Face it: humans are far from perfect. Being the dominant species on the planet doesn’t mean we always make the best choices. Sometimes those bad choices are related to our credit. In those cases, mistakes can haunt us for years to come. <p> So what if a loved one with less than stellar credit asks you to co-sign for a credit card? This can be a tough decision. Of course you want to help them build or rebuild their credit, but you probably have valid concerns about harming your own. After all, your credit score is a numeric representation of how responsible you are with your finances. And it can be used against you when you try to rent an apartment, buy a car, or get a job. How can you say yes to a friend in need without making a mistake that could have a very real impact on your life? <p> Before you co-sign, remember that if this credit card account goes unpaid, your credit score will be affected just as if you had caused the delinquency yourself. If this is not a chance you’re willing to take, politely point your friend to other possibilities, such as secured credit cards or other cards designed for consumers with poor or no credit. <p> If you do decide to co-sign, do it with the intention of taking over payments if it becomes necessary. If you can’t afford to do that, be honest with your friend. If you can afford to assume responsibility for the potential debt, there are some steps you can take to protect your credit from nasty surprises. <p> First, set some conditions. There has to be an agreed-upon credit limit, and your friend must agree to let you know if they’re unable to make a payment – before that payment is due. Also, have the credit card account set up so that it can be viewed and managed online. You should have access to the account. This gives you greater control and keeps you up to date about any changes to the credit card account. <p> In the past, credit card holders with good credit could simply add a friend, spouse, or child as an authorized user. This temporarily improved the authorized user’s credit score, allowing them to apply for their own cards or loans. But this tactic, called “credit piggy-backing”, is now obsolete. Authorized users no longer get a credit boost. In order to help someone pump up their credit, it’s now necessary to risk your own through co-signing. <p> Should you co-sign or not? That’s a question that only you can answer. Ask yourself the questions presented here, and then make an honest assessment of your friend’s trustworthiness. Co-signing isn’t the only choice available to people with poor credit. If you think it’s likely that your own credit would suffer, forget the co-signing and encourage your friend to explore their other options. <p><br><br>This article has been provided by Creditor Web. At CreditorWeb.com you can compare over 100 credit cards from multiple banks and apply for <a href="http://www.creditorweb.com/">credit cards</a> online.

Sometimes credit cards make life a little too easy. How is that possible? By allowing us to make purchases we really can’t afford, and then giving us an unlimited amount of time to pay off the debt. It sounds great in theory, but ask a card holder who’s been paying off the same debt for years. They’ll tell you that extending your repayment isn’t as easy as it sounds. <p> That is because of the amount of interest you accrue when you stretch out your debt over a long period of time. In fact, credit card companies count on card holders with revolving debt (debt that rolls over from one month to the next). Those consumers pay the fees and interest rates that keep the card companies so profitable. <p> As a card holder, minimum monthly payments are your enemy. Consider this: a fairly typical household with $6,600 of credit card debt, making minimum monthly payments, would take over twenty five years to pay off their balance – and that’s with a decent interest rate! It’s nearly impossible to make a dent in your debt by making minimum payments. <p> Some card holders lament the fact that their debt actually increases each month when they make minimum monthly payments. I’ve seen this firsthand; fees for carrying a balance, combined with interest, can really overcome a minimum payment. My experience made a believer out of me, and since then I have always paid two or three times the minimum monthly payment in order to stay ahead of the debt. <p> Senator Dianne Feinstein of California is the proponent of a new bill that would require credit card companies to educate their consumers about the consequences of minimum monthly payments. This would be a huge boon to card holders, as it would illustrate just how long it takes to pay off a balance with minimum payments. Most card holders carry a balance from month to month, and 11% of them make only the minimum required payment. Many simply don’t realize what a poor choice this is. <p> The best way to handle credit card debt is to prevent it. Pay off your balance in full each month. But if an emergency or special event has left you with a heap of credit card debt, there are steps you can take to reduce it quickly. Remember: the longer you take to pay off an interest-bearing balance, the more you will ultimately pay. <p> To get serious about paying off your credit card balance, pay double or triple the required amount each month. If you get a work bonus or a tax return, use some of it to pay down your balances. Transfer high-interest balances to 0% interest credit cards to make your monthly payments mean something. Just be sure to pay off the balance in full before that 0% interest period ends. <p> Minimum monthly payments might seem cheap at first, but they come with a hefty price tag. Get your debt paid off as quickly as possible to avoid throwing money away on fees, penalties, and interest. <p><br><br>This article has been provided by Creditor Web. At CreditorWeb.com you can compare over 100 credit cards from multiple banks and apply for <a href="http://www.creditorweb.com/">credit cards</a> online.

