| Live within your income, not within your credit limit to avoid finance trap
Remember the euphoric rush we felt when we got our first unsolicited offer of a "pre-approved" credit card? Well, all over Fairbanks tomorrow the postal carriers will be delivering that same "rush" to thousands of unsuspecting high school and college students over 18 years old (the legal age to contract). I polled one of my classes last week and every single student got at least one offer and one student received five — in that week alone! Why on earth would credit card companies offer poor broke students credit cards? The reason is (insert drum roll here) students like to own "stuff" and are sure to use the card. Those who offer unsolicited credit cards, for the most part, aren't really banks or credit unions, they are finance companies and they make lots of money from merchants when their cards are used in addition to huge interest payments and fees on top of fees when balances aren't paid in full, go over the limit, or are paid late.
Personal Loans Smart Guide
What you'll learn in this step: shop around for the best debt deal. There�ll come a time in your life when you�re faced with deciding whether to borrow money. You may be a student needing some funds to complete your degree or perhaps you�re considering buying a car or a home. In our step-by-step guide to debt management, you�ll learn that debt isn�t necessarily a bad thing � as long as you stay in control of your borrowings. Having made the decision to borrow, where do you go � the bank you�ve been with for a few years, a local credit union, a finance house such as GE Money, a mortgage broker, or even that quick-approval lender advertising on late-night TV? These days the list of lenders seems endless. The purpose of your borrowing will be one factor in determining where you turn, as will how long it�ll take to pay back the money � your credit card might be the no-fuss way to buy something you can afford to pay off in a month or two, especially if you have a card with a low interest rate.
America's credit card debt climbs to new record
While the fallout of the subprime loan industry collapse continues to play out, momentum is gaining on another potential economic calamity: Americans now owe a record $915 billion in credit card debt, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service. Credit card companies wrote off 4.58 percent in payments between January and May, almost a third more than in the same period in 2006, Moody's said. As a result, lenders such as Citigroup, Bank of America, and American Express, already reeling from the subprime mortgage collapse, are being further weakened, according to a new report at MoneyNews.com. The third quarter numbers for banks were the worst since 2001, MoneyNews.com reported. The stock market slid again today on news about record crude oil prices exceeding $98 per barrel and General Motors Corp.'s quarterly loss of $39 billion.
Ten Holiday Shopping Tips
You say you overspent your budget last year and didn't pay off your Christmas bills until Easter? Then you need some advice on how to hang on to more green. Our ten tips will keep you out of the red this holiday season. 1. Pay cash. No, that's not hopelessly old-fashioned. Recently I was interviewed on a radio talk show, and the host shared her holiday shopping M.O.: She always pays in cash, preferably $100 bills. "The bank teller always looks at me strangely when I ask for hundreds, but it makes you think twice when you go to buy something," she explains. "You really don't want to break a Benjamin." Her co-host on the show does his holiday shopping with a debit card: "When you're out of money, you're out of money." 2. Know thy enemy. If you're going to pay by credit card, use the one with the most favorable terms.
Card fees soar in Britain as credit crunch deepens
LONDON: Liquidity woes in financial markets are feeding through to consumers, who are being hit with stiffer credit card fees or being refused credit altogether.
In the past two months, there have been no fewer than 125 fee and rate increases in Britain�s credit card market, according to personal finance Web site Moneyfacts.Couk, as the credit crunch takes it toll.
It raises new fears that overstretched consumers could struggle to service existing debt, leading to further increases in personal insolvencies, already at a record high.
The worries come as Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said banks could take several more months to reveal the full extent of their losses, following news of more write-downs relating to US subprime mortgages.
This side of the Atlantic, cash withdrawal charges have borne the brunt in the consumer sector, with 69 credit cards hiking fees for withdrawing cash and 25 increasing the interest rate charged on the funds.
Russian national faces sentencing in probe of massive ATM scheme
OREGON CITY (AP) - Wells Fargo Bank depositors began complaining in February about money missing from their accounts.For months, bank employees matched the complaints to ATM withdrawals in California. The same man appeared repeatedly in surveillance photos, linking him to nearly 400 victims and $463,000 in missing money.At the same time, agents from the U.S. Secret Service and the Manhattan district attorney’s identity theft unit in New York were tracking a network of tech-savvy identity thieves believed responsible for 95,000 stolen credit card numbers and more than $4 million in ID theft.It all came together May 30 in Oregon, when a check-cashing teller in the town of Clackamas recognized Eduard Kholstinin, a 30-year-old Russian national.His capture offered new insight into cybercrime, which accounts for $67.2 billion stolen each year from U.S.
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