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One day I got a call from my charge card account company asking me if I would like to increase my credit limit by borrowing up to $9000 at their special interest rate of 15.9%.

The operator stated, “Your credit card account APR will then be a low 15.9%. How much would you like to transfer today to take advantage of this offer? Do you have any high interest loans you would like to pay off and reduce your payments?”

The previous day I had called them to get two bogus late payment charges taken off my statement. I also had to get my APR bring downed back to my usual APR rather than the “penalty interest rate” (22.9%) they charge to anyone who is late, misses a payment or goes over their credit limit.

Wondering if my interest rate got changed back to my usual APR, I asked the operator what my current annual percentage rate was. She said that it was at 12.9%, which was my usual interest rate for this card.

I do carry some debt on other cards (it helps with my credit rating to be making regular payments) but all the other debt I have is at decrease annual percentage rates than this card. I mentioned that I had no other debt that was at a higher interest rate than what she was offering.

She then replied that I could just take the money as a cash advance and do whatever I wanted with it.

So I asked her if I understood correctly what she was offering. “So you are offering to raise my interest APR if I get further into debt by getting a cash advance?”

“Yes, you can have up to $9000 and do whatever you like with the extra cash,” she replied. I was amused that she said that I could “have” not “borrow” the money and it would be “extra cash” rather than “additional debt”. But after all, she is in sales and the words “have” and “extra cash” are much more enticing than the more realistic alternatives – “borrow” and “additional debt”.

I politely told her that I was not interested in raising my interest annual percentage rate or borrowing more money, “but thanks anyway.”

I then wondered how many other people would jump at the opportunity to pocket a quick $10,000 at the “low” APR of 15.9%.

I was also amused that she encouraged me to pay off my high interest debt with this money. Well, to my standards 15.9% is high interest debt. Granted it’s not the 24-25% charged by department stores but still it was more than I was currently being charged on any of my other cards.

Shouldn’t an offer that would appeal to me be one that offered me money at a decrease annual percentage rate? Her offer seemed backwards. She was trying to entice me with the vision of “extra cash” in my hand to do whatever I would like.

I took a moment to do some financial math (the most important kind) on this offer and found that if I had a current balance on that credit card account of $4000 at my current interest annual percentage rate of 12.9%, I would be paying about $43 a month in interest charges.

If I had accepted her offer for an additional $9000 at 15.9% (and I suspect that my regular APR of 12.9% would have risen to the 15.9% annual percentage rate also), I would be paying about $172 a month, exactly 4 times what I am currently paying. If I made a payment of $200 a month to pay off this debt, I would be paying for over 12 and a half years.

What I learned from this experience is that I should get into the credit card account business. Maybe I’ll check on some bank and financial institution stocks today. With offers like this they must be making money.

Once again, those who understand interest earn it, those who don’t, pay it.

Also, you should always get your chargecard at JemCreditCards.com. They have the best credit cards.

Youve probably heard that the average American carries more than $8,000 in credit card debt.

Its a figure frequently cited by politicians, journalists and pundits as a sure sign of impending economic break down. They argue that people, already struggling under this massive burden of debt, soon will have to stop spending like drunken sailors. The economic recovery, therefore, is doomed!

The surprising thing about this statistic isn’t that it’s so widely known. Rather, it’s that the statistic paints a picture thats just plain wrong.
• In reality, most Americans owe nothing to credit card companies.
• Most households that carry balances owe $2,000 or less.
• Only about 1 in 20 American households owes $8,000 or more on credit cards.
These figures are from the Federal Reserves 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances, one of the most comprehensive assessments of what Americans own and owe. (The survey is updated every three years; a summary of 2004’s results will be published in early 2006.)

Averages don’t tell the tale
Most of the people citing the $8,000 figure credit it to CardWeb.com, a service that tracks credit card trends.

CardWeb, however, doesnt contend that the average American owes more than $8,000 on cards. Their statistics show that the average debt per American household with at least one charge card was $8,940 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available.

To get that number, CardWeb simply divided the total outstanding credit card debt at the end of 2002 — $750.9 billion — by the 84 million American households that it says have at least one charge card. (CardWeb uses a slightly different definition of household than the Fed does. And the company contends that 80% of households, rather than the Feds 76.2%, have at least one credit card.)

Now, by CardWebs measure and definition, the average debt in households with at least one charge card is growing.

If you know anything about statistics, however, you know that averages dont really tell the tale.

Consider what would happen if you and 17 of your friends and family were in a room with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The average net worth of a person in that room would be north of $4 billion. The fact that everybody elses personal net worth was just $100,000, or $1 million, or even $10 million, wouldnt affect the average that much because the big boys are sooooo much wealthier than you.

