How To Use Credit Wisely And Achieve An Abundant Life Part 3

Do you want to spend less on your credit cards? Do you need to develop good money saving habits? By using credit wisely, you can be on your way to abundant living! If you are one of the 75% of American households with credit cards-and therefore credit card debt-then I have some more tips for you!

That's right, only 75% of American households have credit cards. What are those other 25% doing that keeps them from incurring credit card debt? Some (the smart ones) never applied for cards in the first place. Some have probably already paid off their debt, done away with their cards, and now live the rich life. How in the heck did they pay off the debt and get free of their dependence on cards, you think? Read on to find the answer, hon!

Here's what you've got to do. First, call each credit card company and try to negotiate a lower interest rate, even if just for a few months. Armed with the info on which companies will give you lower rates, you can decide which cards to shred and which to keep. Begin by calling the company you've had a card with for the longest amount of time. Explain that you've been their customer for a number of years and need them to lower your interest rate. Let them know you're thinking about closing your account and transferring the balance to another card with a lower interest rate.

Be firm but agreeable and upbeat on the phone. These people can help you--They are your friends, not your enemies. Treat them nicely but remember you are in a position of power--You could in fact transfer your balance and close down your account. You are their customer and they want to keep you happy, so approach it that way. Begging is for dogs, not folks like you trying to negotiate a lower rate on their cards!

If they won't lower your rate, do some research and transfer your balances to a lower rate card--as long as the fees for the transfer aren't larger than your projected interest savings. If you don't already have a lower rate card, look online to find one that will let you transfer your balance. Pay attention! Oftentimes companies will even give you zero percent interest for period of time just to get you to transfer your balance to their card. So take a look around, hon and remember that you DO have choices. See what's out there.

Also, stop viewing the credit card offers that clutter your mailbox as an annoyance. Use them to your advantage. Collect them for a couple of weeks and compare the various offers. Pick the one with the longest "too good to pass up" offer, usually an offer of no interest for a six months, a year, 16 months, or the like. Take note that in this period of time, you can make HUGE headway in paying down your balance if you follow the money saving and spending strategies in the part 1 and 2 of this article series.

Next, take the best offer you can find and transfer the balance from your highest interest card there (again, only if the fees for the transfer are less than the interest you can expect to save). Cancel the other card and shout "Hasta la vista" as you celebrate your new lower interest rate card. And remember, if you pay the new card off fast (why not within the zero percent interest period, hon??), then your credit score will go up and life will be much easier when you want to buy a house, refinance your current home, or even get a new cell phone plan.

See? Learning how to use credit wisely is not as hard as it seems. Just stop using your cards to spend until you get them paid down, watch your interest rates like a parole office watches his "charges," and remember--YOU DO HAVE CHOICES! To find out the essential final steps to take to work your way through your credit cards and pay them ALL down, tune into part 4 of this article series. You don't want to miss out on learning how to pay credit cards down as quickly as possible so you can achieve the abundant life you desire!

Professional speaker and coach Dr. Barnsley Brown loves helping people like you save thousands of dollars and start living the life of their dreams! Check out Dr. Barnsley's exciting e-book and audio package, Get Out of Debt and Get On With Your Life, at http://spirited-solutions.com/products/books/

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Tips for Using Corporate Credit Cards Wisely

In this age of plastic money, one of the perks of having a nice white-collar corporate job is having your own expense account. Most companies give out corporate credit cards to their employees, especially to those that are expected to travel a lot for business.

The way the payments and expenses work for these cards is pretty simple although there have been reports of some card owners complaining about how to file their expenses to the accounts payable. Here's how it works - when you use your corporate card for any transaction, you are handed a receipt. Nearing the end of the expense cycle, you are asked by the accounts payable to "file your expenses" and submit the receipt to them. Once that is done, your work is done as your accounts payable then makes the payment to the credit card issuer.

It's kind of astonishing how all of these steps are so simple and yet some people see late fees and extra charges on their cards with no apparent fault of their own. It eventually boils down to confrontations between the employees, the customer support rep working in the credit card company and at times, also with someone in the accounts department in the corporate office. The truth is such ugly scenarios can be easily avoided with a proper knowledge of how corporate cards work.

· Firstly, as employees, a lot of customers forget that there are different types of corporate credit cards depending on who the issuer is. For example, American Express Corporate cards have different set of rules of usage than Visa and MasterCard. More importantly, after getting their corporate cards, employees should immediately ask their accounts payable about the kind of charges they can or cannot make with the card. In most cases, differences arise with retail charges which involve apparel stores, electronic gadgets stores, shopping marts like Wal-Mart, etc.