Love them or hate them, credit cards are a part of everyday life in the twenty-first century. But where did they come from? Who thought up the idea behind a little piece of plastic that could be used to make purchases? <p> Credit has been with us since time immemorial. In the old days, stores would keep open accounts, or “tabs”, for their customers. The customers would take the merchandise they needed, the store owner would mark their purchases in a ledger, and the tab would be paid at a later date. <p> Credit in card form was first mentioned in literature in the 1887 novel, <u>Looking Backward</u>, by Edward Bellamy. The author theorized that, in the future, all customers would need to make purchases was a little card that represented their available credit. Now that was a good guess, and timely: Western Union issued purchase cards to its best customers as early as 1914. <p> Gas cards came before most other types of credit cards. In the 1920’s, more and more people purchased automobiles. Those automobiles needed fuel, so many gas stations began to issue cards which could be used to make fuel purchases. In an innovative networking move, various gas stations even accepted their competitor’s cards as a form of payment. <p> Next came store credit cards. Originally devised as a marketing ploy, these cards helped increase the customer base of many retailers. Customers liked the fact that they buy now and pay later, and retailers liked the fact that the period of repayment had a definite limit. That is, the customer had a specific amount of time in which to pay off their debt. Good customers gained a good reputation among merchants – the credit history of yesterday. <p> Revolving credit came onto the scene in the 1930’s and 40’s. The stores started off by allowing customers to pay off their debt over a series of months, requiring the debt to be paid in full before further purchases could be made. Then they did away with the repayment limits. This allowed customers to carry a balance on their credit cards that did not have to be repaid in a specified time period. Instead, the customer had to repay a certain amount of debt each month – the minimum monthly payment. This provided even more convenience for the customers, though many didn’t quite know what they were getting into. Credit card companies made revenue from fees and interest, just like they do today. <p> In the 1950’s, Ralph Schneider introduced the concept of an all-purpose credit card which could be used in lieu of multiple charge cards. Enter the cards we know today: Visa, American Express, Diner’s Club, and others. These major companies soared in popularity in the 1970’s and 80’s. <p> Today, credit cards have become a big business. It seems that every provider is eager to place a card in the hands of a customer, regardless of that customer’s credit score or demonstrated level of financial responsibility. This is good news for consumers who want to build up their credit, but can also mean big losses for an industry that was founded on the strength of a promise. <p><br><br>This article has been provided by Creditor Web. At CreditorWeb.com you can compare over 100 credit cards from multiple banks and apply for <a href="http://www.creditorweb.com/">credit cards</a> online.

