When it comes to borrowing money, it’s important to understand all aspects of the loan – not just your payment amount, interest rate, and number of payments to be made. There are many different types of loans including personal loans, auto loans, consolidation loans, mortgages, home equity, etc., however they all fall into one of 2 categories: secured or unsecured.
Continue reading “Secured vs. Unsecured Loans – What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter”When it comes to understanding your credit score, it can be tricky to figure out how it all works. Should you use your credit card for purchases and pay it off, should you keep a balance for a little while, should you get a new credit card or cancel old ones you don’t use? It can be confusing. If you don’t currently have any credit card balances, you might be wondering what you can do to maintain or even boost your current credit score a little. Should you consider making a few purchases and charging them to your card and paying it over a few months vs. in full? After all, you don’t want the credit bureaus to forget that you know how to be responsible with credit. But how is carrying a balance really affecting your credit?
Continue reading “Carrying a balance on your credit card – how does it affect your credit score?”I often joke – never mug a banker since we never carry cash! As a consumer, you know how important it is to be able to use a credit or debit card when making purchases. In fact, it’s surprising how many people don’t carry any cash on them and not every business will accept a personal check – although less and less people are using those as well! So as a business owner, whether big or small, a startup or seasoned, you know that accepting credit and debit card payments from your customers is crucial to your all around success.
Continue reading “Merchant Payment Solutions – it’s more than just accepting credit and debit cards”With the popularity and ease, it’s no surprise that online fundraising raises millions of dollars in charitable giving for the nonprofit industry every year. To increase your donations, it’s important to provide your donors a variety of ways they can help support your organization.
Taking advantage of every donation opportunity is an important priority for any nonprofit organization. If you’re planning to grow your donation growth for the next fiscal year, here are five tips that may help.
Continue reading “Increase your donation dollars with payment options”The term credit card churning is relatively new, but the process has been around for years. So, what is credit card churning? It’s the practice of repeatedly opening and closing a credit card to earn its signup bonus over and over. Churners amass tons of reward points or airline miles from credit cards that they have no intention of continuing to use or even keep open. You’ve probably seen ads or even received offers in your email or mailbox from credit cards that offer valuable points, miles, or cash back to new account holders. Most also require you to charge a certain amount of money to the card within a certain period in order to receive the new card bonus.
Continue reading “Credit Card Churning: What is it and Should You be Doing it”One of the biggest milestones in your life is graduating from college. It’s a symbol of independence and the start of your life as an adult. You’ll be on the hunt for a new job, a possible new place to live (Mom and Dad’s isn’t that bad, right?), and starting to manage your own money, including paying back those student loans. You don’t want to start your finances off on the wrong foot or overextend yourself from the get-go. Continue reading “Money Managing tips for Recent Graduates”
Everyone knows that you shouldn’t rack up credit card debit and you should only charge items/services that you can afford to pay in full when your monthly statement comes in. But for most people, it’s just not feasible. Emergencies happen, unexpected car repairs are needed, the list goes on and one. But maxing out your credit cards can have a sever impact on your credit score. Continue reading “Limiting your credit card balances – How to pay off your credit cards when paying in full isn’t an option”
You’ve booked the flights and hotel, packed everything you need from bathing suits to running shoes, and set up someone to house sit and take care of the pets – you’ve covered all your bases for the start of an amazing vacation, right?! Almost! Setting up your finances prior to shuttling off to the airport requires some work. A short cash supply and a frozen credit/debit card during your trip can put a damper on your vacation really quick so make sure you take care of these before departing! Continue reading “Travel alerts – who should I call and why”
The presents have been opened and put away, the tree and holiday decorations have been taken down or will be shortly, and the credit card bills start rolling in – UGH! No one wants to start the New Year off in a pile of debt, but it’s a pretty easy trap to fall into and it can be paralyzing! Continue reading “Overwhelmed with Debt? 6 Steps to Get You Headed in the Right Direction”
If you’re anything like me, you’re incredibly tempted several times a day to spend money on something that you don’t really need. A diet coke from the vending machine, a coffee from Dunkin on the way to work, or that pack of gum by the checkout register. Whatever it is, you spend a few dollars on it – or maybe a few more than a few dollars. And then you forget about it.
