Joseph Kenny Profile and Articles

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1). Visa Vs MasterCard – Which Is The Best?
The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines. While Visa can claim to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any difference in the number of locations worldwide that accept the cards, which is now estimated at over twenty million.

2). Internet Banking – The Pros And Cons
Only a few years ago the concept of online banking seemed like a dubious one – concerns about security and computer glitches were enough to put most people off. But with the continuing success of flagship companies like Cahoot, Egg and Smile, more and more of us are choosing to do business over the net. Sophisticated technology means that your information is well protected, and an online account offers several advantages over traditional banking.

3). How Your Credit Card Interest Charge Is Determined
Your credit card's interest rate isn't the only thing that affects how much you end up paying on your credit card bill, though it is a major determining factor. There is a difference between your interest rate and your interest charge. In simple terms, the rate is the percentage of your balance that your interest charge will be based on. The interest charge is the actual number of dollars that you pay for interest - based on your interest rate.

4). Secured Loans – An Overview
A secured loan is one of the most basic loans you can get. These types of loans are typically only given when collateral has been secured. Many lenders see secured loans as being a safe investment, and they are often given to customers who apply for them and have some form of collateral. The collateral for these loans could include your home or car.

5). Can Car Insurance Be Affected By Your Bad Credit History?
If you have bad credit you can be denied car insurance! The protections afforded to the consumer since the Depression of 1929 no longer exist. The Financial Laws passed through Congress in 1992 allowed banks, insurance companies, investment firms to handle banking, insurance and investment operations. Laws passed after 1929 had prevented banks from.

6). Credit Cards and Minimum Payments – Living in Debt
Many people love their credit cards. It’s a fact of life and the figures bare this up. If you look at the rate at which UK credit card debt is rising it is quite amazing. Millions are being spent all day every day in an endless frenzy of spending. Pretty soon, three quarters of all adults in the UK will have credit cards and if you were to ask any of them to give theirs up, you can bet their answer would be no.

7). Phishing And Fraud – What Is It?
Phishing is a very sneaky type of fraud conducted over the Internet. Its name is a throw back to the early days of hacking and identity theft and the practice of phone phreaking. While there can be very complicated schemes devised, they are all based on a very simple concept.

Phishers try to persuade you, or trick you into giving them sensitive information which they can then use to make money out of the system.

8). Credit Cards and Divorce
If you’ve recently divorced or are going through a divorce, one of the important issues that you should settle is how any joint debts are to be handled. This includes mortgages on a jointly owned home and any joint credit cards that you have. You also need to be aware of how failure to pay those debts on time will affect your credit rating – even if your divorce decree states that you are not the party responsible.

9). Offshore Banking: What You Need To Know Before Opening An Account
Offshore banking, we have all heard about it before. Unfortunately, many are misinformed when it comes to offshore banking. We have all heard news reports of offshore accounts being used to front illegal activities or to avoid taxes. In fact, we have also seen it in the movies, being used a similar way. This has led many individuals to believe that offshore banking is illegal.

10). First Time Buyers Beware
Although it’s a big undertaking, buying your own home is one of the wisest moves you can make. Rather than pouring money away on rent, you will effectively be investing in your property with every mortgage payment.

You will also become a ‘homeowner’, which should please your bank manager no end. You may find offers of loans and credit suddenly become a lot more frequent, and when you’ve just moved into a new home it can seem tempting to borrow money to kit the place out.

11). World Cup Superstars – Who Is The Greatest?
Every four years a World Cup will come along and occupy a football fan’s thoughts and time for weeks. Game after game, the best footballers in the world will parade their skills in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching on the TV back in their homes.

Players

Players generally make the World Cup what it is. If there were not great players we would certainly not be watching this tournament in the vast numbers that we do.

12). Your Insurance Premium May Be Affected By Global Warming
The last decade or so have not been a particularly good one for the UK insurance industry. It seems that at least once a year the UK insurance industry gets to feel the bit of a natural disaster somewhere in the world.

In more case than not, environmentalist will then go on record as saying the natural disaster was avoidable, but for the fact that we are subject to ongoing global warming, which we should only expect to get worse.

13). Credit Card Applications - Getting Accepted
Although they can be painful at times, life today without the ease of a credit card is no longer a reality. So, if you think you want a credit card, here are some essential factors you’ll need to consider when applying for a credit card:

Your Credit History

One of the most essential elements to applying for a credit card is what you current credit history is.

14). Bad Credit : Understanding The Basics
Many people have heard of bad credit, but some may not know what it means. For a long time, there was no established method for determining the credit activities of consumers. However, this all changed when a company called the Fair Isaac Corporation designed a credit scoring system that is called the FICO score. Because the three major credit agencies have different information on each consumer, the FICO score calculated by these agencies won't be exact.

