Wednesday, March 5, 2008 

0% APR Credit Cards: Use Them To Your Advantage!

The era of 0% APR credit cards is still with us. Yes, you can obtain a spanking new credit card featuring a very low introductory interest rate and take advantage of what amounts to "free money" for you for up to one year. You can use your new card to your advantage, but you must be careful that you fully understand how a 0% APR credit card works to order to maximize its effectiveness. I will show you how, so please keep reading for all the informative details!

Soon after the new millennium started, interest rates began to drop to historically low levels. By 2002, loan rates for government funds dipped to just less than one percent, pushing consumer loan rates down with it as well. Credit card providers, seeing a terrific opportunity unfolding, immediately began to offer 0% APR credit cards to new card holders and even extended the offer to their current customers.

Today, interest rates have been climbing for two years, but 0% APR credit card offers are still available to you. Quite frankly, the entire lending business is very competitive and credit card providers are willing to forego interest for up to twelve months in order to get your business.

To maximize the effectiveness of 0% APR credit cards, there are a few things that you must know:

Limited Time Offer. 0% APR credit cards contain an introductory period lasting typically from six to twelve months. This means that anything you charge during that time will not accumulate interest. Go ahead and spread out your payments over several months: If you purchase something for $1000, you can make four equal payments of $250 interest free. Keep earning interest on your savings and let the credit card company fund your purchase!

Transfer Balances and Save Big! Many 0% APR credit card offers will allow you to transfer balances from your existing credit cards to your new card and waive transfer fees. If you owe $3000 on your current credit cards and are paying 19% interest on your balances, you could save nearly $600 in interest payments over twelve month's time!

Pay On Time. Do not be lulled into thinking that a 0% APR credit card doesn't require monthly payments. If you miss a payment or are late, you could find that your remaining balance is subject to interest charges and penalties as your card shifts to a default rate. Pay on time or kiss your 0% APR credit card rate goodbye!

Pay It All Off. In some cases, you must pay off your balance before the introductory rate period expires. If you don't, the default rate kicks in. Make certain that you clearly understand your card's terms.

Clearly, a 0% APR credit card has strong advantages for the person seeking to make new purchases as well as someone who wants to transfer their balances. Use a 0% APR credit card to your advantage and put some money back in your pocket!

Copyright 2006 Ed Vegliante. Free online reprints of this article are allowed provided the resource box remains intact with a live link back to http://www.credit-card-surplus.com

Ed Vegliante runs the website http://www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com, a well organized credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare and apply for a variety of credit card offers including 0% APR Credit Cards. View more Credit Card Articles.



 

Bright Ideas for Unique Groomsmen Gifts Today

Wedding couples nowadays aspire to stand out from the rest from booking the most wonderful hotel to giving away the best gifts to their guests. This desire to be the best is natural. After all, who wouldn't want to have the most romantic and perfect wedding of all? A normal dilemma in this situation is getting presents for their parents and the characters in the traditional wedding, which includes the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the flower girls and the ring bearer. So how can we somehow ease this perfect-gift-finding struggle? So start looking and preparing for the groomsmens gifts by reading up.

If cost is not the issue, then go ahead and get the groomsmen something classy. Something that they will surely try out for the first time and they can brag about to their friends. Classy and high-end items may mean expensive, but what the heck? If these guys really mean something to the bride and groom, then giving them something valuable and impressive wouldn't hurt much. Why not let them try out a box of limited edition Cuban Cigars or new tailored suits if they can afforded by the couple? New speakers for the car or the home will really impress and make the groomsmen stand up in utter applause. Surely these items may cause a dent to the budget, but in the long run the couple will see how appreciative people can be when there is effort to astound and make them happy.

If spending too much cash is something out of the picture, then anyone can always turn to the arts and crafts department and the big old photo store and make a customized groomsmen gift. Find pictures of the groom and his groomsmen and make a collage of memories from their first meeting until the present day. Have these pictures scanned and then reprinted on glossy paper and in an extra large length and width. Then place these poster-sized pictures in large wooden picture frames for the groomsmen to get after the wedding. Now that is truly touching and memorable for a gift, is it not?

In the end, what is enjoyable and worthwhile is whatever that will make the groomsmen of the wedding exactly happy and contented. A unique suggestion is getting them to shop around at a sports store, a music haven or an appliance shop where they can pick out what they want with a certain budget limit of course! Now thats a pretty new way to bond as a group of friends with the groom standing as the nice guy of them all. Afterwards, the groom can just treat them out to the bar for some wholesome boys night or to play poker or pool. So go out and shop till they find what they want and need, and then hang out till the wee hours of the morning. Surely these suggestions will make the groomsmen look forward to what they will be getting.

Claire Rohm loves to shop and write about Unique Groomsmen Gifts. Drop by and visit us at http://www.engravedgiftcreations.com



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