Reward Cards in Gas Stations Are Not So Rewarding

With gas prices continuing to increase it is practical for consumers to constantly feel the need to look for ways to save money. One of the ways that consumers think they can save is picking up a rewards credit from gasoline stations. However, according to experts, this strategy is not very effective at all, even if you buy plenty of fuel.

This tactic by gasoline stations is not a very good deal for drivers and car owners at all. Not only is it realistic, its terms and deals are also misleading.

Consumers do not always have the liberty to choose what gas station they will pull up in, most especially when their tank is going low and the car really needs to be fueled with more gas.

Furthermore, the price of gas continually rises in the international market, making primary necessities rise along with it. These prizes that gas stations offer is often misinterpreted by consumers. For example, the Shell card which gives 5 cents as a discount for every gallon you purchase. There is a draw back to the deal, this is only applicable for customers who fuel up 45 gallons in a month. When you buy more than 100 dollars from the establishment in a month the deal is off.

According to Consumer Reports, CostCo memberships are actually more helpful to your wallet than these gas station rewards credits. An Amazon credit card even offers you more than twice the number of rewards you can get from gas companies. The same thing can be said for other Chase credit cards. These cards may not really get you a huge discount; however you can choose to use the rewards you get on any gas station.

The rewards credit cards from gas stations do not only rob you about $60 in a yearly basis, they also cost you a high APR.

Habits You Should Adapt

Having a hard time with recording your customers’ accounts? Are your efforts in trying to settle transactions and invoices seem to be all in vain? Well, worry no more; here are four very useful tips in getting back on your feet and getting the good credit score you deserve.

Have a good bookkeeping system; it is not enough to just give the sales invoice to your client. You should incorporate the sales invoice when you give the items and follow up when the client fails to pay on time. Make it a habit to call and follow up the late payments whenever a customer has not paid on the deadline you agreed on. You have to set a specific waiting period like about a week or two to make another follow up call. When you make the client hear from you regularly, the more likely he is going to be able to settle the account.

This is one way for you to teach clients to be punctual in paying and settling liabilities. Make sure you treat all your customers equally.

Make yourself and your policies heard, the whole work team and customers must be aware of the company’s policy in order to work more effectively and harmoniously. Be transparent with your regulations, make sure they understand from the very beginning what you stand for and what terms you have. Set the date for the dues of payments, have this printed out in paper before you make a final deal with a client. This will help customers to pay and to settle their accounts on time.

Check every invoice; you never know they could contain wrong names. Though your loyal employees may know you by a nickname, your clients may not. In fact, it is more professional to see your right ABN and other details on the receipt.

Be consistent; do not think that your customers’ habits will remain the same. Always monitor transactions, even when the client has been inactive. It is smart to have a software that checks transactions and ABNs fast, like the CreditorWatch.

5 Tips on How to Increase Credit Score

Life would be much easier if you have a good credit score. However, it would be very difficult if you have poor credit score. So, here are five tips that might help if you want to improve your credit score.

First, apply for a free credit report. Every year, you can apply for a free copy of your credit history from all or either of the three credit reporting agencies. These are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Also, you can get your free credit history online through the website www.annualcreditreport.com.

Second, analyze your credit report. The credit report contains personal information about you, for instance, your payment history or the number of loans and your total amount of debt. Evaluate the contents of your credit report so that you can make better decisions in terms of your finances and remember that your credit report is the basis of your credit score.

Third, assess your credit report. You should assess your credit report from time to time for possible erroneous or incomplete information.

Fourth, avoid late or overdue payments. Paying your bills punctually is the main factor that determines your credit score and it shows that you are trustworthy. Other factors that might affect your credit score include having too many loans, exceeding your credit limits, or paying on time.

Fifth, ask for help from professionals.  A credit counseling agency can help you if your debts are too high or you do not have enough money to pay your bills. They will assist you by budgeting your finances or work out a strategy to settle your debt.

However, be cautious of these services because you might be asked to pay very high fees, which might place you under more debt. For more information concerning credit counseling agencies and in what ways they can assist you to increase your credit score, visit the Federal Trade Commission.

Credit Unions Assist People with No Credit

If you are aspiring to open a small business, for instance, landscaping, you will more likely need a loan. However, if you do not have any credit at all, going to a bank will be useless because they will not give you the loan.

In this case, a credit union will be your solution. It is the only financial institution that will be eager to help you develop a credit report. Unlike banks, they will have faith in you and appreciate your business plan.

Take for example Landscapes by Martin. It is already a successful local business and the owner was assisted by a credit union, Cornerstone.

However, Cornerstone Credit Union has reached its limit on the total of business loans they can give. This indicates they might not be able to help some of the aspiring small business owners, like that of Landscapes by Martin, if the Congress does not provide any form of assistance.

Both Senator Charles Grassley and Senator Tom Harkin are advised to vote for the Credit Union Small Business Jobs Bill. This bill aims to increase the lending limit so that more small businesses will be provided some kind of help by the credit unions.

Cornerstone, a small local credit union, is a reliable financial institution, owned by the locals, and it is also not-for-profit. It is located in Iowa and works together with small businesses to provide jobs for the locals.

According to the owner of Landscapes by Martin, because of the trust of Cornerstone, the small local landscaping business has been able to employ people, and the jobs they have are very important to them.

If the senators of Iowa vote for the Credit Union Small Business Jobs Bill, it will be a huge help to the small business owners. Moreover, increasing the lending limit is advantageous for the economy of Iowa.

Lenders Take Risks on Bad Credit Once Again

A lot of people would think that the country and its lending industry learned something positive from transactions with those who have poor credit, following the very gloomy recession in the years of 2008 to 2010, and also after the associated trend of foreclosures, repossessions, defaults and personal bankruptcies.

On the other hand, the opposite is taking place at this point in time.

A few of the major lenders are starting to return into making loans for borrowers with bad credit. These are different from the go-go years paving the way to the breakdown in 2008, when lenders would lend money to borrowers with poor credit, or in the situation of liar loans, zero credit at all. After everything that occurred, one does not necessarily have to be too scared to worry that, once initiated and considering the strong competitiveness of the lending industry, this trend will go faster.

Based on some reports coming from Equifax, one of the three credit reporting bureaus, 1.1 million worth of new credit cards was given by lender during the month of December in the previous year to those consumers with bad credit. There was an increase of more than 12 percent compared to December of the year 2010.

In addition, 23 percent of new car loans were made up of borrowers with bad credit for the fourth quarter in the previous year. There was an increase of 17 percent when compared with the fourth quarter of the year 2009.

Also, reports coming from Times state that car loans are being bundled and it earned roughly $11.7 billion in the previous year when it was sold as securities. There was an increase when compared to the sales of $2.17 billion in the year 2008.

This might be a warning to the country and its lending industry for another credit meltdown.