Budget Snob

Avoid Racking Up Credit Card Bills this Summer

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Summer is the time for travel, entertainment, and the kids are now out of school and freed up to participate in more activities.  All of this adds up to big spending, not to mention gas, airline, and lodging costs are increasing to peak levels.  While summer means fun, there needs to be discipline when it comes to opening up your wallet.  With a few spending methods it could add up to a lower credit card statement by the time the summer comes to an end.

Use Cash Instead of Plastic

Using your credit card seems like play money, can add up the charges and not notice until the statement comes in the mail and sends you into shock. … Read the rest

Why you should swear off debt, but not swear off credit cards

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While getting out of debt is no doubt a good thing, many consumers are surprised to see their credit scores fall after finally paying off their debt. That’s led to a bit of a misconception about needing debt in order to have “good” credit but, while using credit is a good way to increase your credit score, there are certainly good and bad ways to do it.

For example, if you use credit cards and pay them off in full every month you won’t have debt and you’ll also be building good credit. The lesson? Avoid debt but don’t avoid credit cards.… Read the rest

Why Your Credit History is so Important

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To the average person a ‘lender’ is a bank or other large institution that is faceless, nameless and all powerful.  While it may seem that banks and other lenders are heartless (and indeed some are) it helps if you know a little about credit institutions and how they work before you go off all half-cocked trying to figure out why you can’t get a car loan with a credit score of 163.

The simple fact is, lending money is a tricky business. Let’s look at in for a moment on a much smaller scale.  Say your friend Jim asks to borrow $100.00 and you say yes but as long as he pays you back by next week Friday. … Read the rest

Personal Finance Advice That Takes Only Minutes To Read, But Will Help For Years To Come

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Do you desire to make life-long financial changes for the better? This is something you can do, but you must invest some research time. There is thankfully a ton of advice to been had here in this article.

Paying off any credit cards that have high interest rates should be your priority as you seek to pay down your debt. While you may personally prefer to pay all your debts at the same rate, zeroing in on those with high interest rates benefits you in the end. This is very important, since credit rates are expected to rise soon.

From every check, take out savings first.… Read the rest

Five Simple Tips for Controlling Credit Related Debt

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Definitely one of the most dreaded phone calls you can ever receive is the one from a credit collection company telling you one of your debts is very much past due and that you need to ‘make some arrangement to pay it as soon as possible’. Not good, to say the least. Whether it’s your overdue student loans, unpaid medical debt or a credit card that got away from you, it’s a phone call that leaves you feeling vulnerable and a bit like a loser.

So, before that phone rings, let’s take a look at some tips to avoid it from ever happening.… Read the rest