Low Interest Credit Cards

This week is Credit Karma Spring Cleaning week! We’ll be blogging all week about spring cleaning tips related to your finances and the rest of your life.

To me, spring cleaning means reevaluating the way you do things and asking yourself how you can “clean up” your habits. It also means finding ways to save money in the process; and I’m always looking for ways to live more frugally.

I’m sharing some of my frugal findings when it comes to spring cleaning habits to work into your everyday routine.

Reevaluate Your Personal Hygiene

Let’s start with something personal: your hygiene. There are ways you can “clean up” your hygiene that make good financial sense.

First off, I’ve taken the “no-poo” (or “less-poo”) challenge. I read about it over on LearnVest and I was intrigued. Now, I wash my ha

Read more…

In last week’s post, we brushed up on the basics about credit score differences between credit bureaus and even within the same credit bureau. Now, let’s discuss the significance that three digit number might have to lenders looking at your credit.

Let’s take a look at your credit range, here based on TransUnion’s range used by Credit Karma, and how it influences your chance to access credit.

Poor Credit Score: 300 to low 500s

Your credit is in bad shape due to a derogatory remark on your credit, like a bankruptcy or foreclosure, or some poor credit choices in the past. Typically, lenders won’t extend credit to a consumer with a poor credit score. Consumers with scores this low are considered high-risk or subprime borrowers. Those who

Read more…

With all kinds of special promotions available, rewards programs offered, and different store and brand affiliations, it’s no wonder people are tempted to add more credit cards to their wallets. From Visa to MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, the choices for credit card issuers and offers go on and on. It can be challenging to select the perfect card for your needs, so sometimes accepting more than one credit card offer gives an easy solution. But when it comes down to it, how many credit cards is too many?

“There are two ways to look at this, depending on your objective,” says Gail Cunningham, Vice President of Public Relations at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “A person really only needs two general purpose credit cards. One is the card where they charge their everyday purchases and pay off the balance in full at the end of the month.

Read more…

The personal payments space has been heating up lately, with Visa announcing its Personal Payments system, Amex rolling out its digital payment and commerce platform called Serve, and MasterCard also forming its plans for its own personal payments offering.

Not to be left behind, Discover has partnered with PayPal to establish its own payments system dubbed Discover Money Messenger. Discover Money Messenger allows Discover Card holders to send money to nearly anyone for free, and earn rewards on the money sent at the same time.

As the person sending the money, you do not need to have a PayPal account. The recipient of the funds, however, does need to have a PayPal account to claim the funds, though they need not be a Discover cardholder.

Sending money is free and the amount is charged to your Discover card account like a purchase that earns rewards.

Read more…

If you’re thinking about traveling this summer, you should also plan out ways to save money while you travel.

Instead of racking up expensive hotel bills, why not choose a more affordable alternative?

Here some of our favorite suggestions for travel stays on the cheap.

Airbnb

Calling itself a “community marketplace for unique spaces,”Airbnb is a network of individuals with space to spare and people who are looking for places to stay. When you’re planning a trip, go to Airbnb and search for your travel destination to find a space available for your travel dates. You can stay in places ranging from this cabin-like art studio in San Diego for $55 per night, this homey, spare bedroom near Charleston, South Carolina, for $50 per night, or this small room in New York City for just $40 per night.

If you have some space to spare and want to make some extra dough, you can also list your space on Airbnb. You’ll

Read more…