High credit card debt? Wait till '06

Next Christmas, when it comes time to pay off holiday shopping charged to your credit card, there's a good chance you'll be sending money to Bank of America's Wilmington-based credit card unit. And, according to some consumer advocates, there's a good chance you'll be paying higher interest and fees.


delawareonline � The News Journal � High credit card debt? Wait till '06

USATODAY.com - A holiday spending budget can help avoid debt hangover

"The holiday sales have started. But don't blow that wad of hard-earned cash on gifts and other holiday spending without having a budget."

USATODAY.com - A holiday spending budget can help avoid debt hangover

The Morning News :: Opinion Page

"Friend No. 1 is a young mother. Friend No. 2 is a young but accomplished golfer. Friend No. 1 thought it would be a nice idea to give Friend No. 2 a subscription to a golf magazine, and did. Within days of the first issue's arrival arrived an invitation for Friend No. 2 to obtain a bank credit card, a Visa.

Friend No. 1 is my daughter. Friend No. 2 is my granddaughter. Friend No. 1 is 30-something. Friend No. 2 is -- 8."

The Morning News :: Opinion Page

3 approaches to paying off debt

"Paying off a debt completely is very satisfying and can make a person feel that progress is being made toward becoming debt-free. In addition, consumers who are overwhelmed by the sheer number of payments they have to make every month, and the accounts they have to keep up with, might like to go with this plan."

3 approaches to paying off debt

The right way to be good about credit - Oct. 21, 2005

MONEY Magazine: The right way to be good about credit - Oct. 21, 2005

"NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - No fuss, no muss, very Zen. That's my credit-card life. I've got one card and only one card, which I pay in full and on time every month.
You may assume, as I did until recently, that such Girl Scout behavior automatically makes me a stellar credit risk. But as it turns out, practitioners of the dark and complex art of credit scoring don't necessarily give me -- or anyone else who handles their credit simply but responsibly -- too many props for prudence.
Yes, good behavior generally boosts creditworthiness. But when you're trying to qualify for low-cost credit, there's a right way and a wrong way to be good. "

Fix my mix: Debts undo a saver

""I really want to learn more about investing," says Johnson, who is single and earns nearly $100,000 a year. "My goal is to be in a solid financial position by the time I'm 35."

Standing in the way of that goal, however, are a handful of beginner mistakes that have opened her up to more risk than she realizes."

Debts undo a saver

Credit card companies getting tough

"Juliet McIver says the interest rate on her bank card nearly tripled because of someone else's mistake.

Another creditor, a retailer, lost one of her payments and temporarily dinged her credit report. Her downgraded credit rating pushed the Los Angeles resident into the high-interest-rate category on her bank card.

When the retailer later found the payment and admitted the error, her bank card issuer refused to pull her interest rate back down from the stratosphere."

Credit card companies getting tough