Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Airline Miles Credit Card - 3 Tips to Maximize Your Benefits
Airline miles credit cards and other cards that offer reward bonuses are becoming more popular for consumers nowadays, since mortgage equity loans have dried up. Air miles rewards cards are a great way to save money on vacations and business travel. However, with every winner there is a loser. The credit card companies have to pay for the rewards they dole out somehow; unfortunately, only a few card holders get to be the winner and it's the losers that end up paying for their rewards.
Choosing the right airline credit card doesn't have to be a frightening experience. By considering these three points you can easily and comfortably save a ton of money. Here are the highlights:
Which class of airline card do you need? - There are airline specific frequent flyer cards and bank issued air miles rewards cards - and the differences are huge. In a nutshell, airline cards reward you for the miles you travel and bank sponsored cards reward you for the amount that you charge on the card. With airline cards you will earn miles much faster than bank sponsored credit cards if you travel frequently (five to ten times a year). However, these are the cards that have "blackouts" and restrictions that you must contend with.
Bank issued credit cards will give you miles or points that reduce or eliminate the cost of airline tickets, based on your accumulated purchases. For example, by using the Capital One® No Hassle Miles (SM) Ultra-For Professionals card you can rack up two miles for every dollar spent on the card. With this card you aren't bound to a specific airline or restricted by blackouts when you decide to travel.
Do not carry a balance! - Airline credit cards are designed to heavily penalize people who carry a balance from month to month with higher rates and fees. This is because most card holders will put a business trip or vacation on the card and pay that expense off throughout the year. By doing this you are almost assured to negate any savings that the card gave you by using it. You are the proverbial loser. If you do need to put vacation or travel expenses on the card for an extended amount of time, you should transfer the balance to a lower interest card while you pay down the balance.
Use it or lose it - Airline cards must be managed and used regularly to take advantage of their benefits. Most of the credit cards that are sponsored by a specific airline have a "use it or lose it" policy; this is why they are classified as "Frequent Flyer" credit cards. Also, most of these cards will carry a hefty annual fee, so if you're not using them you should be losing them. When you carry one of these cards, managing your benefits is not an option.
The exception is bank issued credit cards. They will waive their annual fees on some cards for applicants who have exceptional credit. One way to take advantage of the bank issued cards is to use them for day to day purchases like groceries, gas, and even utilities. Some banks are even accepting payments with credit cards. By doing this you will easily rack up enough air miles to get a seat or two on your favorite airline each year.
This class of credit card usually will not have an expiration date on their miles rewards, so you are free to take as much time as you need to earn the tickets. It's easy to see why airline miles credit cards and other cards that offer reward bonuses are becoming more popular for consumers. By choosing the right card for you, you are sure to save money on vacations and business travel.
How to Stop Abusive Debt Collectors and Repair Your Credit
Most people are unaware of the fact that mail and telephone abuse is actually a violation of the law by debt collectors, they cannot use certain language in their letters as well as in their phone conversations.
There is actually a law known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that governs how debt collectors operate, some of the issues this law covers includes communication in connection with debt collection, false or misleading representation, unfair practices, and validation of debt to name a few.
It is a good idea to consult with an attorney if you believe you have been a victim of abuse from these debt collectors, you may be liable for damages if you can prove they broke the law and some attorneys specialize in this area.
Due to the fact that collections also affect your credit report, you want to take a look at each collection account that is listed on your credit report, make sure you own the account, a large percentage of credit reports are said to have errors on them and you want to make sure yours is not one.
It is possible to repair your credit yourself, with the help of a do it yourself credit repair kit. It will show you step-by-step how to clean up your credit report and also get rid of old collection accounts.
Credit and Loan Credit Repair
Bad Credit Loans are fundamentally debt consolidation loans with higher interest rates that can be utilized for many purposes. For example, if you receive a couple of unpaid debts, people with bad credit can apply them for debt consolidation, which is relatively simpler to manage because debt consolidation unremarkably furnishes a lower interest rate .
Bad credit becomes an consequence, when you demand to make up a major purchase that would admit acquiring a mortgage loan, auto loan or personal loan. When you go for for a loan or a line of credit, the creditor with whom you are applying for a loan, directly pulls your credit history file.
Bad credit repair program is a super time saver. You can for sure repair bad credit yourself without a credit repair software application to test and find your online history, but actually bad credit will demand many credit repair letters and wearisome days and weeks to optimize, whereas a credit repair software program can automate the work considerably without the risk of missing anything in the mail.
