Choosing a Credit Card when you have Bad Credit

By Kate Ross

Interest Rate
Interests are a sum of money calculated by multiplying a rate and an amount. The interests paid when the credit card balance is not completely paid off, are calculated by multiplying the interest rate and the amount left unpaid. Basically it’s the amount of money charged by the card issuer for lending you the money you used to buy goods or services.

Interest rates are stated as percentage and usually as an APR, which stands for ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE. When you are shopping for a credit card you want the APR to be as low as possible. Nevertheless, though maybe the most important thing, the APR is not the only factor you need to consider when requesting a credit card. Additional Fees and Costs, Penalty fees, balance transfer fees, etc. should also be taken into consideration.

However the interest rates are imposed, each card issuer decides the interest rates based on the risk of the financial transaction, just like a loan process. And at this point is where your credit history becomes important. If you have multiple stains on your credit history, chances are that you will end up paying a high interest rate. The opposite is also true; an excellent past credit behavior will contribute to a low interest rate being charged.

Are rewards worth it?
There are also some credit cards that though they charge higher interest rates, also offer different benefits like rewards in the form of goods, airline tickets, etc. You should make sure that you’re interested and will make good use of this rewards, otherwise there is no reason for choosing this kind of cards. It doesn’t make sense paying higher rates and fees for services you won’t use or don’t desire.

The Risk of minimum Payments
If you happen to have financial difficulties and are not able to pay off the whole balance, you should be very aware of the concept of “minimum payment”. The minimum payment is the lowest amount of money that you can pay to the credit card company, otherwise, the lack of payment or the fact that you didn’t meet this minimum payment will be recorded to your credit history and significantly compromise your ability to obtain finance.

Also though you can pay the minimum payment, you should always try to pay as much as you can, otherwise, even if you stop using the card, due to interests the outstanding balance will always grow and you may end up being unable to pay even the minimum. This will lead to more penalty fees, higher interest rates and eventually your debt will be turned over to collection agencies and you’ll start receiving harassing calls from them. Finances need to be taken seriously as any decision you make on this matter will affect your future for many years. Spending more than you earn will eventually lead to bankruptcy.

Kate Ross is a professional consultant with fifteen years in the financial field. She helps people in the process of securing personal loans, mortgage, refinance or consolidation loans and prevents consumers from falling into financial scams.
If you need more financial aid visit her Website or just copy speedybadcreditloans.com and paste it in your browser’s address bar.

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Tips on Raising Your Credit Score

By Martin Lukac

You can save a lot of money by simply raising your credit score. And it isn't that difficult a task.

It simply takes time.

My husband and I have both raised our scores by over 150 points each in less than two years. Simply through time and some wise decision making.

The first step is to check your credit report. You can obtain your credit report for free each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies. We space it out so that we are checking ours every four months or so. This keeps us up to date on what our credit report says.

When you get your credit report, you will be offered a credit score for a nominal fee. Go ahead and spend this money for your score. It is a wise investment of your dollars.

Keep in mind that each score is calculated differently. They will vary from agency to agency. It may also vary from lender to lender, depending on where they get their scores from. But they will all be in the same ballpark. If you are raising one score, chances are that they are all going up.

Review your credit report carefully. Almost 90% of consumers will have false information on their reports at some time. It happens. And it drags down your score. If you see something inaccurate on your report, you need to take steps to correct it immediately.

There are several factors that contribute to your credit score. The five major components are: payment history, account balances, age of established credit, recent inquiries and opened accounts and types of credit.

It may seem like you should rid yourself of all credit cards due to their "evil." However, this isn't always great for your credit score. When it comes to credit cards, having a few can look good on your report. But you should have little to no balance on these cards. If you have a hard time about using your credit wisely, put the cards in a safe deposit box at the bank. Pay down your balances as quickly as possible.

My husbands score is actually held back a little by the fact that he has no credit cards at all. If you have an account with a zero balance, consider keeping it. It can add to your credit history, account balance and payment history.

The number one factor to raising your credit score is paying your bills on time, every time. Have them automatically withdrawn from your checking. Make yourself pay them well in advance.

Then all it takes is a little time to distance yourself from negative reports on your credit.

With time, paid off debts and on-time payments, you are guaranteed to raise your credit score. And you will see savings as a result. You will get better interest rates, more favorable insurance premiums and the satisfaction of knowing that when you need to borrow, you will be able to borrow. A perfect credit score will go a long way for you.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

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Credit Cards - Make Them Pay You

By Tim Grimsley

Everyone today has credit cards, the problem, is to many people over extend themselves with these cards. Credit cards can be a great tool if used properly. Unfortunately most people have not been taught to use them to their benefit. Instead they use the cards to the bank's benefit. Credit cards are used in variety of ways, most of which are the wrong way.

To understand credit cards you need to know how they came about. Credit cards were introduced in the 1950's. At the time many bank's offered 90 and 180 day loans for buying small items that customers needed a small loan to purchase. Bank's started to offer credit cards as a way to be pre-approved for such a loan. Much the way a home equity line of credit works today. At first credit cards were paid off after each purchase. As the years have passed the cards have been used more frequently, and the balances have been carried over month after month. People have also acquired more and more credit cards, this would be fine if we didn't carry balances on all of them.

Here are some ways you can get more benefits from credit cards.

First you need to look at your current credit card's interest rate. Chances are if you have had this card for a few years there are better interest rates now. You probably have a higher credit rating now, which will also help you qualify for lower rates. Try to combine the balances of high interest cards onto a lower interest rate cards.

Apply for cards that offer the best total package. Make a chart and list the benefit package and interest rates of each card. Choose the ones that will offer you the most benefit at the lowest rate.

Pay off your balance monthly, this way you receive the benefits without paying for them. By doing this credit cards can actually save you money instead of costing you money.

You can find more information at Credit Card Facts and Fallacies

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