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Source: moneycrashers.com
Have you ever wondered about the uses of a credit card vs. a debit card? It’s likely you have both types of cards in your wallet at this very moment, and you’re given the option to choose one of themâsometimes in a matter of secondsâevery time you make a purchase. Still, you have lingering uncertainty about whether you’re making the best choice… and that same question pops into the back of your mind every time you buy something: “Should I use a credit card or debit card?”
Being uncertain about the difference between a credit card and debit card or the best time to use either is a common dilemma. The better you understand the benefits of eachâbeyond the fact they offer a way to access money without having to carry cash or a checkbook aroundâthe savvier a spender you’ll become.
Credit cards and debit cards both offer a convenient way to pay for things, but they work quite differently behind the scenes. As a result, they each appeal to different types of consumers, says Lou Haverty, financial analyst and founder of Financial Analyst Insider.
A credit card is a form of revolving credit. When you spend with your credit card you are borrowing, and you pay interest if you carry a balance, Haverty says. A debit card, by contrast, is linked to a bank accountâusually a checking accountâand the money is withdrawn as soon as you make the transaction, typically using a PIN.
A difference between credit cards and debit cards is that with a credit card, the exact amount you can spend depends on your credit limit and the balance you are currently carrying on the card, Haverty explains. If you have a $1,000 credit limit and a $600 balance from previous purchases, you can continue to charge an additional $400. If you’ve reached your credit limit, you won’t be able to use the card for more purchases until you pay off at least part of the balance. You owe a minimum payment each month.
When considering credit card vs. debit card, know that most credit cards carry an interest rate, expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR), which is essentially what you pay to borrow. You’ll have to pay interest on that $600 balance mentioned above if you carry the balance from month to month. âCredit cards require a responsible approach to your personal finances because you have the ability to spend beyond what you might have as cash in your bank account,” Haverty says.
A difference between credit cards and debit cards is that with a debit card, funds are pulled directly from the balance you have in the checking account to which the card is linked. In a traditional account setup, you can’t spend more than what you have in the account, which helps reduce the chance of racking up debt. If your account offers overdraft protection, you may be able to spend more than your account balance by leveraging funds from a different, linked bank account.
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âCredit cards require a responsible approach to your personal finances because you have the ability to spend beyond what you might have as cash in your bank account.”
Another key difference between a credit card and a debit card is the criteria you’ll need to meet for each. âGetting approved for a credit card is usually dependent on your personal credit score. The higher your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved,” Haverty says. âIf you have a lower credit score, you may still get approved, but you might have a lower credit limit.”
Patricia Stallworth, certified financial planner and money coach, says that in addition to your credit history, factors such as your employment status could play a role in credit card approval.
When analyzing credit cards vs. debit cards, consider that a debit card is typically issued automatically when you open a checking account. This process usually requires some personal information, such as a Social Security number, driver’s license, employment information and valid email address. A deposit may also be needed to fund the account and complete the application. Then stay tuned for your debit card in the mail!
While it’s easy to have credit card vs. debit card on the mind, there are some scenarios in which using either a debit card or a credit card could fit the bill, depending on your financial needs and goals. Use the outline below as a guide for when the question of “When should I use credit vs. debit?” comes up:
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Why should credit cards have all the fun?
Now you can earn cash back with your debit card.
Discover Bank, Member FDIC
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“Debit cards are great for everyday purchases that you have budgeted for because the money comes directly out of your account.”
Now that you understand which circumstances might be best to use a credit card vs. debit card, you can make the point-of-purchase decision of “When should I use credit vs. debit?” a little easier. It really depends on the goals you have laid out for your personal finances.
Get comfortable using both financial tools for their respective features. But be sure to stick to your budget, and don’t accidentally overspend from your bank account or charge more than you can afford to pay in full by your credit card’s monthly due date. When you learn to confidently use both of these cards to your advantage, you can enjoy all the various perks and protectionsâtimes two!
1 Outgoing wire transfers are subject to a service charge. You may be charged a fee by a non-Discover ATM if it is not part of the 60,000+ ATMs in our no-fee network.
