Archive for the ‘Credit Cards’ Category
Monday, June 16th, 2008 |
During my recent vacation I noticed another opportunity to be intentional with your finances. We were midway through our Delta flight headed out of the country; I was beginning to doze off when the flight attendants started hawking credit cards over the intercom. They made an announcement about Delta SkyMiles cards: the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express, and the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card. Then they preceded to walk the isles with forms to sign up for their rewards program and the cards.
I have nothing against credit card advertising (I use it here on the site…even in this post). However, you’re not forced to sit in front of your computer monitor with your browser pointed at Prime Time Money for 4 hours. In my opinion, what Delta did was cross the line a bit.
I chatted with one of the attendants (who was very nice, by the way) about the credit card offers. She said they’d been doing them in-flight for about a year. She told me she wasn’t as comfortable pushing the credit card offer (their cards come with a $95 annual fee) as she was the reward program. Other attendants were openly pushing the cards. One even checked back with me prior to me finishing my conversation with the other attendant just to be sure I didn’t want a card.
I’ll also point out that the flight was headed to a third-world Country and I did notice several people taking forms. I wonder how many of these people got on the flight with the intention of getting a card?
According to pseudomarketing, US Airways is doing similar in-flight advertising. The Washington Post says Alaska Airlines is doing it too.
My question to you: Is this type of advertising appropriate? Have you ever encountered advertising (beside the SPAM in your email box) that you were forced to deal with?
Posted in Credit Cards | 7 Comments »
Thursday, June 12th, 2008 |
(The following article was written by my friend Pete from Bible Money Matters. To get more of Pete’s content, subscribe to his rss feed.)
Credit Card Rewards - Seems Like a Good Deal
These last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about our credit cards, and whether or not we should just close the rest of our credit accounts. My philosophy is becoming more and more anti-debt, and the idea of going credit card free is appealing, albeit a bit scary. It’s becoming less scary as we get closer to having a fully funded emergency fund.
Currently we have two open credit accounts, a cash rewards Mastercard and an American Express.
One reason I’ve kept the accounts open is because they have a cash rewards program. Every time I spend a certain amount of money, I get cash back on my purchases. Sounds like a pretty good deal right?
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Posted in Credit Cards, Make Money | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 |
(This is a guest article from Jonathan at Master Your Card, an excellent credit card blog. To get more of Jonathan’s content visit the Master Your Card blog or subscribe to the rss feed.)
Being debt free is an eventual goal for a lot of people. It’s not easy to achieve debt-free status though, especially if you are starting from a point where you owe a lot of people an awful lot of money. If you need motivation during your quest to get all your bills paid off for good, keep in mind these ten reasons why you would be happier if you were debt free:
1. You’ll Have More Money
We all know the saying money can’t buy happiness, but neither can being broke. Not having any debt is probably going to put a lot more money in your pocket, and that’s something that makes plenty of people quite happy.
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Posted in Credit Cards, Debt Reduction | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 |
Optimize Your Finances For Foreign Travel
Whether on a vacation for a few weeks or staying for a few months or more for work, study, or mission work, it’s important to optimize your banking situation. Your goal should be making your money (1) easily accessible in the country you’ll be visiting AND (2) minimizing any fees that banks and credit card companies may charge you (which really add up).
Money Tips for Vacation and Other Short Stays
I’ve done a bit of international travel lately and picked up a few tips for shorter stays:
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Posted in Credit Cards, Organize Your Finances | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 |
Last week I was flipping through the latest issue of Money Magazine and I picked up three great tips for new college graduates. I’ve written before about advice for a high school graduate and I’ve shared a bit about my own college experience, but I haven’t written specific to the college grad. So, check out these tips. Not a recent college grad? Share them with one you know.
Career: Clean Up The Online Presence, Yo!
If you have a MySpace or Facebook page, it’s probably best to give it a good spring cleaning. It’s more likely nowadays that any perspective employers will be doing their own web searches to get the goods on you. A good rule of thumb is to make sure there is nothing on the page that you wouldn’t mind your Grandmother seeing. Best bet is to go private with the profile for a while. Change your profile so that only your friends can view it.
Spending: More Money Coming In Than Going Out
For many graduates this is the time to step up and learn the basics of budgeting. I’m not talked big spreadsheets and software, just a plain on pencil and paper version to get you started. Landed the job? Write up a quick budget so you can visualize how much money you will have coming in (income) versus how much you’ll have going out (expenses). If the result is not a positive number, go back and cut a few expenses out…as long as it takes you to get comfortable with the ins and outs.
