Payday Loans Blog

Traveling and vacations are activities that many families love to do, and something that can bring a family closer together. However, they can also end up causing you unnecessary stress and headaches if you're not well prepared.  Lucky for you, I have run accross some great tips for traveling. There are some that are specific to International Traveling, which can actually save you a lot of hastle when traveling abroad. Internation travel tips are listed first.

Tips for Traveling Internationally:

• Register with the State Department- Register your travel plans with the State Department, so that if something should happen in the United States or some other type of emergency with travel, etc., you can be contacted. Don't worry about the safety of your information, due to the Privacy Act, your information will not be shared with anyone. Visit the following website for more information and to register your travel plans. https://travelregistration.state.gov.
• Make Sure to Sign your Passport and Leave Copies of Your Travel Documents with Trusted Family and Friends- Leave copies of all important documents with a friend or family member to ensure that you can be contacted in an emergency.
• Get Overseas Medical Insurance- If your own medical insurance doesn't cover you overseas or abroad, be sure to check to see if there is some kind of cheap insurance you can get for a temporary amount of time while traveling.
  
• Be Sure to Check International Laws and Policies of the Country You are Traveling In/Through- If you are planning on traveling through or being in the country of choice for an extended period of time, be sure to check the laws and policies, so that you don't get caught doing something illegal.

• If traveling by air, book in non-peak times. This may allow for empty seats, and therefore it will be easier for them and you to stretch out and relax or even take a nap if they are grumpy.
  
• When traveling by car, only give out treats every few hours. Handing out treats too liberally when in the car can either make your children too wound up, and can also cause them to lose their apetite when it is time for a meal.
  
• Leave early and plan extra time, no matter what you are doing or where you are going. Little children are always slower to travel with and may create other travel problems.
  
• Take Extra Clothes for Both your Children and Yourself- Children spill a lot, and it usually ends up being all over you and themselves. Be sure to take a an extra change of clothes in your small travel bag so that you can have some extra no matter where you are.
  

Check City can help you too when you are traveling by offering you a netspend Prepaid Debit Card which can be used much the same way as a credit card and anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted worldwide. This card can offer you the same benefits of a credit card without all the hastle.  We also offer payday advances and quick loans to help you on your way to financial independence.

A new prepaid debit card called the Campus Dough DebitSmart™ Visa® Prepaid Card is supposed to help students, and their parents better manage their money and finances, according to the Miami Herald, who reported that both Florida and Colorado schools are currently looking into the program.  This reloadable card is being called the first of its kind and it is helping students find many new ways to manage their finances as well as save money. The card gives students discounts in places they often shop as well as providing online, easy to understand banking solutions. 

Discounts:

The discounts offered on this new card, are from 5-60% off at places that college students are known to frequently go to in the area. Students and parents alike are looking forward to the freedom and financial stability it can help offer students, and the great benefits and discounts it has to offer. 

Fees:

This card does not carry the traditional penalties and fees that come with a credit card, such as overdraft penalties and late payment fees because of the prepaid nature of the card. Check City has a similar card for you as well. Get the netspend Prepaid Debit Card from Check City to help you better manage your finances while avoiding fees and other penalties and interest that comes with a traditional credit card. 

Application Process:

There is no card application and all students are eligible for the card. Visit www.campusdough.com to check out all of the specifications and benefits that a prepaid debit card can offer you. 

After months in the dumps, Credit Card companies and businesses are finally rejoicing as monthly credit card data are slowly improving.  Data was taken from major companies, Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), Discover Financial Services (DFS), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC).  These companies report that while their credit losses are still at high levels, they seem to be leveling off for the first time in a while. They are also reporting that deliquency payments are slowing as people either catch up to the bad economy or the economy starts to turn around.

Card companies point to decline in delinquency as one of the top predictors of growth and turn around.  They are however, still a little unsure about how quickly the turn around will happen.  Some point to summer as a definite turning point, but the outlook is still a little unsure. 

Now that many companies are seeing a turn around however, new problems may be "biting" into their profits in the form of the recent Credit Card Act that has been put into place. 

However long it takes though, many Americans are just happy to see growth for the first time in literally years. 

Check City offers consumers another way to get the benefits of credit cards without having to make monthly payments with their Prepaid Debit Cards. With a prepaid card you deposit money onto the card according to how much you have to spend, or think you will want or need, and then when you run out, the card is void until more money is added. You won't have to worry about monthly payments or overdraft fees. Visit Check City Online today to learn more about our netspend Prepaid Debit Card.

