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Hey everybody, it’s time to get off the credit card train. We don’t really know how to use them wisely anyway and the credit card companies aren’t exactly our friends. Time to move on.

Besides, anything important we can do with a credit card we can also do with a Prepaid Debit Card – and the debit card is safer, easier to use, and it’s budget-friendly too.

So put down that credit card and start using the right financial tool for the job, a reloadable Prepaid Debit Card.

Should You Look at Debt Consolidation?

Debt consolidation is the term used for a particular fiscal “move” that gathers up all of your separate debts (like credit card debt, revolving charge debt, car loan debt, etc.) and transforms them into one single debt. Mechanically, you replace a bunch of independent debts with one larger one. There are lots of financial institutions that have these sorts of products too.[...]

Putting the Fix on a Bad Credit Score

There are lots of things you can do to improve a bad credit score. That is, lots of things you can do over time because it takes time to get your credit score moving in the right direction and then moving faster. You need to build momentum and then follow that momentum. [... ]

The Credit Score Scale

Is there anyone on the planet that hasn’t yet heard of a credit score? Well, just in case you haven’t, it’s that nifty little number put together by the Fair Issac Corporation that purports to measure you credit worthiness. The higher the number the less of a risk you are said to be and the more likely you are to pay back any money loaned to you. [...]

Debit Card Protection

One thing that still confuses consumers about debit cards is the whole debit card protection or liability issue. Namely, what kind of protection against fraud or loss does a debit card have? Is it the same as for a credit card? If it’s different, how different is it? [...]

Money Reload Packs and You

Prepaid debit cards are great little financial tools . They help you budget and keep on track with your spending by never letting you overspend. That’s something credit cards don’t do very well. And reloading debit cards is easy too. [...]

Student Credit Card or Student Debit Card?

So your bambino is getting ready to trot off to college. It’s a big step and I’m sure you’re having a lot of conflicting feelings about it all. You want them to be happy, but for the most part you want them to be safe – physically and financially. So to protect them financially, you’re wondering what’s the best choice, a student credit card or a student debit card?

How to Avoid Credit Card Overdraft Fees

Oh those credit card overdraft fees. You can’t help but love them (and by “love them” I mean hate them with a passion). They come like uninvited guests when you least expect it and like those guests, they leave a mark. How in the world can you protect yourself against them? [...]

Why a Debit Card Application is a Breeze

Have you ever filled out a loan application? They can be pretty daunting. They always seem to ask you for information you never seem to have close at hand. Information like all your existing credit card numbers, balances, and monthly payments, basically everything is fair game. And if you have a car loan or a mortgage loan they’ll want that information too. [...]

Pros and Cons of a Payroll Debit Card

I was reading another news item about another company that was introducing prepaid debit cards as a payroll solution for their employees and I started thinking about the pros and cons of that switch. I think it makes sense to use a payroll debit card, it’s still a good idea to consider the issues on both sides. [...]

Be Smart and Eliminate Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt will suck you dry! It can be one of the longest lasting debts you will ever have. And at today’s interest rates, it can also be the most expensive. If you don’t do something about it, it can literally cripple your ability to spend your money on the most meaningful items in life – like a house, a college education, or retirement. [...]

The Secret Life of Bank Fees

Did you know that for years now the revenue generated for banks by their banking fees has been on the rise? It used to be that banks made the vast majority of their income from the interest they collected on the money they lent to home buyers and businesses. Now however, they make a great deal of money from the bank account fees they charge. [...]

How Do You Spell Credit Card Relief?

Well, it’s been just a few short months since the Credit CARD Act of 2009 went into effect and the results are promising. Just in case you weren’t paying attention, the CARD Act (AKA the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act) was designed to swing the credit card pendulum back in the direction of the consumers and away from the credit card companies. And it’s working; credit card relief is in sight. [...]

Can You Live With No Cash?

Lots of people have had to buckle down their finances in the last several months. For most, that’s meant cutting down on things and for some that’s meant cutting some things out completely. I’m no different. I’ve had to find some new ways to make ends meet. And while I was learning these new ways, I discovered something. I discovered I can actually go about my day-to-day living with no cash! [...]

Our Ever Changing Credit Card Bills

At long last, thanks to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, credit card companies have redesigned their monthly statements to actually give us some useful information. Now, the law requires that they list things in a clearer way so that we as consumers can make better and more informed choices about our money and our credit. [...]

The Smart Way to Make Credit Card Purchases

It sure has been an interesting time in the world of finance hasn’t it? Consumers have found out exactly where they stand with banks and credit card companies. And banks and other financial institutions have had their hands slapped a bit – though some would say not nearly hard enough. [...]

The Trap of Zero Percent Credit Cards

Are you still getting those zero percent credit card offers in the mail? I am. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t get them. My wife and I were thinking back the other day and realized that even in the days when our credit was poor or non-existent, we still received those offers. What’s the deal? [...]

The Future of Debit Card Payments

We’ve gotten to the point in our economic history where just about every aspect of our economic activity has some form of electronic payment attached to it. It may not be a direct electronic payment by you to your grocer, but it may be your grocer paying his payroll electronically or buying some or all of his supplies with an online transfer of money. Electrons are everywhere. [...]

Prepaid Debit Cards FAQ

There are a lot of questions that surround the use of prepaid debit cards. For instance, when people are first introduced to prepaid cards they usually ask how they differ from normal credit cards and what kinds of benefits they have. But soon after that come the questions about how to use them, how to reload them, and what kind of special features or personalized touches they carry with them. [...]

Reloadable Debit Cards

Reloadable debit cards are extremely convenient to use. They’re just like credit cards, only better. In fact, I think reloadable prepaid debit cards should be your first choice when it comes to personal financial spending tools. But let’s face it, these types of cards are not well known or perhaps easily understood. What makes them such a great tool? [...]

The Dreaded Credit Card APR

APR (otherwise known as Annual Percentage Rate) is that mystical number credit card companies tack onto your credit card bill. It’s the interest charges you pay if you don’t pay your outstanding balance in full each month. In short, it’s the amount of money your card company makes in return for extending you the credit in the first place. [...]

The Underbanked

The Underbanked is a term that’s used in the financial world to represent people or households that have very little or no relationship with any financial institution. Sometimes the term Unbanked is also used and while it’s difficult to know exact numbers, the general consensus is that there may be as many as 40 million households in the United States that fall into the Underbanked/Unbanked category. [...]

Bad Credit and Debit Cards

What’s the measure of bad credit? It may surprise you, but there is actually more than one way to measure whether or not you have good or bad credit. None of them are perfect because they only reveal part of the picture but individually or in combination, they can give you a pretty good idea of where you stand on the credit totem pole. [...]

Personalized Gift Cards

Personalized gift cards are really personalized prepaid debit cards that are spiced up just for gift giving. You load them up with money ahead of time (just as you would with prepaid debit cards) and you use them as if they were cash to purchase just about anything. That means you can take them to most retail stores and use them freely. [...]

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