Your Personal Financial Adviser

With the market flooding with various credit card companies and each company having various types credit cards; it is natural for a common man to get befuddled in numerous choices. It is necessary for you to choose a Credit card wisely so that it’s you who get the maximum benefits and not become a victim of credit card Company allowing them to reap all benefits from you in the form of interest charges and different kinds of fee. There are certain things that you should consider while making choice of your credit card.

You will get different credit card offers in your mailbox, Internet, and shopping stores. But don’t get swayed away by the eye catching offers; you should really think if the card is right for you or not. You can save a lot by shopping through a credit card; but you have to use it wisely. If you choose and use a credit card carelessly, it can get you under debts which will act as a scar on your credit history. Before choosing a credit card, ask yourself some questions.

1. Check out what kinds of credit card do you need? There are different types of credit cards like student cards, reward credit cards, regular credit cards etc. they differ in their services, choose the one that best caters your requirements.
2. Usage of card also varies from person to person. Make a choice keeping in mind what your usage will be. Whether you will be using card for major purchases or will be using it regularly? Are you going to carry forward your balance or you will be clearing the bill every month. These are certain things you should consider.

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Have you turned 18? It’s the time to celebrate as you are an adult now. You are liberal; you can vote, have a driving license and a credit card also. It does feel exciting to think of getting first credit card. But the process is bit thoughtful when it comes to apply for a credit card for first time. It seems intimidating. It is not easy to decide which company will offer you best deal. Various companies use bewitching offers to lure the customers some offer no interest for introductory period; some have got bonus points or rewards. To decide upon which company to go for, thoroughly study your needs and find a product that exactly suits your needs. Follow these steps for applying or a credit card for first time.

- Your credit card scores; check them out and make sure they are good enough to get acceptance from the company. This is a good practice because a denial puts a negative impact on your credit score. Make sure all the details furnished in credit card application form are true; else you may be penalized for being fraudulent.

- Check and compare APR of different cards. APR is Annual Percentage Rate which is applied on unpaid balance after interest free payment period. It excludes late payment penalties. If you want a card to use it for purchases whose payment will be cleared in months, you should look for a card with low APR, so that you have to pay lesser interest. Read more

“A credit card and a debit card work the same way and has got same benefits”. The statement appears to be true, but it’s not. They may appear to be working same way to some extent, but benefits offered by the two vary. Both the cards look alike, are swiped in same way to pay for purchases, but still their working is different.

Lets’ explain this with an example. Consider two persons going to a store for some shopping, one is having a debit card and another one has got a credit card for paying for the purchase. At the billing counter, for both the customers, cards are swiped in a similar way. The credit card bearer then signs a receipt while debit card carrier provides his PIN. After this, both take their purchased goods and walk to their way home. It seemed same, but processing that occurred at the backend is entirely different.

For credit card bearer, his bill was paid by company that issued him the card and his signature on receipt was consent that he will pay back the amount to issuer. He will receive a billing statement from the credit card company that will be listing the purchases made through this card and what is their total bill. He is supposed to pay at least half of the bill amount before due date or he will be fined. Also there is an interest free period, within which if payment is made will have no interest. After this period, interest will be charged on unpaid balance. Read more

Have you heard of something called Credit Card? Of course you must be familiar to it. For those who don’t know, credit card is a plastic card issued by a financial company that empowers the holder to purchase goods and services without actually paying at that moment but promising to pay for it later on. Use of credit card creates a debt which user has to clear and has to pay interest for it also.

This almost 3 x 4 inches piece of plastic also bears identification information of a person like signature, name, picture etc. It also carries logo of the issuing company. It also bears a magnetic strip that can be read by a credit card machine. It is a thing of great benefit and usually people have one or more in their wallet. It should be used properly, else it may prove troublesome. This was something about what a credit card is and how does it look. Now let’s have a look at how this card works?

You might be wondering how does a small card of plastic makes someone provide you with goods and services without paying at that moment. It can be understood by understanding the working of a credit card. Here it is good to mention that credit cards are not helpful everywhere; you can use your card only at places that accept credit cards. This is mentioned either verbally or by displaying logos of the companies whose credit cards are acceptable there. Read more

Customers with relaxed approach towards their credit card payments are preferred by all the banks as well as credit card companies. Usually these customers are least bothered about the interest rate they pay or their credit card usage or their overall monthly credit card usage. Banks roll in profit from these types of customers rather than those paying their monthly installments in time. In this article we are going to discuss the most common mistakes that all the credit card holders do at one or other stage of life.

One of the most common mistakes made by the credit card holders includes cash withdrawal from these credit cards. You may not be knowing but most of the credit card companies charge you 2% to 3% straight away for withdrawal of cash and these companies also charge the interest without giving the average 50-day period as in case of other credit card usage. Moreover most of the banks charge you a comparatively higher APR rate in these scenarios.

Most of the people have a tendency of missing the monthly payments consciously or by mistake which results into the additional ‘missed payment’ charge from the bank. Make sure to pay at least the minimum amount of debt to avoid this additional charge. Although this fee is reduced in the recent years but still why should you be paying this additional money to the bank. In case you have a habit to forget paying the monthly bill then make sure to set a direct debit payment to your credit card for avoiding such charges. Read more