If only we could practice what we preach..

So after refraining from months upon months I've had to resort to using the plastic quite a bit. Mainly due to a relocation, and all the associated financial annoyances this comes with it. Turns out the country i'm living in, none of the local banks accept my card, so i have to travel to my cards bank bank branches which are sporadically located across the city. It's not too bad, but it has meant me getting back in the red on it - something i vowed to myself not to do. But my other card's magnetic strip has gone, which means the only card i can use is the credit card. However, all this should stop soon, as i found myself some full time work, and once my visa and work permit get through all right ill be able to set up a local bank account and have less of these hassles.

But it has taught me the importance of practicing what you preach, and also the importance of financial planning -especially when relocating!

What to do if you can't pay off your credit card

For some people the situation arises where they can possibly pay off their insurmountable credit card debt, it's simply gotten too much. So what should you do if this happens to you?

First off, consult a non-profit organization such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (C.A.B). They will be able to dispense invaluable advice on what you should do next, and give you at least a 30 day saving grace period from the credit card company. However, the rules won't apply if the credit card company has already passed on the debt to a collection agency. In this case you should still get some free advice, and consider getting a professional company to help you call of the creditors.

There's always help at hand, just make sure you consider all the options before deciding and make sure you're not pressured into a rushed decision.

How to minimize using your credit cards abroad.

It can be very tempting, when you go on holiday to take your credit cards with you and whip them on numerous occassions. This is all well and good, if you know full well that you can pay back whatever you spend once you get back to your home country, within a reasonable time frame.

However, relying on the credit card whilst in a foreign country can cause all sorts of problems apart from the foreign exchange rate charges and interest rates. What happens if you're wallet or purse is lost/stolen whilst on holiday. This is one of our worst fears, and dealing with such a scenario in a foreign country can be a nightmare. So before you go abroad, make sure that you've set up the necessary security measures for your cards that safeguard you against card fraud and also make notes on your bank's lost/stolen card contact details - in case it does happen to you. With a simple call you'll be able to cancel the cards stolen.

However, you may then realize you've got a problem with funds and getting access to them. This alone, can be a very stressful and worrying situation. But, this scenario can easily be avoided if you make sure you've got backup measures in place, such as traveler's cheques. Also, before you go you can look into western union money transfers and perhaps organizing someone to send you funds in case of an emergency. You may be able to wire the money through online banking back to the person from your account whilst you're abroad. Technology has enabled more ways of getting access to our money, but we should still rely on other traditional methods in case we run into trouble whilst abroad. If you do a lot of traveling it's perhaps a good idea to select a card that has low foreign exchange rate charges ideally 1% or less or just charges a low flat fee. This can help reduce your final holiday bill.

Credit card interest rules change

Following August's new Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure or otherwise known as CARD, consumers have been given more protection from the industry. This is because, now consumers have a right to Say NO to interest rate hikes and other changes in credit card agreements. There are going to be several phases of this new initiative under UK law.

But some of the main points that we can expect from it now include:

• A change from 15 days of warning about charges to credit card accounts, to now where at least 45 days of warning needs to be applied by the credit card company if the customer has incurred any charges on their credit card.
• Customers have now at least 21 days to pay their credit card balances, without the threat of late fee payments
• Consumers have the right to opt out of interest and fee increases, whilst they can still pay off the balance at the previous lower interest rate. Before, issuers offer opt-out preferences at their discretion, and it was not a consumer right. All this has changed now.

There will be further regulation changes in 2010, and some of this changes will include not being able to market credit cards to young adults, a reform on shopping gift cards and the regulation of said shopping cards, as well as further regulations and restrictions on interest rate increases.

All this is good news for the consumer, who for too long has been taken for a ride by the credit card companies and hit with interest rate increases for sometimes no valid reason.

Ways to save during hard times

Although there are signs in the world economy that things are slowly beginning to improve many leading economists fear it could be some time still yet before there is a full recovery from the economic downturn. In the UK it seems that things have picked up this summer, with the housing market beginning to show some signs of partial recovery with a slight rise in prices in some parts of the UK. With banks becoming pickier about who they issue credit cards and tightening up their policies you may find that the trusted credit card is something that can't be relied upon anymore.

Indeed many banks, are being stricter on credit card application forms examining closely your credit scores, raising interest rates, switching customers from fixed rates to variable ones and enhancing reward programs but at the same time adding more fees! It also looks like the banks could go down one of two ways in the future for offering credit cards: 1.no fee, no frills no cards that can be offered to a broad range of consumers and/or 2. "premium" reward fee cards, or annual fee cards that offer bonuses/incentives for using the card such as cash back on all purchases.

You don't have to rely on the plastic

There are many ways you can avoid using your credit cards for purchases. If you haven't got the money simply don't buy the item! As obvious as this sounds, a lot of people will let their emotions override their rational decision making process (not just when it comes to purchasing and financial matters either). You can always save up to buy that new lcd tv or go way on that two week holiday. Here are some ways you can do this:

• Collect coupons, vouchers for shopping to get discounts.
• If you have a car, get a BP, Shell, Esso loyalty card and accumulate the reward points for filling up at your respective station.
• If you have a loyalty to a certain chain of supermarket sign up to the reward card scheme and each time you shop there points will be added to your balance that enable you to get certain prizes once a certain level of points have been amounted.
• Take any old unwanted stuff to a jumble sale or auction house if you feel the items in question may of be some value. Use ebay for an online alternative.
• Consume all food and vegetables before the use by date. Don't let food go rotten in your fridge. Keep your fridge clean.
• Rather than buy new clothes, customize old ones and use hand me downs for the kids if they don't object too much.
• Mix up your shopping at the supermarket, buy value items as well as non-value items.
  
• Shop at charity shops if you're after real bargains, don't pay too much attention to in-store discounts at leading high street fashion retail stores.
• Cancel any direct debits that you're not really making use of. You may have signed up to a wine club a while back, but perhaps not drinking as much wine as you thought you would when you first sign up. If you can, cancel any unnecessary subscriptions.

Most of these are fairly straight forward steps to take, but aren't the simple, straight forward steps always the most effective?