Take heart: Were actually frugal
In much the same way, a relatively small population with large credit card balances can skew the average to make it look like the typical American is carrying a much bigger debt load than he or she actually is. Consider:
• 23.8% of American households have no credit cards at all — no bank cards, no retail cards, nothing.
• Another 31.2% of the households the Fed surveyed paid off their most recent credit card bills in full.
• So together, the households that owed nothing on credit cards equaled 55% of the total.
Heres some better news: Paying off balances actually became more common between 1998 and 2001. The proportion of households that had bank cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) who reported that they regularly paid off their balances in full rose 1.5 percentage points to 55.3%.

We dont carry that much debt
Of the households that did carry a balance, the median amount owed was $1,900. That means half of the households with a balance owed more, and half owed less. (Medians are less subject to the skewing phenomenon that plagues averages; thats why economists tend to favor them.)

Bill Whitt at the VIP Forum, a Washington D.C. research firm, helped me dig even deeper. By analyzing the charge card debts of all the households the Fed surveyed, Whitt discovered:
• Only 29% of households owe $1,000 or more on their cards.
• 21% owe $2,000 or more.
• 6% owe $8,000 or more.
• 4% owe $10,500 or more.
• 1% owe $21,400 or more.
The Fed statistics pretty much gibe with what Fair Isaac, the creator of the FICO credit score, discovered when it reviewed millions of credit reports.

There are a few differences between the universe the Fed examined and the one looked at by Fair Isaac. For one thing, credit reports are individual — theres no such thing as a household or even a joint credit report. Also, you have to have and use credit to have a credit report. Finally, credit reports dont typically distinguish between balances you pay off and those you carry each month.

But again, Fair Isaacs statistics show a world in which most people are light to moderate users of credit:
• About 48% of charge card holders owed less than $1,000
• About 10% of card holders had total card balances in excess of $10,000.
• More than half of all people with charge cards use less than 30% of their total charge card limit.
• Just over 1 in 8 people use 80% or more of their charge card limit.

Theres still plenty of trouble out there
Does this mean all the hand-wringing over consumer debt is so much noise? Hardly. Although most Americans seem to be avoiding the credit card trap, there are still plenty of people on the financial edge:
• More than a third — 36% — of those who owe more than $10,000 on their cards have household incomes under $50,000, according to the VIP Forum analysis.
• 13% who owe that much have household incomes under $30,000.
• The percentage of disposable income used to pay debts is still near record highs.
• The median value of total outstanding debt owed by households rose 9.6% between 1998 and 2001.
• Bankruptcies set another record in 2003, with 1.6 million personal filings, the American Bankruptcy Institute reports.
All of that is more than enough evidence to suggest that a large number of people are overdosing on debt. The average American, though, seems to be doing just fine.

Well I want to begin by letting you know that debt settlement is a very icky subject. There are a good amount of good things about debt settlement however, there are also a good amount of bad things about it as well. In this article I will explain the good and bad and how you know if you should trust and take advantage of a debt settlement company.

I am going to start with the good aspects. Debt settlement programs are a great way to get out of debt. Debt settlement companies are able to settle your credit card debt for a fraction of what you actually owe. This fraction is in most cases somewhere between 50% and 60% of what you owe. Basically what I am trying to say through the good section here is that debt settlement companies have the ability to save you a ton of money on your credit cards.

Now for the bad. Unfortunately I can tell you that this section is going to be a great deal larger than the good section but I feel that it is imperative that you fully understand what you are getting yourself into when you choose to go with debt settlement. First off, debt settlement destroys your credit. In most cases, the sales representative will try and make it sound like it is not all that bad and you will only take a minor hit on your credit but unfortunately that is not the case! If you have an excellent credit score now, within 6 months of working with a debt settlement firm you will end up with a very poor credit report. Also, I want you to know that when you are paying a debt settlement company to pay your debts, your money is actually going to end up in a trust fund as you build to the total amount of the settlement payoff. During all of this time, your credit score continuously slides down.

Should you work with a debt settlement firm? Well first off, if you are not considering bankruptcy, debt settlement is not the program for you. I know just as well as you do, times are tough right now, we are going through an economic melt down and have been for a couple years. Trust me I understand the facts. Even though times are tough money wise, there are still other ways you can go about getting help with your credit card debt! You should only use a debt settlement firm if no one else is able to help you. There are a lot of key facts to remember when choosing a process to follow with your debt however, if you are concidering debt settlement I urge you to contact Jem Credit Cards. They help with the step before settlement to try and pull you out of the debt without harming your credit! You can contact them:

By phone – (561) 355-0069
By email – Support@JemCreditCards.com
On the web – JemCreditCards.com

Just another small piece of information Discover card offers the best credit cards by far.

One of the biggest downfalls of using credit cards to make purchases is the interest rate. If you carry a balance from month to month on your card, you can expect to pay more for your purchases than if you paid cash. But some credit cards offer phases where you don’t have to pay interest at all. What does 0% APR actually mean, and when can it come in handy?

