|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Beware of Falling Minimum PaymentsIf you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don't be so quick to “jump for joy”. What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually the rock that can weigh you down in debt for a lifetime.More and more credit card companies are moving to requiring a minimum payment of 2% of your total outstanding balance. Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group out of San Francisco, found that the number of card companies with a 2% minimum payment reached 53%, up from 43% just a year ago. Some creditors have even gone so far as to call this a “consumer friendly” move claiming it will assist consumers faced with today's economic woes. In reality, a lower minimum payment causes you to take longer to pay off your debt to the creditor while winding up paying them more money in interest payments. For example, let's say you have a credit card debt of $2500.00 @18% annual percentage rate (APR). Your monthly minimum payment based on a 2.5% pay back rate would be $62.50 per month. Oh and by the way, here's what the credit card company really doesn't want you to know - it will take you 20 YEARS to pay off your $2500.00 balance paying the minimum monthly due. And you will have paid the credit card company $3,365.51 in interest! Now lets look at the same example using the rate of 2% minimum monthly payment. Your monthly payment drops to just $50.00 a month. You might be tempted to think “wow, I've got an extra $12.50 a month to play with, yippeee!”. Not so fast! That lower minimum payment now means it will take you 34.5 YEARS to pay off your balance of $2500.00 and you'll wind up paying $6,430.93 in interest! Consumer Action also reports that many credit card companies are imposing higher late payment fees and “more than a third of card issuers said they will raise existing cardholders' rates because of poor credit histories -- with other creditors -- even if the consumer has made regular, timely payments with that issuer”. My advice is to watch your use of credit carefully, always pay more than the minimum monthly due, and be sure to read the fine print on any credit card offers or changes to your existing accounts. About the author: © 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com Author: James H. Dimmitt James is editor of "TO YOUR CREDIT", a weekly free newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com Circulated by Article Emporium What is on Your Credit Report? Your credit report is a very important piece of the puzzle in your financial picture. It contains a historical record of your personal and financial information including a listing of your current and past debts and the timeliness of your payments. The information contained on your... How To Get A Great Credit Card With Bad Credit Credit Cards For Consumers with Poor Credit Ratings Ever wondered how and why you can go online and be approved for credit within seconds? Or receive a pre-qualified loan or credit card without anyone asking how much money you make? Or why one interest rate is made availab... Need Instant Cash? Beware of Pay Day Loans! Have you seen the commercials? Cute characters promise financial prosperity. Happy, professional individuals appear to regularly visit their corner pay day loan shop as proudly as cashing a check at the bank. Customers at the grocery store all recommend pay day loans as the easy so... The different credit services available to you You can use credit services to finance your needs. From buying a home or a car to financing your everyday purchases, credit services can help you meet your needs. The credit services you seek will depend on your situation. A home mortgage can help you buy your dream house.... Used Car Loans - 3 Tips For Financing Your Used Vehicle Online Financing the purchase of a used vehicle can be done through the convenience of online car loan lenders. Through their websites you can request quotes, compare terms, and even apply online. Online car loan lenders save you time and money by making financing shopping easy. The follo... Payday Loans Or Cash Advance Loans - Useful After A Bankruptcy Payday loans, also known as cash advance, are a useful tool after bankruptcy. By keeping current on your bills through a payday loan, you can rebuild your credit history. The key is to only use these cash advances for emergencies. Using Payday Loans Faced with a f... How can I make money Currency Trading? Basically you can make money from trading money. If you have US dollars you can buy British pounds for a set rate and they trade the money back in the future at a different rate. This can make your gains immense. Much larger than gains made on the stock market. Just as the upsid... Living and investing in New Zealand: An easy process Copyright 2005 Ofer Shoshani Living and investing in New Zealand is becoming more and more popular as people are discovering the small but friendly country. They love the varied scenery, mild climate, and many activities. Living in New Zealand appeals to those who like a qui... It Must Be Joe Cocker's Market Agonizing displays of poor theatrics failed to entertain my mind one recent Saturday evening. I scrolled across several television channels hoping for an engaging program. Finally, one particular concert intrigued my senses. There on the stage performed one of rock and roll's mo... BAD NEWS - WHY THE FINANCIAL NEWS MEDIA CAN COST YOU MONEY! The communication innovations we have around us today like the internet, financial newspapers, and special interest television channels focused on investing like CNBC are a high speed pipeline of nonsensical chatter. All these sources of information mean that there is no shortage o... Getting the best life insurance quote. Copyright 2005 Stacey Zimmerman Your life insurance quote is primarily dependant on a number of personal factors, namely your health, family history, lifestyle and age. It's not possible to physically change any of these factors and you definitely shouldn't lie about any of ... Life Insurance Fears Following The London Bombings Tragedy Following on from the tube train and bus bomb attacks in London there was a move from several UK insurance companies to reassure victims that claims would be processed “quickly and sympathetically”. This need for reassurance came in light of concerns that many victims of the blasts... 7 Must-Know Facts about Free Credit Report 7 Must-Know Facts about Free Credit Report Every individual is limited in a way by the income he earns. This is mainly the reason why he can get credits and mortgages through a free credit report. A credit report is a document that contains the credit history of an individual ... Beware of Falling Minimum Payments If you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don't be so quick to “jump for joy”. What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually the rock that can weigh you down in debt for a l... A quick guide to unsecured loans Imagine, falling into an emergency situation with an empty bank account. Does it raise your blood pressure? Doesn't your happiness vanish? Indeed, it does. The matter aggravates when you have no one to bank upon, no property or asset to offer as collateral or you don't want to put...
|
|
|||||
|
||||||