Save Money On Gas Without Buying A New Car

The current price for a gallon of gas is roughly 15 cents lower than it was a year ago. However, experts are unsure if this price will slide much lower. According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the current average price for a gallon of gas is $3.62. This is cheaper than the peak price for this year, set in April, but it could still leave you reaching for a cash loan near me to fill up your tank. Change Your Driving Habits To Save On Gas. Since you have little control over the price of gas, you should consider other ways to cut fuel costs. Instead of shelling out big bucks to buy a more fuel-efficient car, try to change your driving habits and perform regular scheduled maintenance.

Be Consistent When You Drive

save money on gas and loan near meAggressive drivers tend to get bad gas mileage. You can be considered an aggressive driver if you speed, accelerate quickly and brake suddenly and often. In addition to being unsafe, reckless driving is bad for fuel economy. If you have a hard time maintaining a consistent speed on the highway, consider using your car’s cruise control system.

Properly Maintain Your Automobile

Regular maintenance can make your car more fuel efficient. For example, keep your tires inflated to the ideal pressure, and properly align your wheels. The Federal Trade Commission says taking these steps can increase your fuel economy by as much as 2 percent. In addition, try cleaning out your trunk. Not only will this organize your life, removing excess weight from your vehicle can also increase to your engine’s fuel efficiency.

Avoid Using Your Car When You Can

The easiest way to save on loans and gas in NC is to cut back on how often you use your car. You can do this by completing more errands in a single trip, and carpooling whenever convenient. In fact, many areas of the country reward carpooling with exclusive highway lanes and discounted tolls.…

bad credit , finance , gasPosted on:

Is Bankruptcy Right for You

When you file bankruptcy, you declare that you’re unable to repay your debts. The bankruptcy court might eliminate your obligation to pay back those debts (Chapter 7) or it may work out a 3-5 year repayment plan with your creditors (Chapter 13). Filing bankruptcy isn’t a decision that should be rushed into. Bankruptcy will have long lasting effects on your credit and your ability to get credit cards and loans in the future. Once you file bankruptcy, the filing will remain on your credit report for 7-10 years, long after your obligations to that debt have been fulfilled or eliminated. You should consider bankruptcy only if your credit is already in bad shape and cannot be saved. If your accounts are current, or if only a few of them are past due, seek other alternatives before filing bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Alternatives

Is Bankruptcy Right for YouStart by calling your creditors and negotiating more favorable repayment terms. Let them know you are facing financial hardship and have difficulty making your payments. Ask for a reduction in your minimum payment and interest rate. Call each one of your creditors and negotiate more favorable terms. Don’t stop if the first one or two turn you down, others on the list may be more willing to work with you. Ask your lenders for temporary forbearance or interest-only payments for a period of time. This will reduce your monthly payments making it easier to meet your financial obligations. Note that any unpaid interest that accrues might be added onto your loan balance at the end of the forbearance period.

Seek consumer credit counseling. If you’re unable to negotiate a payment plan with your creditors, a consumer credit counselor might be better able to work with your creditors. A credit counselor can also review your budget and find ways that you can save money. If you have valuable assets, you might sell them and use the proceeds to help pay your debts. You can auction the item on eBay.com or place a free classified ad for it on Craigslist.org. Let friends and family know what you have for sale and ask them to spread the word.

You can also use any savings you have to pay off the debt. You might be hesitant to use money that you’ve saved up, but if it will allow you to preserve your credit, spending the money is a better option.

How Can Bankruptcy Help

Bankruptcy can keep your wages from being garnished. So, if you’re facing a garnishment or you’re already having money taken from your wages, bankruptcy can remove the garnishment. Similarly, filing bankruptcy keeps creditors from obtaining a judgment against you. If you’ve received a lawsuit summons, consult with an attorney to find out how bankruptcy can protect you. Most people file bankruptcy because they have overwhelming medical bills that they’re simply unable to pay. Often, these people have medical insurance; the expenses simply were not covered. Bankruptcy can release you from the burden of heavy medical debt.

Seek Legal Counsel Before Filing

The advice given in this article is for informational purposes and is not legal advice. Only a licensed bankruptcy attorney can give you legal information about filing bankruptcy. Before you file, seek legal counsel for a complete description of your options for dealing with your debt.…

Bankruptcy , financePosted on:

Credit Card Interest Rates, and How You Can Lower Them

In the simplest terms, your credit card interest rate is the cost you pay for having a credit card balance. The interest rate is most often expressed as an annual percentage rate, or APR.