0% APR means that there will be no interest charges applied to purchases during a promotional time period. These periods can vary in length, but competition has urged most card issuers to offer a year of 0% interest. If you know that you are bale to pay off your balance within that time period, 0% APR credit cards can be a great thing for you. If you’re not so sure, watch out; interest rates are hiking, and you’ll get hit with them once your promotional period ends.

So when is it a good idea to apply for a 0% interest card?

If you’ve got a situation where you’ll be making a good deal of one-time purchases, a 0% APR credit card can really make life easier. Consider moving expenses. You’ll need to hire movers, pay a deposit or rent at your new address, and probably make deposits on utilities. If you’re replacing some furniture and other items, add on a few extra expenses. Instead of using a regular credit card to pay off those purchases plus interest, think about opening a 0% interest credit card. That way, you’ll have up to a year to pay off the purchase price without paying extra. You can always cancel the card once the balance is paid off.

Holidays are also good times to indulge in some guilt-free shopping. Use a 0% interest credit card to pay for gifts for your friends and family and entertaining expenses. As long as you can pay off the balance before the holiday rolls around again, you’ll have saved a good amount of money on interest.

Emergencies happen, and it’s like adding insult to injury (sometimes literally) to have to pay interest on medical bills and car repairs. If you’ve been hit with big expenses like these, you might want to get a 0% interest card and use it to pay. Another alternative is to transfer your existing balance from other cards to the 0% card. But watch out for balance transfer fees. You want to make sure that you’re actually saving money by transferring your balance.

When shopping for a 0%APR card, be sure to do your homework. Some cards have hefty fees for enrollment, or even monthly membership fees. You don’t want charges like that to minimize the money you’ll save with 0%APR. There are plenty of good cards out there. Some card issuers even extend special 0% offers to their loyal customers. Check with your bank and your card company to see if they have a deal that’s right for you.

Looking for a credit card JemCreditCards.com has various promotional credit cards.

It’s becoming even more difficult to get by in our society without a chargecard – or at the very least, a debit card with a credit card logo. Travel arrangements, restaurant reservations, online business transactions and making orders by telephone all require the use of a credit card. Here are a bit of things to consider before signing your name to a new credit card application:

Don’t Get a lot of credit Cards – there is hardly ever a good reason for a person to have a wallet filled with a lot of credit cards. Usually, you only need one or two credit cards. Be selective and choose cards that are going to work best for how you use them and pay them back. Too much credit available can lead to bad financial decisions made on a whim, and then unmanageable debts. On top of that a few credit cards can help your credi but too many will hurt it.

Take a Hard Look at Your Spending Habits if You Get A lot of Credit Card Offers – just because you have four credit card offers in your mailbox on most days does not mean you can afford more credit cards. In fact, credit card companies tend to target individuals who are most likely to rack up big balances on high interest rate credit card accounts because they know they’ll make the most interest off you.

Don’t Fall For Teaser or Promotional Rates – many credit cards do their best to get new customers through teaser or promotional rates. These are typically lower than average interest rates on new purchases or balance transfers that apply for a very limited time – but then once that time is up, the interest rate shoots up usually above 10%. These are also the credit cards that often send your interest rate on a plane if you make a payment late. The permanent interest rate on a credit card is much more important than the temporary promotional offer you get; unless you are using the card to pay off a higher interest account and will have the balance completely paid in full before the promotion ends.

Examine More Than the Interest Rate – while the interest rate on a credit card is an important consideration before applying for a new credit card, it’s not the only thing that is important. The interest rate actually only matters for people who carry a balance from one month to the next, because if you pay your balance off in full within the stated grace period (typically 20 days), there is no interest charged. Also, when you make a decision for a credit card based solely on the interest rate, you might be very disappointed when the interest rate changes a few months after you get the card or when you notice a $495.00 annual fee. Even “fixed rate” interest cards can adjust their annual percentage rates.

How Does the Credit Card Billing Cycle work – [spin]finding out the credit cards billing method is a smart idea. Will the interest be applied to your purchases from the day you use the card, or is there a grace period? How many days do you have between billing cycles to pay off your balance before interest is applied? Know exactly how long this grace period is because your lender is likely to mail the bill out late in the billing period, giving you just a couple days in which you can get your payment out before it falls outside that grace period.

Understand Late Payment Charges and Penalties – Check the credit card terms carefully to understand how late payment charges and penalties are charged to your account if you should make a payment late. See if a late payment will also result in an interest rate hike. Most credit cards apply the late payments and penalties to the card balance, and therefore you end up paying interest on these if you don’t pay the balance of your card off in full before the end of the billing cycle, as well.

Now that you know what to look for in a good credit card go to JemCreditCards.com and get the best credit card for you! I usually advise Discover credit cards

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