Is your password 123456 or the name of your favorite chocolate dessert? Chances are you are among the many millions of internet users who have passwords that are easy to crack. Taking a look at the statistics of hacked accounts confirms this theory.  In an article published by Wired magazine, out of 10,000 hotmail accounts cracked in the study, 64 had the password of 123456, another 42% of the passwords were lowercase only letters from a-z and only 6% mixed alpha, numeric and other symbols to create their passwords. However, you are in luck because there are a few simple rules you can follow to help make the chances of your account getting hacked less likely.

1. Know what not to use: Don't use short passwords consisting of easy to crack numbers, names and all lowercase words and letters.
2. Choose at least 8 characters. Many sites require this anyway on their passwords, but the longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Also, mix numbers, characters and upper and lowercase letters.
3. Don't use numbers or names that are easily connected with you such as birthdates, children's names, phone numbers, etc.
   
4. Choose a phrase or sentence that seems random and non-sensical and then mix it up. The example given by wired is "My son Aiden is three years old." Your password would then be "MsAi3yo" or to make it more complicated you could make it "M$Ai3yo".
5. Use phrases, and substitute numbers and letters and capitalize randomly. Such as "P3skY Ra881Ts" 

These are just a few of the many helpful hints you could use to make your online and even paper accounts more secure. If you are worried about forgetting any passwords, make a notebook or other place where all of your passwords and their corresponding accounts are located, so that you will always have a place to look if you forget your password. Taking these few easy steps should help you avoid fraud, not only with your internet accounts but with your banks and financial accounts as well.

Check City offers Financial Services to help you avoid fraud. With our netspend Prepaid Debit Card you must deposit all of the money onto the card before you can use it, and with no overdraft or late payment fees, if the card gets stolen, all they will be able to do is use up the rest of the money. You don't run the risk of tons of personal information being lost. Visit Check City Online or in a Store Location to learn more about the great features of a Prepaid Debit Card. 

One of the biggest financial problems in America today is the issue of Credit Card debt. Many Americans, especially with the bad economy, are finding themselves in massive amounts of credit card debt. Fortunately many financial aid and financial advisement centers have been popping up, as well as articles and tips on how to elminate or at least reduce your credit card debts. This is why I want to share some of what I've learned with you; so that you have yet another place to go for advice on how to get yourself and your finances back on track.  Don't forget either about all of the amazing financial services Check City has to offer, from Prepaid Debit Cards, which eliminate fees and other problems often associated with credit cards, to our discount Tax Services. Visit us today to learn about all the ways you can save.

Here are a few easy steps to help reduce and eliminate your debt.

1. Pull out all of your credit cards and all of your latest credit card statements, regardless of if you receive them online or by mail.
   
2. Total up all of your outstanding debt, and minimum payments required by each card each month, based on your current debt.
   
3. Make a list, based on interest, with the highest interest credit card at the top, and work your way down. This way you know which card you need to keep a low balance on and pay off first each month.
   
4. Total the minimum monthly payment of all cards combined, so that you will know the minimum amount you will have to pay each month. See if you can come up with any extra money in your budget to pay over the  minimum payment, to avoid extra debt, and pay off your cards quicker.
5. Each month, pay at least the minimum payment, and pay it on time.  For the card with the highest amount of interest, make sure to pay any extra money you have saved up towards the card with the highest interest.
6. Continue doing this until all debts are paid off, and the more you can pay for things with cash or checks, the better.

Banks are becoming more and more cautious about consumer loans, and required credit scores are needing to be higher and higher to get loans and good rates on those loans. So, what exactly is a credit score and what determines this credit score? There are some classic mistakes that many people make when it comes to their finances, and these mistakes can be very costly, especially when it comes to your credit score, also known as your FICO score. Your FICO score is an actual numerical number given to measure your credit and it ranges between 300 and 850. 

What has changed?

This past year alone, probably in part because of the economy, businesses and companies have raised their requirements for credit cards, loans, and other things that require credit by an average of 30 points.  This means that the best loans can only be gotten with a credit score at around 760 or higher. 

5 Categories of the FICO Score:

There are five categories that help to determine your FICO credit score. 

1. How much Debt you have
2. Your Payment History
3. Your Debt Utilization Ratio (how much you owe in relation to your credit limits)
   
4. How far back your Credit History goes
5. Your Mix of Various Types of Credit

These are the five categories of credit and there are also five mistakes that you can make to damage or even ruin your credit score.

