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Your first credit card can be the start to building your financial future. Just remember, how you use it can affect you for years down the road.

For example, build a good credit score and you could see lower interest rates on home and auto loans, and receive better credit card perks. Make too many mistakes with a first card, however, and you could have less financial flexibility. Landlords, lenders and utility companies could view a low credit score as a risky customer for them and deny you services, or at least charge you more for them.

Start by only using your new credit card for emergencies. Dont use it for everyday purchases. Set up an emergency fund with auto-transfer capabilities to pay for any unexpected costs”such as a broken car, hospital stay or other emergency”and then pay the credit card bill in full when they happen.

Once youve set up an emergency fund and have a household budget to follow, start to add some recurring charges to your credit card. These can be a cellphone bill, utility bill, Netflix or other monthly payment.

If you can handle those bills without a problem”meaning you can pay them in full and on time each month”then its time to start making everyday purchases on your credit card if they fit in your budget.

Paying your credit card bill in full each month (and on time), will mean you wont pay interest charges or late fees. Those two steps are the best things you can do to raise your credit score. If you cant pay your bill in full each month, at least make the minimum payment and dont charge anything more until youve paid off the balance.

Having a credit card balance is okay, as far as a credit scores go, as long as its less than 30 percent of your total credit card limit. A higher debt-to-credit ratio and creditors could see you as a risk because you may be spending more than you can afford.

From time to time you may get blank checks from your credit card company. Dont use them. Theyre cash advances on your credit and carry higher interest rates than regular charges do.

After getting your first credit card, youll likely get more credit card offers in the mail from other credit issuers. They may offer all types of rewards and better rates than your current card. Dont go for them until youve established a good credit report for at least a year. Having too many credit cards can only complicate your finances and make it easier to overspend.

Lastly, read your credit card statement carefully each month. Look for fraudulent charges and other errors, and report them to your credit card company immediately. And get in the habit of checking your credit report for free at least once a year from the three main credit reporting agencies to check for errors on your report.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Building good credit takes time, and it can be a few years before college students or graduates have a good enough credit score to get a credit card or loans at low interest rates.

A student credit card can help as a college students first credit card, though it does come with some conditions.

First, a student will have to do more than attend college. Theyll need some type of income, and without any credit history, a card may be difficult to be approved for.

One way to get around this is to get a secured credit card, which requires a cash deposit of anywhere from $300 to $5,000 as collateral. The deposit will be paid to the card issuer if you dont pay your bill. Secured cards may have high activation fees, as well as annual fees.

Some secured cards allow customers to move to unsecured cards, which simply means that you wont have to give the lender a deposit after 12 months of good credit behavior, such as paying bills on time.

Other credit cards aimed at students allow co-signers, or people you know who have an established credit history and will be responsible for the bill if the student doesnt pay it. Such a card may be needed if you dont have a steady income and are applying for your first credit card.

Most student credit cards dont have sign-up bonuses, rewards points and other perks, though some offer lesser rewards for newbies; however, that shouldnt be the point of getting your first credit card as a student.

The main point is to use your student credit card as a tool to learn how to responsibly use and manage small amounts of credit, pay bills on time, and spend within your means. Students are unlikely to buy big purchases with credit cards, but to pay off what they can afford each month without paying interest.

Starting good credit habits early in life can pay off years later when you want to get an auto loan, home mortgage or apply for additional credit cards.

If you dont use your credit card well, remember that any negative information can stay on a credit report for seven years in most cases. That can be a long time until youre able to qualify for a credit card at all, let alone one with a good interest rate.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Online security breaches where retailers are hacked and customers credit card information is stolen are becoming a regular part of the news cycle.

Cybercriminals can sell the data online to other criminals, who can then use the information to open bogus accounts in the names of legitimate customers, run up charges on the stolen credit cards and commit other acts of fraud.

The going rate for a U.S. credit card number and a software-generated card verification number is worth $5 to $8, according to a report by Intel Security called The Hidden Data Economy. If a bank ID number or date of birth is included, the black market price rises to $15.

Add in other details, such as a cardholders full name, address, mothers maiden name and Social Security number, among other things ” called Fullzinfo ” and it can sell for $30.

