Archive for December, 2009

There are things that you can save on by saving yourself from making the purchase.  However, there are things that you have to pay for, whether you like it or not.  One of these things is the insurance for your car.  It is not possible to renew your car’s registration if you do not have auto insurance.

You have to take note though, that even if you have to purchase auto insurance, you don’t have to get them at a premium price.  In fact, there are ways by which you can save on auto insurance without doing much bargaining with the insurance broker.

*  Keep your credit report clean.

Every business loves a customer with a good credit history.  If you have been dutiful in paying your obligations to your previous creditors, insurance companies will also assume that you will also be a good customer with them.  Thus, they will try to give you the best offers just to get your business.

*  Stay away from accidents.

Your driving record is also a basis on the cost that you will have to pay for your auto insurance.  If you would like to save on your auto insurance, be a good driver.  If your driving history shows that you have been involved in an accident, your auto insurance company will see that as having an added risk.  A delinquent driving record increases the possibility that you will be involved in a future accident.

*  As much as possible, try not to claim against your auto insurance.

When accidents happen, whether it is your fault or the other party’s, try your best not to have the insurance company pay for the damages.  Your next insurance company might see it as an added risk if you have made claims against your previous insurance.  Thus, your next auto insurance premiums will be higher.

*  Stick with your former insurance provider.

If you have been a good payer and if you have never filed any insurance claim, your insurance company will want to keep you as their customer.  You will be able to save money on your insurance premiums because they will offer you the lowest rates possible just to keep you from moving to another insurance company.

These are the simplest ways on how you can save on your auto insurance.  They don’t require much effort on your part, yet they can save you money that you can use to pay your other bills.

Writer: MCUERDO

With several other laws of the Credit Card Act still yet to come into full effect until February 2010, credit card companies are projected to cost millions of dollars in projected profits. Thus, for customers in the midst of the Christmas season, consumer groups urge credit card holders to be wary of last minute hikes in their interest rates.

Though such a reaction to the holiday shopping spree is the best that companies can do to compensate for their losses within legal boundaries, Montrice Godard Yakimov, Managing Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision under the US Department of the Treasury, in a memo released after President Obama’s approval of the Credit Card Act, warns against unfair practices which companies in the past were found guilty of.

Yakimov expressed that while the government requires that “consumers receive a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments”, guilty parties were found to have “prohibited payment allocation methods that unfairly maximize interest charges and, in the subprime credit card market, limited fees that reduce the credit available to consumers.”

Yakimov urged CEOs of credit companies that consumers with a track record of paying credit card bills on time should be given the incentive of not raising the interest rate on an existing credit card balance. This recommendation may be easier said than done.

Since President Barack Obama signed the Credit Card Act into law in May to safeguard consumer rights against deceptive and unfair arrangements, especially for credit card holders and interested applicants, the policy has been met with lesser customer-friendly policies coming from the credit card companies themselves.

Since mid-August, companies which issue credit cards reacted to the policy with stricter policies against provisions such as the requirement that issuers provide 21 days for consumers to pay their credit card bills, and the requirement that issuers provide 45 days notice of changes in terms.

Time will tell as there are several other key provisions effective on February 22, 2010 in the Credit Card Act are anticipated to either make of break the affected credit companies which may either draw in more volumes of credit card ownerships and more efficient payment or severely increase the difficulty of acquiring new credit cards.

The fill force of the provisions include the following: (1) enhanced disclosure of card terms and conditions, (2) fairness in the timing and application of card payments, (3) responsible lending, (4) restriction of certain fees and interest charge, (5) prevention of unfair increases in interest rates and changes in terms, (6) strengthening oversight of credit card industry practices, (7) safeguards for young people who obtain credit cards, (8) enhanced penalties; and (9) gift card protections.

Writer: Anthony