15). Fixed Rate Vs. Variable Rate Credit Cards
Although it is mostly industry practice to charge a variable rate of interest on outstanding credit balances at a certain percentage rate above Prime Lending Rate, it is possible, these days, to obtain a fixed rate credit card. So, when would you want to apply for a fixed rate credit card over a variable rate credit card?

The answer to this may not actually sound as simply as you may think.

16). Remortgages - Worth The Switch?
It’s becoming more popular to remortgage your house these days – all this means is switching to a different mortgage and sometimes a different lender to take advantage of a better deal.

If your circumstances have changed since you first took out your mortgage, you may find you want to switch to a new mortgage that better suits you. Likewise, if you chose a mortgage with a special rate for the first few years, once it reverts you’re paying more than other mortgages.

17). Credit Card Insurance - What Do They All Do?
Most major credit card issuers now offer their members a variety of different free insurance programs. It is highly recommended that you review the insurance terms of your credit card agreement as in certain circumstances the credit card insurance offered by your card issuer may cover situation beyond those you may originally have thought.

The major.

18). Home Loans – Understanding The Basics
When you decide to get a home loan, there are a number of costs that are involved. If you are fortunate, the seller of the home may agree to cover some of the expenses for you. Some of the expenses you will see when getting a home loan is the closing costs, prepaid items, and loan discount fees. Understanding these terms will make purchasing your next home easier.

19). Silver, Gold and Platinum Credit Cards
Aside from all being precious metals; silver, gold and platinum also signify the difference between the various strata of credit cards available to cardholders. So, what’s the difference between you having silver, gold and platinum credit cards?

Besides the kudos of having a metallic covered card in a stratum higher than the one below it, with silver being considered the lowest, gold next and platinum at the peak, these days there really is little difference between each of these cards.

20). Savings Accounts – An Overview
Being in control of your finances means not only managing your current account wisely, but planning ahead too. Although we are used to thinking we will have the welfare state to fall back on, the support offered by state benefits is far from generous - most people would struggle to exist on a basic pension alone.

Furthermore, our ageing population face an uncertain future as demographics change – by the time today’s thirty-year olds reach retirement there’s no telling how the economic situation will look.

21). Minimum Payment on Credit Cards – Bad Idea?
Are you quite happy paying off the minimum amount every month on your credit card bill? You may be unaware of the actual amount you are paying off towards your debt. Most off your payment will go towards the interest owed leaving your debt and further interest charges to accumulate further.

1 in 8 people in the UK pay only the minimum payment required on their credit cards.

22). Rock Lyrics of The 1980’s
One of the most well-know eras of music is the nineteen-eighties. In this period the virus AIDS hadn’t been quite discovered yet and everyone was still under the notion that having a good time with as many people as possible was the best way to live. Hair styles and clothing looked as weird they could, with long hair and mullets being in fashion throughout the decade.

23). Why You Need To Keep Your Credit Card Secure
Automated teller machines (ATM) are a great invention. They are an easy way to get cash out of your account 24 hours a day. But you may not be the only person raiding your account. If you're not careful, someone could steal your person and financial information and leave you in financial trouble.

Some identity fraudsters use special machines to 'skim' card details from ATMs and other card machines.

24). The Anatomy of a Check
As you sit at your coffee table each month, writing check after to check to pay off various bills, do you ever stop to think why a check looks the way it does? What are all those numbers for?

25). 5 Basic Credit Card Safety Tips
Ultimately keeping you credit card safe is you responsibility. Indeed, in a worst case scenario, if it can be proven you may have been negligent in keeping your credit card safe, you may find yourself liable for the cost of all transactions made fraudulent on your account should you lose the card. To help you avoid this, here are 5 basic credit card.

26). Travel Pet Insurance
Recent changes to the UK’s quarantine laws mean that it is now possible for you to obtain a pet passport (under the government’s ‘passport for pets’ scheme) and take your family pet away with you on holiday. However, before you run off down to your local travel agent and book tickets for the whole family to that exotic seaside tropical location you.

27). Tips To Avoid Gaining A Bad Credit Rating With Your Mortgage
While having your own home is an important part of your financial picture, too many people make decisions without thinking things over. Making a mistake with your mortgage is a fast way to end up with terrible credit.

28). How To Repair Your Credit
If you have less than perfect credit, you are probably attracted to the many commercials on TV which promise credit repair and debt consolidation. While there are many things companies can do to help you fix your credit, there are a number of things you can do yourself to get back on your feet. Many people make the mistake of avoidng their lenders. They choose to ignore phone calls or letters which are sent in the mail.

29). Why Sports Cars Cost More To Insure
Have you ever wondered why sports cars cost more to insure than other types of car – even when the purchase price of the sports car is less expensive? If so, the following are the main reasons why this is the case.

