Finding low interest rate credit cards

September 23, 2008 · Filed Under Credit Card · Comment 

Many people who apply for the credit cards for the first time often get excited about the rewards and perks offered by the credit card companies. They do not give too much attention towards the interest rate offered on that card. Interest rate is however the most important part if you are carrying a balance. Just to include the finance fee on top of the interest rates, your purchases will end up costing a lot more on an airline credit card, which comes at around 15% to 19%. You can get low interest rate cards at 7% to 10% at the maximum. When you are paying high interests on the airline credit card, getting extra miles redeemable for free flights does not sound right because you will be spending a lot in extra interests. If you are having an airline credit card with a 19% APR, you will be paying a lot of money in interests only and it will take long time to pay off the debts. In some cases, it might exceed the price of the airline ticket

  • How to keep the interest rate on your credit card lower?

You can always prevent your low interest credit card from accruing higher rates. It requires a little planning and managing your cards efficiently. Make sure that you are always making timely and full payments on every billing cycle. If you are revolving the credit on every billing cycle, the credit card company can charge you APR up to 25% to 30% or may be more.

If you have to compare between fixed or variable interest rate on the credit card, choose the fixed rate option because the APR on the fixed interest credit card does not change. The variable rate is tied to the Federal Reserves funds rate. When the funds rate goes up, the APR on the credit card will automatically go up.

Don’t borrow cash from your credit card account. Utilize the low interest credit card for purchases only. If you borrow cash from the low interest credit card, the credit card company will charge you very high interest rates and to make situation worse, your monthly payments will be applied towards the charges with the lowest annual percentage rate.

Sorting out all the credit cards that you have might seem to be a daunting task, but if you compare the savings on each card in your wallet, it will be well worth the effort.

Mortgage loans

September 7, 2008 · Filed Under Loan, Mortgage · Comment 

mortgage-loansWhile shopping for mortgage loans, it is always advised tot shop with different lenders and look for the best low rate loans. You should always keep an eye on the different rates in fixed rate mortgage, adjustable rate mortgage and refinance.

Nowadays, lenders are choosier before and think about different aspects before offering mortgage loans. The recent collapse in the mortgage market has taught a lot of valuable lessons. Everyone must have enough knowledge before applying for any mortgage loans, no matter if you are a first time home buyer.

As a borrower, you must fully understand the mess in the real estate market. If some lender is offering you a loan amount, it does not mean that you have to borrow the full amount. It’s the lender’s money that he is offering to you on interest. So make sure that you can afford to pay back the monthly installments. Read the fine print before taking the loan. If you have not understood the terms and conditions clearly before the loan is approved, you might come across a lot of hidden charges that will become a pain in the later years. You must clarify with your lender that the interest rate charged on the principal amount is going to stay the same or it will bump up in a few years to some rate you can’t really afford?

Mortgage loans are a necessary evil if you plan on pursuing the dream of owning a home. You must be a lot aggressive in order to avoid a bad deal. While you are shopping with different lenders, look what they have to offer before you finalize the deal. A small difference in interests with different lenders can make a big difference in your monthly payments over the span of the loan. It might happen that you got a certain rate from a lender and you thought that you are paying a low price but you will be surprised when you talk with someone who got the same loan at a much cheaper rate.

The best way to determine a mortgage loan is to see what you are actually qualifying for. Approach different lenders to get the best rates on fixed, adjustable and refinance loans. This is a very important business decision that you are taking while getting a mortgage loan.