Credit cards are used as the more convenient “universal” payment method in most transactions these days. Most of the time, consumers prefer the plastic payment option as opposed to toting cash around. Online/Internet transactions or purchases require credit card payments; as they are deemed a quicker and more expedient mode of payment, compared to cash or check payments or bank transfers.
Chances are you have at least one credit card – or maybe several. Did you ever consider what type of credit card spender you are?
In these most modern of times, the young adults who are graduating from school or college are finding themselves leaving their educational establishments weighted down with debts.
These debts can more often than not total somewhere in the thousands of dollars, spread across a wide ranging variety of different types of loan.
With all the bad press payday loans get, including legislation aimed at curtailing the industry’s predatory lending practices, you’d think people would steer clear of their local payday loan store.
But that’s just not the case. In fact, there are more payday lending storefronts (20,600 according to Community Financial Services Association of America) in the U.S. than there are McDonald’s fast-food restaurants (12,804 according to NationMaster.com). The sign in the window might advertise “cash advance loans,” “post-dated check loans” or “deferred deposit check loans.” It doesn’t matter — they all work the same.
Why is the industry still thriving? Two words: fast cash.
The competition for the travel credit card market is heating up, as Bank of America today announced three new offerings.
If you’ve been choosing plastic over paper for some time now (that is, if you’ve been using credit cards over cash for most of your purchases), you’re probably well aware of just how little your creditors actually care about you. I’m sure it came as quite a shock when you opened that initial credit card bill, and discovered that a good chunk of your bill was going to pay down interest rate hikes and other arbitrary fees.
Instead of keeping their customer’s best interests in mind, card companies will continually look for ways to screw them out of more of their hard-earned duckets, leaving many looking for debt relief the next time they open a bill. And now that the federal government has stepped in on behalf of the rest of us and passed laws designed to protect from defaults, interest hikes and the like, creditors are devising new ways to take your happy buck back from you. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a list of unwanted charges and find yourself in need of credit repair services fast. Here are just a few of the methods to watch out for, so you won’t be too surprised the next time your bill comes in…
- The grace period.
Even as the dust continues to settle after the calamitous financial crisis of 2008 that cost investors and tax payers trillions of dollars, there is still no shortage of hucksters scheming for our money. And incredibly, the pool of hapless investors, willing to turn over their life savings in pursuit of “homerun” returns seems to be ever-expanding.
Drawn by the allure of easy-money, investors continue to fall victim to scams, some of which are outright fraudulent schemes and others which are glazed over with a sheen of legitimacy because they originate in the lobby of a “trusted” bank.