2 ATM transactions, the purchase of money orders or other cash equivalents, cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments (such as Apple Pay Cash), and loan payments or account funding made with your debit card are not eligible for cash back rewards. In addition, purchases made using third-party payment accounts (services such as Venmo® and PayPal, who also provide P2P payments) may not be eligible for cash back rewards. Apple, the Apple logo and Apple Pay are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
The post The Difference Between Credit Cards and Debit Cards: Explainedâââ appeared first on Discover Bank – Banking Topics Blog.
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A consumer loan is a loan or line of credit that you receive from a lender.
Consumer loans can be auto loans, home mortgages, student loans, credit cards, equity loans, refinance loans, and personal loans.
This article will address each type of consumer loans.
Get Approved for personal loan today.
Consumer loans are divided into several kinds of categories. They include auto loans, student loans, home loans, personal loans and credit cards. Regardless of type, consumer loans have one thing in common: you have to repay the loan at some period of time.
Most people who are thinking of buying a car will apply for an auto loan. That is because buying a car is expensive.
In fact, it is the second largest expense you will ever make besides buying a house. And unless you intend to buy it with all cash, you will need a car loan.
So, car loans allow consumers to purchase a vehicle where they may not have the money upfront. With an auto loan, your payment is broken into smaller repayments that you will make over time every month.
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You can choose between a fixed or variable interest rate loan. But the most important thing is, whether you’re buying a new or used car, it’s important to compare loans to help you find the right auto loan for your needs.
Start comparing auto loans now!
Another, and most common, type of consumer loans are home loans. A home loan or mortgage is a loan a consumer receives for the purpose of buying a house.
Buying a house is, undoubtedly, the biggest expense you’ll ever make in your life. So, for the majority of consumers who want to purchase a house, they will need to borrow the money from a lender.
Home loans are paid back over a period of time. Those mortgages term are typically 15 to 30 years. They can be variable rate or fixed rate. A fixed rate means that your repayments are locked in for a fixed term.
Whereas a variable rate means that your repayments depend on the interest rate going up or down when the Federal Reserve changes the rate.
Over the loan’s term, you will pay back the principle amount of the loan plus interest. This makes it very important to compare home loans. Doing so allows you to save thousands of dollars on interest and fees.
The most common types of consumer loans are personal loans. That is because a personal loan can be used for a lot of things.
A personal loan allows a consumer to borrow a sum of money. The borrower agrees to repay the loan (plus interest) in installments over a period of time.
A personal loan is usually for a lower amount than a home loan or even an auto loan. People usually ask for $500 to $20,000 or more.
A personal loan can be secured (the consumer backs it with his or her personal assets) or unsecured (the consumer does not have to use his or her personal asset).
But most of them are unsecured, so getting approved for one will depend on your credit score, income and other factors.
But consumers use personal loans for different purposes. People take out personal loans to consolidate debts, such as credit card debts. You can use personal loans for a wedding, a holiday, to renovate your home, to buy a flt screen TV, etc…
Consumers use these types of loans to finance their education. There are two types of student loans: federal and private. The federal government funds a federal student loan.
Whereas, a private entity funds a private student loan. Generally, federal student loans are better because they come at a lower interest rate.
Believe it or not credit cards is a type of consumer loans and they are very common. Consumers use this type of loan to finance every day expenses with the promise of paying back the money with interest.
Unlike other loans, however, every time your pay with your credit card, you take a personal loan.
Credit cards usually carry a higher interest rate than the other loans. But you can avoid these interests if you pay your balance in full immediately.
Another type of consumer loans are small business loans. These loans are used specifically to create a business or to expand an already established business.
Banks and the Small Business Administration (SBA) usually provide these loans. Small Business Loans are different than personal loans, because you usually have to provide a collateral to get the loan.
The collateral serves as a way to protect the lender in case you default on the loan. In addition, you will also need to provide a business plan for the lenders to review.
If you have your own home, you can borrow money against it. These types of consumer loans are called home equity loans. If you’ve paid off the mortgage on the home, you can borrow up to the full value of the home.
Vice versa, if you’ve paid half of the mortgage on the home, you can borrow half of the value of the house. You can use a home equity loan for several purposes like you would with a personal loan.
