Those with terrible credit generally know that they will be paying high interest rates if they are approved for a credit card. People with excellent credit expect to get the very best interest rates, but what about those with fair credit? The majority of people fall into the fair category.
Recent reports show that the average interest rate for a person with fair credit is 21 percent. This is up by a whole two percent from just last year. Five years ago, if someone with decent credit was paying 21 percent on their credit card other people would think that they were crazy. It is not the worst rate though. Just ask some people with bad credit who sometimes pay 29.99 percent for the privilege of having a credit card.
Credit card companies are smart. What they usually do is offer zero percent introductory offers. This practice has been gong on for years and they know it works. Consumers love it when they can get a credit card for a year or so and pay no interest on their purchases. Some of them will not use the credit card once the free interest period ends, or they will move on to another credit card that offers zero percent interest. These are smart credit card users, but the majority of people are not smart credit card users.
Credit card companies know that most people will run up a high balance and most likely have that balance when the interest free period ends. Then they can start charging them a profitable interest rate with the average being 21 percent. They know that they will not make money off of a few smart consumers, but they will make millions off of everybody else.
Nobody can blame the credit card companies. They are a business and just like any other business they are out to make money. By being a smart consumer, an individual can avoid paying high interest rates. Getting these zero interest credit cards are great for people to get. When you charge things, just make sure to pay off the balance before the interest free period ends. For some people, this is easier said than done, but a person will need to discipline themselves to get the full advantage of these types of offers.
A good thing to also remember is to try and avoid the cash advance offers that credit cards offer. A cash advance will almost always have a much higher interest rate than regular credit card usage. By being a smart consumer, a person can enjoy all of the benefits that a credit card can offer and pay minimal interest rates. Of course, they will also be building their credit history at the same time.
Having bad credit can prevent you from getting a police officer law enforcement job
There are many young people who know without a doubt that they are going to become a cop when they get older. Maybe their father, mother, uncle, aunt or other family member is a police officer and they want to continue the tradition. Whatever the reason is, it is very important for a young person to realize that there are certain criteria that a person must possess in order to become a police officer.
Many police agencies are taking a good look at an applicants credit history to make sure that they are hiring responsible individuals. Some people will point out that a person's credit history has nothing to do with the job that they will be filling. They figure that if a person has the training, passes the phycology test and has the overall intelligence to be a good police officer then they should be given the opportunity. This is very rational thinking, but many police agencies do not even consider hiring applicants that have a poor credit history.
Whether a person agrees with this or not is not the subject here. The point of this article is to inform those who would like to become police officers that it is important to not ruin your credit. When a police agency notices that an applicant has poor credit, it is a sign to them that the applicant may have bad judgment and is irresponsible.
It is important to point out that a police agency will sometimes still hire an applicant with poor credit. They will want an explanation of it though. If an applicant lost their job due to a suffering economy, got hit with a major medical bill or went through a divorce that caused their credit to plummet, some agencies will still consider hiring them. With that said, they must really be convinced as anyone could tell a sorry story.
If possible, it is always best to go in with a good credit history. This will show the department that an individual is responsible and makes good decisions in their life. It has been reported at some police agencies that up to fifty percent of applicants are disqualified because of their past credit history. Another reason that some departments are leery of hiring people with bad credit is that it increases the chance of having corrupt officers. Police agencies sometimes worry that those who are in serious debt and being hounded by creditors will be more likely to take bribes and participate in other unethical actions.
Every police department is different and handles who they hire in their own particular manner. There are some police agencies that will go by the credit score alone and ask no questions. By looking at that credit score, that is all they need to know to judge someone. This is usually the larger or mid-sized police departments. For some of the smaller departments, a credit score may not even be a factor at all.
Some agencies do not care as much that someone has bad credit, but they want to see that an individual is making an effort to pay off their debts. If they have a continuous payment flow over the past six months, a police department may let the bad credit score slide. They just do not want to hire people who do not care and make no effort at all to pay back their debts.
It can be very disappointing for a person to work hard toward a career that they want to do only to be told that they cannot pursue it because of their credit history. This is a situation that nobody wants to be in. The best thing that a person can do is to not put themselves in that situation. This is one of the main reasons that a person will want to establish their credit and make sure that they maintain a good credit history throughout the years. All communities need good qualified police officers, and it is a sad loss when we lose an individual that would fit the shoes well due to a few financial mistakes tghat they made.
