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There are some websites you would like to purchase merchandise but you don’t trust the website yet with your credit card information. A solution is in place, Get a Prepaid Credit Card! These plastic wonders help you protect your real credit card information giving you better peace of mind when doing this kind of purchases

Advantages of Prepaid Credit Cards

These Credit Cards provide a reliable way to purchase from somebody you don’t trust yet, since you can control their balance. If you are purchasing a $20 item you can get a prepaid credit card around that price. Also with these Prepaid Credit Cards you don’t pay any interest, saving you lots of money in the long run. Also you can send these out to your kids in college to control their spending. And since its so easy to refill them it makes sending them money a breeze.

Where I can use a prepaid credit card?

You can use a prepaid credit card in every place that you can use a regular credit card. Online purchases, Grocery Stores, gas and convenience stores, department stores, etc. And if You get a pin number with your Prepaid Credit Card you can even get money from a ATM.

These card are normally safer to use than regular Credit Cards because their balance is their maximum expending limit, no overdraft, no having somebody steal it to spend countless amount of money, and no kids expending more than their allowed amouth. Get a little more peace of mind today and get a prepaid credit card for all your online purchases.

Whether you have excellent credit, good credit or poor credit; make a great income, middle income or low income; have too much debt - are self-employed - have a loan with a pre-payment penalty - or need to rebuild or renew your credit…YOU MUST TAKE A LOOK AT:
“Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Home Loans (And the Top Ten Most Common Mistakes That Can Cost You Big Money)”

You, as a homeowner or homebuyer, are about to make a decision that will effect you immediately and into the future (sometimes for years to come). By financing a new home or by refinacing an existing home, you will be joining literally thousands of others homeowner or homebuyers. You will be faced with one of the most important financial commitments you will ever undertake. Even the veteran homeowner faces challenges everytime he or she looks for a new mortgage. It is amazing how much the mortgage industry changes even monthly (not to mention yearly).

During the application process, you’ll be exposed to perhaps hundreds of mortgage options (from reputable and not so reputable mortgage companies).

Who do you trust? Who understands your particular credit, whether it may be excellent, good or poor? Who would possibly know how to solve your particular problems..one-on-one? Who is offering you the best mortgage options? Who has your best interest at heart?

These are critical decisions that thousands of borrowers, both homeowners and homebuyers have to make each and every day. This can make finding the perfect mortgage loan for you and your family (or even an investment property) very difficult .

With each wrong decision you make, you’re literally risking the chance of loosing thousands of dollars (like throwing it right into the trash) AND making taking a BIG hit on your personal credit! This may leave you with a financial burden that can drain you for many months or years to come.

Fortunately, we have the solution you need. We have put together an absolutely must-have ONLINE REPORT for all borrowers from excellent, good or poor credit. Homeowners and homebuyers looking to get the perfect loan or an investor wishing to make his or her first, second or third investment purchase or investment refinance. This FREE ONLINE REPORT is NOT limited to just those who have credit issues, but also will help homeowners and homebuyers who have too much debt, who are self-employed, and who have pre-payment penalty loans or who need to renew or rebuild their credit.

This information will give you the knowledge you need to make educated decisions throughout your entire loan process. It will allow you to find and decide on the perfect loan for you and your family.

So, get yourself a copy of this must-have FREE ONLINE REPORT now! Use the information to educate and protect yourself.
Visit our website and download your FREE REPORT TODAY!

Whether you have excellent credit, good credit or poor credit; make a great income, middle income or low income; have too much debt - are self-employed - have a loan with a pre-payment penalty - or need to rebuild or renew your credit…YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS FREE REPORT: “Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Home Loans (And the Top Ten Most Common Mistakes That Can Cost You Big Money)” mortgage books online

The two main areas in Statistics are Descriptive and Inferential statistics. These two branches are tighly associated, but yet we can clearly see the difference between them.

Descriptive statistics corresponds to essentially the act of measuring characteristics from a population. Roughly speaking, descriptive statistics includes the use of a observational study of a population, achieved by summarizing data obtained from a random sample.  There are several alternatives for statisticians to acomplish this objective. Charts and graphs play an important role, plus some standard measurements such as averages, percentiles, and measures of variation, such as the standard deviaton.

One of the most common uses of descriptive statistics is in sports (all kind of sports).  In fact, baseball statisticians spend a lot of effort and resources looking at the raw data and summarizing, categorizing to discover regularities to enlighten the audience. There are many examples that would make this clear. Think of this, for example. In 1948 more than 600 games were played in the  League. To determine who had the best batting average in that year, you would need a lot of effort. You would need to take the official scores for each game, make a list each batter, compute the results of each time the player is at bat, and proceed to count  the total number of hits and the times at bat. The statistics indicate that the winner in 1948 was Ted Williams. On the other hand knowing who were the 25 best players at a given year demands a quite more complex, clearly.