But most consumers use this type of loan to renovate their house. One disadvantage of this type of loan, however, is that you can lose your house in case of a default, because your house is used as a collateral for the loan.
Loan refinancing is a basically taking a new loan to replace an existing one. But you get this loan specifically either to refinance your existing mortgage or to refinance your student loans or a personal loan.
Consumers usually refinance in order to receive a lower interest rate or to reduce the amount of monthly payments they are making on their existing loans.
However, reducing to a lower payment will lengthen the time to pay off the loan and you will accrue interest as a result.
Consumers also use this type of loan to pay their existing loans off faster. However, some mortgage refinancing loans come with prepayment penalties. So do you research in order to avoid that extra charge.
The bottom line is consumer loans can help you with your goals. However, understanding different loan types is important so that you can choose the best one that fits your particular situation.
So do you need a consumer loan?
Get Approved for personal loan today.
If you have questions about your finances, you can talk to a financial advisor who can review your finances and help you reach your goals (whether it is making more money, paying off debt, investing, buying a house, planning for retirement, saving, etc). Find one who meets your needs with SmartAssetâs free financial advisor matching service. You answer a few questions and they match you with up to three financial advisors in your area. So, if you want help developing a plan to reach your financial goals, get started now.
The post What Is A Consumer Loan? appeared first on GrowthRapidly.
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Whatever your financial goals are this year, we know you can achieve them! Hereâs to making 2021 your best financial year yet.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
One way to do that is with a company called Aspiration. It lets you earn up to 16 times the average interest on the money in your account.
Within two minutes, youâll get access to your credit score, any debt-carrying accounts and a handful of personalized tips to improve your score. Youâll even be able to spot any errors holding you back (one in five reports have one).
If youâre under the age of 54 and want to get a fast life insurance quote without a medical exam or even getting up from the couch, get a free quote from Bestow.
Not too shabby!
When it comes to your credit score, itâs important to stay organized and keep tabs on it. After all, itâll play an essential role in any big purchase you want to make â whether thatâs a home or a car.
Those are the perks of working as a bookkeeper, says Ben Robinson, a CPA and business owner who teaches others to become virtual bookkeepers through online courses called Bookkeepers.com.
Kari Faber is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
And the truth is, your credit card company doesnât really care. Itâs just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
Robinson shares what it takes to be a virtual bookkeeper, plus tips for making this career work for you in his free class at Bookkeepers.com. If you stick with the classes, you could be running your own business in just a few months.
It means you can avoid late fees on your utilities, which can really add up and destroy your budget. You can pay off your credit card debt without mounting interest charges. And you can prevent any hiccups that would dock your credit score a few points.
Itâs easy to get swept up in the joy that is payday and immediately start buying things you donât need. But as the final financial resolution on this list, paying your bills right away can help keep the rest of your goals on track.
But what if you could create that higher-paying and more rewarding job? Thereâs an ideaâ¦
Rates start at just a month. The peace of mind knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.
Credit Sesame does not guarantee any of these results, and some may even see a decrease in their credit score. Any score improvement is the result of many factors, including paying bills on time, keeping credit balances low, avoiding unnecessary inquiries, appropriate financial planning and developing better credit habits.
50% of your take-home income every month covers your fixed expenses â rent, utilities, groceries, minimum debt payments, etc. 30% goes towards the things you can live without, but donât want to (like food delivery, a Netflix subscription and travel). Finally, the last 20% of your monthly income is dedicated to your financial goals.
Did your credit score take a dive this year? Or is still stuck at a âfairâ grade? Then monitoring any changes on your credit reporting and working to improve your score should be one of your financial resolutions for this year, too.
So if youâre looking to get your credit score back on track â or even if it is on track and you want to bump it up â try using a free website called Credit Sesame.
The most surefire way to achieve your financial resolutions and stay within that budget you made is to earn more money.
Talk about a scary year. If a global pandemic didnât have you thinking about your own mortality, what else could? With that thought in mind, people are adding âbuy life insuranceâ to their list of 2021 to-dos.
***Like Cooper, 60% of Credit Sesame members see an increase in their credit score; 50% see at least a 10-point increase, and 20% see at least a 50-point increase after 180 days.