The Five Credit Killers:

1. Late Payments: A single late payment on a credit card payment could dock your score by up to 110 points with an already good score, and 80 points for those with a lower score. The best thing to do to help improve your score then, is to make payments on time. This is the number one reason that credit scores are lower.  The longer you are late on payments, the worse your credit score will be, and the longer you go without missing or having a late payment, the quicker your credit score will return to normal.
2. A Large Balance: A large balance is another big killer of the FICO score. Carrying too much debt will cost a fortune in interest and can really ruin your credit score.  So pay your bills on time, and pay off as much debt as you can at a time. 
3. Closing a Credit Line: With credit card companies constantly raising rates and with the new inactivity fees to compensate for lost revenue, it may be tempting to close your accounts.  Closing a line of credit however, could negatively affect your credit score. It often depends on the credit limit on your other lines of credit, and the amount you owe on each card.
4. Opening a Credit Line: Opening a new credit line can also knock a few points off. This is simply because in order to open a new account your score must be checked and each time someone checks your credit, it knocks a few points off of your score. It is usually only a very small hit averaging from 5 to 15 points and it will only remain on your score for 6 months. 
5. Defaulting on a Loan: This is the single worst thing you can do for your credit score.  Foreclosing on a home can dock you by up to 200 points, and a short scale could knock you by anywhere from 80-90 points.  Declaring bankruptcy could lower a good score by up to 250 points.  Most negative information remains on your credit score for 7 years, but bankruptcy stays on for 10 years because of the serious nature of it. 

Your score can be raised by keeping your balance low, and always making your payments on time.  If your score has dropped for any reason, you can probably have it back to good within 2 years by following those few simple rules.

If you have good credit and want to avoid messing up, continue to make payments on your credit cards and use them for small expenses, and get a netspend Prepaid Debit Card from Check City.  With a netspend Prepaid Debit Card you will have to deposit any money onto the card that you would like to use. When the limit, or money you have put onto the card has been all used up, you will have to deposit more onto the card in order to spend more.  You don't have to worry about fees, or over the limit fees.  Visit Check City Online today to learn all about our Prepaid Visa cards which can be used anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted worldwide. 

Whether or not you are a betting man or woman and whether or not you watched the season, many people get into March Madness. It's something that many people can relate to. Everyone knows someone that went to college even if you didn't go yourself.  You may have loyalties to your hometown area or even relatives that attend a school somewhere. Almost everyone can connect themselves in someway to a college or university sports team.  If you are one of the select few that can't, March Madness can still be fun to watch and when you pick a team to cheer for it can become personal.

Don't worry though if you can't put together a perfect bracket. According to Sportsuntapped.com the odds of picking a perfect bracket are literally 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 1. That is nine quintillion to one, so chances are, you won't pick that perfect bracket, and neither will anyone else.  Here are some tips though of how you can get as close as possible and pick a great bracket. 

It really comes down to picking smart.   According to history here are some of the smarter picks for the first round.

1. A number 16 seed has never, and I repeat NEVER upset a number 1 seed. Sad for the 16 seed, good for you if you are picking brackets.
   
2. Number 2 and 3 seeds have records of 88-4 and 81-15 respectively in their March Madness history.
3. 4 seeds also have a strong winning record but after that is where it gets hard.
4. In the middle is where the upsets begin. Seeds 5-12 often yeild quite a few upsets in the matchups and you should look more specifically at the teams for the first round picks.
   

Subsequent round choices become a little harder because all of the teams moving on have proven themselves to be a good team. One analyst recommends picking your final four and working backwards.

1. Don't put all four 1st seeds into the final four. According to stats this has only happened once since 1985.  But at the same time, don't leave out all of the 1st seeds, this has also only happened once since 1985. 
2. Lower seeds, according to history, don't very often make it to the final four. Most often the final four is made up of seeds 1-4. Only 10 teams have ever made it through as a 5th or lower seed and only 2 below an 8 seed. 
3. Championship teams have almost always had final 4 experience. The last time a team made it to the championship without ever being in the final four was in 1945. 
4. Even though Cinderella stories are nice, a 1 or 2 seed almost always wins the whole thing. 
5. This may be the best tip of all.  Make sure the team you choose to win the whole thing, has won 6 straight season games, because in order to win the championship the winning team has to waltz through 6 games, not all of them easy. 

These are just a few tips for picking your bracket. There are analysts who speak more in depth about each team and the chances they have for winning.  The best idea is to make your decisions wisely and to not get too upset, have fun with it.  Are you feeling a little upset yourself by the high interest rates on credit cards? Come into one of Check City's many Convenient Locations to find out how you can wipe out your credit card fees and interest rates by getting a netspend Prepaid Debit Card. With a netspend Prepaid Debit Card you can have all of the benefits of a credit card without all the hassle and fees. Bring in cash or a check to any of our Check City Locations and we can deposit that money for you onto a Prepaid Debit Card which you can then use just like a credit card anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted, all over the world. When your money runs out on the card, you will have to deposit more, helping you avoid overdraft and late payment fees.  Having a card is simple and affordable with Check City.

