Looking for credit advice? Here are the cardinal rules of credit

When the economy gets as tight as it is today, so do banks. We hear news reports that the credit crunch has now hit the banks. Banks are no longer willing to extend the generous credit limits of the past.

Your APR may rise overnight due a late or skipped payment, no matter how long you've maintained a pristine payment record. Plenty of people find themselves taking a cash advance on one credit card, to make the minimum payment on another. Cash advances mean a transaction fee, while making the minimum payment on the other barely keeps you afloat until the next payments are due. This type of activity can put you in a downward spiral which ends unhappily. Your credit rating goes down, your rates go up and you've got a mess on your hands.

While this is not a pretty picture, your need for credit advice is becoming apparent. You know you can't continue this way, but what can you do?

If you were to sit down with your kids and try to give them your best credit advice, what would you say? You've been there, done that, and the credit advice you give them will be the voice of experience. Learn to follow your own advice. Here are the cardinal rules of credit.

1.If you can't afford to pay cash for an item, don't buy it. If you reserve the use of credit cards to purchases such as gasoline, clothing and regular expenditures for which you already have cash in hand, you can maintain a credit history and good credit rating by setting that cash aside and paying off those credit cards each month.

2.Emergency expenditures do crop up. You may need a root canal for which your insurance only pays a limited amount. A credit card may be used responsibly for such purposes. Our credit advice in this situation? Adjust your monthly budget and pay it off in the shortest period of time. It may be tempting to make that minimum payment, but it may take a year to pay it off. The interest alone may turn that root canal into a $1000 deal.

3.Almost everyone ignores this prudent bit of credit advice: Do not finance holiday shopping on a credit card! Sure, you want your family to enjoy the great gifts you can put on a credit card. However, you don't want them to suffer six months down the road when you're unable to pay for essentials.

4.No matter how tight your budget is, almost everyone can afford to put aside $10 a week in a savings account. Not much, but in a year's time, you can pay cash for that root canal!

In a nutshell, our best credit advice is not to live beyond your means. Establish a savings plan, no matter how modest. You never know what life may throw your way.

Get a Second Chance with a No Credit Check Checking Account

For many people, walking into a bank and depositing funds is a quick and easy process. However, many folks have gotten into financial trouble in the past, and their history with banks and lenders is -- well -- less than stellar. For these people, even beginning a relationship with a bank can be a challenging prospect, unless they are fortunate enough to find an institution that offers a no credit check checking account.

Most banks have a policy of looking at financial histories prior to opening any accounts with a new customer. They may do this through the standard companies like ChexSystems or reporting agencies like TransUnion. If negative information is received, that customer may be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. It is a frustrating situation for sure. How are you supposed to reestablish yourself in the financial world if they don't give you the opportunity to prove that you have learned your lesson and are ready to move on?

The answer lies in a no credit check checking account, and there are a few different ways to find these. If you are an employee of a professional organization, like a public school district or the armed forces, you may be able to find a no credit check checking account through your local FCU. You can also find a no credit check checking account online, where a variety of financial institutions will offer different packages for your unique situation.

Many of these online accounts will include a wide range of services in the package, such as a debit card and a direct deposit option for your payroll checks. Some banks will have no minimum balance requirements, and will allow you to pay the majority of your bills online for additional convenience. You can often deposit money from a large number of locations, and access funds through a variety of methods, like ATM withdrawals.

These online services have proven quite useful for many people who have found themselves in financial difficulty and have had trouble digging their way back out again. By opening a no credit check checking account, you can work your way back to good financial health by managing your funds wisely and responsibly. In time, and with a no credit check checking account that is in good standing, you will find that you can qualify for other types of financial products as well, such as mortgages or auto loans.

A no credit check checking account is the first step back on the road to financial health, so go ahead and fill out an application today!

Don’t Forget To Compare Prices

The Internet has spawned a whole new way to shop. Not only can you find just about anything you can imagine, you can also find things that you never could have gotten in your local stores. This means many spend a lot of time surfing around online looking for the things they need the most, and also to buy gifts of all types. You can save money with online shopping, but you should never forget to compare prices when you shop. You could be spending more than you should on many items.

This past Christmas I wanted to get my husband a portable DVD player. I looked around and found a really good price on one, and I almost ordered it. However, a little voice in my mind told me that I should compare prices with some of the other sites out there that also sell electronics. I am glad that I did that. Not only did I get a better price, I got one that had more features. You should always compare prices on electronics because the prices can vary so much from store to store, perhaps more so than any other purchase you could make online.

When you compare prices, you should also compare shipping prices. Some will offer a good discount on an item, only to make up the difference in their shipping costs. This is not a common practice, but there are some that will do that. You can find that some sites will help you compare prices, and they will offer outrageously good deals on their shipping. They hope that their honesty and their help will allow you to have trust in them, even if you go somewhere else on occasion to make your purchase. By all accounts, this works.

The most important part of comparing prices is to be sure you are comparing like items. You can save money by getting something with less features, but the real savings come with you get the same features for less money or even more features, like I did with the DVD player I found for my husband. The only time you may not be able to compare prices is when you are buying one of the kind things like crafts or homemade candles. Normally, you can only get those special items in one place. Sometimes the shipping and the contrast in price pretty much evens out. In that case, go with the company that you trust the most.