The introduction of the new generation of personal computers has changed everything, though. Now, statisticians have tools that a few years ago would have been impossible to predict. Applications now bring statistical functions that make this calculations a breeze. The imaginary games and sports events developed by using computer applications is essentially the collection of massive amounts of data, and finding correlations in such a way as to be able to compare like activities.

On the other hand, inferential statistics is the process of choosing and measuring the trustworthiness of conclusions about a group based upon data obtained from a sample of the group.  Political polling is a great example of the way inferential statistics are used.  In order to determine who the winner of a presidential election is more likelly to be, in most of the cases a sample of a few thousand (or even less) carefully chosen sample of Americans are asked which way they will be voting. With this answers statisticians are able to predict, or infer who the general population will vote for with a surprinsingly high level of confidence. Clearly, the fundamental elements in inferential statistics are choosing the righ sample of members of the general population will be chosen and what questions will be asked.  Imagine a situation where there is a choice of two candidates, and the polled population, or sample population is asked: Are you planning to vote for X in the upcoming election? the only alternatives for the answer will be either yes, no, or undecided. From the descriptive statistics you can determine that 51% of the sample group will Give their vote to Candidate X.

Applying methods of inferential statistics, you can {predict with a certain degree of confidence that Candidate X will win the election. However, we have to be careful because the the sampling procedure may have given rise to invalid inferences. Let’s recall the classic case of the 1948 Presidential election. Based on a poll obtained by the Gallup Organization, President Harry Truman believed he would get approximately 45% of the votes and would lose to Republican challenger Thomas Dewey.  As a matter of fact, as history proves, Truman won more than 49% of the votes and of course, won the election. This incident changed the way samples were collected, and much more rigorous methods were created to assure that more precise predictions are obtained.

Get more information about statistics help  

The era of information is here, there is no doubt about that. The thing is, how much information can we get? It seems a lot. For all we’ve been learning lately, there is an endless load of information, ready to be pick up for the knowledgeable ones. Mathematical tools such as neural networks, fuzzy logic, data mining have been openning the breach between the ones who know and the ones who don’t.

 How big this breach will be? Well, it seems that it grows big exponentially. It is a clear trend that puts the ones not scientifically or technologically versed behind in such a way that there is no way back. In the 80’s we use to hear that if you couldn’t code, in the future that would be the same as not being able to read or write in the present time, and partially they were right. Only that they were not considering one extra factor: the incredible proliferation of new information. Now it is not enough to know how to code, you need to be able to absorbe loads of information in real time.

 Let’s see how moves even forward in the near future. Adaptivity is the challenge.

If you don’t understand the language, credit card offers and statements could lead you to deep debt — or at least furious frustration. For the big scoop on the fine print, here’s what these frequently used credit card terms mean.

1.Average daily balance — This is the method by which most credit cards calculate your payment due. An average daily balance is determined by adding each day’s balance and then dividing that total by the number of days in a billing cycle. The average daily balance is then multiplied by a card’s monthly periodic rate, which is calculated by dividing the annual percentage rate by 12. A card with an annual rate of 18 percent would have a monthly periodic rate of 1.5 percent. If that card had a $500 average daily balance it would yield a monthly finance charge of $7.50.

2.APR(Annual percentage rate) — A yearly rate of interest that includes fees and costs paid to acquire the loan. Lenders are required by law to disclose the APR. The rate is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan, so borrowers can compare loans.

3.Balance transfer — The process of moving an unpaid credit card debt from one issuer to another. Card issuers sometimes offer teaser rates to encourage balance transfers coming in and balance-transfer fees to discourage them from going out.

4.Cash-advance fee — A charge by the bank for using credit cards to obtain cash. This fee can be stated in terms of a flat per-transaction fee or a percentage of the amount of the cash advance. For example, the fee may be expressed as follows: “2%/$10″. This means that the cash advance fee will be the greater of 2 percent of the cash advance amount or $10.

The banks may limit the amount that can be charged to a specific dollar amount. Depending on the bank issuing the card, the cash advance fee may be deducted directly from the cash advance at the time the money is received or it may be posted to your bill as of the day you received the advance. The cost of a cash advance is also higher because there generally is no grace period. Interest accrues from the moment the money is withdrawn.

5.Card holder agreement — The written statement that gives the terms and conditions of a credit card account. The cardholder agreement is required by Federal Reserve regulations. It must include the Annual Percentage Rate, the monthly minimum payment formula, annual fee if applicable, and the cardholder’s rights in billing disputes. Changes in the cardholder agreement may be made, with written advance notice, at any time by the issuer. Rules for imposing changes vary from state to state, but the rules that apply are those of the home state of the issuing bank, not the home state of the cardholder.