Chances are, when you apply for a credit card you will be asked if you want to enroll in additional life and disability insurance. If you don’t choose to enroll, rest assured the credit card company will call you a few months down the road and try to get you again. <br><br> You will be told that in case of death, critical illness or disability, your credit card payments will be taken care of, relieving you and your family of an additional burden. All you need to do is pay a certain percentage of your monthly balance as an insurance fee. <br><br> What you’re not told is that in such an unfortunate event, your policy would only cover your minimum payments – typically 4% of your balance, not your whole debt. You better believe interest will continue to accrue on the remainder of your balance. If you are able to return to work later, you will still be responsible for the remainder of the balance, on top of the medical bills you recently incurred. Essentially the financial institution is asking you to pay premiums on a policy that protects itself. You as the credit card (or loan, or mortgage) holder are not the beneficiary. Other than peace of mind, you don’t gain anything from such insurance. <br><br> It is the standard policy of many banks to include this type of coverage in personal loans. Most borrowers are not aware of this and unwittingly sign up. If that’s not bad enough, the bank receives up to 40% commission on reselling you this insurance policy simply for signing you up. You’re better off going directly to an insurance company and springing for a whole life policy that will benefit your family, cover all your debts, not just one and will cost you less money. <br><br> Credit lenders are aggressive with these offers, and when you initially refuse, often push you into a free introductory period. Don’t take the bait. These policies are notoriously difficult to cancel – you have to deal with the insurance company itself, so your bank’s customer service department won’t be able to help you. And it can be tough to even find contact information for the insurer. <br><br> Be careful to read the terms and conditions on credit card and other loan agreements before signing anything, and make sure your banker explains your agreement fully. When pushed to accept additional insurance, remember to just say “no.” <br><br>This article has been provided by Creditor Web. At CreditorWeb.com you can compare over 100 credit cards from multiple banks and apply for <a href="http://www.creditorweb.com/">credit cards</a> online.

Students entering their freshmen year of college are typically starting a new chapter in their lives, filled with hundreds of first-time experiences and opportunities. For many, it's the first time they've lived on their own. For some, it may also be the first time they had to do much for themselves, from laundry to planning their own meals. For all college students, the temptation to sign on the dotted line for various credit card offers can be too much to overcome! <br><br> As the summer fades into fall, all around the country you'll see little tables popping up with enticing offers- “Get a free T-Shirt when you apply for our credit card”; “Choose a free CD”; or “Free Pizza when you apply!” The little credit card “kiosks” are littered all over campus in some cases, with the most marketing savvy setting up shop in front of the pizza shop where students can get their free pizza for applying, or in front of the dining hall or center of campus where students tend to socialize in between classes. <br><br> Some students might pass right by- but probably the majority of students are interested in the give-aways enough to stop by the table, and with about 50% of these students signing up for credit card offers, you can guess the marketing is effective. <br><br> It's not that student credit cards are a bad idea- it's what typically happens to these wet-behind-the-ears undergraduates when they catch the credit card fever. Most of the time, student credit cards offer low credit lines of $500 or $1000, and it's very easy to charge up to your maximum limit quickly. As students are enjoying the buy-now and pay-for-it-later experience (no pun intended) they're also quick to sign on a new dotted line for a different free t shirt or a free dinner. After all, what's another monthly payment of $20 going to do? What many college students aren't realizing (until much later) is that their $500 credit cards are costing them two, three... sometimes four times or more in interest when they make just the minimum payment each month. Worse, if the student has a poor financial management system and misses a payment here or there, the late fees and increased interest rates from non or late payments will result in ridiculous amounts of money being thrown out the window. <br><br> Students are going to college to create a better future for themselves; getting a higher education and a degree that is meant to earn them a higher income than if they hadn't gone to college. When these students rack up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, they graduate into the real world with damaged credit scores and the inability to keep up with their payments. Before they've even landed their dream careers, some of the students have created such a mess out of their credit scores that they've got to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. <br><br> Colleges all over the nation require a certain set of educational courses- regardless of what you plan to major in. Most universities require an English or writing course, a science, math and foreign language course as part of every course of study's major requirements. Probably another course to require of all students would be a basic financial management course. Unless a student has been taught personal finance and money management from their parents, college is often the first experience a student has with handling their own finances. Why do we assume a student has this knowledge without being taught? <br><br>This article has been provided by Creditor Web. At CreditorWeb.com you can compare over 100 credit cards from multiple banks and apply for <a href="http://www.creditorweb.com/">credit cards</a> online.