons is the gift card they get for a store at which they never shop. Maybe the shop location is too far from their way or too expensive.

The result is, piles of unused gift cards in your chest of drawers, which is a waste of money.

But why will you waste gift cards that you got from your dear or near ones when there are options to get value for them?

What will you do?

Sell unwanted gift cards for some cash - No more wasting that $25 or $30 gift cards that you received from your aunt or grandma.

You can get cashback of 60% to 90% depending on where you sell the cards.

Easy ways you can turn gift cards into cash

1. Find out online gift card resellers

These days, a number of online gift card resellers come with the cash offer for unwanted gift cards. Generally, a gift card's balance should be at least $20. You need to mail the card or submit the gift card's code electronically to get the payment.

You can sell gift cards at cardpool.com, giftcardgranny.com, cardcash.com, giftcardzen.com etc.

Online auctions, classified ads, or social media platforms are also good places to sell your gift cards. However, be aware of fraud activities while selling gift cards online.

2. Visit mall kiosks

Visit a kiosk at your local mall to sell your cards. You can get at least 75% of the card's value. You will get immediate cash, which is the best part of selling gifts cards at kiosks.

3. Access your favorite grocery store

Now, many grocery stores keep an automated gift card buying machine. You can sell your gift cards using that machine.

Follow these steps:

Insert the card
Accept the offer
Collect the voucher
Handover the voucher to the cashier for cash

4. Consider Coinstar exchange

You can get cash for your unused gift cards at Coinstar. Insert your gift card in the yellow colored Coinstar exchange machine to know how much money you will get.

Coinstar gives up to 85% of the value of the card.

Submit the receipt at the counter of the store to get the cash.

Things to know to turn the gift cards into cash

Turning gift cards into cash may sound simple, but you have to be extra watchful when dealing it with.

You need to show identity proof

You need to be prepared to show identification including a phone number, driver license/state ID card, credit card and an email address in the process of turning gift cards into cash.

Research well before you proceed

All gift cards buying websites are different when it comes to price and payment policy.

Some companies offer a good price but don't give immediate cash. On the other hand, some companies offer 50%-70% gift card value but give you instant cash.

So, it is advisable to read customers review and research before selling gift cards online.

Finally, before selling gift cards online to any company, check out the merchant's website carefully. Make sure the merchant have clear contact information.

Reliability and reachability and good customer services are the benchmarks of a good online company.

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Credit

5 Money quirks that can make you financially ill

carol — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 10:47:14 +0000

5 Money quirks that can make you financially ill carol Fri, 01/06/2017 - 10:47

If we go through the definition, a quirk is nothing but unnatural gesture or behaving. You may believe it or not, our financial quirks practically harm our life. To be more precise, we are damaging our financial life with our own hands.

Many of us feel ourselves financially vulnerable, and often fear about money matters. We use various ways to make the things right. Sooner or later, these ways often become drastic financial habits.

Do you believe your financial habits need attention? Try to find answers of these below-given questions and evaluate yourself:

1. Are you getting affected by the money quirks negatively?
2. Does it take too much hard work to stop the quirk?
3. Do your loved ones also getting worried about you due to your money habits?
4. Is your money quirk hampering your work, relationship, or other things?

If all of the above-mentioned questions indicate towards the answer “YES”, then let’s put some light on those money quirks or bad financial habits:

1. Avoiding the issue

One of the most significant bad financial habits that can lead you into serious financial hardship is ignoring that issue at all cost. People somehow manage to block their minds and ignore account statements, balances, or credit score. As a result, they miss important financial changes, starting from monthly payment due date to false buying.

If you don’t track your money, it’ll lead you to many serious issues that can damage your finances, including your credit score. So, being ignorant about your financial health is not wise.

2. Stress spending

Another bad would be spending like freaks. More or less all of us have experienced a time when we spent like hell due to the heat of the moment. But, when we realized our mistake, it was too late. As a result, we are getting stressed and start spending more.

The concept is like - “Oh, I’ve already messed up, some more will have no effect on me.”

This is bad. We need to stop ourselves the moment we realize that we are spending limitless. Don’t go with the flow, or else you’ll kill your finances soon.

3. Spending due to anxiety

An anxiety disorder may cause abnormal spending behavior. Some people may feel temporary relaxation by personalized spending. It’ll make them feel like a person they actually like to be. As a result, people spend more to get out of their anxiety.

So, you must treat the core problem, your anxiety. If you don’t, you’ll ruin your credit over a series of unwanted things.

4. Ignoring your future

Being teenagers, we often ignore thinking about our future at the very beginning of our live. We earn, we spend like hell, save very little and forget everything.

But when we reach our 30s and plan for marriage and kids, we realize what a grave mistake we have done in our early life. We will require funds to meet emergency expenses but we don’t have that much saving.

Saving money is an integral part of our future planning along with marriage, kids and everything else that we could have in future. If we don’t save today, there will be nothing left to spend tomorrow.

5. Living under the shadow

No matter what we have done in the past, we must recover ourselves from their shadow. We can control our habits, and change the way we treat our finances all the time.

So, learn how to control your impulses, change your unnatural spending behavior and concentrate on saving.

