For individuals with no credit or those who have experienced a negative credit event like divorce or foreclosure, establishing credit history can be a real challenge. Without proper credit, everything from a car loan to an apartment or even a job can be denied.
When faced with problem credit, many people rely on prepaid cards to manage their daily expenses. However, prepaid cards simply provide access to your own money, not credit from a lender. These cards do not report to credit bureaus and do not help re-establish credit history. People need to demonstrate on-time monthly payments on a credit card in order to rebuild that important credit history.
So how can someone who cannot get a credit card rebuild their credit?
The Public Savings Bank Secured Visa offers people with low credit or no credit the opportunity to re-establish their credit history and work towards improving their credit score. Individuals make a deposit into an FDIC-insured account that acts as a security deposit. They can then make purchases anywhere Visa is accepted or take cash advances up to the deposited credit line amount, currently between $300-$2000. Payments are reported to all three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) so customers can begin to establish credit immediately.
The Public Savings Bank Secured Visa does not require a credit check or even a checking account to apply. Customers can fund their account via Western Union, ACH, wire transfer, check or money order. The card has no annual or monthly fees, and offers 0% APR for 6 months. Rush shipping is available so customers can begin using their card just days after funding their account.
Building good credit is critical at a time when credit is getting harder to obtain. This card allows the customer to build good credit while enjoying all the benefits of a Visa card at very favorable terms.
Prospective cardholders can apply at www.publicbankcard.com and be approved within a few hours.
A recent headline caught my attention and inspired this train of thought. It read something like Toilet Paper Drives the Economy. The gist of the article was
A shift from one-ply to two-ply (and now three-ply) may not seem significant. But to ignore it is to miss an important point: Because people are literally flushing the money they spend on these products down the toilet, spending habits in this very personal area can reveal important clues about the financial health of shoppers. And that reflects on the growth potential for the economy and the stock market as a whole. It all depends on how the roll turns, and it’s definitely turning.
I had to stop and think about that one because just that morning we had picked up a giant package of Cottonelle Ultra. So does my purchase indicate that I have faith in the upturn of the economy or that I just want to spoil myself with softness in private while preaching penny pinching in public? Guilty as charged!
Money is tight and everyone in the family has to cut back but what can you do with the kids this summer when summer camp is is out of the question. Don’t dispare. Create your own backyard or rooftop camping experience this year.
Lacking inspiration? There are all kinds of great resources out there for you to draw from.
I know that the Debt Diet series was viewed in 2006 but I missed it then and since there are many others in the same boat and the content still applies – it warrants a second look.
For those of you who like me didn’t catch the original show you can still view clips and a textual summary of Oprah’s Debt Diet on her website.
In the second session of this series, Jean Chatzky leads Lisa Bradley to transfer all of her savings into a joint account and let Steven, her husband take charge of the distribution of their money. I don’t know about you but this did not set well with me. I spent too many years struggling to build my own financial identity to take a step back into the 50s. I do think that couples need to work together on budgeting and bill paying and that both need to be aware of the financial situation and limitations. However, I would find it extremely difficult to surrender the independence I worked so hard to achieve.
That said, I do think that much of our debt crisis comes from lack of communication between husband and wife and perhaps even more so from a silent competition that grows between couples centered around who has the last word on money matters. I grew up in a household plagued with secrets and deceit. Every shopping spree was closeted (you know …as we put the new clothes in the closets) with the words “Don’t tell your father.” I won’t claim to understand the dynamics that went on between my mother and father (they were ‘happily’ married 63 years – their words not mine). Yet there was always an atmosphere of deception that hung over our home when it came to how much something cost or when it was purchased. When complemented on a new outfit my mother would respond with “this old thing? I’ve had it for ages.”
Although I took pride in not repeating my mother’s behavior, I haven’t always succeeded at it. My husband came into our marriage with a similar pattern. For some reason he felt the need to conceal new tools or fishing gear. After many conversations on the topic, we have come to a place of more openness. He understands that I don’t have a need to monitor his spending and he doesn’t need to hide his purchases.
We are still both touchy about the money we spend our adult children. We both know that we need to take a step back and let them manage their lives without our help but knowing and doing is something else. How do other people take a “hands off” stand with their kids once they are grownups and on their own? How many other parents rent to their offspring at a loss?
It could NOT get more on topic for us. Starting this week money experts Jean Chatzky, David Bach and Glinda Bridgforth join up on Oprah to cover three families’ to challenge to get out of debt. This is gonig to be a five part series outlining a step by step plan for getting out of debt.
This is an audience participation show. Viewers are encouraged to down load the step by step plan and start working on their own finances.
I highly recommend this show to all my readers who are struggling under the burden of debt!