Many police agencies are taking a good look at an applicants credit history to make sure that they are hiring responsible individuals. Some people will point out that a person's credit history has nothing to do with the job that they will be filling. They figure that if a person has the training, passes the phycology test and has the overall intelligence to be a good police officer then they should be given the opportunity. This is very rational thinking, but many police agencies do not even consider hiring applicants that have a poor credit history.
Whether a person agrees with this or not is not the subject here. The point of this article is to inform those who would like to become police officers that it is important to not ruin your credit. When a police agency notices that an applicant has poor credit, it is a sign to them that the applicant may have bad judgment and is irresponsible.
It is important to point out that a police agency will sometimes still hire an applicant with poor credit. They will want an explanation of it though. If an applicant lost their job due to a suffering economy, got hit with a major medical bill or went through a divorce that caused their credit to plummet, some agencies will still consider hiring them. With that said, they must really be convinced as anyone could tell a sorry story.
If possible, it is always best to go in with a good credit history. This will show the department that an individual is responsible and makes good decisions in their life. It has been reported at some police agencies that up to fifty percent of applicants are disqualified because of their past credit history. Another reason that some departments are leery of hiring people with bad credit is that it increases the chance of having corrupt officers. Police agencies sometimes worry that those who are in serious debt and being hounded by creditors will be more likely to take bribes and participate in other unethical actions.
Every police department is different and handles who they hire in their own particular manner. There are some police agencies that will go by the credit score alone and ask no questions. By looking at that credit score, that is all they need to know to judge someone. This is usually the larger or mid-sized police departments. For some of the smaller departments, a credit score may not even be a factor at all.
Some agencies do not care as much that someone has bad credit, but they want to see that an individual is making an effort to pay off their debts. If they have a continuous payment flow over the past six months, a police department may let the bad credit score slide. They just do not want to hire people who do not care and make no effort at all to pay back their debts.
It can be very disappointing for a person to work hard toward a career that they want to do only to be told that they cannot pursue it because of their credit history. This is a situation that nobody wants to be in. The best thing that a person can do is to not put themselves in that situation. This is one of the main reasons that a person will want to establish their credit and make sure that they maintain a good credit history throughout the years. All communities need good qualified police officers, and it is a sad loss when we lose an individual that would fit the shoes well due to a few financial mistakes tghat they made.
Top reasons why having good credit is important
There was a man, we will call him Bob, who was earnestly against credit cards or any other credit for that matter. Bob's advice to other people was that if you could not afford to pay for it with cash, then you don't need it.
When listening to Bob, a person could easily understand his view on the subject. Why would a person want to pay interest on something that they buy? If a vehicle's price was $30,000 after taxes and other fees, why would they want to pay a finance company thousands and thousands of more dollars for nothing? Well, the thousands of dollars are for giving the loan, but Bob still seen it as them doing nothing for him.
Listening to Bob's opinions, at first it seems that he is correct. He makes it seem that life is so much more expensive when using credit in life. When you think about the finance fees paid to credit card companies and other loan companies, it seems like a person is throwing their money away for nothing.
In actuality, living without credit will be far more expensive for a person than living a life with established credit. Why? Because in modern day society, having a good established credit history is needed for many reasons.
We will start out talking about renting a home to live in. When a person applies to rent a house or apartment, landlords will run a credit check on the applicant. Most of the time, the applicant will have to pay for the credit check with no guarantee that they will get the place. If a person has bad credit, it will be difficult for them to find a home despite them earning a decent salary. You see, having good credit is not only needed to buy a home but to also rent one. Looking for a home can be very time consuming and expensive if a person does not have credit established.
When a person does get into a home, they will have to turn on the electricity, gas, phone, etc. If they do not have a good established credit history, they are going to have to pay some heavy deposits to get everything turned on. If they have established credit, they will not have to pay any deposits.
A person with good credit, when purchasing a vehicle, will pay about $1,500 in interest fees for a $10,000 car. Many people will pay even less than that. People with bad credit on the other hand, or those with no credit history will most likely pay about five times more than that. They will have to pay about $7,500 of interest or more on that same $10,000 car. It is not a good feeling when the interest cost is almost the same as the car price, but those with no credit will have to pay these hefty fees if they cannot afford to pay for the car with cash.
