Carnival Focus: Credit Posts

I am hosting this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance #94 and have listed all of this week’s posts here. As you can see, I’ve categorized the posts by topic. Throughout this week, I will highlight each topic and focus on each post.

Credit Posts (The following posts deal with issues of debt, credit, credit cards, interest rates, and debt reduction.)

Poorer Than You writes about paying off debts. Should you borrow from your 401K to payoff your debts? Here’s a quote from the article that I think “speaks volumes”.

Is there anything you can trim down in your budget to free up some more funds for paying down this debt? If you can’t spend less, can you think of any ways to earn more?

Endless Gibberish writes about using credit cards “wisely”. (I, personally, do not use credit cards. But, if I were to use a credit card, I’d definitely read this article!) Quoting the last line of the post:

Those are my reasons why I value credit as a tool. It’s a great tool for anyone that’s disciplined enough to control their spending. I know it’s not for everyone and a lot of people out there shouldn’t have access to credit at all.

We’re In Debt writes about checking our credit reports. (I NEED to do this! I checked my credit report a few months ago, and everything looked fine. But, we must be ever vigilent!) Here’s an excerpt:

It’s hard to believe just how many wrong items are on our report. Maybe it’s an incorrect balance that is reported, or the type of account that is displayed I can almost guarantee you that your credit report has problems of some sort or another.

Credit Card Lowdown writes a sobering post about people and their credit cards. (20 MORONIC THINGS!) Check out this little blurb from the post:

Paying the minimum balance does not mean that you’re managing your credit well. Your interest on the remaining balance is compounded… Pay only the minimum and you will be left holding the bill for much, much more than you spent in the first place.

B.A. Student writes about credit card companies and their legal “tricks”. Check out this disturbing fact:

Credit card companies sometimes enjoy switching around their payment PO Boxes without informing the consumer. A well-intentioned payment can flop around ‘lost’ in the mailing system for weeks if unknowingly sent to the wrong address. This is a blatant attempt to purposely nab you on late payment fees

1 Mans Money writes about paying of credit card debt. (I am a HUGE fan of getting out of debt, ESPECIALLY credit card debt!) Turning-point quote:

I got to the point that I was paying only the minimums each month on all six of my credit cards. I was never late on a payment, but I was also sinking further and further in debt.

The Time and Money Group writes about debt reduction and financial freedom. Here’s a quote:

I don’t need Ramsey’s or anyone else’s gimmicks. Getting your debt under control is one of many “mind-shifts” necessary for anyone seriously considering walking the path to financial freedom.

My Financial Awareness writes about calling credit card companies. (While getting out of debt, I called my credit card companies once a month, and politely asked them to lower my rates.) Here’s a quote:

Why do financial experts make it look so easy to get lower credit card rates while you are just hearing “no”? It may be all in your approach. A few things to think about in deciding how to approach your credit card companies to get your rates lowered are

Ask Mr. Credit Card writes about the statute of limitations and debt. [Would I be Mr. Anti-Credit Card? :)] Intoductory quote:

I was introduced to a lawyer that specializes in helping people with debt. One of the topics that I asked about was about statute of limitations

Notes

I hope that you like this “Carnival Focus” series. I enjoy hosting the various financial carnivals.

Again, I’d like to thank all of the bloggers who submitted posts to this week’s carnival. If you are new to my site, I also run the No Credit Needed Network, publish the No Credit Needed Podcast, and track my weight loss at No. Calories Needed.

Subscribe to No Credit Needed.

The next edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted by Accumulating Money.

To read this week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction, head over to Money Walks.