The House and Senate are each looking to pass through a Bill of Rights for Credit Card relief for taxpayers. It sounds promising and the fact that they are also limiting minors from being solicited is a good thing. My one major concern is what will the ultimate backlash be in terms of credit card companies in what they will try to do to get higher fees, etc. Ah, there is no sense in worrying over things that haven’t happened yet.
Rules of engagement are:
1. Pay down as much of your credit as you can to stay solvent.
2. Try to keep some savings. The rationale behind this is that credit card companies can (and they have already started doing this) lowering your limits and jacking up their rates before any legislation gets through. If you need to charge something on a card, make it a small item and pay it off quickly if you want to try and keep a line of credit open in case you need it. On a go forward basis, try to use cash though or as people are using, their debit cards instead of credit cards. Interesting to know and note that there is better legislation to protect you for credit card use than debit card use, huh? Hopefully that will get addressed in one of the bills going through Congress one of these days. Make sure you write Congress on that item as well along with trying to create jobs, will you please?
3. Do what works for you. Web pundits are arguing over whether you should pay off debt or save money since paying off debt doesn’t really insure that the debt can be borrowed later on if the issuer decides to freeze your credit. The flip side is if interest rates go up, you will be dinged big time so you need to crunch the numbers yourself.
4. Your number one goal is to take care of you and your family. If something is working for you, making you some money, creating some savings, go ahead and continue it. Just be aware of financial situations and that they can change in a moment’s notice these days.
5. Stay healthy. The current swine flu scare appears over rated and do what you can to stay in great shape and spirits.
Talk with you later and have a great May and a great weekend.
May 01 2009 Mid Day
If you are looking for a day job, part time work, suggestions for saving money or investing, please check out my book, Practical Money Making, that is listed right after his paragraph in this very post. There are some great suggestions and ways to survive the Depression we are in.
Interested in any of my books? You may want to make a stop over here. Please click through to purchase my books and some other interesting items that actually ARE on sale.
Have you read my book, “Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax Idea“? Please order it today. The tips inside can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars! Tax planning should be done year round and not just two weeks into January or later.
Part of all the proceeds from the sales of that book go to Rett Syndrome research. One girl is born with Rett Syndrome worldwide every fifteen minutes. My daughter Arianna has Rett Syndrome and we are working to do all we can to make her life easier and find a cure in her lifetime. Boys born with the Rett gene generally die at birth.
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
Credit Card Relief On Its Way Or Is It
Tags: Business, credit card