We recommend the 50/30/20 method. Itâs simple, yet effective, and has a bit of a cult following, too! Hereâs how it shakes out:
Want to check for yourself? Itâs free and only takes about 90 seconds to sign up.
Have you made your resolutions yet? It can feel a little daunting trying to figure out what you need to focus on, so we made it easy: These are the resolutions everyone else is taking on in 2021, according to a survey by Wallethub, and you should, too. Plus â how to accomplish them.
So prioritize your emergency fund this year. If you donât have one yet, start by opening an account that will help you grow your money.
But thereâs still work to be done, which is why paying off credit card debt is one of the top financial resolutions this year. Because if you still have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear youâre never going to escapeâ¦
Youâre probably thinking: I donât have the time or money for that. But your application can take minutes â and you could leave your family up to million with a company called Bestow.
2020 made that really hard for most people. Which is why finding a better job, that you actually enjoy â and will pay you more â is a top resolution for 2021.
You donât have to be an accountant or even really good at math to be successful in this business. In fact, all you need are decent computer skills and a passion for helping business owners tackle real-world problems. The ability to stay moderately organized is helpful, too.
You can make up to an hour, according to data from Intuit, the creator of QuickBooks, and you have no commute. Itâs a great opportunity for parents who want a part-time job, recent college grads or anyone who wants to bring in real money working from home.
If you owe your credit card companies ,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
Having an emergency fund is important; you know that. But itâs easy to deprioritize it when things are going fine. And as 2020 showed us, you can lose your job at the drop of a hat, meaning a full emergency fund can be what keeps your lights on.
Source: thepennyhoarder.com
Enter your email address here to get a free Aspiration Spend and Save account. After you confirm your email, securely link your bank account so they can start helping you get extra cash. Your money is FDIC insured and they use a military-grade encryption which is nerd talk for âthis is totally safe.â
Itâs easy to slip away from our good financial habits as the year goes on, so itâs particularly important to find a budgeting system that works for your lifestyle and wonât be hard to maintain.
This one sounds familiar, right? Oft-regarded as Old Faithful when it comes to New Yearsâ resolutions, it holds that title for good reason. Having a budget you can actually stick to will set you up for financial success, no matter what your goals are.
2020 was actually a good year for paying down credit card debt â Americans did more of it this year than they ever have.
Have you thought about how your family would manage without your income if something happened to you? How theyâll pay the bills? Send the kids through school? Nowâs a good time to start planning for the future by looking into a term life insurance policy.
The benefit? Youâll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 3.49% APR), youâll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
AmOne wonât make you stand in line or call your bank, either. And if youâre worried you wonât qualify, itâs free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could help you pay off your debt years faster.
James Cooper, of Atlanta, used Credit Sesame to raise his credit score nearly 300 points in six months.*** âThey showed me the ins and outs â how to dot the Iâs and cross the Tâs,â he said.
Can you open an excel spreadsheet? Does earning an hour sound appealing? How about the freedom to work remotely while helping others succeed?
We’re all about scoring a good deal here at Apartminty.  While we love perusing the top-of-the-line luxury apartments in DC, we also understand, sometimes an affordable rent is the better option. Either way, instead of you searching for Washington, DC apartments on Craigslist and property management company listing sites, we are delivering our choice of the best apartments to rent in DC right now.  Here’s our pick for the best Washington, DC apartment in Columbia Heights for rent today. Want more information on moving to DC? Check out Apartmintyâs  Ultimate Guide to Moving to Washington, DC.
2 Elmira Street SE
Washington, DC 20032
1Â Bedroom/1 Bath
$1115/month
Unit #:Â 3
710 Sq Ft
Available Now
Why it’s a great deal:
If you are looking for a true rental deal, Crescent Park is a dream. Located right off of South Capitol Street, these spacious apartments come equipped with hardwood floors, updated kitchens, and free basic cable. With on-site maintenance and management teams, on-site laundry facilities, and the ability to pay your rent online! Looking for something a little different? Check out Apartminty’s guide How to Find an Apartment in DC.
Read Property Spotlight of the Day-Crescent Park on Apartminty.
Source: blog.apartminty.com