· When traveling abroad, it is a good idea to let the card company know your travel dates beforehand. This ensures that the auto fraud protection will not freeze the card in case of irregular charges from abroad. In some cases, notifications are also necessary for retail charges. Knowing how to classify retail charges is also important. There have been examples of people trying to use their corporate cards to book trainings or seminars and get their card denied. It is because such charges are grouped as retail. All it takes to make the card go through in such cases is a call to the customer rep in the card company and get the charge taken care of over the phone itself.

· Let us talk about the all important part of membership points and frequent flyer miles. Most offices do not care about membership points and hence most cards are not pre-approved with this feature. One can just call up the card company and activate this feature which costs around $15. This charge however cannot be expensed and so it must be paid by the card owner himself. If anyone has seen the George Clooney movie 'Up in the Air', he'll know the value of these loyalty points.

· The problem of late fees has been bothering corporate card members for a long time now. Here's how one can avoid it. Most corporate cards are charged cards, which mean that they need to be paid in full within 60 days to avoid late fees. However, in case the accounts payable makes the payment after that time period, one might incur a late fee. To avoid that, one can simply choose to pay the last few charges on the card out of one's own pocket. These charges can be reimbursed by asking the card company to send the employer a check equaling the amount of the extra credit. Thus, late fees can be avoided.

Corporate credit cards are not a luxury but a necessity for a lot of professionals. One must remember that these are not meant for retail purchases unless specified. If employees follow the tips discussed here and use their card in a responsible manner, there is no reason why one should face any problems while filing the expenses.

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How To Use Credit Wisely And Achieve An Abundant Life Part 1

Have you ever had your credit frozen? Ever get that panicky feeling in your chest when you whip out the plastic and say the "I hope this isn't denied" prayer? Ever tried to apply for a loan only to hear "I'm sorry, we can't help you!" (which is the polite form of "No way Jose!")? Would you like to stop worrying about these kinds of situations? Then grab a Perrier, hon, and let's have a little chat about how to use credit wisely.

First things first. Though it may not seem like it, roughly 25% of American households do not have credit cards. Amazing, right? So it IS possible to give up your cards though I don't recommend that if you, like many people these days, routinely order things on the phone or internet.

You can, however, have a credit card and use it wisely. If you're in the close to 75% who do own cards, the first step you must take is to get rid of all but one or two of them. Make sure the ones you keep are the ones that don't have an annual charge, unless they accumulate airline miles for you. (Those cards always have an annual charge but it may be worth it if you love to travel and use your card carefully, namely just for large purchases you plan to pay off before the end of your credit card cycle.)

The second thing you must NEVER do is use your cards for routine expenses such as gas, groceries, electricity, and other regular expenses. If you are using your credit card to pay for the essential things like gas, food, utilities, or even taxes, then you are most likely in financial trouble! These expenditures need to be paid out of your bank account or cash, not on credit.

The best thing you can do to not get eaten up by credit is this: Do NOT use your credit card for anything except larger purchases that you have planned and saved for IN ADVANCE, such as car repairs, airline tickets, theater tickets, and online purchases of electronics, etc. Make sure that you have the funds needed for those purchases tucked away in an account where you won't touch them until your credit card bill arrives. Then you'll dip into that account and PRESTO! You'll pay off your credit card balance COMPLETELY with the funds earmarked for those expenditures.

I know--You're probably inundated with those credit card offers in the mail that offer 0% interest for a limited time, but that's just it. It's for a LIMITED time. Getting such a card may be a good way to finance a short-term "loan" when you need cash fast; this is how we paid for thousands of dollars of extra expenses for our wedding without paying one red cent in interest. But (and this is a big big BUT) if you routinely run up expenses on these 0% interest cards, you will quickly dig a deep hole chock full of credit quicksand. And doll, I'll be sad to see you sinking in that trap!

Tune in for my next article on a creative, fun way to freeze your credit and you'll be on the way to transforming debt into wealth and achieving the abundant life you deserve.

Dr. Barnsley Brown is a professional speaker and coach who loves helping busy professionals create balance and prosperity. Grab your copy of Dr. Brown's empowering e-book and audio package, Get Out of Debt and Get On With Your Life: Every Woman's Guide to Create Prosperity Right Now at " Get Out of Debt ebook package!"

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