If your credit card offers you cash back, you’ve probably noticed that the percentage rebate varies by category. For example, American Express advertises 5% cash back on gas, groceries and drugstores, and 1.5% cash back on everything else. Discover offers 5% back on gas and groceries, among other categories. Citibank actually offers 2% cash back on “rotating categories”.
Turns out, “Gas and Groceries” are habit-forming. While they may make up a small part of your household budget, you probably purchase them one, twice or even three times a week. And the card companies are hoping that you’ll get used to pulling their card out for the small purchases, so that when it comes for a big purchase, their card will be “top of wallet.”
I don’t think this falls in the “dirty tricks” category. In fact, you can use it to your advantage. You can maximize your cash back by making sure you put these small purchases on your card. And you might consider carrying multiple cash back cards to maximize your rebates when one has a higher rebate on a category.
Nationwide personal income decreased $16.8 billion, just 0.1 percent, in September from the rate observed in August, according to the latest figures from the Economics and Statistics Administration. Meanwhile, disposable personal income dropped $20.3 billion, or 0.2 percent. In addition, personal consumption expenditures climbed $17.3 billion, or 0.2 percent.
This came after an August that saw sizeable increases in income and disposable income, as well as a slightly sharper jump in personal consumption, the report said.
This marked the first decline in personal income since April, the report said. While June saw no improvements, there were somewhat significant increases in May, July and August.
Private wage and salary disbursements increased $3.3 billion in September, up slightly from a far steeper increase of $23.6 billion in August, the report said. Read more…
As a young child, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. Some of my fondest memories are of my grandmother telling me stories. One of the ever-present favorites was the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare.” How often I heard the axiom, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
As an adult, I’m amazed at how many times that axiom has popped into my mind and been a sort of guide in my decision-making, including decisions about credit cards.
The glut of credit card options can be overwhelming for anyone to wade through in a quest to make a wise decision about which card to apply for. Many reward offers are attractive. Equally appealing are the tempting zero-percent cards. However, for anyone with a fair amount of debt to pay down, a low interest card is a wise choice.
Let’s face it. Life has a way of landing us in unexpected circumstances. Whether a temporary job loss or a medical emergency or the break down of a large appliance or a vehicle, any one of us could find himself in a unexpected circumstance where a major amount of debt is incurred. Once we get
Norfolk is the site of yet another credit card scam warning. People in the county have been telephoned by scam artists acting as though they are from the fraud and security department of Visa or MasterCard. These scammers are informing the consumer their credit card transactions have been flagged with unusual spending and they are calling to verify the purchase(s).
Of course in order to verify these fraudulent charges they must verify the consumer’s identity by getting the consumer to give their full name, address, and birth date. They also ask the consumer to confirm if they purchased an item for a large amount.
The scammers take it a bit further than others in the past. When the consumer states they have not made that purchase the scammer states they will credit the amount of the purchase back and open an investigation. This is when they ask for the three digit code on the back of the card.
The consumer is prompted to give over the number, which means the scammers now have it if the consumer provides it. T
The Purple Diamond Rushcard is a prepaid card that allows you to add money to the card and then use the card anywhere Visa debit is accepted. The card is available to anyone regardless of your credit history. It doesn’t matter if you have good or bad credit you can be a cardmember. This card is part of the RushCard series that was created by Russel Simmons. As a bonus, anytime you refer a friend and they become a card member you get $5 deposited into your account. The card offers members a variety of perks and offers several free services. Here are some of the features of the card:
FREE direct deposit
FREE live customer service 24/7
FREE text alerts and phone balance inquiries
FREE optional credit building history
NO credit check
Purple Diamond Rushcard With the Purple Diamond Rushcard you can only spend what you deposit into the account, so there are no overdraft or interest fees. I