You can have bad credit rubbed out lawfully. And this really helps out hugely because identity theft is growing more mainstream and this type of software forbids you from losing anything in the postal service.
Credit repair counseling can be employed in many directions; to prevent debt, to get out of debt, and to stay out of debt. When utilizing credit repair advice to prevent debt, it is essential that an individual realize the difference between using their credit options a healthy way, and taking advantage of lending extended to them.
Financial conclusions are personal, dependent on an individual's position. Consult with a financial counselor before making any financial conclusions to determine if they will show you the free credit reports they will use to help.
And many a times people have to apply for bad credit personal loans or perhaps bad credit auto loans depending on the interest rate presented to you prior to getting that new automobile when you can't make those unworldly payments.
Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question - commonly inside 30 days - unless they consider your dispute unimportant. They must also forward all the pertinent data you supply about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the data. Consumer Credit Counseling Service furnishes budget counseling, educational programs, debt management assistance and housing counseling. On That Point are likewise numerous local branches of this nonprofit organization, so check out for one near your location.
Consumers with less-than-perfect credit ratings may be lured to employ the aid of a company assuring to "straighten out" or "erase" bad credit. Credit repair companies can do nothing for you that you cannot manage for yourself for free, and they may charge you hundreds of dollars to arrange it.
Debt consolidation can equal the optimal pick if you are experiencing financial troubles. Always keep in mind that debt expiration do vary, as well as assessments status. If you possess delinquencies and charge-offs that are affecting your credit scores, credit and loan credit repair could be an option looked at when speaking to credit debt counselor during your bad credit counseling session.
Lenders are more unintentional these days to provide student loans to an individual who has a bad credit history. Thus if your credit score is below 600 and you're wanting to obtain a loan for school, you might want to check out a credit repair service . Lenders will apply this selective information to find if you are suitable for a loan or line of credit. When they learn this "bad" information, they will most likely bill you a higher interest rate or worse, turn you down completely.
Ask the credit reporting agency for a dispute form or submit your dispute in writing via a credit repair letter, along with whatever supporting documentation. Likewise make sure to not send them original written documents , make a copy of that document and send it with credit repair letter. Ask your creditors to report the debt as paid to the credit agencies at once so this can reflect on all of your credit reports. You can also fax or send a copy of the debt settlement letters to the credit agencies yourself so they can update your credit history faster which presents you a huge relief.
Bettering poor credit can constitute a long and hard process. If you have struggled through a period of time of financial difficulty, or yet filed for bankruptcy, your power to obtain credit may be compromised long after you have gotten back on your feet and back to good credit. Amending your financial position will have a positive affect on every last facets of your life.
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Do You Suffer From Underearning?
This topic can occupy months of focus and discussion and is covered in depth in our Fresh Financial Program. First, a confession: Underearning is one of the reasons I was led to do this work. After 10 years (10 years!!!) of earning the SAME salary (and that was in more than 2 jobs) I thought, "Why does this keep happening?!! Why can't I break my salary barrier?" After growing tired of all the excuses I had invented ("He got a head start", "She has more connections", "She's thinner" etc. etc), I was driven to seek the help of a financial counselor. Fast forward...Now I am giving workshops and teleseminars about this insidious problem that many people suffer from. Because it is pretty silent in its ways, it really needs to be looked at with a magnifying glass and talked about with a megaphone in hand!
What is Underearning?
Underearning is the pattern of earning below your potential. You are either not making enough or barely enough money to cover your needs. In addition, here's another kind of Underearner. Take Kathy, a smart young woman who went into the law profession but wasn't really passionate about it. It was what her father and brother did so it "made sense" that she follow the path that was in her family's blood. As a lawyer she made a decent salary BUT because she wasn't working from a place of passion and was therefore not inspired to work to her full potential, she was an Underearner.
Here are just a few characteristics of Underearners with a very short summary for each. You can learn more about Underearning in the Free Teleseminar on Thursday, September
Underearners are usually in debt.
It would make sense that if you are in debt; you are vague as to how much money is flowing in and out of your accounts. And if you are not aware of how much is going in or out of your accounts, you probably don't have a clear idea of how much money you need to cover your needs. Underearning would be an easy thing to do since you have no idea how much is enough and how much you need.