Over the past week and a half I have been giving you as much information as I can on the new CARD Act Reform policies, procedures and laws that have been put into place. Today I'd like to wrap it up with one last article about what will go on your monthly statement as well as the deadlines companies have been given for the policies and practices to be completely enacted.

One of the best changes, that I haven't discussed yet, when it comes to your monthly statement is the fact that they are now also requiring credit card companies to make the fine print a little less fine, and a little more readable by everyone.  Follow this link at CreditCards.com to see a mock up of what your statement will look like when it has been completely changed over to the new format.  

All changes must be completely in place by July of 2010 and if for some reason this doesn't occur with your company, it is a good idea to contact them just to see what is going on.  The contact numbers and emails should also be more readily available on the monthly statement in perhaps more than once place, so don't hesitate to call.  

Instead of dealing with the hassle of interest, minimum payments, overdraft and late fees, get a netspend Prepaid Debit Card from Check City. We can save you time, stress, and even money with our low deposit fees and the easiest services in town.  With a netspend Prepaid Debit Card the only thing you have to do is load money onto the card, and you can spend it anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted, all over the world! Its easy and we charge minimal fees.  Once your card has been emptied, you have to reload it in order to use it again. It is a great way to get the convenience of a credit card, without all the hassle.

In addition to the article written yesterday, about how credit card companies are now required to tell you how long it will take to pay off your credit card balance making only the minimum payment each month, they are also now required to include in the monthly statement a breakdown of how much you need to pay each month in order to have your total balance cleared within three years. Keep in mind that this is for each card and company individually, and so, in order to figure out the actual amount you will have to pay each month to pay off everything on all of your cards, you will have to do the math.

Even if you have identical balances, down to the cent, it is important for you to remember that because different cards and card companies charge different interest rates and fees, these monthly payments may add up to be different.  It is also good to consider that paying minimum or light payments may not always be the best idea and that if you can pay off your entire balance each month it will save you the hassle of dealing with interest rates and other late payment, and overdraft charges that inevitably always sneak up on you.

So far, credit card companies are required to include on your monthly statement:  

1. A breakdown of how long it will take to pay off the balance of your credit card, making only the minimum payments each month and,
2. A breakdown of how much you need to pay each month in order to pay off the total balance in three years

Check City offers you a way to get all the convenience of a credit card without all the monthly statements, interest payments, and hassle and fees that come along with them. Check City, partnering with netspend, Visa and Mastercard, offers you the netspend Prepaid Debit Card, perfect for all your purchasing needs. You preload the money onto your card and when your money is gone you have to reload the card before you can use it again. With ultra low fees and a card that can be used anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted worldwide, there is no better option than a netspend Prepaid Debit Card from Check City.

As the Credit Card Reform Act takes effect, you may discover that there are many changes to current terms and conditions.  One area that has made some changes is that of interest rates.  Much has changed about interest rates, but there are also some aspects of this act that have left things exactly the way they are.  The changes made are meant to improve and reign in the credit card companies, and their practices and policies.  The Act aims to help consumers better understand the terms and conditions of their credit card companies, what they do, and why.

Interest Rates:

Today I will be talking a little bit about Interest Rates and what exactly is happening with the interest rates in response to the Reform Act.

Changed:

• Credit Card companies cannot raise interest rates on existing balances found on cards.
• If you open a new Credit Card account companies cannot raise interest rates for 12 months.
• Consumers can no longer receive hiked interest rates on money they have already borrowed.

Not Changed:

• There are no limits to the rates card companies can charge new customers.
• It also has no regulations on how much rates can raise on future purchases made.
• The changes made on the interest rates have reporters and legislators predicting that original rates and changing rates will most likely start higher than before so as to keep the money flowing and the income for companies' high.
• Because of these reforms, banks have moved slightly away from fixed-rate cards.
• There are low introductory rates that are most likley to be raised after the first year, or six monts, so be sure to read the fine print.
• If you are late on a payment, especially if you are over 60 days late, but are working on payments, the old interest rate must be charged instead of the new one, even if the company must revert back.

As you can see there are many ways that Credit Card reform can effect you, even whenjust speaking of interest rates. Check back with us daily to learn more about this large Credit Card Reform Act to see how it could affect you and your family.  Check City has great rates on its fixed price Prepaid Debit Cards. With our netspend Prepaid Debit Cards, you bring the money to us that you want on the card, and when that money runs out, you must reload the card in order to use it again. There are no interest fees involved and with various options available its easy to add money to your card, pay bills, or manage your account no matter where you are.