Beware Of Falling Minimum Payments By: James Dimmitt If you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don’t be so quick to “jump for joy”. What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually the rock that can weigh you down in debt for a lifetime. More and more credit card companies are moving to requiring a minimum payment of 2% of your total outstanding balance. Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group out of San Francisco, found that the number of card companies with a 2% minimum payment reached 53%, up from 43% just a year ago. Some creditors have even gone so far as to call this a “consumer friendly” move claiming it will assist consumers faced with today’s economic woes. In reality, a lower minimum payment causes you to take longer to pay off your debt to the creditor while winding up paying them more money in interest payments. For example, let’s say you have a credit card debt of $2500.00 @18% annual percentage rate (APR). Your monthly minimum payment based on a 2.5% pay back rate would be $62.50 per month. Oh and by the way, here’s what the credit card company really doesn’t want you to know - it will take you 20 YEARS to pay off your $2500.00 balance paying the minimum monthly due. And you will have paid the credit card company $3,365.51 in interest! Now lets look at the same example using the rate of 2% minimum monthly payment. Your monthly payment drops to just $50.00 a month. You might be tempted to think “wow, I’ve got an extra $12.50 a month to play with, yippeee!”. Not so fast! That lower minimum payment now means it will take you 34.5 YEARS to pay off your balance of $2500.00 and you’ll wind up paying $6,430.93 in interest! Consumer Action also reports that many credit card companies are imposing higher late payment fees and “more than a third of card issuers said they will raise existing cardholders' rates because of poor credit histories -- with other creditors -- even if the consumer has made regular, timely payments with that issuer”. My advice is to watch your use of credit carefully, always pay more than the minimum monthly due, and be sure to read the fine print on any credit card offers or changes to your existing accounts. About the Author: © 2005, http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com Author: James H. Dimmitt James is editor of “To Your Credit” a FREE weekly newsletter focusing on managing your personal finances and credit. Subscribe and get a FREE copy of your credit report when you visit: http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com

Inside Finance Insurance Your Life Today   Life insurance will help our future. Whole life insurance is a premier life insurance product offered by a number of life companies. Without a doubt whole life insurance is the most comprehensive type of life insurance available. Health Insurance Strategies   Health Insurance Strategies for California Employers is been discussed in this article. This is a strategy where the employer buys a health plan with a large deductible. Typically, these are groups that are coming from a plan with a very low deductible. Since the higher deductible plans are usually much less money, the money saved is used to put into the employee's "Health Savings Account." The money in this account is used by the employee to pay qualified medical expenses. Money Using Mortgage Leads   A Mortgage Lead is an exciting thing because you are filled with the thought of buying a house. Mortgage leads are listings of information dealing with how much a house will be. Although the thought of a mortgage lead can be kind of scary, the time when you are looking for a mortgage is one of the most exciting times of your life. Mortgage leads can be found through many different sources, but first you must look at your financial situation before even beginning the thought process of buying a house and looking for a mortgage. Introduction To Maintaining Good Credit   Maintaining the good credit is tending the financial garden. These days, you can't get anywhere without a good credit history. You need a good credit score for the most basic things in life: renting an apartment, applying for a loan, buying anything and everything on credit, not to mention obtaining that all-important plastic passport to the American way: the credit card. Refinancing Home Loan   When should we refinance our home is been discussed in this article. If you find yourself with a lot extra debt, you could take advantage of a cash-out refinance loan. With this type of loan, you add on an amount to your home loan, refinance the entire thing at a lower interest rate, and then take the “extra” money out and pay off your debt.