Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Credit cards are often the cause of financial troubles for many people today. They are often so easy to get - but they can also be so hard to control. However, by taking advantage of some special balance transfer credit cards, help can be found that could bring some ease to financially tight situations. This article will focus on how to choose the best balance transfer credit card, making sure that the card you pick is the right one for you.
What Is A Balance Transfer Credit Card?
This particular kind of credit card allows you to take an existing credit card balance, which is at a standard rate of interest - possibly as high as 29%, and put it on another card. The new card makes the transfer appealing to you by offering either a low monthly interest on the transfer, or even no interest on the balance - for the life of that transfer amount. Making this kind of a credit card balance transfer not only makes good financial sense, but it is also easy to do.
What Are The Special Gimmicks Of The Card?
Obviously, a credit card issuer is not in the business of giving an opportunity like this away without any potential strings attached. Here are a few things that you might want to read the fine print in the offer and look for.
• Transfer Charges
Some credit card companies seem to want to play with the fact that not everybody reads the fine print. So, for the unwary, there could be a fee for making the balance transfers, or, it is possible that other advantages made in the offer could offset the transfer charges. You will have to look it over and compare it with other card offers. Ideally, if you accept a card with transfer charges, try to get one that puts a cap on the amount - for example, around $60 to $75.
• Yearly Charges
The transfer may be free, and the interest, but there could be an annual fee for the use of the card. This means whether or not there is any balance on the card - you will still pay the fee for as long as the card is active. Many cards will carry no annual fee.
• New Purchases
Here is another thing that you need to look for. A balance transfer credit card may offer you 0% interest on the amount transferred, but the amount of interest on new purchases could be very high.
• Introductory Rate
Every card has an offer to get you to get their card. One common feature is the promise of a low rate for new purchases. Be careful about focusing only on the promise of 0% interest on credit card balance transfers. Check out the length of time for the introductory interest rate, too. Compare that also with other card offers.
What Are You Going To Use The Card For?
Another consideration about which card to choose should be based upon why you need such a card. If you have a lot of credit card debt, then the purpose should be only to put on the card your current credit card balance transfers. This means that you should try to get a card with 0% interest on the balance transfer amount, and that you will not use it to make new purchases. Also, seek to pay as much as you can as quickly as you can.
When choosing your balance transfer credit card, the ball game is in your hands. It can either help you - or hurt you, if you get a card too hastily. Do a little research, compare cards, and then proceed with comfort - knowing that you got the best one for your needs.
For more on balance transfer credit card offers, Robert Alan recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com
A Short Guide to Buying Life Insurance
At some point in everyone's life, especially for those who have a family, the thought of your family's financial security in the unfortunate event of your premature death can be both worrisome and depressing. Will your loved ones have a stable source of income after you're gone? Since you have no control over this situation, how will you really know? For these reasons and many more, a life insurance policy can ease one's mind on the topic of providing for your dependants after you're gone.
Life insurance policies come in all shapes and sizes and are offered by more and more financial institutions than just insurance companies. So just how are you supposed to know where to begin?
For starters, you will need to calculate a dollar amount for your life insurance policy. After analyzing the needs of your family, you will want to select an insurer that you feel comfortable with (and even more importantly, one that you trust), for purchasing an item that's equivalent to at least five years of your annual salary. Different insurance agents will have differing theories and opinions regarding your particular policy and how much it should be worth. But the simple truth is that it's your money (the five year salary point is a generalized industry guideline). Never buy more insurance than you can afford, taking into consideration the possibility of your company downsizing and such in the future. Your policy won't do anyone any good if it ends up being cancelled.
Your policy's primary purpose should be for your untimely death, disability, or illness- to assist your family during discouraging times, to help pay the mortgage, college tuition, and other costly items. This is the part of a life insurance policy that you hope you'll need to use, for paying for all of these items before you pass away is a huge financial milestone for so many. After this, retirement savings and other perks can come into your goal. But above all, be sure to check the reliability of the insurance provider before signing anything.
On a final note, it's never a good practice to surrender your life insurance policy. The value of your policy is, again, to protect and assist financially in the untimely event of your passing – it's not an investment strategy.
James Kinley writes about a variety of financial topics. He recommends http://www.Accepted.co.uk/life_insurance to search for life insurance.
How To Get Your Best Cash Back Credit Card
A very popular option these days is the credit card that gives you cash back on some of the purchases you make. A couple of credit cards are even giving back as much as 5-10%. But before you go out and get one of these for yourself, there are some things you should know about first. This article will give you some tips on how to make the right choice in order to get the best cash back credit cards.
The first thing that you need to remember is that the credit card company is a business. Of course - you knew that. But what that means is that they are not giving you all that it may seem. They are doing it because money can be made from it - one way or another. Their financial planners have looked long and hard at how to offer one thing that looks like a real good deal, and still makes them money - lots of it.
The temptation is to look at the percentage promised, and to make a decision based only on that. This is just what they wanted you to do. In most cases, the higher the percentage offered means that they are simply getting their money back from other charges. Here are some things to look at when deciding on your cash back credit card.
The Standard Rate of Interest
This is the amount of interest you will pay if you do not pay off the balance each month. It can vary anywhere between about 12% all the way to 32%. Many of the higher paying cash back credit cards have the higher interest on them. So if you do not plan on paying the balance every month, for sure you will want to take note of this figure.
Balance Needed To Qualify For Cash Back
Some cash back credit cards have the stipulation on them that you need to carry a balance on the card in order to qualify for the reward. A neat little thing they tucked in there somewhere to take back what they give. Watch out for this one. If you are paying 23% interest on the balance, and they are paying you 5% - are you really coming out ahead? No, not really. The way to get that best cash back credit card is to make sure that you have both a low interest card, and also can pay it off each month - and still get the rewards, too!
The Cash Back Cap
Some cards have a maximum amount of cash that you can receive in a year - called a cap. This could be good for you if you do not make purchases that would bring you over the cap amount. But if you do make a lot of purchases, then you will want to get your cash back credit card without a cap.
Items That Qualify For Cash Back
Many of the cash back credit cards will only give you cash back for food, medicines, and gas. Other cards have different percentages that apply to these things, and then another percentage, usually 1%, that will go toward other purchases you make.
Percentage Needed For That Level Of Cash Back
Some cards have different levels of purchases needed in order to get the full percentage of cash back that was promised. For instance, on a 5% cash back credit card, you may only receive 2% if you buy less than $1,000 per month. Then, another 1% might be added for purchases totaling up to $2,499, and the full 5% may be given only on purchases that exceed that amount.
The best cash back credit cards are the ones that will benefit you the most in your particular situation. A card that is good for someone else may not be the best for you. It would be a good idea to figure out just how much of what type of item you purchase (Especially food, medicine, and gas) each month, and how much you might put on a particular cash back credit card before you make your final decision. Then, by careful consumer comparison - you should be able to find your best cash back credit cards.
For more information on how to get the very best cash back credit card, Robert Alan recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com
