The Pros and Cons of Cashback Credit Cards
Cashback is a popular incentive offered by many credit card companies. It means that for every dollar you spend, your card issuer will give you back a small percentage, usually in a single payment made once a year. The term cash rebate credit cards is also used to describe this.
The amount paid back is calculated as a percentage of your total spending. Percentages vary, but typically range from 0.5% to 2%. Some card issuers pay higher rates of up to 5% for purchases in some categories (e.g.
gas or groceries) or made through certain retailers.
The big advantage of cashback credit cards is thus obvious: You can make a small saving on every item you buy. This might not seem much at the time, but in most cases all these rebates are added together and returned to you in a single annual payment. If you spend, say, $20,000 a year on your cashback credit card, you could collect up to $1,000 a year in rebates - a handy sum in anyone's language!
There is a potential pitfall to watch out for with cashback cards, though. In most cases these cards also offer attractive-looking balance transfer deals, offering low (or zero) interest rates on the transferred balance for up to 12 months. The aim is to tempt you into shifting long-term debts onto your credit card, as well as spending money on it to benefit from the cashback.
What's the problem with that? Well, the crucial fact is that your monthly repayments are automatically allocated to paying off cheap balance transfer debts first, leaving the high-interest debts from spending trapped on your card until all the cheap debt is repaid.
In other words, you cannot simply pay off the costly debts first.
The best thing, therefore, is to use separate cards for cashback and balance transfers. If you do transfer a balance to your cashback credit card, ensure you pay off the entire balance in your next monthly repayment. In any event, with a cashback credit card ALWAYS pay off the balance by the due date every month - that way you will enjoy a nice little bonus from the cash rebate, and you won't lose any of this money on interest charges.
Finally, note that in recent months some card issuers have cut back on their cashback offers, reducing the rates paid or in some cases abolishing it altogether. If you want cashback, therefore, it's important to shop around, and not simply reply to the first offer that drops unsolicited into your mailbox. Credit card comparison websites such as http://www.finest-credit-cards.com make this easier by displaying all the best offers, updated daily, alongside independent advice on choosing and using a credit card..
7 Cost Cutting Tips
Today's market is rough, so all of us are looking for ways to cut costs. Here are just a few that you can try for yourself: 1. Shared plans with cell phones. If you have a cell phone that offers shared plans (two or more phones sharing the same minutes for a small extra fee) and have a family member that you can trust, ask them if they would like to split the bill with you. My normal cell phone bill was $45, but only $15 for an extra phone and number that a family member has.
We split the bill and now each of us only pay $30/month. Not bad for free long distance!2. Watching for "free admission" days Many places offer "free admission" days or weekends for children or entire families. Even discount days or weekends can help your budget. Watch for these so you can take your family on a special outing.
3. Only eat out on "Kids Eat Free" nightsSeveral restaurant chains and local places have specific days of the week where children eat free. If you only eat out on these specific...
7 Cost Cutting Tips
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The Hidden Cost Of Cheap Hosting
We often see server uptime statistics when looking for hosting providers, for example 99.8%, 99%, or 99.99% server uptime guaranteed. Though 99% server uptime may sound good, but is it really and what does it mean?99% server uptime means that in a year of 365 days, your server will be up 99% of the time, which is 361.35 days (365 days x 99%). This is not really good, because even with 99% uptime your site could be down for 4 days. It would be disastrous if you owned an online store because even an hour's downtime would cost you. Imagine, not only lost revenues, but also customers who switched to your competitors while your site was down.Here are some server uptime examples with calculations showing what various percentages mean.100% server uptimeUp = 365 daysDown = 0 days = 0 hours = 0 minutes99.999% server uptimeUp = 364.9964 daysDown = 0.0036 days = 0.0876 hours = 5.256 minutes99.99% server uptimeUp = 364.9635 daysDown = 0.0365 days = 0.876 hours = 52.56 minutes99.9% server uptimeUp...
The Hidden Cost Of Cheap Hosting
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Business Serve Signs Strategic Partnership With ZyXEL to Bring Cheap Internet Telephone Calls to the Domestic Market
The alliance will bring free or cheap Internet calls (VoIP) via specially configured handsets and downloaded software to the domestic market. The alliance will combine Business Serve's VoIP service, PipeCall, with ZyXEL manufactured hardware equipment, such as broadband connecters and Wi-Fi phones. The partnership centres on marketing and retailing jointly branded products and services through high street retail electrical chains. The launch of a 'plug-and-play' CD, developed in-house by Business Serve, allows customers to simply and easily configure very cheap telephone calls over their broadband connections. CDs, with the hardware, will be available from high street stores or over the Internet.Justin Kuo, General Manager at ZyXEL Communications A/S, commented, "Signing an alliance with Business Serve is an important step and gives us further in-roads into the growing VoIP marketplace.
We recognise Business Serve as an innovative player within the communications sector, one...
Business Serve Signs Strategic Partnership With ZyXEL to Bring Cheap Internet Telephone Calls to the Domestic Market
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Newest Porsche Cayman: Cheap But Thrilling Nonetheless
The automotive world is wondering why Porsche is sending out a newer and cheaper Porsche Cayman. After all, with the Porsche Cayman S running almost double in sales than what has been expected for the vehicle, some business and marketing analysts claim that perhaps it might not be a good thing for Porsche to send out a thrilling and cheaper Porsche Cayman on the road.
The very first Porsche Cayman was produced only this year. And it took the spot that was previously owned by the Porsche 968 in the Porsche line up of exemplary vehicles. This sports car is known to be a coupe that holds two doors.
It also has got two seats in its cabin. According to Porsche, the Cayman idea actually came from the inspiration of the Porsche Boxter. However, the difference is that this new vehicle now makes use of modified flat-6 engines which makes its performance and handling better and smoother compared to its idol.
When the Porsche Cayman revved up its engine...
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Buying Wholesale Glow Sticks
Because glow sticks have such a short life, they are inexpensive. While some glow sticks can last up to several days, depending on the amount of chemicals used in the stick and the temperature of the stick (a frozen stick can last for days), it is more common for a glow stick to burn out within a couple of hours. Thus, it is easy to find inexpensive glow sticks - especially online.
Wholesale glow sticks can be found at numerous websites and in many sizes and colors. By purchasing several hundred glow sticks at once, the purchaser can save a considerable amount of money. For example, individually, one website sells 22-inch glow stick necklaces at 95 cents each.
In quantities of 200 or more, however, that price is reduced to 50 cents each.
Even in smaller quantities, glow sticks can be found very cheap online, for as little as three cents each. To purchase glow sticks in large or small quantities, try an online website that specializes in glow sticks...
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