Few important money-managing tips:

a. Try to place your bills in your wallets in as per the date. It’ll help you to find the bill that you need to pay immediately. You can also order them by denomination.

b. Always wrap the smallest bill around larger bills. This way you won’t forget any single bill, not even worth a dollar.

c. Don’t always try to buy goods in “twos.” If possible, pick only one while shopping. Some people have a weird tendency to like things in pairs. Somehow, they tend to gather things in even numbers rather than odd ones.

Make sure that you find the reason behind your insane money habits. Don’t ignore the matter and take it seriously.

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Personal Finance

How to manage your credit cards in 2017

carol — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 08:50:00 +0000

How to manage your credit cards in 2017 carol Fri, 12/23/2016 - 08:50

It takes more than just on-time bill payment if you want to use your credit cards properly. You must also be on the safer side to protect yourself from fraud, use reward to get more benefits, and build a good credit score by using your card.

Here are few important tips that’ll help you to manage your credit cards in 2017:

1. You must pay off debts with high interest

You need to control your credit card balances in 2017.

The Federal Reserve has informed that short-term interest rates might take a leap by a 0.5% point or more in 2017. So, it’ll have an effect on your credit card bills.

According to a calculation made by the TransUnion -

If the Federal Reserve increases the rate by 0.25%, 82% of the variable-rate credit account holders may have to add $10 more in their monthly payments.

So, it’ll be wise to pay off those credit card debts that have high interest. You’ll never know how much the rate might increase when the time comes.

2. Use your cards carefully at gas pumps

You must be careful while using your cards at the gas stations. Most of them haven't converted to chip-enabled terminals. All the gas stations must update their terminals by October 2017 or they’ll be liable to compensate any fraud committed at their terminals.

But for now, you need to follow these steps to protect yourself:

Use only those gas pumps that are near to the gas station store. Most of the times, the criminals use skimmers at those gas pumps that are away from the stores.
Try to pay your dues inside the store directly, rather than at the pump.
If you don’t have any choice but to use your card at the pump, make sure you use your credit cards only.

3. Use a reward credit card as per your need

Reward points are useful if you use them. If you don't use your points much, having a reward card is probably not a good idea.

Credit account holders don’t use thousands of rewards points and reward miles each year.

According to a recent survey, 15% of the credit card holders don’t use travel rewards points to pay off a trip.

So, being a smart consumer, consider using a rewards credit card that’ll give you cash back benefits.

But remember, a rewards card usually comes with a relatively higher interest rate. So, it’s probably not suitable for you if you have too much debt.

4. Set up notifications in your phone

If you’ve issues to keep in mind about every possible transaction, or every credit card account, you can set up automatic fraud detection and notification system.

Just ask your card issuer to set up mobile notifications that can inform you about below-mentioned situations:

When you're close enough to your credit limit.
If any unnatural financial transaction happening or from any unfamiliar locations.
Each time when your card is getting used.

5. Check your credit card statements and your credit report regularly

You must remain calm and patient to fight against fraud. Don’t forget to check your credit card statements and your credit score regularly. Your financial statement will show you every possible sign of fraud.

If you find any, ask your credit card company and credit reporting agencies to take required steps.

If you can see any unknown account on your credit report like a mortgage, credit card or other, call your creditors immediately.

You can fetch your credit report once a year from each 3 of the main credit bureaus. It is advisable that you collect your credit report once in every 4 months (one from each bureau). You can also grab it at AnnualCreditReport.com.

6. Try to keep your credit score intact

If your credit accounts always carry a big amount of balances regularly, that can negatively affect your credit score.

Your credit score will get the blow even if you are regular with your monthly bills.

Huge balances on your credit account increase your credit utilization ratio. The credit utilization is a prime factor of your FICO score (30%).

It’s better if you can keep your credit utilization lower than 30%.

7. Ask for a higher credit limit

If your credit score is getting lower, you can ask your credit card company to increase your credit limit. If your credit limit becomes higher, the difference between your credit card balance and available credit limit will also increase. Thus, your credit utilization ratio becomes low, which may increase your score.

A recent survey revealed that every 8 out of 10 credit card holders were approved for a credit limit raise. But the problem is only 28% of cardholders dare to ask for it.

8. You can freeze your credit account

Scammers and fraudsters may use your personal information to open new credit accounts. You can prevent this crime by checking your credit report regularly. But it’s only the way to grab those frauds that have been done already.

You can stop scammers to open new accounts by freezing the current credit account.

When you ask your credit card company to freeze your credit, you’ll order the major credit bureaus to prevent anyone to sneaking at your credit file.

9. Keep patience for the chip-based card

In 2017 fewer than half of all retail merchants have processed chip-based credit and debit cards. But still, some merchants are encouraging the magnetic stripe swipe or dip terminals. They still misguiding consumers by saying that the chip-enabled terminal is slow or difficult to use.

Do not entertain such misguidance. This is all in the name of fraud protection. Chip-based credit cards are much safer than other credit cards. It has a superior security system that’ll prevent the con artists to misuse your credit card details.

So, wait some time until you have your chip-based credit cards in your wallet.

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