How to Avoid Credit Card Late FeesWritten by Daryl Flagg
Everyone hates late fees and being late will cost you dearly these days. For some credit cards today, if you are late, you will have to shell out as much as $40 each time. This can put a nice sized hole in your pocket really quick.Below, I will provide you with some tips and strategies on how to steer clear of those monstrous late fees. This will not only save you a lot of money in long run, but it will also keep those money-hungry credit card companies, I won’t mention any names, from getting your hard earned money. Just pay your bill. One of easiest ways of avoiding a late fee is to just pay your bill each and every month by sending in a check, money order, or other type of payment to your respective credit card issuer. Just make sure you follow numerous guidelines, which are usually outlined on back of each credit card bill, on how to send in your payment. These guidelines must be followed precisely if you want to guarantee that your payment will go through on time. Payment guidelines may include everything from a specific payment address to time of day by which payment must be received to be credited that day. Many issuers also stipulate that payments must arrive in preprinted envelope sent to customer. While Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit payments day they are received, each issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of guidelines are not met, issuer can take as many as five days to credit payment. An on-time payment could easily become late during that five-day period, so follow those payment guidelines carefully. Just skip payment. One of more rare types of methods you hear of are Skip-A-Payment services. You can use these services to skip mortgage, credit card, or loan payments. Usually you would need to get in contact with your bank just to see if you even qualify or not. There are also independent companies out there that will allow you to do same thing, no matter what bank you are a member of. Depending on whose service you use, fee’s associated with it vary. When you use these types of services make sure you know how much you will be charged then decide if it’s worth it or not. Pay minimum due immediately. One of best ways to prevent a late fee from being charged to your account is to pay minimum due immediately. As soon as you receive your bill, send in minimum due. This will always insure that your credit card issuer received payment. You can always send in more money later if you decide otherwise. This is a great way to avoid missing a payment because if you forget to send extra money you can guarantee that you won’t be charged a late fee because minimum due has been already been paid.
| | Could a Roth IRA be Better Than a 401(k)?Written by Terry Mitchell
Very few people whom I know are familiar with benefits of Roth IRA. It was named for late Senator William Roth of Rhode Island, who proposed it. It is similar to a traditional IRA except contributions are never tax-deductible. Contributions to traditional IRAs are sometimes deductible or partially deductible, depending on your income and whether or not you have a retirement plan like a 401(k) at work. With Roth IRAs, individuals are limited to incomes of $95,000 ($150,000 for couples) to be eligible for full contribution amounts. However, unlike traditional IRA, you can withdraw your contributions from a Roth IRA at any time, at any age without penalty. Earnings are not taxed if you wait until at least age 59 1/2 to begin withdrawing them and have held your Roth IRA for at least five years. With a Roth IRA, contributions are taxed without any deferment, but they grow tax-free and gains are never taxed (see above). With a 401(k), contributions are tax-deferred, but eventually contributions and gains will be taxed. By time most people retire, earnings from their retirement accounts will far exceed their contributions, due to compounding. With that in mind, one could make case for a Roth IRA possibly being better than a 401(k). Here's an illustration. Let's suppose that over course of 25 years you contributed a total of $75,000 to your 401(k) and your employer kicked in $30,000 during that same period for a total of $105,000. By end of those 25
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