In the second video I made for CreditCards.com, I talk about three ways to cut down on credit card offers and junk mail. Enjoy!
Watch more videos from CreditCards.com.
It’s been awhile since I made a video, and I’m super excited to come back with ones that involves my preggo belly and a blowtorch. My job rocks!
That’s quite a scowl!
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Keng Susumpow/Flickr
I love presents! I love waking up on Christmas morning to a tree drowning in presents. My family spends the day opening presents, watching movies, eating good food and talking to friends and relatives on the phone. Heavenly.
However, creating that pile of presents without breaking the budget and without gathering ANY credit card debt is a trick. A trick that I have pulled off for many years, by the way.
Here are my top 8 No Debt Santa Claus secrets:
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
From the 60 comments left on my book review of Clark Howard’s “Living Large in Lean Times,” it seems many of you know a lot about living large on budget. That’s great! The person I picked as the winner is enthusiastic and eager to learn more.
Without further ado, the winner of the book is
Free credit score?
Reader Ruth needs help finding a free place to get her credit score. She writes:
i have found places where you can get your credit report for free. do you know of anywhere to, safely, get your credit score? seems like the ones i have checked charge for it.
Ruth, you allude to getting your free credit report through the legit site AnnualCreditReport.com, which is a great place to start. The contents of this free annual report is what makes up your score, so making sure it is accurate is essential to improving your score. But I can understand your desire to know your credit score number.
CreditKarma, which I wrote about in August 2009, provides a score free, but it is not the FICO credit score which you are seeking. The only other offers I’ve seen are “free” when you buy something else. Anybody got an answer?
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
In “Living Large in Lean Times,” author, radio host, and penny pincher Clark Howard says he is frequently asked when the economy is going to come back. To win this book, see below. Clark’s response shocks a lot of people: five to ten years. So what’s a person to do in the meantime?
Learn to live large in lean times, says Howard. He writes:
I can’t predict when the nation will get healthy. But I can help you empower yourself so that you have your personal financial house in order. That way you can survive and ultimately prosper regardless of the country’s progress. You do it one step at a time, fixing your finances and then building the path to independence and ultimately, dare I say, wealth.
The 251-page book, on sale for the first time today, is divided into
MyFico.com
Curious about what goes into your credit score? It’s been more than a year since I wrote about this, so it’s time to revisit this ever useful information.
There are five parts to your credit score. Payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%), and
When should your student get credit? Credit: Phil Scoville/Flickr
Credit.com recently listed its top three credit cards for students. Being unsure if teenagers should even have credit cards, I was curious what they recommended. Do the cards encourage responsible use? Are the usage rules and fees clearly stated? How do the cards compare to those aimed at adults?
Credit.com considered 41 factors to determine the top three cards, including annual fees, rewards to dollars ratio, online shopping discounts, APR, fees to cancel the card, how user-friendly the application is, and more.
The evaluation was run by Credit.com writer Beverly Blair Harzog, who started with 45 cards. I was surprised that out of a 100 possible points, the winning cards only scored between 50-52 points. Either Bev has ridiculously high standards, or these cards leave a lot to be desired. Here’s what she said about each one:
Tom Purves / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Your smart phone is about to get smarter as mobile payment apps replace swiping plastic, by enabling you to tap your phone and exchange your credit card information via a radio frequency field. But just how safe is this?
I first learned about mobile payment apps in a college personal finance class. My professor warned us to be careful about using these apps until laws catch up with technology. Let me explain.
Once upon a time
Real or fake? Credit: dreamglowpumpkincat210/Flickr
The fraudulent email I received from my credit card company, well, turns out it was real! After receiving the suspicious email and phone call asking for my social security number, I alerted the company and shared the email and phone number. Here is the (edited) response I received this morning from its Abuse department.
Choosing the best credit card can be time consuming, confusing and just plain hard work. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. It is definitely worth the time and trouble – credit cards are
major financial decisions, make no mistake about that – because an error here can cost you literally hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the long run. With the following guidelines you can keep it simple and easy.
