Is the Credit Card Reform Law A Mixed Blessing?

Your next credit card statement is going to contain an ugly truth: how much that card really costs to use: Read article below:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/20100222/US.Credit.Cards.New.Law/

Changing Our Credit Attitude

Survival going forward is a matter of changing our credit attitude, many people are adapting this attitude: Read article below:

http://www.credit.com/rs/vol28.jsp

Credit Card Interest That's Too Big To Pay

Reducing credit card debt and getting a peace of mind should be the main incentive of anyone carrying massive credit card debt. With the shape of the economy today it’s easy to get into credit card debt. When the economy was booming there was a credit card offer in the mailbox every week and naturally the majority of us were accepting them. Now that the economy is bad we are left strapped with massive credit card debt.
In society today it has become excessively easy to do business with credit cards since they are being used for gas, retail purchases and even grocery shopping. In fact there are some transactions such as car rental(s) that only accept a credit card opposed to a debit. When trying to get out of debt we often accept offers like zero percent balance transfers, however, those offers are usually for a very limited time frame, and with the transfer fee factored in you have to wonder is it worth it. Also you should pay close attention to the interest being applied after the special interest rate expires. If the interest rate is 21% or higher, then you will not win in that transaction.

It’s okay to have a credit card as long as you keep in mind that you will be paying back everything you charge plus interest. It’s a good idea to get in the habit of only charging what you can pay off during the ‘30’ day billing cycle. Often times its necessary to charge more then we can pay off within a billing cycle, but try to re-frame from charging anything else until that bill has been paid. Debit cards work very well, but its easy to over spend, a good alternate is a Pre-paid MasterCard or Visa, which is loaded with a specific amount of money. Refer to the link below.

http://ihid.us/?i=aemo

The government bailed out the banks with the tax payer’s money and in return the banks stuck the tax payers with massive interest rates. I can’t envision how ordinary people are expected to pay more when a good percentage of the population is un-employed, or their hours have been drastically cut. Many families are surviving on ‘1’ salary verses ‘2’. The educated as well as un-educated is being impacted.

The senate did pass a credit card bill “H.R. 627: Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009”, which became effective in February 2010. This bill will ban practices such as:

• Prohibits issuers from charging a fee to pay a credit card debt, whether by mail, telephone, or electronic transfer, except for live services to make expedited payments;
• Prohibits issuers from charging over-limit fees unless the cardholder elects to allow the issuer to complete over-limit transactions;
• Requires penalty fees to be reasonable and proportional to the omission or violation;
• Enhances protections against excessive fees on low-credit, high-fee credit cards.
• The tiny print must be made clearer, and consumers will soon be told how long it would take to pay off a balance if they pay only the minimum due.

The new rules still allow card companies to raise interest rates on consumers' future charges. They are doing little to stop banks from cutting credit lines for consumers that are being deemed as potential risks. The banks proactively increased rates for many consumers ahead of the new rules as they try to protect against losses.

Read the entire bill at:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-627