If you have a history of bad credit and are unable to obtain a mainstream credit card, then prepaid credit cards may be just the answer you are looking for.
First of all, although prepaid credit cards are accepted at any retail outlet where the credit card logo is displayed, strictly speaking they are not a 'credit' card, as the issuer provides no credit facility to you. Rather, your spending limit is determined by how much money you have on the credit card at any given time.
Once the amount on the card has been spent, the cardholder can either buy a new prepaid credit card or elect to transfer money on to the existing card, depending on the card program.
Although prepaid credit cards sound very like debit credit cards, the two should not be confused. In the case of debit cards, any purchase for goods or services you make will automatically be charged to you bank account – for which the debit credit card has been issued. However, purchases for goods or services made on prepaid cards goes off the balance already on the card.
Because of the prepaid nature of these cards, they have several benefits, such as:
no interest is charged
they give people with a bad credit history the option to use a credit card
the 'credit' line is variable depending on the amount on the balance of the card
That said, you still need to review the terms and conditions of the application form carefully as prepaid credit cards can have
a monthly membership fee
an application fee
a purchase fee
a monthly transaction limit fee, i.e. if you spend over a fixed amount each month you are charged a fee for any additional transactions
a fee if you use the card to make ATM withdrawals
Nonetheless, the card is a superb option if you either cannot obtain a regular credit card or are tired of all the fees and interest charges that are normally associated with standard credit card.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the UK credit card comparison site http://www.creditcards121.com/, where you can find a selection of credit card advice. For US visitors there is also the comparison site http://www.credit-cards-info.com/ for all US interest free offers.
How to manage your checking account
Protect yourself against the possibility of writing bad checks.
The most important thing that you need to do in order to manage your checking account is simple: keep track of all of your transactions. This might be annoying if you end up writing a lot of small checks for small things, but in the end it will definitely be worth it. By writing down each check you write and the amount that they were for, you'll know exactly how much money you have to spend, how much you have spent, and whether or not you can afford what you are buying.
There are a lot of good reasons to know where all of your money is going. However, they are not the only reasons why you should learn how to manage your checking account. Let's say you are not keeping track of the amount of money that is in your checking account. You know that you are getting close to the end of your money, due to it being near the end of the month, but you're not entirely sure. Therefore, you write your last check - and it bounces. Bounced checks are not only embarrassing, but they will result in a lot of lost money for no reason other than that you were careless. First of all, most establishments will charge you extra fees for bounced checks - and may not allow you to write checks in the future. Second, most banks have hefty overdraft fees - and you don't want to waste your money paying those.
The next thing that you should do if you're trying to learn how to manage your checking account, is to try and make sure that you always have a few hundred dollar buffer in your account. This is not just to pad against overdraft fees and bounced checks, but can actually come in handy. For instance, it's always possible that there could be an emergency situation in which you need some extra money - in which case having extra dollars in your checking account could be a life saver.
When it comes to managing checking accounts, these are really the most important things that you should do. Always make sure that you have extra money in your account - and keep track of your expenses!
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.
Need help getting out of debt?
Nowadays it seems that getting into debt is much easier than getting out of debt. With todays numerous schemes and facilities no one wants to wait until they have saved enough money to buy anything they wish. If you are one such person who find your debt payments increasing and need someway to get out of debt, follow these simple tips about getting out of debt.
To begin with you have to arrange your debts so that which one needs to be paid first. Generally your credit cards can be the one having greater interest rates; hence you have to pay these off first. If you are able to move the debt to a lower cost card, it would be better. When making a priority list mostly your bank loans will be at the bottom as they generally cost you as much, so that you can wait on paying them down.
After making a priority list, you need to create a budget. Making a budget will help you to control your expenses so that you can have adequate money to make monthly payments. The next step is to select a plan for getting out of debts.
Let us discuss some ways for getting out of debts.
A debt consolidation plan can be an ideal solution for getting out of debt. Debt consolidation is simply a refinancing of one's debt and is considered as an ideal option by financing experts. In this plan all your debts, let it be credit card or other debts, were taken into one single loan and you can pay off it with a monthly amount. Debt consolidation plan also provides you enough time to pay back the loan according to your current financial situation.
Though debt consolidation takes some little time to pay off your debts it is a most recommended way for getting out of debt. By using this method for getting out of debt, you don't have to be afraid of credit rate, if your current credit rating is in good standing. By using debt consolidation method try to pay all your small debts you owe on credit cards. This helps to lower your monthly bill. You can opt for a debt consolidation home equity loan to do this. With a debt consolidation home discharge the equity you have on your home. Equity is the difference of your property value and the balance amount of your mortgage or loan.
Some other options for getting out of debt are debt negotiation, debt settlement and even bankruptcy. Debt negotiation and debt settlement are actually the same. In this case, the debt help company which you hire will talk or negotiate with your creditors and try to decrease the principal amount you owe them. Generally, debt negotiation and debt settlement options are chosen by people who have huge debt which they are not able to handle. The debt consolidation method is the best option for getting out of debts if you can handle the debts.
Bankruptcy is another option for getting out of debts. This type of settlement will uniformly distribute the assets of bankrupt among the creditors and relieve the bankrupt form any further liability. Bankruptcy is regarded as the last solution one must consider for getting out of debts.
Remember, getting out of debt needs more than just simple willpower. A better planning, budgeting, controlling your expenses, together with willpower will definitely help you for getting out of debts.
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.
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