Saving: Mom and Dad Are No Longer The Emergency Fund
Get going with your company’s 401k from day one. Seriously, start this immediately and you’ll never miss it. Most companies will start throwing in a matching contribution at some point. That’s free money, dude. Also, seriously consider setting up automatic contributions for an ING DIRECT savings account (or similar online account). Start with as little as $25. You won’t regret this and you’ll only want to increase this contribution over time. This money can then be used for possible emergencies situations in the future. It’s time to stop relying on Mom and Dad for the bail out.
Other than that, I would just add to take your time getting into the brand new car and extravagant apartment. Ease into your spending and you’ll stay ahead of the game.
Got any other advice? Share it in the comments below…
Source: CNN Money Magazine
Posted in Credit Cards, Save Money | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 |
Earth Day: The Day After
It’s the day after Earth Day. I didn’t post about it yesterday because (a) I didn’t get around to it, and (b) I didn’t think there was anything that Mrs. PT and I should be doing that we aren’t. Well, Patrick over at Cash Money Life posted about 12 Energy Saving Tips which reminded me of one thing I need to be doing to help Mother Earth: I need to stop receiving junk mail.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
OptOutPrescreen.com
Today I completed the opting-out process at OptOutPrescreen.com which removes my name from lists supplied by the Consumer Credit Reporting Companies (Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion) to be used for firm (preapproved / prescreened) offers of credit or insurance. This took less than 5 minutes and is effective for five years. You do have to provide you SSN and birth date.
Mrs. PT and I get no less than five credit card offers in the mail every week. It’s ridiculous. We instantly tear them up and drop them in the recycling bin. Such a waste of time and paper.
DMAChoice.org
Today I also registered with Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service which allowed me to remove my name from advertiser’s mailing lists. I complete their form, which they will send to their members, asking them to honor my preferences. This process also took less than 5 minutes. A credit card (for ID purposes) is needed to register. It is not charged. Since this process gives me a login and password, I can come back and change my preferences at any time.
Challenge to You!
I’ll promise to do a follow-up post soon to let you know if the mailings have stopped. Now I’m challenging you to get rid of your wasteful junk mail. Not only are you helping the environment, you are eliminating a lot of unnecessary spending temptation from your life.
If you’ve used one of these services and seen an effect let us know in the comments below.
Posted in Credit Cards, Organize Your Finances | 5 Comments »
Monday, April 7th, 2008 |
Too Much Debt?
Do you feel like you have too much debt? I do (see my list of debt reduction goals). Many people I know feel like they have too much debt. On the other hand, maybe you’re somewhat comfortable with the amount of debt you have but you’re just ready to experience the peace of mind that comes from being completely debt free. I’ve found that once you’ve decided to pay off your debts, doing so can be an overwhelming experience at first glance. Let’s look at some actions steps you can take today to simplify the process, prioritize those debts, and get them paid off quickly.
Get Organized
First, break out your latest debt statements. For most people in debt, this will be auto loans, student loans, and credit cards. This may also include personal loans, payday loans, medical bills, and tax bills. Another thing you can do is download a month of your bank transactions from your bank. This may remind you of any debts you are forgetting. Having all of this out in front of you will (1) give you the full picture of your debt situation, and (2) motivate you to want to rid yourself of some of these monthly payments.
For more organization tips, visit the “organize” category, or simply subscribe to Prime Time Money today and never miss another article.
Make a List of Your Debts
Next, it’s best to create a list of all your debts and include the following categories: name, total amount, due date, interest rate (including future rate changes), and minimum payment. You can use a simple pen and paper or upgrade to a spreadsheet (which makes sorting easier). Either way, just make sure you get ALL of your debts listed out and include all the relevant information.
Prioritize the Debts
Lastly, you’ll want to prioritize your debts for payoff. There are a couple of schools of thought on this one. Some people like to use the interest rate on the debt to prioritize their list (payoff highest interest first). Others like to use the total balance of the debt, paying off the smallest debt first (this is the Dave Ramsey “snowball” way). The former is better from a strictly numbers perspective. The latter may be better for motivation sake.
Decide which is right for you and rank your debts accordingly. The debt that ends up #1 on your list according to your ranking, will be the first debt you payoff. This will be the debt that you put all of your extra money towards. After this one is completely paid off, move to #2, and so on until all debts are paid off.
Stay Motivated to Pay of Your Debts
Once you have your debt payoff priority, put your list (now ranked by payoff) somewhere where you will see it on a daily basis. I like to stick mine on the fridge. I’ve also placed my list in my car’s dash and on my bedside table. The point is to keep the list somewhere you will look at it daily.
Do you have your debts prioritized? If so, how did you do it? What factor did you use?
Photo by redvers
Posted in Credit Cards, Debt Reduction | 27 Comments »
