Aug
19
Debit Card Security - How To Keep Your Information Private
August 19, 2008 | 1 Comment
Many people carry their debit card PIN around in their wallets or purses. Because they have so many credit cards and debit cards they have to write down the pin number of each one. That's a bad idea. Here are a few tips to manage and protect your banking information.
Don't Carry Around [...]
Jul
21
How Long Should I Keep Credit Card Statments?
July 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Have a pile of credit card statements? Find out how long you need to keep your old statements and why.
When deciding what financial records to keep and what to throw away, there are several important criteria. Do you use your credit card for business expenses? Do you have any tax deductible purchases? [...]
Jul
14
More people are using a debit card to pay for hotel rooms than ever before. There are many reasons people use debit cards. However, I recommend using credit cards instead of debit cards.
Debit cards have become much more popular. Many people pay with debit cards instead of credit cards as a way to avoid spending [...]
Jun
5
Yahoo Music billed me for another year of their music service without my permission. They refused to refund my money so I turned to my last line of defense, my credit card company.
Credit Cards have a bad reputation. Some of it is deserved. Like alcohol and casinos, credit cards are bad for certain people. However, [...]
Apr
4
Your FICO is Worthless
April 4, 2008 | 2 Comments
FICO scores don’t matter to wealthy people. I know, that sounds like heresy but it’s true. The truly wealthy (or those that will be wealthy someday) know that their credit scores (and credit bureaus) really don’t matter in the long run.
Wealthy People Don’t Worry About Credit Scores
A FICO score or any credit score [...]
Mar
14
Ten reasons to use a credit card for every purchase
March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Many personal finance sites love to pick on credit cards. The credit card industry is an easy target. Don’t get me wrong, some of the reputation is well deserved. However, the savvy and disciplined consumer can take advantage of credit cards. Like any tool, credit cards, used responsibly, can make life [...]
Mar
13
Protect Yourself with Credit Cards
March 13, 2008 | 6 Comments
Online purchases can be risky. Using a credit card is one sure way to mitigate the risks of making purchases online. Contrary to popular belief credit cards can be a consumer’s best friend when it comes to protecting themselves from dishonest or downright incompetent merchants, online or otherwise.
I’ve found that credit cards are [...]
Feb
28
Auto-Activation is Real
February 28, 2008 | 5 Comments
Please read this article about auto-activation at the Consumerist.com if you are in doubt about credit card activations and what can happen.
I personally re-wrote and maintained a program to auto-active card members at a major nation-wide card issuer. I can tell you that auto-activation was a standard practice at said card issuer. I [...]
Dec
30
Ask WealthyReader - Should I Close Unused Credit Card Accounts
December 30, 2006 | 1 Comment
Question:
I have several credit cards I'm no longer using. If I close them will it raise my credit score? Is there any other reason not to close them?
Answer:
There are a couple of issues to consider.
First the effect on your FICO score. A FICO score is a generic credit score used to determine [...]