Long Term Personal Finance Planning

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Long Term Personal Finance Planning

By Credit Federal | Published 01/14/2009

Get family involved for secure, long term personal finance planning.

If you deceased today, is your family ready to take over your surviving spouse's long term personal finance management? Right now is as good a time as any to get family; or at least one adult child, involved in your personal finances.

Planning:
Create a brief paper listing all that you have - assets, stocks, bonds, insurances, debts, savings and checking accounts, expensive collections, IRAs, Safe deposit boxes and the keys, 401(k)s, wills, and those are just a few things that come to mind. Don't forget the contact information to important people involved in your finances like lawyers, brokers, etc..Don't go over board, those that will pick up the financial asspects don't need a book just a simple outline as a starting point to gain insight into your finances.

Collect Information:
Don't wait until something happens to one of you. You may not be able to quickly find out needed information. Start now to prepare and collect basic information about your finances. Get busy tackling this with your parents and let them know you are not taking over their finances, but just trying to be knowledgeable in case the primary financial record keeper is not around. This can be a delicate matter and needs to be handled carefully and tackfully. Siblings may be not be as positive about this, but one child has to take the lead in a parent's financial life. It can be important to let parents know all of you have their best in mind financially. This is necessary to spare all involved much financial turmoil.

Warning Signs of Financial Problems:
It is not uncommon for a spouse to die who took total control over all the finances thus leaving one behind who knows nothing about the finances and the pitfalls. Watch for stacked and unpaid bills, spending out of control, high credit card charges, or problems with phone solicitors - those who could easily gain trust and take anyone's money or identity.

Start Preparing Financial Records:
Being prepared with good financial record keeping before death can make life for loved ones easier to manage when the time comes to be in control. If you are not sure where to start, a financial advisor or a loved one could help get this going and there is a lot of information online to get you started. So go forth and get prepared.

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Long Term Personal Finance Planning - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> Get family involved for secure, long term personal finance planning. If you deceased today, is your family ready to take over your surviving spouse's long term personal finance management? Right now is as good a time as any to get family; or at least one adult child, involved in your personal finances. Planning: Create a brief paper listing all that you have - assets, stocks, bonds, insurances, debts, savings and checking accounts, expensive collections, IRAs, Safe deposit boxes and the keys, 401(k)s, wills, and those are just a few things that come to mind. Don't forget the contact information to important people involved in your finances like lawyers, brokers, etc..Don't go over board, those that will pick up the financial asspects don't need a book just a simple outline as a starting point to gain insight into your finances. Collect Information: Don't wait until something happens to one of you. You may not be able to quickly find out needed information. Start now to prepare and collect basic information about your finances. Get busy tackling this with your parents and let them know you are not taking over their finances, but just trying to be knowledgeable in case the primary financial record keeper is not around. This can be a delicate matter and needs to be handled carefully and tackfully. Siblings may be not be as positive about this, but one child has to take the lead in a parent's financial life. It can be important to let parents know all of you have their best in mind financially. This is necessary to spare all involved much financial turmoil. Warning Signs of Financial Problems: It is not uncommon for a spouse to die who took total control over all the finances thus leaving one behind who knows nothing about the finances and the pitfalls. Watch for stacked and unpaid bills, spending out of control, high credit card charges, or problems with phone solicitors - those who could easily gain trust and take anyone's money or identity. Start Preparing Financial Records: Being prepared with good financial record keeping before death can make life for loved ones easier to manage when the time comes to be in control. If you are not sure where to start, a financial advisor or a loved one could help get this going and there is a lot of information online to get you started. So go forth and get prepared. Let family know what bills to pay and when. Download our award-winning free personal finance center software. Read more of our <a target='_top' target="_top" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/pages/Site-Map">free financial tips and advice</a> and join our <a target='_top' target="_top" href="../../../free-credit-offers.html">credit offers</a> newsletter. This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.