Even though Bob is wrong about life being cheaper by not having credit, Bob's point of view on credit may have been influenced by all of the people he has seen get in to credit card debt. These people usually do not manage their money wisely and soon have a debt that they cannot pay back.
Everybody should have at least one credit card for when an emergency occurs. An emergency that most people do not see coming is their car breaking down on them. Many times, the cost to make repairs will easily run in the hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. Fixing their car as soon as possible is usually a top priority for most people as they have to get to work, take the kids to school, etc. When a person has a credit card, they do not have to worry about having all of the cash on hand to repair their car. If they have no credit history, have no credit cards and do not have any money saved up, they will be in a dilemma that could possibly cost them their job.
There is always another place a person in this situation can turn to, and once again it is more expensive than having a credit card. Payday loans will always be there for any employed person, but the interest rates are staggering when compared to credit cards. This could easily be hundreds of dollars thrown away that a person could have saved if they had a credit card.
When listening to Bob, a person could easily understand his view on the subject. Why would a person want to pay interest on something that they buy? If a vehicle's price was $30,000 after taxes and other fees, why would they want to pay a finance company thousands and thousands of more dollars for nothing? Well, the thousands of dollars are for giving the loan, but Bob still seen it as them doing nothing for him.
Listening to Bob's opinions, at first it seems that he is correct. He makes it seem that life is so much more expensive when using credit in life. When you think about the finance fees paid to credit card companies and other loan companies, it seems like a person is throwing their money away for nothing.
In actuality, living without credit will be far more expensive for a person than living a life with established credit. Why? Because in modern day society, having a good established credit history is needed for many reasons.
We will start out talking about renting a home to live in. When a person applies to rent a house or apartment, landlords will run a credit check on the applicant. Most of the time, the applicant will have to pay for the credit check with no guarantee that they will get the place. If a person has bad credit, it will be difficult for them to find a home despite them earning a decent salary. You see, having good credit is not only needed to buy a home but to also rent one. Looking for a home can be very time consuming and expensive if a person does not have credit established.
When a person does get into a home, they will have to turn on the electricity, gas, phone, etc. If they do not have a good established credit history, they are going to have to pay some heavy deposits to get everything turned on. If they have established credit, they will not have to pay any deposits.
A person with good credit, when purchasing a vehicle, will pay about $1,500 in interest fees for a $10,000 car. Many people will pay even less than that. People with bad credit on the other hand, or those with no credit history will most likely pay about five times more than that. They will have to pay about $7,500 of interest or more on that same $10,000 car. It is not a good feeling when the interest cost is almost the same as the car price, but those with no credit will have to pay these hefty fees if they cannot afford to pay for the car with cash.
Even though Bob is wrong about life being cheaper by not having credit, Bob's point of view on credit may have been influenced by all of the people he has seen get in to credit card debt. These people usually do not manage their money wisely and soon have a debt that they cannot pay back.
Everybody should have at least one credit card for when an emergency occurs. An emergency that most people do not see coming is their car breaking down on them. Many times, the cost to make repairs will easily run in the hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. Fixing their car as soon as possible is usually a top priority for most people as they have to get to work, take the kids to school, etc. When a person has a credit card, they do not have to worry about having all of the cash on hand to repair their car. If they have no credit history, have no credit cards and do not have any money saved up, they will be in a dilemma that could possibly cost them their job.
There is always another place a person in this situation can turn to, and once again it is more expensive than having a credit card. Payday loans will always be there for any employed person, but the interest rates are staggering when compared to credit cards. This could easily be hundreds of dollars thrown away that a person could have saved if they had a credit card.
When is the best time for a young person to get their first credit card?
It is very common for parents to think of their children's financial future. This I why parents save money for their children, plan their kids educational future and hope that their child succeeds in college. This is great, and these parents are showing that they care about their children's financial future. They want them to get a degree and get a good job when they are older.
It is not as common for parents to think about their children's credit history. this is a generalization, and there is surely many parents who think about their kids credit history, but there are many good intentioned and responsible parents who never give it a thought.
It is very important for a parent to teach kids about the importance of credit cards. There is a difference of opinion when this should start, but teenagers should already know the basics of how important credit is. Teenagers usually visualize themselves owning a home and buying their dream car when they are older, and they must be taught that to get these things in life, they must establish and protect their credit history.