- Decide on the type of credit card you need. There is a wide variety of credit cards available from those designed for students to professional business people. There are different pros andcons with each type of card, so it makes a difference on the type you need.
- Look for the APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, for each credit card. Some cards will offer a very low APR as an introductory offer, and at some point in time a higher interest rate will apply. These periods of time can range from a couple of months to a year. There are credit cards offering 0% APR for up to a year!
- Keep in mind credit cards with a low APR (4.99 to 8.99% is considered a good rate) apply to those with good credit. People who have less than stellar credit will be looking at interest rates of much higher than that. A credit card that assesses an interest rate at 20-30% is really not worth it, as that high of a rate will most likely make it close to impossible to pay the balance down if you don’t pay it off every month.
- Determine if the credit card allows 0% balance transfers, which will come in very handy should you need to transfer a balance from one card to another.
- Compare credit card reward programs. This can be a good way to get an extra bang for your buck. If you travel a lot, credit cards that offer air miles or hotel discounts may be a great choice for you. If shopping is your thing, many credit cards offer both online and offline deals.
Make sure you read all the fine print. It is dry and boring, but the more you know the better you can protect yourself. Sometimes making a simple spread sheet can help you detail the benefits of different cards. It’s worth the time and trouble now, to save you money and to save you from financial concerns in the future.
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Freeze your credit beyond ice! Credit: paalia/Flickr
The best way to prevent identity theft is to freeze your credit, a little known and little used tactic. The second is to chose a harder password (more on that below). I learned both these tips last week during a savvy-shopping summit hosted by ShopSmart magazine, which is published by Consumer Reports.
New York Times’ Ron Lieber, who writes the Your Money column, shared the first nugget. The good thing about freezing your credit, which is NOT the same as literally freezing your credit card in a block of water, is that no company can open an account in your name this way. (The exception is any company you already have an account with.) So if a criminal, or your next door neighbor, is trying to open an account in your name, no dice. A bank, mortgage lender, or other company won’t be able to
Don't let your credit cards turn into a headache. B Rosen / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
With recent breaches of personal data security from Sony, Michael’s, and a Dallas-based email management company, consumers must take steps to keep their information safe. Think you’re untouchable? Take these easy six steps to make sure.
- Monitor accounts – If you notice something out of the ordinary in your bank or credit card statements, give the company a call. Keep an eye out for charges in other states, online transactions, and gas charges. These transactions are the most commonly made by hackers because (more…)
If you travel abroad frequently, either for business or pleasure, a credit card deal which offers you Air Miles on your purchases could be perfect for you!
Many credit cards offer some sort of incentive, but some credit cards which offer air miles also have decent typical APRs, inviting balance transfer offers and 0% on purchases, so as well as getting a good deal on the card, you could also be earning air miles every time you use it. Some credit card providers even offer special deals for new customers, so you can start building up your miles more quickly.
Some people may be wary of air miles credit cards, but providers are joining forces with reliable companies and banks, all over the world. The credit cards associated with banks, rather than airlines themselves, are often a lot more flexible about which airlines you can redeem your miles on, so that is something to remember when choosing a deal.
So when you spend, you receive air miles which can then be used for free air travel. As well as the flight itself, many providers offer other related rewards, such as travel insurance. And if you would prefer to travel in style, you can use air miles to upgrade yourself from economy. There is also the option of ‘topping-up’ your air miles by paying the extra it would cost to reach your preferred destination, if you find you do not have enough miles to get where you want to go.
Of course, even if you do not travel frequently it is still worth saving up air miles, as they will accumulate and you may find one day that you have saved up enough for your dream holiday abroad!
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taberandrew/Flickr
Got a credit card you love? Sharon is looking for one with a high cash back rebate to use for a trip to Disney in 2012. She writes:
I need a credit card that is best for flyer miles, no black out dates, no fees and good %. Which one do you recommend? We will go to Disney in 2012. I’m so confused reading all the cards and can’t decide! Thanks so much ~ Sharon
I would recommend comparing credit cards at three sites before making up your mind. I like NerdWallet, (more…)
