? Credit card anyone

The emergence of electronic age made almost everything possible to people. Determining and curing terminal diseases made convenient, reaching uncharted territories became a possibility, and most of all; everyday life of people is made easy by the technology. We now have more convenient stores, easier means of transportation and a variety of gadgets that makes work and pleasure almost effortless.

When it comes to finances, technology—through efficient banking system and services—has given people better alternatives and options how to manage their finances. Among the so many financial management schemes that emerged, one alternative stands out among the rest—the credit card.

Credit card, especially to working people and those who live very busy lives, has become an ultimate financial “savior.” More than just being a status symbol or an add-on to expensive purses and wallets, credit card has revolutionized the way people spend their money.

But, more than the glamour and the convenience credit card brings, there is much more to this card than most people could ever imagine.

Credit Card 101
Before indulging much into the never-ending list of the advantages and disadvantages of having a credit card, it is very important for people to first have a brief realization of what credit card really is in order for them to maximize its potentials.

In layman’s terms, credit card is a card that allows a person to make purchases up to the limit set by the card issuer. One must then pay off the balance in installments with interest payments. Usually, credit card payment per month ranges from the minimum amount set by the bank to entire outstanding balance. And since it is a form of business, the longer the credit card holder wait to pay off his or her entire amount, the more interest pile up.

Since having a credit card is a responsibility, only those people who are of legal age and have the capability to pay off the amount they are going to spend through their credit card, is allowed to have one. Actually, most of the adults in the U.S. use credit card because this is very convenient compared to carrying cash or checks every time they have to purchase something.

It is also equally important to be familiar with the different types of credit cards before you begin to build up credit card balances and to avoid having a nightmare of debt. Since credit cards are indispensable to most consumers, it is a must that they understand the types of card that include charge cards, bankcards, retail cards, gold cards and secured cards. All of these types come in one of two interest rate options—the fixed and variable. Actually, it doesn’t really matter if you decide to have a fixed-rate credit card because the interest rate remains the same. Compared to variable rate cards where rate may be subject to change depends upon the credit card issuer’s discretion, fixed-rate carry higher interest rates. Basically, credit card grantors issue three types of accounts with basic account agreements like the “revolving agreement” a.k.a. Typical Credit Card Account which allows the payer to pay in full monthly or prefer to have partial payments based on outstanding balance. While the Charge Agreement requires the payer to pay the full balance monthly so they won’t have to pay the interest charges, the Installment Agreement, on the other hand, asks the payer to sign a contract to repay a fixed amount of credit in equal payments in definite period of time. Another category of credit card accounts includes the individual and joint accounts where the former asks the individual alone to repay the debt while the latter requires the partners responsible to pay. The common types of credit cards available through banks and other financial institutions also include Standard Credit Cards like Balance Transfer Credit Cards and Low Interest Credit Cards; Credit Cards with Rewards Programs like Airline Miles Credit Cards, Cash Back Credit Cards and Rewards Credit Cards; Credit Cards for Bad Credit like Secured Credit Cards and Prepaid Debit Cards; and Specialty Credit Cards like Business Credit Cards and Student Credit Cards.

Now that you have an idea how many types of credit card there is, it is now time to review your goals before applying for one. Some of the things you should consider is how will you spend with the credit card monthly, if you plan to carry a balance at the end of the month, how much are you willing to pay in annual fees, if you have a strong credit history and is does your credit in need of rehabilitation. Once you have an idea of what you are looking for choose the right credit card for you by researching the information you need that will fit your basic needs. You may also review the credit cards you’ve research and compare them.

Shopping for a credit card?
Regardless of the type of credit card you choose, be sure to discuss your specific financial needs with your financial advisory or accountant before applying for any credit card. It is a must that you understand the benefits of having a credit card like safety, valuable consumer protections under the law, and the accessibility and availability of services. The most popular credit cards include Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Bank of America, Bank One, American Express, Discover® Card, First Premier Bank, Advantage, HSBC Bank, and MasterCard Credit Cards.

