Credit Cards can be both helpful and harmful | DINKS Finance ...

I have a love/hate relationship with my credit card. I loved using my credit cards in the past when I needed them, I hated paying off the debt over several years, and now I love using them responsibly and watching my credit score get stronger and stronger each month.

I have definitely made my share of financial mistakes in the past and after I finally hit rock bottom I decided to become a responsible young adult and change my financial life around.? I decided that I was sick and tired of having debt and making monthly payments onto my credit cards because that money could otherwise be better spent.? I started paying off all of my credit cards with automatic payments and I set a target date to become debt free.

I know that debt can be overwhelming, but it can also be overcome.? Financial mistakes are fixable and all we have to do is want to change. The financial system does give second chances and as long as we learn from our mistakes our financial future does not have to be a repeat of our financial past.

People can rebuild their credit history by continuously paying off their debts on a regular basis, keeping their balances low relative to the overall limit, and no maintaining more credit card than they need.

The key to building a strong credit history is to know when and why to use our credit cards. I used to misuse my credit cards in the past and that is how I found myself with tens of thousands of dollars in debt at a very young age.? Now every single time that I want to use my credit card I think about my purchase and I ask myself ?Would I have made this purchase in the past?? If the answer is ?yes? then I don?t swipe my card.

Here are Some Financially Responsible Reasons to Use Your Credit Card:

If the store does not accept debit cards as a form of payment and we don?t have cash.? It?s ok to us our Credit Card in this situation because this is beyond our control. We just have to make sure that we make a payment to our Credit Card as soon as possible in order to avoid interest charges.

If we are a little bit short on cash for our purchase. This is a good reason to use our Credit Card because we do have the money, just not on us. We can make a payment to our Credit Card as soon as we get home.

For the Extended Warranty.? If we have saved up for a big purchase such as appliances or electronics it?s a good idea to charge the purchase on our Credit Card for the extended purchase warranty and pay off our purchase as soon as possible.? We purchase our item, we save on interest, and we still get a guarantee.

(Btw if you?re looking for a great new card check out Budgets Are Sexy?s list of great credit card offers. Maybe you?ll find one you like there.)

Here are Some Reasons Why We Should Never Use Our Credit Card:

Just because an item is on sale.? Unnecessary spending is a major reason why people accumulate debt.

If we constantly find our self short on cash.? This is a budgeting issue and using our Credit Card until we receive our next pay check is not fixing the problem, it is only a temporary solution. We need to go over our budget and make cuts in our monthly spending to make sure that we can afford our daily living necessities.

As a personal loan or cash advance.? There is no grace period on cash advances and we are charged interest as of the day we take the money.? The interest rate on cash advances is also a lot higher and therefore we should try to avoid them.

Photo by Money Blog Newz

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How to Lose 20 Pounds!!! ? Inspiredweightloss

April 6, 2012

A focused strategy will help you reach your weight-loss goal. Counting calories and getting active will help!!

Search online and you?ll find dozens of Web sites promising to tell you exactly how to lose 20 pounds (or more), often with hyped-up claims of speedy success, like losing the weight in 30 days or ?just six weeks!? The reality is that losing 20 pounds is an achievable goal if you apply proven strategies, such as counting calories. This approach may take a bit longer than those miracle diets, but it will actually work and help you develop healthy habits to keep the weight off, and even lose more, if that?s your goal.

Lose 20 Pounds: Successful Strategies

Here are four diet truths to help you achieve your goals:

• Cutting out sweet drinks is non-negotiable. Sweet tea, soda, and flavored and sweetened milks, waters, and coffees all have to go. Drink plain water, low-fat milk, and sugar-free drinks instead. A study of 810 adults between 25 and 79 years old showed that after 18 months, those who cut out sweet drinks had greater weight loss than those who cut down on food calories. One possible reason: While your body lets you know when it is full of food, there is no way for your body to tell you when you?ve maxed out on liquid calories.
• Physical activity helps counting calories. Being physically active?burns calories while it improves your overall health. Aim for 30 minutes a day most days of the week. A brisk 30- to 45-minute walk burns 100 to 200 calories. If you can burn 200 calories through exercise, you only have to cut out 300 calories in food or drink to reach your daily calorie-cutting goal.
• Strategically eating less drops weight.?A study of 811 overweight people who participated in four popular diets found that whether diets were low-fat, high-protein, or a combination didn?t matter ? weight-loss success depends on cutting out calories. In fact, you can continue to eat filling portions if you simply replace high-calorie foods with low-calorie foods that contain a lot of water, such as fruits and vegetables. A study of 97 obese women who ate either a low-fat diet or a low-fat diet with additional fruits and vegetables found that those who emphasized fruits and veggies lost up to five pounds more.
• Journaling leads to success.?Counting calories is easier if you write down (or type in) what you eat, including serving sizes and details such as condiments you may have added. ?Research has shown that exercise and journaling really make a difference in long-term weight management,? says Gail Curtis, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Health Sciences in Winston-Salem, N.C. A detailed journal will help you identify your successes and pinpoint where you can cut additional calories or replace high-calorie foods with low-calorie ones.

With dedicated work you can apply these truths to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks or less. So get moving!

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Gleason upset over release of Willliams recording

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Animal Shelters Warn Parents About Easter Pets

Many parents will head to the pet store this weekend to get real live bunnies and chicks for their kids' Easter presents. Even though rabbits are big sellers this weekend, it might not be a good idea to get one as an Easter gift.

Several of the animal shelters in this area say they see an increase in the number of bunnies and chicks that are abandoned after Easter. While an Easter pet may sound like a good idea now, they encourage people to really understand what they're getting into before they add a new pet to the family.

Bunnies may be cute and cuddly, but they make pretty high-maintenance pets.

"They certainly need types of things like food, water, exercise, attention," said Julia Palmer, CEO of the Capital Area Humane Society. "They're also very social so they really require a lot of interaction with owners. A lot of people really want to just put them in a cage, but that's not the best thing for them."

Palmer says bunnies aren't the best pets for little kids either. She says people who make an impulse buy at Easter, and don't understand the responsibility that comes with getting a bunny, often abandon it when the holiday is over.

"The most important thing is that you're educated, whether you get a chick or a bunny," Palmer explained. "That's the best thing for the animal. It doesn't really teach kids respect for pets. We don't want kids to learn that it's okay just to buy a pet for an occasion and discard it later."

Palmer says if you do want to get a bunny, just do your research -- and commit to taking care of it for the 5 to 7 years of its life.

"So we encourage people to come into the shelter and learn about an animal before they adopt," Palmer said. "They should avoid those impulses, because it's not the best thing for the animal and it's not the best thing for your family either."

Baby chicks and ducks are also popular pets to buy this time of year, but Palmer says its important to be cautious before buying one. Since chicks and ducks are farm animals, unless you live on a farm or in an area with an urban ordinance, you won't even be able to keep them as pets.

That's why the Capital Area Humane Society and other local animals shelters recommend buying stuffed animals for Easter baskets this weekend. They're still cute and cuddly, but won't require any trips to the vet.

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Video: Romney starts to take on Obama (cbsnews)

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Alabama Immigration Law Opponents Won't Be Joined By Top Auto ...

Opponents of the Alabama immigration law protest outside of the state Capitol.

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