In the old days, parents would add their kids to their credit card account and when payments were made, it would help build the kids credit history. That was stopped years ago and now a young person must get their own credit card and build their own credit history.
There are many credit cards that are easy to get and are usually tailored to those with bad credit. People with bad credit will have a difficult time getting a credit card and credit cards that are specialized for those with bad credit is an option for young people with no credit history. The bad thing about it though is that usually there are many fees that the credit card will have that normal credit cards do not have. They may have participation fees, service fees and other annual fees that are very high. Also, the interest rate will be higher than average.
Probably, the best option for a young person to build credit would be to get a secured credit card. Most of the popular banks have secured credit cards that a person can get. The card is secured with funds that a person would place in to a specialized bank account. These funds will not be able to be touched until a certain time period has past. Usually, this is at least a couple of years.
The way it works is that you deposit as much money as you want into this account. Many times, there is a minimum of at least a couple of hundred dollars. If a person deposits $200 in to this bank account, their credit card will have a $200 credit limit. If they deposit $500, they will have a $500 credit limit and so on. The bank is not worried about a person defaulting on their credit card because the funds are secured in the bank. After a certain amount of years go by, a person may withdraw their funds and the credit card will now be an unsecured credit card.
At what time is the correct age to do this though? When should a person open up a secured credit card? Many experts agree that the sooner it is the better. A good time to have this secured credit card is during college days. Experts agree that it is very wise for a parent to open up a secured credit card for their child during these years. When the young person is done with college, they will most likely have a degree, be job hunting and have a positive credit history. Of course, being responsible and making timely payments is also important and they will have to be taught the importance of this.
There are some people who do not see secured credit cards as a good option. They don't understand why someone would put $1000 into a bank account to get a credit card with a $1000 balance. It just doesn't make sense to them. Their logic of thinking is very understandable, but what they don't understand is that the person who does this is building their future. They are thinking of how they are going to benefit their life in the future by establishing superb credit.
It is not as common for parents to think about their children's credit history. this is a generalization, and there is surely many parents who think about their kids credit history, but there are many good intentioned and responsible parents who never give it a thought.
It is very important for a parent to teach kids about the importance of credit cards. There is a difference of opinion when this should start, but teenagers should already know the basics of how important credit is. Teenagers usually visualize themselves owning a home and buying their dream car when they are older, and they must be taught that to get these things in life, they must establish and protect their credit history.
In the old days, parents would add their kids to their credit card account and when payments were made, it would help build the kids credit history. That was stopped years ago and now a young person must get their own credit card and build their own credit history.
There are many credit cards that are easy to get and are usually tailored to those with bad credit. People with bad credit will have a difficult time getting a credit card and credit cards that are specialized for those with bad credit is an option for young people with no credit history. The bad thing about it though is that usually there are many fees that the credit card will have that normal credit cards do not have. They may have participation fees, service fees and other annual fees that are very high. Also, the interest rate will be higher than average.
Probably, the best option for a young person to build credit would be to get a secured credit card. Most of the popular banks have secured credit cards that a person can get. The card is secured with funds that a person would place in to a specialized bank account. These funds will not be able to be touched until a certain time period has past. Usually, this is at least a couple of years.
The way it works is that you deposit as much money as you want into this account. Many times, there is a minimum of at least a couple of hundred dollars. If a person deposits $200 in to this bank account, their credit card will have a $200 credit limit. If they deposit $500, they will have a $500 credit limit and so on. The bank is not worried about a person defaulting on their credit card because the funds are secured in the bank. After a certain amount of years go by, a person may withdraw their funds and the credit card will now be an unsecured credit card.
At what time is the correct age to do this though? When should a person open up a secured credit card? Many experts agree that the sooner it is the better. A good time to have this secured credit card is during college days. Experts agree that it is very wise for a parent to open up a secured credit card for their child during these years. When the young person is done with college, they will most likely have a degree, be job hunting and have a positive credit history. Of course, being responsible and making timely payments is also important and they will have to be taught the importance of this.
There are some people who do not see secured credit cards as a good option. They don't understand why someone would put $1000 into a bank account to get a credit card with a $1000 balance. It just doesn't make sense to them. Their logic of thinking is very understandable, but what they don't understand is that the person who does this is building their future. They are thinking of how they are going to benefit their life in the future by establishing superb credit.
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