Charge Responsibly Blog

Prepaid credit cards are convenient for those people who do not have access to traditional credit card approval, because they are available to people who even have terrible credit histories and a really low credit score. Normally credit card companies want to reduce their risk – which mean the risk that those they lend money to will fail to repay the debt – by using credit scores and other means of predicting how responsible the cardholder will be. But that is no necessary with a prepaid credit card because the cash that backs up the debt – and covers any credit card charges or monthly payments due on the outstanding balance – is already on deposit.
 
There is no guesswork regarding whether or not the cardholder will have enough money saved to cover the credit card balance, in other words, because the cash needed to do that is already in a secure account. That makes it easy to get a credit card through the prepaid credit card approach, but what ...

The market for prepaid credit cards is one of the fastest-growing segments of the multi-billion dollar credit card industry, and it is expected to continue to swell in 2010. Much of the reason for this surge is that prepaid credit cards are being marketed and advertised much more effectively – even being issued by famous pop stars whose logos appear on the cards as a kind of status symbol perk.

But the biggest fuel behind the prepaid credit card boom is, unfortunately, bad credit. Those who have bad credit due to a credit history that involves bankruptcy, mortgage default, or some other major problem cannot get traditional credit cards. During the recession millions of people found themselves suddenly in that unfortunate situation. And without a credit card it is not just inconvenient but sometimes hard to do simple things like rent a car. So people turn to prepaid cards as a way to get some plastic in their wallets until they have a chance to get their credit histories ...

Payday loans – or payday cash advance loans – have become increasingly popular during the recession as people struggle to make ends meet and avoid missing payments or bouncing checks when money runs low but bills still have to be paid. But those who are experts in personal finance warn that the ridiculously high interest rates that companies charge to provide these short term loans is a one of the biggest lender rip-offs in America.

They point out that in terms of annual percentage rate or APR, the interest charged on a typical payday cash loan transaction is as much as 40 times what other lenders charge. They feel that these loans are such a bad deal for consumers that they should only be used in a dire emergency, when borrowing for a week or two to tide you over until payday will prevent you from incurring more serious financial consequences.

If your car needs to be repaired in order to get you to work, for example, ...

Most Americans have no idea that the US Treasury Department, which is the government agency that prints and issues money, goes to great lengths to help people whose money has been partially destroyed. If you have a house fire, for example, and your paper money gets burned, the US Treasury may be able to exchange some of that damaged money for new bills.

You might accidentally rip up some money by dropping your wallet underneath the lawn mower. Perhaps you wind up washing some old delicate bills in the washing machine by mistake and are disappointed to learn that they fell apart during the spin cycle. You can’t take that money to the store and expect anyone to accept it, and chances are you just consider it lost for good. But the good news is that US Treasury has an entire department dedicated to sorting out this kind of problem for people whose money has gotten badly damaged through some innocent mistake or mishap.

In one case, for example, a fellow ...

These days it is common for couples who are not legally married to live together, buy property together, and live the same kind of life that traditional married couples do. But they should be aware that they do not have the same legal protections as legally married couples. That’s because most tax laws, legislation regarding inheritance of estates, and many real estate laws favor legally married couples while they fail to recognize unmarried couples in the same way. You can live with your partner as an unmarried couple for decades, for example, but if one of you dies the surviving partner may have absolutely no legal claims to the house or other assets that you have shared together as a couple.

That is why unmarried couples should seek out a qualified attorney and draw up special documents that clearly state each person’s intentions, possessions, and financial responsibilities and obligations. A skilled lawyer can, for instance, create documents that offer legal ...