Whether you are buying a pair of shoes, a coffee, a car or even an exotic holiday, you will be asked how you would like to pay. Conch shells, precious gems and rare metals have all been exchanged in the past for goods and services, but modern man uses money in the form of paper bank notes, non-precious metal coins and increasingly people are opting to pay with a credit-card, a conveniently small piece of plastic kept safe in their wallet or purse. Today there are more credit-cards then ever before and the boom in the industry since its inception in the 1920s has revolutionised the way people pay for their purchases and gain credit.

Credit cards are developments of earlier credit schemes employed by merchants. During the early introduction of the automobile, an American petrol station owner realised that people needed a form of credit to pay for petrol for their cars. The company provided customers with a card credit system, allowing them to pay for their purchase over a period of time to suit their individual circumstances. This service is recognised as the first credit card scheme in the world.

Today credit cards give consumers access to monetary credit. The account holder is issued with a card with which they can make purchases. These purchases are paid for by the credit card company and recorded against the account holders account. The credit card account holder is then sent a balance of their account monthly and they must pay a minimum amount agreed with the lender each month and also have the option to pay more back if they desire. If the account holder does not pay the total balance, an interest payment is accrued and charged to the account.

The explosion in the use of credit cards throughout the UK has been dramatic and is unlikely to change in the future, there are however downsides to the service as credit card providers charge consumers higher rates of interest than many other credit suppliers. As consumers have increasingly used credit-cards, personal debt has risen dramatically in the UK. During the 1990s, credit card debt rose to its highest level in history and it keeps increasing annually. Alternative methods of credit that accrue lower rates of interest are available, such as secured loans which can be more cost effective for consumers making planned purchases.

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Does your bad credit cause you to miss out on sweetheart deals or keep you from getting the things you want now?…on terms you can live with? Let me share a short story with you…A few years ago… I had horribly bad credit. Though it was mostly might own fault for the mess I was in…It deprived me of getting my dream house and all the other things I wanted and deserved. Which lead me on a journey…looking for any and all advice on how to do bad credit repair yourself I could find.

There are lots of ways for you and I to repair bad credit. It’s really quite easy once you know how…and I’m going to share with you some advice to help you repair bad credit yourself.

Step One– Getting your credit reports

Order your credit reports. Do you know whats on your credit reports? If you don’t you really should. Notice…I said “reports”. Why? because there are 3 major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) and each has it’s own data base. You can get 1 free credit report per year from each agency. Review your reports and make note of any errors, incomplete or false entries that aren’t yours.

Step Two– Know you rights…The Fair Credit Reporting Act

Before you contact the credit reporting agencies to dispute them…visit the federal trade commission website (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.shtm) and learn what your consumer rights are. Would you believe me?…if I told you that you can demand removal of any false or incomplete entries on your credit reports and the credit agencies MUST comply under penalty of federal law.

Step Three– Time to take action…Dispute the Credit Reporting Agencies

Now that you have an idea of whats on your reports…it’s time to challenge any discrepancies. Sit down and write a letter to each credit reporting agency about any erroneous entries…Now, don’t be afraid of the “credit police.” You see…these agencies are nothing more than a clearing houses who’s only purpose is to collect and store credit information on you and I… to sell that information to merchants that we apply to for credit.

They have no special power over us…they’re just in business to make a buck.

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These days, life without a credit card would be hard to imagine. We have become so used to the convenience of “plastic”, we don’t leave home without it. (Sound familiar?) While you can’t dispute the ease and convenience of not having to pay in cash at the supermarket, petrol pump or pub, here are some handy credit card reminders.

1) Say no to cash advances

Some people just don’t get it, but the bank does. The Interest-free periods offered on credit card accounts never apply to cash advances. In the majority of cases, you will pay interest on the cash right from the second you withdraw it from the ATM or over the counter. The dollar penalty can really add up, so it’s best not to do it. Ever.

2) Watch out for Store Cards. Loyalty can cost you

How often have you been at the cash register and asked if you would like to apply for a store card? Probably plenty of times. Department stores such as David Jones and Myer may offer you the benefits of customer discounts, added warranties and extended credit, but they aren’t cheap. Although you don’t pay an annual fee, the interest rate can be considerably higher (sometimes several percent) than alternative credit cards. It’s fine to use them for store specials and loyalty benefits, but pay the balance in full by the due date. In this way you avoid being whacked with huge interest charges.

3. Choose a card that matches your lifestyle.

Think about your spending habits and patterns. For example: if you use a card for extended credit and don’t pay off the full balance each month, just a basic payment, choose a card with a lower rate. It may not offer any interest-free period, but the lower interest rate should save you more dollars over time.

If you use your card for everyday groceries or filling up the car, go for credit card with maximum interest-free days. Make sure you pay it off in full each month. This way you get the benefit of up to 55 interest-free days on purchases, as well as rewards, discounts and frequent flyer points. But watch the annual fees on rewards cards.

