Saving Yourself Financially

Applying for you first credit card is a pretty important decision

Mess this one up and it will affect many aspects of your financial life. Including your ability to apply for a loan. rent a home and possibly even hinder you in getting a good job.

The first time you get a credit card should be for one purpose only and that is to establish credit and a credit history. For students and young adults this is a very important first step. Your rates are going to be a little higher at first becuase credit card companies don’t know anything about you. The credit bureaus would only have limited information for them to review.

There really is only one way you can establish credit and it’s sort of a catch22 situation. You need to either have a loan, mortgage, credit card or store charge card. The problem most people face is how to get financing and credit when no one really wants to lend you money, becaue you have no credit or worse bad credit.

Here the solution so you can apply for your first credit card

There are two credit cards that you should use to establish credit. They both report to the three credit reporting agencies, which is what you need. The horizon credit card is one and the other is a orchard bank credit card.

• First choice is the imagine card. They offer cash advances, a quick online decision and apporvals even without a credit history.
• The second choice is the orchard bank credit card. They offer more rewards like
  purchase protection and periodic credit limit increases. Points for every dollar spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores. Because of the rewards this card is a little harder to get than the imagine card. You can go here to review orchard bank credit cards or credit cards for people with bad credit

First credit card do’s and dont’s

• Dont apply for too many in a short period of time. It will have a negative affect on you.
• Don’t miss even one payment (this creates a poor credit history and lowers your fico score)
• Don’t use your first credit card for taking your friends out to dinner.
• Don’t go above 50% of your credit limit.

Things you should do

• Review all credit cards before applying for one
• Know your billing cycle, so you can pay your bill before the next statement is processed.
• Every 3 to six months review your credit report and look for errors, they can be fixed
• Read the fine print on the back of the credit card statement at least for the first time
• Every time you receive your statement remind yourself that credit is a financial tool and should not be abused. Then open up your bill and see if this is true.
• Review your expenditures every month and see what you could cut back on or didn’t need to buy. By doing this you break everything down in needs and wants.

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Blue from american express is the better card offer it is a favorite color of american express and should be yours to

What you will notice first about american express and their credit card applications is in order to qualify for a blue card have a pretty good credit rating. The nice thing now is your don’t have to wait more than a minute to find out if you qualify for an american express blue credit card.This also holds true for all American Express cards.

Be honest with yourself before you apply for the blue from american express because being denied a credit application for any card affects your credit history. It’s a fact that if you apply for several credit cards and you are rejected that other lending institutions will take this into consideration when approving you for their card. American express is no different and if they see other denied applications for a credit card in your credit report they may deny you credit for that reason alone.

Now about the Blue card, there are several types offers that you can review. Amex business credit cards, bluesky or cashback rewards like the amex blue cash. Of all the offers Blue from American Express is the best credit card offer for most consumers. They offer you an excellent incentive to apply, 0% APR for the first 15 months. There is also a very low balance transfer rate of 4.99% for the life of the balance. What this means is if you are carrying a large balance with another credit card company at a higher rate you can transfer that balance to Blue and pay interest of only 4.99% versus typical rate of 18% or more. This can result in huge savings for you.

There is no annual fee which is a good deal, many card companies will charge you annual fees that could go as high as 125 dollars. This might not sound like much for the year and many people will pay annual fees to earn the rewards that are offered thinking that is why they charge a yearly fee. Not true for the Blue from American Express. This credit card provides you with the option to join their travel and merchandise rewards program at no cost.

• Click here if you would like to see all amex blue credit card offers in order to pick one to apply for.

For consumers and even businesses with good credit and currently are carry a balance on another card, Blue is the perfect option. Apply for the blue card and transfer your higher rate credit card to start saving immediately. If you don’t want to transfer a balance the 15 month interest free period is something that you will benefit from. An introductory 0% APR of 15 months is a very high industry standard, with most other credit companies only offering 6 month introductory periods.

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What’s in a name! Just about every bit of information that you could think of can be found this way. The newest threat is call silent banker and is a very scary virus. It is also the best example of why this year 2008 you are going to need a identity theft service like lifelock.

Lifelock is the company that most people are turning to because they don’t just report problems, their program actively monitors your credit and accounts. Lifelock takes a proactive stance towards criminals and the theft of your identity by locking down your credit information.
This can happen anywhere anytime. You could be using your debit card at starbucks or buying a shirt at your local clothing store and become a victim.