Although having a credit card is synonymous to invincibility, this may also trigger a person’s thirst for material things and may lead into the temptation of buying something they don’t really need. A credit card bearer should always have in min that having a credit card is a big responsibility. If they don’t use it carefully, these may owe more than they can repay. It can also damage their credit report, and create credit problems that are quite difficult to repair.

Avoiding Credit Card Debt Before it Sneaks up on You

In this modern time where the economy has been such a challenge for everyday people like you and me to keep up, it’s easy to get into credit trouble when your credit bills begin to stack up.  So if you are in the position to just start learning the ropes of the world of credit cards, there are a lot of things you can do to avoid credit card debt before it sneaks up on you and keep your nose clean, as they say.

This is an outstanding goal for you if you are just getting your first credit cards.  If you know or talk to anyone who is battling tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt, you know what a jail sentence it can be.  Once that credit card debt gets that high, the time it will take even under the best of conditions to bring it down runs into the years if not decades.  And for all that time, thousands of dollars of money goes down the drain to credit interest that doesn’t buy you any food, tickets to the movies or new clothes.  It just goes away with no value to you at all.

But if you are new to the world of credit, getting a credit card is a good thing.  But once you get one, keeping it under control is job one.  You will find it amazingly easy to use a credit card once it comes.  In fact, the retail world makes it difficult to conduct transactions any other way.  You can pay for gas at the pump that way and even charge your groceries at the grocery store.  And while all of these great uses for credit are helpful, you can end up with a whopper of a credit card bill at the end of the month.  And if you don’t pay that bill off, that is the first step on a lifelong jail term in credit card debt jail.

So there are some guidelines you should follow to both use credit responsibly but also to keep building your credit rating which has a real value to you.  Remember that what the credit card companies don’t tell you is that making a charge on a credit card is a loan.  Even if you just charge ten bucks to go to the movies, you took out an unsecured loan to finance that movie ticket.

So once you start using a credit card, keep in mind that you will be paying back everything you run up on it.  It is NOT free money.  A good practice is to save every receipt every month and keep a running tally of what you have spent on credit.  Now only can you use that to cross check your credit card, it keeps you honest because each time you add a charge to your credit card, you can update your tally so you know for certain that you will be able to pay it off when the bill comes.

Paying off the credit card each month is the number one best way to keep your credit problems under control.   Now it isn’t a bad idea to let a little bit of the debt drift from month to month.  This builds your credit history and credit rating which will pay you well down the road when you want to buy a larger purchase.  But by staying on top of your credit and what is going onto your card, you will start out with the kind of habits that will lead to a life of good credit use without credit card jail.  And that is a wonderful gift to give yourself early in life.

Working With Your Credit Score

When you see advertisement after advertisement on television of businesses who want you to find out your “free” credit score, that is a red flag that someone is looking to make some money off of you.  The funny thing is they are not lying to you but at the same time, you are exactly right that those companies paying good money for television advertising are looking to make a buck off of you.

The truth is, you can actually find out what your credit report says about you.   What they are telling you about that is true.  Your credit report tells you your credit score which helps you understand how creditors see you which is important if you go to get a new loan.  But your credit report also shows a detailed history of your past use of credit, currently open accounts and anyone who has checked your credit score in the last year.

This is important information for you because anyone can check your credit report anytime they want to.  And if there are too many inquiries on your credit report, that itself can drive down your score.  So if you find someone is checking your score too often, you can take action to put a stop to it.

But there are a couple things they are not telling you on those advertisements.  One is that if you use their services, they will give you the credit report for free but not the credit score.  They are going to have their hand out for that little tidbit of information.  But the truth that those companies will not tell you is that you can get that score at least once a year absolutely free if you know how.  In other words, those people hitting you up on television to check your credit score are relying on the fact that (1) you don’t know how to check it yourself and (2) you are willing to give them money for something you can get for free if you know how.

