Imagine having a conversation with yourself about your credit cards. Does the tone that comes to mind sound angry? Or upset? Are you being mean to yourself because you know that you aren’t as responsible with your credit cards as you could be? Most people have negative feelings about themselves when it comes to their credit cards. Financial problems related to credit card debt are the cause of self-esteem issues, shame and anxiety. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. (more…)

Hopefully you already know all of the reasons that you shouldn’t use those “free” credit card checks that come in the mail. They often have fees associated with them. They convince you to spend money on your credit card that you weren’t planning to spend. And they usually end up causing your budget to go out of whack so that you have difficulty making the payments and start accumulating credit problems. Despite knowing this, do you have problems convincing yourself to just throw those checks away? (more…)

Every once in awhile, you might get information in the mail which says that you are part of a class action law suit as a result of being a credit card holder with a certain company. This is rare but it happens. Whenever a class action lawsuit is filed against a credit card company or a lending institution, all of those people who can be affected by the results of the lawsuit are notified. In general, you don’t have to do anything in order to benefit from the lawsuit. However, you may want to stay abreast of the status of the credit card class action lawsuit in order to make sure that you get any awards that may be coming to you because of it. (more…)

There are different credit cards for all different kinds of people. Of course when we say that we’re usually talking about people’s different income levels and credit histories. But there are also different credit cards related to the different personal interests that consumers might have. For example, if you’re a sports fan, you might find that there are credit cards which are designed specifically to offer you the types of rewards that relate to your sports interests. These cards may be affiliated with a specific sport or may offer you general sports-related benefits. (more…)

Many people start off their credit card history by getting a department store credit card. These cards are easy to get even when you haven’t yet established credit. However, people who are new to credit cards often make mistakes that land them in financial trouble. Department store cards can be particularly bad in terms of fees and interest rates. As a result, people frequently swear off department store credit cards after their first bad experience. The truth is that there are both good things and bad things about these types of credit cards. The key is to know when to use them and how to use them properly. (more…)

There are some people who simply can’t qualify for a credit card on the strength (or rather the weakness) of their own credit. Those people may be teenagers that haven’t established enough credit yet or people who have made credit mistakes that landed them in the bad credit no man’s land. If you know someone like that, they might ask you to co-sign on a credit card application for them. Should you do it? The answer depends on the amount of trust you’ve established with the individual and the risks that you’re willing to take with your own credit. (more…)

When you get married to someone, you marry their money. This can be a point of contention for many couples because people have such different ways of thinking about money. In cases where couples decide to share checking accounts and credit card accounts, the problems can be exacerbated. However, there are also benefits to sharing your accounts. The decision about whether or not to get a joint credit card account with your spouse is going to depend on the nature of your relationship and the way that you communicate about money matters. (more…)

The late fee gets some people every time. They would be able to pay their credit card bill if it weren’t for the additional fee. Once that extra amount is tacked on, the minimum balance becomes too high and they can’t make the payment. This leads to getting a late fee on the next statement because the amount couldn’t be paid off. It’s a cycle that can perpetuate itself and get out of hand. However, it doesn’t have to get out of control. You do have control over whether or not you acquire late fees on your credit card debt. (more…)

Kids these days seem to have everything, don’t they? They carry cell phones and personal music players. They have a home computer and possibly even a laptop. Once they can drive, they begin begging for a car. And chances are that your teen has started asking you for a credit card. Should you get one for your teenager or not? (more…)

By the time that you need a business credit card, you probably feel like you’ve got the whole credit card thing down pat. You know that you need to find a good interest rate, read the fine print of your terms and make your payments in a timely manner. You might even know how to seek out the best credit card rewards before making an application. However, consumer credit cards and business credit cards aren’t exactly the same thing. There are some features of a good business credit card that differ from the features of a standard credit card. Making sure that you are aware of those features can be the difference between having a good card and having a great card. (more…)