Review Lifelock if you would like to know how this service can help protect you.

Take my son for instance, he got a phone call the other day to say his debit card was canceled by the bank and he would have to come in to get another one. The reason was they had identified a popular fast food restaurant that he had used in the city as being a place of concern with card monitoring that day. his account was safe that day but that wouldn’t stop the theft of his identity that would cause bigger problems.

Money can be replaced but not a bad credit history if a thief opens up new accounts under your name. It can take years to get things cleaned up. Anyway he got back to the company he works for the next day and it turns out 6 other employees that he worked with all had their debit cards canceled by different banks. (They all ate at the same place that day.)

In each case and this was from four different banks, they recommended that they get an identity theft monitoring service to keep a look out for fraudulent activity under their names.

I helped my son research which was the best credit and personal information monitoring service to use and each time we reviewed a different company we would go back to lifelock.com.
Lifelock is an identity theft service that really is the most thorough and diligent in protecting their customers accounts, credit and personal information.

• If you would like to know more about lifelock identity theft protection go here

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 Credit reports and credit scoring is an impersonal act when it determines your credit worthiness.

At first a credit score was developed as a guide to help point our certain deficiencies with a persons loan or credit card application. At first banks and credit card companies relied on their own professional decision makers to approve or disapprove your application. I remember when loan officers used to go into the managers office and discuss your loan. Basically they would just ask each other, what they thought about you and your situation. They relied on human intuition and there own gut feelings.

Along came computers and a credit scoring system that replaced a persons personalized decision. This system uses technology that assigns a numbered valuation of your credit worthiness based on what someone else reports. This then bases a number from your past performance and assigns a number as a lending risk. These are all based on your income, how long you have lived in your home and employment history.

This is a good system for lenders but it’s a poor way to evaluate a person financial situation. A computer cannot report or consider any extenuating circumstances. This is also one of the reasons billsaddup.com only recommends you use your local bank to apply for a mortgage or to refinance.

One example is if the company you work for has a fire and you are laid off for a short term. It would be hard to make all your payments on time until you got back to work. If you miss a payment or are late, it will only report that with no other reason. The computer would score you the same as if you always had late payments or and your credit score would go down. This is a good example of why you should always strive to have at least a minimum of 6 months income in the bank to hole you over until you are back on your feet.

True and false questions about your credit report

False - credit bureaus do not determine your credit rating, they only record what is reported to them

True - If you apply for too many credit cards or loans. This is recorded in your report every time you apply. Do this too many times in a short time frame and you file will be flagged.

False - Your credit rating cannot be changed is false you can always have incorrect information changed. Sometimes not easily but it can be done.

All creditors report to the credit agencies is false, they are not required to do so.

Bankruptcy only appears on your file for six years is false, it will be there for at least 7 or more and if you file twice it will be there for at least 14 years.

If you are near your credit spending limit this could look bad and affect your credit history or rating. This is true.

What can you do?

Get a copy of your free credit report or spend a couple of dollars and signup with a credit reporting service and get a detailed report. 

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Business Credit Cards With Cash Back Rewards

There are several credit card offers that are very useful for a small business. These cards can be most useful with home based businesses, small companies and online businesses. The top offer is the business credit card with cash back rewards.

In business perception is everything. In the business world American Express is thought to be a heavy weight, by using this credit card, you will be perceived as a company on the ball. The other important detail that people want to see is your company name, it just looks more professional, Advanta is the only one that will do that for you.

The american express business credit card with cash back rewards is rated the best cash back offer

The blue cash credit card, offers you up to 5% cash back with no limit on earnings.

• 0% Intro APR for 6 months
• Option to pay over time or pay in full
• extra saving through automatic discounts with FedEx, Delta®, Courtyard by Marriott®
• Earn rewards on purchases made by Additional Cardholders

• Blue Cash® for Business - Apply here

Advanta - business credit card with cash back rewards

• Go here for more to apply

This business credit card deal not only offers you a low interest rate, but also gives you that rate for the life of the balance. What I like about it is it allows you to choose between the 6% cash back or travel rewards.

Where this business rewards credit card really out performs other cards is that you can personalize it with your company name on the top and your employee cards come with no annual fee.
Besides the reward program, this card offers a 2.99% fixed APR for the life of balance transfers that are submitted within the first three months of card membership. This provides an option for business owners that want to consolidate their expenses.

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