Apr
23
Why Debt is Risky
April 23, 2008 | 1 Comment
Debt is bad because with debt comes risk. Debt is risky for businesses and people. Debt, if used correctly, can be powerful tool. However, in too many cases, debt is used improperly and the consequences are unhappiness, stress, bankruptcy and divorce.
Attitudes About Debt Have Changed
I’ve already talked about how our attitudes about [...]
Apr
22
Why Is Debt No Longer a Bad Thing?
April 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
I am not a fan of debt. Most of the good financial gurus will tell you to pay off your debt. Debt is a tool to use when there are no other options. Unfortunately, I think the attitude toward debt has changed for the worse.
The Debt Industry
There is a debt industry in [...]
Apr
10
Government Employees Go on Credit Card Spending Spree
April 10, 2008 | 1 Comment
I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: The government is the single biggest threat to wealth in this country. Employees of the federal government are using their government issued credit cards (or purchase cards as they call them) to buy everything from baseball tickets to lingerie to breast implants. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