4. Interest-free periods are void unless you pay in full

Don’t let your credit card get out of control. To avoid paying interest on your purchases, you must pay the full balance – that figure in black and white on your statement (not just the minimum payment required) by the due date. If you don’t, be warned. You will be charged interest right back to the date of purchase on each item. In effect, you forfeit the interest-free period on those purchases.

5. Search beyond the local banks

These days, there’s a lot more choice out there – not just the usual local banks. Look at credit unions, building societies, community banks, boutique and online banks. Chances are you may get offered better interest rates or lower fees than the big banks because these new providers are anxious to win business or they are non-profit organisations. We put this theory to the test. We tried HSBC and came up with 5 different types of credit card.

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You will always hear people complaining that charging money on credit cards is bad. This statement is not necessarily true. If you use credit cards the smart way they can be your best friends. First of all the credit card companies give you a lot of incentives to spend money that you don’t need to spend. When you borrow any money for over 30 days. You need to be able to reasonably justify spending that money. For example you can justify revolving a balance on a car repair bill. You need your car to work right so you can get around. With this kind of expense not having the money, just isn’t an option. So if you need to borrow money on a credit card for things like this, its ok to charge it. You don’t need to feel like your doing something wrong by doing this. However when you do things like go to the mall and spend money on junk you don’t need with your credit card. This is where you are being financially irresponsible. If you don’t have the cash to shop in a mall with, you shouldn’t be there. This sounds kind of harsh but it’s the truth. Today everyone is so used to just saying “I don’t care” when it comes to spending money on credit cards. It’s ok to have credit card debt. But you need to justify the money that you need to revolve from month to month.

Follow this rule anytime that you spend money from now on. Before you swipe that credit card to pay for something, ask yourself if this is something that you truly need to survive. If you answer yes to that question it is ok to charge that expense when you need to. If you answer no to that question then you need to have the cash before you purchase it. This is a simple concept to follow. But the question is are you smart enough to live by it. Over spending can get you in a lot of trouble with credit cards. Some of our readers know all to well what this is like. If you have trouble controlling the desire to spend with a credit card. Then the cards that you carry make it a rule that they only be used in certain places. For example you can carry one major credit card you only use to buy groceries and gas with. If your not in the grocery store and your not at the gas station you are not allowed to use that card. Make rules like this to control your spending and live by them. Write it on the card if you need to. This tends to be more of a psychological approach to controlling an overspending problem. Using credit cards only for the things you need like this you will find you will not have as many problems paying the bills every month. This is because when you borrow money only for the things you need. Your overall debt won’t get out of control. If you feel like it’s too late and you have messed up your finances to the point where they can’t be fixed. Don’t worry your problem might not be as bad as you think that it is. If you feel that you need professional help with your debt. Go get a free debt consultation with i debt assistance. Go to EZ Credit Card Center’s website and find debt consolidation in the main menu. Fill out the form on the landing page for debt assistance. They can help you gain control of your finances again and get you out of debt to the point where you can live more comfortably in no time. You can also find credit card offers on that site to transfer high interest debt to. If you pay your bills on time for the most part you can most likely qualify for one of the 0% balance transfer credit cards you can find there. You can save a lot of money on interest rates by transferring your debt to one of these cards. Make it a point if you get a card like that to just pay on that credit account. Cut the card up when you get it because you really shouldn’t use it if your trying to pay down your transferring balance. If you don’t get approved for a balance transfer credit card.

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Are you struggling to meet your mortgage payments? Are you wondering what you can do to sort this out? There may be a series of actions that you can take to deal with this.

First thing to do is to tell your lender that you are struggling to meet your payments – it is better to get them involved as early as possible as they may be able to help you.

Look also at the type of mortgage that you have – if it is a repayment mortgage you may be able to move to “interest only” payments for a period of time. This would reduce your monthly payments because you would not be paying off any capital in these payments. You have to bear in mind that the amount of mortgage outstanding that you have will not be reducing if you do this and therefore it’s possibly only sensible to do this if you think that you are only struggling with payments temporarily.

An obvious thing to do is to look at your expenses – is there anything you can do to reduce your monthly outgoings either for a period of time or permanently? This may mean that you have to give up some luxuries but it could mean that you keep on top of your mortgage.

You may also be on the lender’s “standard variable rate” mortgage. This is the rate that you normally go on to once any fixed-rate deal has expired. The standard variable rate is often not the cheapest rate available in the market. In these circumstances it may be worthwhile reviewing your mortgage.

Re-mortgaging may be a way to reduce your monthly payments to a more manageable level. In doing this you should make sure that you will not be paying more for your mortgage in the long run. Use a mortgage comparison site that let’s you compare mortgages on a “true cost” basis. The site should cover the whole of the market, be free to you to use and should be independent of all lenders, not influenced by how much the lender pays them or by lender advertising. Importantly it should allow you to apply direct to the lender rather than force you to speak to a broker. Struggling with mortgage payments can be stressful but there are actions you can take to reduce the worry.