Credit Card – shemakescents

{Financial Cents} A Quick Tip to Help You Pay Down Debt

Published on February 24, 2016December 22, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason3 Comments

Happy Hump Day Lovelies! I wanted to give you a quick tip that I am using to help me pay down my credit card debt. If you can, I would recommend you plan your payments on debt such as your mortgage and credit cards to bi-weekly payments. Since there are two months out of the year that have five weeks, you end up with an extra month’s payment at the end of the year. Those payments can be applied directly to the principal, which I recommend, or give you the opportunity to have these loans paid one month in advanced.

PROS

It helps you pay off debt faster
Reduces the amount of interest you have to pay back over the life of the loan

CONS

All lenders and credit card companies do not allow you to split your payments. If this is the case, you can create a money envelope for that extra payment you will have at the end of the year and use it to pay on top of your monthly minimum. It’s not a true “con” on the pros and cons list, but it does require an extra step and discipline to not spend that money

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{Cash Is Fab} How One Girl Resolves to Never Use Plastic Again!

Published on January 11, 2015 by Danielle YB Vason6 Comments

This morning I was cleaning out old files from the computer, aka procrastinating writing my next blog post, when I found an old resolution. I wrote in it December of 2013 but never posted it. I decided to post it today, however, to show what a year of working toward financial goals looked like for me. I encourage you to write down your goals so you can have a reference of just how far you have come and then take a step back and acknowledge your progress. Check out my 2014 financial goals below:

Cash Is Fab! How One Girl Resolves to Never Use Plastic Again!

Some people hear the word “resolution” and immediately shutter. I on the other hand, look at resolutions as a new beginning… a do over to do better. Hey, if you don’t like the word resolutions, substitute it for goals because everyone knows that goals are AWESOME! This year I resolve to pay off my credit card balance before my birthday in August, kick start my snowball toward financial freedom, and say no to plastic forever (ambitious, right?). I am working toward this goal by paying a set amount every two weeks (each payment over the monthly minimum) and doing the 52 Week Money Challenge (Bingo Style) every Friday. If I were okay with just paying the minimum, it would take me 4 years, instead of eight months, to complete step one of my financial plan. The Bingo version of the challenge plays a big role in completing my financial resolutions because if I am having a tough financial week, I can pick a lower amount to save. Once the credit card is paid off, my monthly credit card payments (including the 52 Week Challenge savings) will become extra payments to my student loans and so on until I have zero debt. I keep myself motivated by constantly reminding myself and my accountability partner, The Mr., of my ultimate goal to pay of all debt, credit card, student loans, and mortgage in the next ten years. If I can’t afford to pay for it in cash, I can’t afford it!

Now, one year later my credit card balance is not a concern because it is non-existent. I sometimes forget about the stress that carrying a credit card balance had on me. Yes, I paid my credit card off and before my target date by doing this risky move, which worked and then immediately backfired. I also think about how my snowball plan for my student loans has been transformed into a snowball for my October wedding expenses to the Mr. Boy oh boy, what changes can happen in a year.

Finish the Sentence: I Resolve to ________

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Email SMC: shemakescents@gmail.com

{Week 14 Update} 52 Week Money Challenge

Published on April 4, 2014January 22, 2017 by Danielle YB Vason1 Comment

It’s Friday already and time for your 52 Week Money Challenge reminder. For those of you, like me, who began on January 3, 2014, we are 14 weeks in for this year! Today, I crossed off $25.00 from the SMC bingo style money sheet , which puts me at a grand total of an extra $344.00 saved thus far. The closer we get to August 1, 2014, my goal date to have a zero balance on my credit card, the more excited I get. In some ways, the feeling I get every time I see the balance drop is becoming stronger than the high I get from shopping. I am planning for big things to happen THIS MONTH by paying my set payment of $300.00 per month + the 52 Week Challenge each Friday + the possibility of a somewhat risky financial move, which I will talk about in Monday’s post. Stay tuned to see how I plan to slash my credit card balance from $1345.00 (current balance) to less than $500.00 by the end of the month by taking of gamble with my finances. If you want big rewards, sometimes you have to take big risks!

Reduce Your Chances of Credit Card Theft

Published on March 7, 2011February 27, 2014 by Danielle YB Vason1 Comment

There is a large part of the population who do not check their finances daily. At any given moment, these people do not know how much is in their checking account, savings account, and the balance on their credit card(s). I used to be the opposite. I used to check my financial records every day like clockwork until one day I didn’t. I began to check my finances less and less often until the day I received a letter telling me that my credit card had been declined for a recent purchase. Insert rapid heartbeat here!!! My mind started racing and I began to think to myself- wait, aren’t you paying for everything in cash now, when was the last time you swiped your card, and the kicker, do you even shop at the store where your card was declined? This is probably the exact moment when panic and logic set in. That’s right; Miss She Makes Cents herself, has become a victim of identity theft. Apparently, someone copied my credit card number onto a fake card and went on a shopping spree. At the moment, no one knows exactly how they got my number, which makes this process even more frustrating. Thank goodness my credit card company eventually declined the card due to suspicious charges, but at that point, the thieves had already done their damage. If I had been in the practice of checking my finances daily, then I would have caught the charges and recognized them as fraudulent before the credit card company. Here are a few tips to make sure that the likelihood of this happening to you is much lower.

Check your financial holdings DAILY.
Pay for things in cash. This one is two-fold. It will reduce the chance of someone using your card for one’s own pleasure but it will also cut the chance of you swiping your credit card on impulse.
Contact your bank and/or credit card company to set up alerts. These alerts can let you know when your card has been swiped over a certain amount that you can decide for each card.
Destroy all expired or inactive cards. Chop them up because your name and information is still tied to that card. In the wrong hands, thieves immediately know your full name and with whom you bank. Experienced crooks can use this preliminary information to dig deeper until they gather all the information they need to steal your money and information to open a new card.
Actually open and review your monthly statements.
Contact your financial provider if you are unsure about anything on your statement. Better safe than sorry.