“I’d like to purchase a mobile phone,” I told the guy at the store. He had me fill an application, and after a few minutes, came back to me and said, “I’m sorry, we can’t give you a contract. You don’t have any credit history.” I arrived at the US in 1999 with no credit […]
Rather recently, I received some disturbing news: The PlayStation Network had been compromised. I have a credit card stored on PSN, so I was immediately concerned about what could happen to my credit card number. I figured that I would need to be on the look out for fraudulent charges. But then, after some thought, […]
In the wake of the GFC (global financial crisis) consumer credit laws have become tougher and more defined. In essence what this means is that consumers can enjoy better terms and conditions than pre-GFC. Much has been said and written when our nations came tumbling down. The USA suffered more so than Australia but both […]
I’m always amazed when I look at my credit card statements and see the huge gap between the “New Balance” and the “Minimum Payment Due.” On a recent statement: New balance $5,749. Minimum due $115. APR 13.24%. Penalty APR 27.24% (!) With credit card interest inching higher every year, how can it possibly be a […]
Did you know that most New Year’s Resolutions are eventually broken? Some experts say that it just doesn’t make sense to make them – you end up disappointing yourself. But I still think New Year’s, or the beginning of each year, is a good time to reflect on the past and decide on things to […]
We keep hearing that, since the recession, cash is king. But is it really? It’s true that if you pay with cash, rather than using a credit card or financing you get an automatic “discount”, since you aren’t paying interest charges. However, you can accomplish the same thing if you pay with a credit card […]