For information stolen from an ATM card, the report says that U.S. cards with PIN numbers sell for $110 each. Some thieves make duplicate cards that they say can be used at ATMs worldwide.

Hackers often sell such data in batches of hundreds of thousands, making them extremely valuable.

Chip-based credit cards, also called EMV cards, can also be hacked, according to a CNN story.

Data breaches affect nearly 18 million Americans, or 7 percent of the adult population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It found that 7 percent of adults in 2014 were victims of at least one incident of identity theft. The misuse of an existing account was the most common type of theft.

Consumers dont have to rely only on merchants to protect their credit cards from being hacked. Here are some preventative steps you can take on your own:

• Monitor your credit card by signing up for fraud alerts from your credit card company or a credit monitoring site.
• Check your credit report every four months for free by requesting one from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.
• Change passwords and PINs often on financial accounts, using unique combinations.
• Keep your Social Security and other identifying information private and dont give it out to anyone who asks for it.
• Use encryption software on your computer.
• Shred documents with personal information.
• Along with reporting identity theft to your credit card company or bank, report it to police.

I hope you found this information helpful. Please contact me for all your real estate needs today!

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Sponges are a kitchen staple, but a clean sponge can spread grime all over your eating space. How often should you clean your sponge, and how should you do this? Don’t just trash a sponge when it begins looking spotty. Instead, clean them weekly, and toss them out monthly or sooner, depending on frequency of use. Our friends at Good Housekeeping offer the following solutions:

Soak ’em. Mix a third-quarter cup of bleach in one gallon of water. Soak the sponge for five minutes, then rinse. How effective is this? In testing, the bleach solution kills 99.9 percent of the three bacteria strains from the test sponges, which is the benchmark based on the EPA’s requirement for sanitization of non-food-contact surfaces.

Brine ’em. Not a fan of bleach? Vinegar is nearly as effective, killing 99.6 percent of bacteria. Simply soak your sponge in full-strength vinegar for five minutes, then rinse with water.

Zap ’em. Microwaving your sponge does indeed work, zapping 99.9 percent of germs. How do you do it? Saturate your sponge with water, then microwave it on high for one minute.

Cycle ’em. You can run your sponge through the dishwasher to sanitize them, again killing 99.9 percent of germs. Just add your sponge to a regular dishwasher load, and, if you can, use the heated dry setting.

Source: Good Housekeeping

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre buried in credit card debt, theres a reasonable solution that your credit card company may allow you to use, but only if you ask about it.

A hardship plan, also known as a credit card payment plan, can help dig you out of debt and ultimately improve your credit score. A hardship plan can also save you money in interest payments and reduce your monthly credit card bill.

Dont be scared if you think a hardship plan is the same thing as the debt management plans you see on TV commercials. Those require you to pay a fee to a credit counseling agency to negotiate debt repayment terms with each of your lenders. All of the debts are paid through a single monthly payment that the counseling agency collects from you. The credit counselor is the liaison between you and your debt collectors.

A hardship plan, however, doesnt have an intermediary or mass payment of lenders. You work directly with your credit card issuer and the repayment program it sets up.

Creditors can differ on what they offer in hardship plans, typically a combination of a lower interest rate, smaller minimum payment, lower fees and penalties, and a fixed payment schedule.

Being allowed to take part in a hardship plan can be as easy as calling your credit card issuer and explaining why you need one. You may have just lost your job or had an emergency that is costly, and need a credit card payment plan to help you through this rough time.

Credit Score Could Drop
Signing up for a hardship plan doesnt immediately affect your credit, but your scores could be indirectly impacted by the way the program works.

The credit card issuer will put a note on your credit report that youre participating in its hardship plan. This is a sign that youre taking responsibility to repay your lenders, which is a good thing. But to potential creditors, it could be a sign that your finances arent stable. Ask your credit card issuer what note it will send to the credit bureaus and how that might affect your ability to get future credit.

While youre in a hardship program, your credit card company may close or suspend your account until youve paid off the debt. Closing a credit card”no matter if it’s you or the credit card company that does it”can lower your credit score.

Eventually, a hardship plan should help you get a hefty increase in your credit score once you complete the plan successfully. An initial drop should be expected, though after months of on-time payments and other responsible behavior you should start to see your credit score improve.

Published with permission from RISMedia.