6.Finance charge — The charge for using a credit card, comprised of interest costs and other fees.

7.Floor — The minimum rate possible on a variable-rate loan or line of credit, after any initial introductory rate period. For example, on a credit card with the Prime rate as its index, no matter how low the Prime rate drops, the rate on the line may never decrease below the stated rate floor.

8.Free Period — Also called a “grace period,” a free period lets you avoid finance charges by paying your balance in full before the due date. Knowing whether a card gives you a free period is especially important if you plan to pay your account in full each month. Without a free period, the card issuer may impose a finance charge from the date you use your card or from the date each transaction is posted to your account. If your card includes a free period, the issuer must mail your bill at least 14 days before the due date so you’ll have enough time to pay.

9.Minimum payment — The minimum amount a cardholder can pay to keep the account from going into default. Some card issuers will set a high minimum if they are uncertain of the cardholder’s ability to pay. Most card issuers require a minimum payment of two percent of the outstanding balance.

10.Over-the-limit fee — A fee charged for exceeding the credit limit on the card.

11.Periodic rate — The interest rate described in relation to a specific amount of time. The monthly periodic rate, for example, is the cost of credit per month; the daily periodic rate is the cost of credit per day.

12.Pre-approved — A credit card offer with “pre-approved” only means that a potential customer has passed a preliminary credit-information screening. A credit card company can spurn the customers it invited with “pre-approved” junk mail if it doesn’t like the applicant’s credit rating.

13.Secured card — A credit card that a cardholder secures with a savings deposit to ensure payment of the outstanding balance if the cardholder defaults on payments. It is used by people new to credit, or people trying to rebuild their poor credit ratings.

14.Teaser rate — Often called the introductory rate, it is the below-market interest rate offered to entice customers to switch credit cards or lenders.

15.Variable interest rate — Percentage that a borrower pays for the use of money, and which moves up or down periodically based on changes in other interest rates.

I hope this terms will help you out a little when choosing your next credit card.

-Thomas Lindstrøm-
owner of:
http://www.greatestcreditcardsite.com

Whether or not you receive a loan and what interest rate you get on your credit card may be determined by something called a FICO score. Named for Fair, Isaac & Co., a California-based company that developed the credit score, the FICO score is the most widely used scoring method to determine credit worthiness.

Scores range from approximately 300 to 800 and are provided to lenders by the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You also have access to your FICO scores, but will be charged a fee by each credit agency providing your report.

According to Fair Isaac, the credit scores of the American public are divided as follows:

• 499 and below 1 percent

• 500-549 5 percent

• 550-599 7 percent

• 600-649 11 percent

• 650-699 16 percent

• 700-749 20 percent

• 749-799 29 percent

• 800 and above 11 percent

A score of 720 or higher will probably get you the best interest rates on a home mortgage. Your credit card company looks at your credit score to decide whether or not to raise your credit limit or charge you a higher interest rate. The higher your credit score, the better you look to lenders and the lower your interest rates.

Raising your FICO score can make a big difference to your wallet. Some basic actions you can take to improve your score include paying your bills on time, lowering your account balances, and not taking on new debt.

Around the time you intend to apply for a loan, several factors can decrease your FICO score and, therefore, your ability to qualify for credit and low interest rates. First, order copies of your credit report from all three bureaus and correct any errors you find. Be sure that balances you have paid down are reflected on the report, along with closed accounts and settlements.

It’s important to get your credit scores from all three credit reporting agencies. Each bureau may have different information about you as reported by retailers and creditors. Clerical errors at a particular agency may also result in a varying score. Lenders often look at all three FICO scores, and rather than using the average of the three scores, they may use the middle score to determine your credit worthiness. Finding out what this middle score is and doing what you can to raise it is to your advantage.

Second, pay what you can on your debt rather than moving it around. Consolidating your credit card debt may be tempting, but it could lower your FICO score. Here’s why: keeping your account balances between 25% and 50% of your available credit, signals a responsible borrower. For example, if you have a credit card with a $2000 limit, you should keep your debt below $1000. The ratio of your credit card balance to your credit card limit will increase if you pile all of your debt into a couple of accounts, rather than keeping it spread out over several.

If you have three credit cards with limits of $2000 each, and you owe a balance of $1500 on all three combined, you have a total credit limit of $6000 on which you owe a balance of $1500. That’s a debt to credit limit ratio of 25%. But if you consolidate your $1500 debt into one card with a $2000 limit, you increase your debt to credit limit ratio to 75%, an unfavorable factor in your overall credit score. For this reason, the best solution is to simply pay off your existing cards as quickly as possible.