When you make a credit card purchase, the credit card issuer gives you a grace period, typically between 20 and 30 days, depending on your creditor. The grace period is the amount of time you have to pay your balance in full without receiving interest charges. If you don’t pay the balance before the grace period, you’ll receive a finance charge. Your interest rate is multiplied by the balance to calculate the finance charge. The finance charge is then added to your balance and billed with your next statement.

Credit Card Interest RatesThe higher your interest rate, the higher your finance charges will be. Ideally, your interest rate should be as low as possible to lower your finance charges.
How Interest Rates Increase

Even though you might start with a low interest rate, it could increase for several reasons. If you make a late payment or go over the credit limit, your creditor will apply the default interest rate. This penalty rate could be as high as 28% or more. Not only that, many credit card agreements include a universal default clause that allows them to increase your interest rate “at any time, for any reason.” You might see your interest rate rise after you’ve made a late payment to another credit card.

In most cases, your creditor is required to notify you of an interest rate increase at least 15 days before the new rate takes effect. During this 15 day period, you have the option to close your card and continue to paying the balance at the lower interest rate. If you want to exercise this option, you must let the creditor know, in writing, before the 15 days expire.

Some credit cards, like department store and gas credit scores always have high interest rates. It’s best to pay your balances on these credit cards; otherwise you’ll always be subject to high finance charges.

Maintaining a good credit score will improve your ability of getting a low interest rate. The higher your credit score, the lower the interest rates you’ll be offered.
Getting a Lower Interest Rate

If you want a lower interest rate, your best option is to ask. Before you call your creditor, be sure you haven’t made any late payments or exceeded your credit limit. It helps if you’ve been given lower rate credit card offers in the mail.

Call your credit card issuer and explain that you would like to get a lower interest rate. Let them know you’ve been getting credit card offers for lower interest rates and might explore these options if you can’t get your rate lowered. Be polite, but firm. Ask to speak to a manager if necessary. If you’re not successful, don’t be afraid to transfer your balance to a lower rate credit card.…

credit card , finance , interest ratesPosted on:

In today’s society, bad credit can keep you from doing a lot of things

For instance, you might find it hard to get a loan for a house or a car. Since utility companies check credit before turning on utilities, you might have to pay high security deposits to establish service. Even worse, bad credit could keep you from getting a job – many employers check credit as part of the application process.

How Bad Credit Happens
Nearly all the businesses you have a financial relationship with report information about your accounts to the major credit bureaus.These bureaus put the information together in a single file known as your credit report.

bad credit can keep you from doing a lot of thingsIf you have a lot of negative information on your credit report, you are said to have “bad credit.” Negative information includes things like multiple applications for credit cards and loans, late payments, and high credit card balances. To improve your credit, you’ll have to fix the negative information that’s on your credit report.

Repair Credit Report Errors
Start by ordering your credit report. By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report every year from each of the major credit bureaus. You can order this free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only place to order the free credit report guaranteed by law. You can also purchase copies of your credit report from any of the three credit bureaus.

Once you have your credit report, look through each account and make sure the information reported is correct, e.g. the account is yours, the payment history is correct, etc. You have the right to have any errors removed from your credit report by submitting a credit report dispute to the credit bureau that provided the report.

Take Care of Delinquencies and High Balances
Note any delinquent accounts on your credit report. This includes accounts that have late payments, collection accounts, and charge-offs. To repair your credit, you need to bring these accounts out of delinquent status. You’ll need to pay them current to do this. Pay the outstanding balance on your late accounts. Bring them current first to keep them from getting charged-off or going to collections.

Try negotiating a settlement on collections and charged-off accounts. Note that the settled payment will be listed on your credit report for future creditors to see.

Next, bring your high balances down. Pay any accounts over the credit limit. This will keep you from getting charged over-the-limit fees. Then, work on paying your balances down to at least 30% of your credit limit. This means, you should have at most a $300 balance on a credit card with a $1,000 credit limit.

Keep Accounts Open, Minimize Applications, Make Timely Payments
Keep old credit cards open because this adds length to your credit history. The longer your credit history, the better your credit will be. Avoid closing your oldest credit card accounts. You should also keep open accounts with balances since closing them will hurt your credit score.

While you’re working on credit repair, don’t put in any applications for credit cards and loans. Each time you make one of these applications, it will affect your credit.

Finally, add positive payment history. Once you’ve taken care of the negative items on your credit report, positive information will continue to rebuild your credit.…

bad credit , finance , societyPosted on: