One of the worst features of credit cards is what is known as negative payment hierarchy. An example of this if the borrower undertakes a balance transfer to a zero balance account, the interest on the balance transfer is zero, whilst if the borrower uses the same card to make a new purchase, that purchase will attract interest.
Negative payment hierarchy is when credit card companies use any payment made to pay off debt which is accruing at low or zero interest, whilst the debt which carries higher interest continues to accrue charges at the higher rate.
Personal loans can be amongst the cheapest way to borrow, but we can’t help but stress how important what the reason you are borrowing the money for.
If you are looking to finance a new flat screen television or go on holiday, or any other luxury, a personal loan is not your best option. Fortunately the financial crisis has made most people more aware of their finances and changed the way they think about borrowing.
Trying to pay off debt that has piled up can make borrowers feel very scared and vulnerable. Often those who find themselves struggling to pay off a mountain of debt end up fearful over what the future may hold, don’t know whom to turn to or what to do.That kind of insecurity is usually a result of inability to decide what to do and what the consequence of a particular course of action are.
Many people confuse fact with fiction when trying to decide how to solve their problems so in this post, we try separate truth from fiction.
No matter how responsible you are when it comes to credit cards, they still come with a number of pitfalls. As soon as you navigate your way past one, yet another emerges. Here are 9 credit card pitfalls.
The Debt That Never Ends. The minimum payment on many credit cards barely meet the interest being incurred on your debt, which means if you only ever make the minimum, you’re debt will never reduce and seem to be endless. Occasionally a card will be offered with such a low minimum monthly payment, that your debt ends up actually growing.
When used properly, personal loans are a great way to meet any funding shortfall that you may have. That is to say, forget about using them to pay for holidays or whatnot.
Funding luxuries are not the best way to use a personal loan. But if you have a genuine need to borrow $10,000, or an amount that a credit card is just not going to cover, then a personal loan is the product for you.
Here are three tips when shopping for a personal loan
So why so much online angst over credit cards? Well the very real overwhelming fear that most people have of being in over their head in debt. Others worry that having a credit card, whilst not resulting in too much debt, may lead them to spend more money than they ordinarily would.
A lot of people who don’t have credit cards, just don’t see the point or any benefit from owning one. So the purpose of this piece is really to show how credit cards, if used correctly can be really beneficial.
If you are making one of these six financial mistakes, you probably aren’t aware, but doing so puts your financial security in Jeopardy.
Australians pay billions of dollars in interest on their debt every day. Instead of letting the banks profit from our debt, all of us should be looking to make our debt burden as cheap as possible. Here are four steps to do that.
Recession can cause people to feel a lot of stress, as budgets tighten and people have to do more with less. Fortunately Australia seems to have put the worst behind it, and if you have lost a job or are on the hunt, then things certainly seem to be a lot brighter than a year ago.
If you are still feeling the pinch though, it can take its toll on your body, causing a variety of symptoms from body pain, sleeping difficulty and exhaustion. There is even a name for the condition, as silly as it sounds it’s called Recession Strain Injury, and there are millions of Australians who owe more than they can manage and are at risk of suffering from physical stress symptoms as a result of money problems.
So your new year’s resolution is to save big in 2010, and the age old adage of count your penny’s and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true today as when the proverb was first written. However that doesn’t mean to say you should focus entirely on making small savings, there are a number of ways you can really save and add to your bank balance, making sure that next Christmas won’t be about belt tightening, but belt loosening.
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