Search Results for: credit card

Five Major Reasons to Avoid Paying with a Debit Card

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Reasons to Avoid Paying with a Debit Card

Debit cards are the most popular non-cash transaction method in the U.S., with about 5.1 billion debit cards in circulation and $1.4 trillion in debit card purchases each year. Despite this popularity factor, using a debit card is generally a bad idea compared to alternative payment methods. Here are the reasons that you should generally avoid paying with a debit card. Reasons to Avoid Paying with a Debit Card If you currently rely on debit cards for most of your purchases and orders, then don’t miss these major reasons why you should avoid paying with a debit card. Legal Protections Against Fraud  According to Nasdaq, 31.8 million American consumers’ credit cards were breached in 2014 and the number of both credit … Read more

Why You Should Regularly Check Your Credit Report

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Why You Should Regularly Check Your Credit Report

You need to check your credit report often. If you think you only need to think about your credit report when seeking a loan, think again. Your credit report is a valuable tool in identifying reporting errors and is even an early warning for identity theft. Being proactive in monitoring your credit score can help you resolve previous credit problems faster and help you avoid future credit problems altogether. When and How to Check Your Credit Report It’s recommended that you check your credit score at least once a year. There are three major consumer reporting companies that can provide your credit score: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. You can contact any of them to sign up for a detailed credit score … Read more

A Quick Experian Credit Score Workout

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Your credit score isn’t going to increase on its own. Well, it might, but only for a little while before jumping back down again. This is how the unobserved credit score works. Without specific action taken to keep your Experian credit score on the up and up, it’s never going to get much altitude at all. People tend to get discouraged with their credit scores. After all, they think, I’m careful with my money. I guess there’s nothing else I can do. In fact, there are plenty of things you can do to boost your credit score. Credit scores are subtle things, and until you start to understand the consumer behaviors that cause them to rise and fall, you’ll never be able … Read more

How to Easily Rebuild Your Credit After a Short Sale

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Paying off your mortgage and eliminating PMI

Short sales continue to increase despite the seeming rebound in housing markets across America. According to RealtyTrac, short sales and foreclosures comprised of 16.2% of U.S. home sales in 2013. This was up from 2012, when 14.5% of home sales were short sales and foreclosures. In a short sale, the mortgage lender agrees to let a homeowner accept an offer for their home that’s less than the amount owed on the loan. The bank takes all the proceeds, but the seller walks away with the remaining debt forgiven. Choosing to go that route will put a serious dent in your credit score, but it’s not a fiscal death sentence. You can rebuild your credit and your finances after a short … Read more

What Will Switching to Card Reading Do to Your Tips

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If you’re the owner of a small business that employs people who work for tips, your choice of payment system is holding their livelihood in the palm of your hand. A lot of considerate bar owners, restaurant owners, and more will think twice before they institute any changes that could adversely affect the people who work for them. This is both kindness and practicality. If you can’t get the people working for you a decent living wage then they’re going to leave, you’re going to have high turnover, and everything that you wanted or worked for is going to blow up in your face. That’s not where anyone wants to be. So, when you’re looking to trade out the clunky … Read more

How To Use Prepaid Debit Cards To Budget For Big Purchases

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This is a guest post by David Silverstone who writes about personal finance, credit cards, and debit cards on the website, Credit Card Insider, which is a credit resource, providing plain-language guidance from industry leaders. Credit card debt is huge in the U.S. Last year, the average American household’s credit card debt was equal to $15,799. American consumers know that they need to eliminate this debt, but they also know that they will have large purchases to make in the future. These larger purchases may be necessities, such as refrigerators, new cars and houses, but it can also be a pleasurable expense, such as a fabulous dream vacation. The new trend is to save for these purchases so that consumers do … Read more