Underearners are fearful of money.
When you are fearful of money or anything else for that matter, you tend to avoid it at all costs. You can guess what happens if you avoid money. You don't hold any ties to it, you aren't nurturing that relationship, and you are doing a disservice to yourself by not looking at it straight in the eye and staring it down.
Underearners give away or volunteer excessive amounts of their time.You have the best intentions and donate your time; too much of it. Many people who suffer from Underearning do not use their time and energy wisely. As I mentioned in my previous Newsletter, thinking about your Time, Energy, Money factor plays a big role in helping you decide how to use each source to best serve your needs and wants. I have found that you become much more efficient with your time as you get yourself out of the Underearning cycle and gain financial clarity.
Underearners believe there is virtue in living in poverty.
You will find many artists suffer from this belief. You live for the greater good. You think your condition is a sign of a true artist; the starving artist. Artists who do well are many times labeled as having sold out. Perhaps you believe that making money displays greed and consumerism and sullies the spiritual and artistic worlds. Many underearners with this belief live in slightly less than safe homes, wear slightly tattered clothing, and almost go out of their way not to display any signs of a comfortable life.
Underearners might resent people who have money.
If you resent people who have money, how could you ever expect to have enough for yourself? A good exercise is to write down the names of people with significant amounts of money whom you respect. You don't have to know them personally. Write down what characteristics you like about them and what you admire about the way they lead their lives.
Underearners do not keep track of their flow of money.
You have heard me talk about tracking your income and expenses. When you do that simple exercise...you know exactly where you stand and can determine the amount of money you need to cover everything you want. Underearners
Underearners fear spending money and resent it when they must.
Many Underearners have a clenched fist approach when it comes to opening their wallets. Spending money is no fun. You don't really take pleasure in it. Money is energy and needs to circulate so if you stop the flow (my throat gets tight just thinking about it!) and you come from a point of scarcity, it makes sense that money will be scarce in your life, that you will probably borrow money (from credit cards or your 401K) because "there isn't enough of it". As a result, you go into debt.
Underearners think that money will cure their problems.
Here's the thing: Money doesn't cure Underearning. People do.
At the heart of Underearning is self-deprivation. If you are not able to cover your needs and keep pedaling on with no plan in place, it will never be Enough because you don't know what Enough is. Subconsciously Underearners act in ways that keep them from enjoying things they value like love, relationships, money, time. Etc.
I liken money to a mirror that reflects not only what is going on in your bank account, but inside yourselves. If you think you might suffer from Underearning don't be discouraged. You must realize that Underearning is NOT a permanent condition. The first step is awareness and acknowledgement.
In The Fresh Financial Program I teach you how to recognize patterns of Underearning you may be living (and re-living) and how to break this cycle so you can move on and live your life with full clarity and in the way you wish for yourself
Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds Explained
If you want to invest in the stock market, you have to know a little about what you are doing. When a company goes public, they begin to sell shares of stock on a public stock exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). One share of stock has a price which continually fluctuates on a daily basis. Your goal is to buy a share of stock at one price, and then sell the share at a higher price on a later date.
Owning a share of stock means you own part of the company. The firm issues stock in order to raise money for their company to grow. If you own stock, you are a shareholder. As a shareholder, you are able to vote in the company and have some say. Although, usually you just vote on who you want to be on the board of directors, and they make decisions for the firm.
A stock is considered an equity security because you own part of the company. A bond is considered a debt security because you lend the company money, you don't own any of it. You can buy bonds from the government, state, bank, or a corporation. If you buy a bond for $1,000 that matures in 10 years with an effective interest rate of 5% paid annually, every year you will receive $50 until the 10 years are up at which time they will pay you back the $1,000.
You can hold bonds to maturity or you can buy and sell them. Bonds bought from the government usually have little to no risk. Corporate and municipal bonds have a rating that will tell you how risky they are. For example, an AAA bond has very little risk, but will usually not give you a very high return. A bond that is rated at BB or lower is considered a junk bond because it has high risk but potential for a very high return.
A mutual fund is a mix of stocks, bonds, or both. You give your money to a mutual fund manager who pools your money in with other people's money. He buys stocks and/or bonds that he feels will get a high return. Mutual funds are beneficial because you are able to diversify your money, meaning you reduce your risk by investing in many different securities or investments. No-load mutual funds are popular because they don't charge fees which puts more money back into your pocket.
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