What Your Credit Card Won’t Let You Buy

June 3rd, 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

A little-noticed move by American Express to ban the purchase of medical marijuana with its credit cards has reignited a longstanding debate: How much can a credit card company control what you buy?

To the surprise of consumers, major credit card companies are making decisions about what they can and can’t buy with their credit cards. What’s off-limits? Legal purchases like gambling chips and donations to at least one controversial non-profit organization; in some cases, buying pornography is also restricted, and so, increasingly, is medical marijuana. Last month, shortly before Delaware became the 16th state to legalize medical marijuana, American Express told merchants that its cards could not be used to buy it.

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Secured Credit Cards Explained

December 17th, 2010 | secured credit cards | No Comments »


Most people face two problems when deciding whether or not to get a Secured Credit Card are first, not knowing how to choose one, and two, getting the money to secure a credit card. We’ll talk about both of those here.

A lot of people believe that it will be expensive to get a secured credit card, but the truth is you can find secured credit cards that have a secured amount as low as two or three hundred dollars. Keep in mind, that when you receive the card you’ll be able to use it right away, so even if you can’t afford to spend $300, and you want to use it for expenses, you can do that, after the card arrives. Just remember, to pay it off at the end of the month if you use it to pay your bills.

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Secured Credit Cards With No Annual Fee?

August 3rd, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »

Hunting for a secured credit card is only hard if you make it that way. If you have already done the search for one, you’re going to find that many of them have fees. The fees are going to vary, depending on the bank that you’re going to apply with.

What kind of fees am I going to see?

  • The application fee: Some banks want to get everything out of you. This is where they will charge you just to process your application.
  • Monthly fees: You will get charged each month that you use your card.
  • Annual fee: You’re going to be charged each year to use the card, no matter how often that you use it. As long as it’s active, you’re going to have to pay it.
  • Misc fees: You’re going to have your typical fees such as your over the limit fees and more. You’re going to have to look at the application to get more information.
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Secured Credit Cards – the Basic Facts

July 29th, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »


Credit card is a part and parcel of modern life. The credit card offers us the ease and simplicity to spend money without carrying cash, is versatile and handy to use and provides us the means to establish and recreate our credit rating. The secured credit cards are however, not without its disadvantages, the main one being high interest rates charged on it.

How would you rate your capacity to purchase a home or the car you want or the loan you simply need? How significant is it for you to have a good credit rating? In order to establish and spruce up your credit score, the best possible option is to have a secured credit card.

A secured credit card for bad credit is in effect the opportunity to regain a sound financial position.

Due to the easy accessibility of credit reports through well-established credit bureaus today, credit issuers rely increasingly on these reports to make their final decision on providing you credit. A credit card is often denied to you when you do not have a credit history. This is often in the case of the young adults who have never taken out a loan or have so far used a credit card through a parent. It can also occur in the case of divorced people who have never had a credit card in their name.

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How Can Secured Credit Cards Help Me?

March 19th, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »

Are you searching for a credit line to resolve your monetary worries, but, you do not have a credit history to back you up? Then worry no more, because secured credit cards could help you clear up your financial woes without the requirement for a credible credit history. But wait, how do their offers work? What are some essential considerations when looking for a secured credit card? The answers will be provided below.

What are Secured Credit Cards?

A secured credit card as was mentioned above is a good option for a person who wants to build his or her own credit history. A lot of people use these cards with the intention to prove their capacity for managing their credit and finances so that eventually they could have a good credit score that will help them be entitled to standard or non-secured credit cards.

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Could I Really Get Credit Cards Even Without Credit History?

March 16th, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »

The response to the question above is a definite yes. Credit firms and banks are now improving their programs just so they could provide lines of credit to people without credit history and also to those with bad credit history.
The point behind this strategy is to make certain the steady circulation of money all throughout the financial systems, as well as to assist individuals build or repair their respective credit history, so that, shortly, they may be able to apply for unsecured credit cards.
But what are some credit cards offered to people without credit history and to those who have accumulated large debts?

Establish Credit by using Secured Credit Cards

Among the most well known credit cards for no credit and bad credit history are secured credit cards. While these credit cards could have low initial limits, high interest rates and fees, secured credit cards are particularly designed for those who are about to establish their credit history.

A Closer Look at Secured Credit Cards

March 12th, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »

A secured credit card isn’t for everybody yet if you want to build or rebuild your personal credit history, it is the exact type of credit card you need. In this post, let us discuss the most frequently asked questions about secured credit cards or also referred to as bad credit credit cards.

Who needs a secured credit card?

You may want to apply for a secured credit card if you have bad credit or no credit history. Because getting approved will not be determined by your credit score, anybody can readily obtain a secured card with no difficulty.

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Unmanageable Unsecured Debt

March 8th, 2010 | 1 | No Comments »

Unsecured debt becomes unmanageable experts say when our security savings has been depleted; this savings by most experts is placed at six months worth of living expenses in case of a hardship popping up. Is Six months of security savings enough? That is not the question; the question is when does unsecured debt become unmanageable?

Does debt become unmanageable when we miss our first payment, our second or our third? In my estimation debt becomes unmanageable when we start worrying months in advance how we are going to cover future payments. Many of us feeling this way will see as an avenue of relief cash advances, balance transfers, pay day loans, etc.. At this point is where I believe our debt has become unmanageable.

Getting deeper into debt before we have to is our first major mistake, I would suggest at this point all credit card accounts to be closed, this will help prevent further debt. Cut back on expenses, stick to a budget, and consolidate bills. As consumers we need to have the vision of a market analyst, only difference is that we are analyzing our own financial situation.

Make an effort to assess your financial situation with an expert at the beginning of every year, or every quarter if your situation dictates so. Run your personal financial situation as if it were a business, plan ahead for gains and losses, for ups and downs. Personal finance is not that much different than business finance, if you look at your situation this way chances are you will always have a bright financial future.

Prioritize on what is important and what is not; remember the less debt we carry, the better we sleep at night. In some cases it is better to lease a car than to buy one, to rent a hoe than to own one, sometimes secured debt can be deadly. Credit cards are really not necessary, they can be substituted with intelligent planning, financial distress can be avoided if we have sight for the future, consult a financial expert and map out a course of action that will keep you debt free.

credit: Dan Delgado

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How to Get a Secured Credit Card Today

September 9th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

If you have bad credit and you’re looking to find a credit card that will help you improve your score over time, you should be looking for a secured credit card. If you’re unfamiliar on how they work, I’ll give you a quick cliff note version.

Since you’re at high risk to most credit companies, you’re going to have to prove to them that you can pay off your bill. IN order to do so, they are going to ask for a deposit. This deposit is going to be your credit limit. Let’s say you put $500 on the card, this will be your credit limit. Now, the card works like a credit card but if you don’t pay your bill off on time, the company will dip into your account and take the money they need. This again will hurt your credit score. If you pay it off on time, you will only see an increase over time.

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Bad Credit History – One Of The Basis in Hiring An Employee

March 2nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

The importance of having a good credit history is often emphasized.  Some people reason out that they really don’t care much about their credit history because they’re not applying for credit anyway.  However, your credit history isn’t just for getting approved with loans or credit cards.

It isn’t just about getting lower interest rates and more credit privileges.  Your credit history also plays an important role in how employers judge your credibility and ultimately, in getting the job that you want.

Yes, this is the reason why students are encouraged to establish their credit history early and maintain it in good standing.  Thus, by the time they graduate and enter the corporate world, they will not have difficult time getting hired just because they have a bad credit history.

How Your Credit History Can Affect Your Job Choice

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