The basic information you should know about credit reports is that there are three agencies that maintain credit reporting and they are named Equinox, Experience and Trans-union.  You can check on what each of these companies has in their file at any given time.  In addition to a lot of detail about your credit history as we just discussed, your credit “health” will be represented in the form of a number of a “score”.  That score will run between 300 and 850.  The higher your credit score, the better you will be received by credit organizations who are deciding whether to extend you a loan.

Once you have this information, you can take action to improve how you stand on your credit history.  First of all, review the credit detail in depth.  You may find accounts still open that you have not used for years.  Close those accounts.  If you have a credit account that is not being used, it is of not value to you, it only runs down your credit score and there is always a danger someone will use it.

But the next step is to start being “credit smart” in how you use credit to help see that credit score go up over the next year.  The steps to do that are….

§ Always pay your bills on time.  Late payments are reported to the credit bureaus and it runs your score down.
§ Make more than the minimum payments.  If you only pay the minimum on each credit card you owe, that will get noticed by the credit tracking software and make your credit score go down.
§ Cut down on the amount of times your credit score is checked.  Excessive inquiries into your score indicate that you are looking at getting more credit and that hurts your score.
§ Close unneeded credit accounts.
§ Start closing some of your credit card accounts once you pay them off.
§ Don’t take out any new accounts.

Don’t let yourself get excited by the virtual nonstop advertising about your credit history.  You do not need to know this information every day.  But check it a couple times a year, no sooner than once every three months to keep tabs on what is going on with your credit history.  It’s the responsible thing to do and you can just change the channel on those noisy commercials too.

All about Drop Shippers

The small business has a problem when they first start their business with finding a reasonable priced storage place. It is necessary to have a place to keep product stored until ready to put them in your retail outlet. This is expensive and a waste of space.  That is why the sudden boom in having an online store.  A small businessperson can set up their store from home and monitor it from home.  The profit margin can be very high depending on the amount of time you spend searching for the right product and the right drop shipper.  The right drop shipper is everything in the virtual online store.

The drop shipper helps you to get rid of all the issues that slow you down and cost you money. The advantages of using the right drop shipper can make or break your business. The following is a brief description of the advantages you as a business owner benefit by using a good drop shipper.

- First drop shippers do the research for products and provide you with their lists and catalogs of available items at trade prices. It is up to you to sell any of these items by any method you wish.

- You make the sell and receive payment before the drop shipper fulfills the order.

- Drop shippers package your orders so you never have to package an order again.

 -Drop shippers send your orders out to your customers saving you a trip to the post office plus your name and address is on the product.

- Since your name and address is on the product, the drop shipper becomes invisible to your customers leaving you as the only person for them to contact.

- Drop shippers hold the entire product so you do not have to lay out many cash for product. You can spend your full focus on marketing and taking the money to the bank.

These are just some of the advantages of working with a drop shipper.  The more reputable drop shippers offer you online help, your own web site and to a degree will advise you of the on going products that are hot in the market for today's sales. Remember in today's world product changes often as does the consumers need for the product. That is why it is very important that you work with a reputable drop shipper that can help you to keep a breast of what is going on today and what tomorrow looks like.

The drop shipper is the heartbeat of your company. Remember in order to maintain a good standing all the way round keep informed and up to date on all that is happening in the wholesale market.  Use good senses when selecting a drop shipper to avoid fraud and misleading your customer do research on the different companies that offer the service.  When you find the company, you are satisfied with then it is best to stick with the company you trust. The drop shipper is more than glad to let you know their ratings and the BBB will inform you of their business practice. The BBB is a good place to start your research on a drop shipper that you feel will fulfill your needs for your business. You should have in mind the types of products that you want to sell and how you want to handle your company then selecting the drop shipper will be a lot easier.