Also important in making the most of your FICO score near loan time is keeping unused accounts open, for the same reason as listed above. Your debt to credit limit ratio will rise drastically if you close your unused accounts. Wait until you have secured your loan to trim inactive accounts from your credit report. Also refrain from applying for any new accounts during this time.

Paying off your debt in a timely manner, building a solid credit history over a lengthy period of time, and erasing errors from your credit reports can all help you make the most of your FICO score and, in the end, make the most of your money.

Resources:
Equifax 800 525-6285 http:///www.equifax.com
Experian 888 397-3742 http://www.experian.com
TransUnion 800 680-7298 http://www.tuc.com
Credit Damage 714 441-0900 http://www.creditdamage.com

Cathy Taylor is a marketing consultant with over 25 years experience. She specializes in internet marketing, strategy and plan development, as well as management of communications and public relations programs for small business sectors. She can be reached at Creative Communications: creative-com@cox.net or by visiting
http://www.creditdamage.com or http://www.internet-marketing-small-business.com

I am delighted to say that I am a credit card deadbeat! In fact, some of you might already be credit card deadbeats too, if so, I commend you for your excellent work! Now, as for those who don’t know what a credit card deadbeat is, before you start thinking I have a screw loose, you may want to continue reading!

When I say that I am a credit card deadbeat, I don’t mean that I avoid my credit card bills. To the contrary, a credit card deadbeat is the insider term used by credit card company executives and refers to all of the credit card users who pay off their bill each month promptly; in doing so, such customers pay no interest and prevent the creditor from making any profit! That’s me! I love being a credit card deadbeat!

The alternative to being a credit card deadbeat is what credit card executives call a revolver. A revolver is a credit card user that constantly carries a balance and is charged regular, monthly interest on their charges. Credit card companies love revolvers because they, in essence, increase the bottom line for the credit card company and make them a nice profit. Further, from an insider perspective, the best customers not only carry a balance, but also make their payments late, triggering extra fees and a higher interest rate.

Okay, so I’ve been a credit card deadbeat for awhile now, but last year I went even further in improved my deadbeat ways. Not only did I hang onto my hard earned cash by refusing to line the wallets of the credit card companies, but I also happily lined my own wallet with their money, to the tune of $1,402. Yes, that’s right, they paid me $1,402 to use their cards; continue reading to find out how!

Cash Back Credit Card

First, I applied online for a Cash Back Credit Card and I was instantly approved. My new cash back credit card arrived to my house the following week ready for me to use. This card offered me 0% APR for 12 months and carried no annual fee; With it, I made all of my gas purchases, as well as grocery and drugstore purchases and earned 5% back cash back on the gas purchases and 1% back on all other purchases. I have a family of four and the gas purchases included gas for my spouse’s car as well. My average monthly purchases and cash back earnings were as follows:

Monthly Gas Purchases $325 x .05 = $16.25
Monthly Grocery Bill $1,200 x .01 =$12.00
Monthly Drugstore Purchases $160 x .01 = 1.60

Total Cash Back Earnings From Credit Card $ 29.85 x 12 = $358.20

Airline Rewards Credit Card

I also applied for an airline rewards credit card and again was instantly approved online. Like the cash back credit card, my new airline rewards credit card arrived the following week, came with a 0% introductory APR for 12 months and had no annual fee. This credit card earns 1 frequent flyer mile for every $1 charged.

I charged many of my miscellaneous expenses, including major purchases and business expenses, on my new Airline Rewards Credit Card. As a result, the qualified expenses came to an average of $2,250 monthly or $27,000 for the year, earning 27,000 frequent flyer miles, more than enough for an airline ticket to Hawaii: a $500 value!

0% Introductory APR for 12 Months

Now here’s the kicker. Since both credit cards came with a 0% introductory APR for 12 months, I paid only the minimum payments on each card and placed the money for my purchases into a savings account earning 2.5% (rates have gone up since). Using averages for simplicity, I made 12 monthly deposits of $3,935 into a savings account earning 2.5% interest compounded monthly. By the end of the year, I earned $544 in interest!

My Total Credit Card Earnings for the Year

So here is my total earnings from the cash back credit card, airline rewards card, and interest earned.

Cash Back 12 x 29.85 = $358
Free Airline Ticket $500
Savings Account Interest $544

Total Earned $1,402

Just to make sure I maintain my deadbeat ways, now that the 0% introductory rate has expired, I’ve paid off my balance from the money I deposited into my savings account during the year. To be a credit card deadbeat you need persistence, determination, and discipline. I did it, and so can you!

Copyright ® 2005 Stephanie Andrews

Stephanie Andrews is a contributing editor for www.credit-card-surplus.com , a well organized credit card directory enabling the user to compare and apply for offers including www.credit-card-surplus.com/cashback.php and www.credit-card-surplus.com/airline.php