Credit Card Solution

Average credit card interest rates for consumers and businesses changed during the first half of December, 2011 despite a stable US bank prime rate of 3.25%.  Not all credit card interest rates are directly linked to the prime rate and there are a variety of reasons why the average credit card interest rates might change even with a stable US bank prime rate.

December 2011 Average Credit Card Rates

In December, the difference between interest rates for individuals with good credit compared to individuals with average credit narrowed, dropping between a half a percent to 3.57%.   The overall average interest rate for all credit cards is 16.71%.

The only category of credit cards which did not change their average interest rates this quarter are business credit cards.  T

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The gist: Know the law and avoid gift card fees this holiday season.

Gift cards—a safe bet or a lazy gift? Whatever your stance, you’ll probably come in contact with one or two this holiday season. Whether you’re giving or receiving, avoid unexpected fees by familiarizing yourself with what issuers can and cannot charge.

Customer protections

Recent legislation prohibits the expiration of gift cards for 5 years after issuance. Service and inactivity fees are also prohibited for the first year. Once that year is up, the issuer may charge one fee per month. Basically, if you use your gift card within a reasonable amount of time, you’ll be okay. HOWEVER, there are exceptions.

Exceptions to your protection—fees to watch out for

Standard purchasable gift cards from major retailers will almost always fall under the aforementioned protections. But there

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After you have searched for your alternatives to bankruptcy and you realized that this is the only choice you have to relieve the financial burdens from your shoulders. The next step is to go about repairing your credit after bankruptcy.

While it is not hard to bring your credit score back up after filing bankruptcy; the one thing that stays on your credit report is the fact that you filed bankruptcy. As a matter of fact it leaves a mark on your credit score for a period of seven years.

This automatically alerts any of the creditors that you did have to file bankrupt and affects your overall credit. It may take you a period of seven years to bring back your credit to where you were before you filed. However there are some things you can do right after filing that will help you come back.

Get A Copy Of Your Credit Report: The first thing you will want to check is where you stand after filing.

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In principle, most of us know the dangers of credit card debt. But in practice, avoiding all the spending traps that marketers lay for us can be an exhausting feat. Here’s a look at some strategies you can practice to avoid accumulating the kind of debt that can lead you to crippled finances and bankruptcy.

Marketers are good at what they do. That’s why we end up spending money on stuff, even though we know we were getting along just fine before we had it. And that’s also why so many of us end up adding to oru credit card debt when our intent was to do just the opposite.

Luckily, understanding some of the tricks marketers use can help you avoid spending money you don’t have on products you don’t need.

• Beware catchwords. We’ve all seen these phrases plastered on products: “space-age polymers,” “technical fibers,” “all-natural,” “new and improved,” etc. Marketers have trained us t

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