Car Insurance Group Categories

While many of the factors that determine the make-up of car insurance quotes are not known, what is known is that insurance companies ‘group’ certain types of cars into categories.

30). Five Credit Building Tactics
If you are looking to apply for a credit card, than you’ll need to ensure that you have sufficient creditworthiness. In reality, this is no easy task – so if you are having problems with this, the following 5 credit building tactics should help.

1. Open a current account

All credit card companies like to see that their potential borrowers are responsible when given the opportunity to borrow money.

31). What Are Supplemental Credit Cardholders?
Have you ever been faced with the worry that your son or daughter is off to college and you want to give them access to emergency cash without having to give them the actual cash – which they’ll likely spend beforehand – but knowing by the time you wire the money to them the emergency may well be over? If so, you may well want to know what supplemental credit cardholders are!

In short, supplemental credit cardholders are persons who you authorize to use your credit card account.

32). Phishing Is Fraud
Phishing is a very sneaky type of fraud conducted over the Internet. Its name is a throw back to the early days of hacking and identity theft and the practice of phone phreaking. While there can be very complicated schemes devised, they are all based on a very simple concept.

Phishers try to persuade you, or trick you into giving them sensitive information which they can then use to make money out of the system.

33). Pawn Your Paycheque With A Payday Loan
Pawnshops were a real boon for people with short term financial difficulties. All they had to do was take their watch or other valuable item into a pawnshop. The pawnbroker would give it a value (less than it was worth) and hand over some money. At the end of the specified period, the borrower could redeem the object by handing over some cash. Now the pawnshop concept has had a new lease on life.

34). Bad Credit Is Coming! - Signs That You Are Approaching Bad Credit
Many people in the United States today have bad credit, and the numbers have continued to rise. It isn't just those who are lazy who end up with bad credit. Many hard working people who are well meaning end up in situations where their credit is ruined. The best way to avoid this is to look at the different warning signs that can indicate that you're headed towards a situation where your credit can be destroyed.

35). The Rise Of Credit Card Identity Theft
Personal identity theft is a huge runaway business made even easier with advances in computer technology. So far as credit cards are concerned, personal identity theft is now costing card issuer billions of dollars a year. To try and recoup some of these losses, card providers and now telling their customers that if they were in any way at fault in the theft of their identity, they could be comparable and liable for at least part of these losses.

36). Pet Insurance & Public Liability – Are You Safe From A Personal Injury Compensation Claim?
Are you one of the million of Britons famous the world over for being a pet owner and lover? If so, do you have pet insurance? If not, you may well want to read on if you want to save yourself millions of pounds….

Let’s look at two, not uncommon, scenarios that may happen to a pet owner in the UK:

Scenario 1:

You own a dog. The dog is out in the garden.

37). First Time Buyers – Getting On The Property Ladder
Getting a foothold on the property ladder is not easy – particularly these days with property prices above the amount most people’s salaries can cover.

Reports from the property market show that the age of first time buyers has increased in recent years as younger people struggle to get a mortgage. Some first time buyers struggle to cover all the costs of buying, and often hadn’t anticipated all of the extra costs beforehand.

38). Buy To Let -The Pitfalls
Taking on a property in addition to your home can be a time consuming and complex matter. Before you become a landlord (or lady), make sure you’ve thought it through!

Tenants

While you may be lucky and find the perfect tenant by chance, it’s a good idea to interview potential tenants first. You can ask for references from previous landlords or employers to reassure yourself that they are trustworthy and solvent.

39). Offshore Banking - When It Pays To Go Abroad
While you might presume anyone with ‘money in offshore accounts’ is involved in some scurrilous business affairs, the truth is that anyone can use this form of investment as a totally legitimate way to defer or reduce your tax payments.

Locations for offshore accounts can be held in banks in British waters – the Channel Islands or Isle of Man for example, or you could look further afield to the Republic of Ireland or Luxembourg.

40). Do You Need That Credit Card?
Do you currently have a credit card? If you do, then you are like most other individuals. Credit cards have increased in popularity over the past few years. Despite being popular, there are still many individuals who do not have a credit card. If you are one of those individuals, it is likely that you may have wondered if you need to have one.

Determining whether or not you need a credit card is a fairly easy process.

41). How To Help Cancer Charities With Your Credit Card
Shopping, meals and holidays are just some of the items we put on our credit cards. But credit card spending does not have to be selfish. Credit card holders can use their credit cards to support worthwhile causes such as charities.

There are several ways of doing this. Credit card owners can donate to different charities using their credit cards or they can choose a charity credit card to give their chosen charity a donation every time they spend.

42). How To Help Animal Charities With Your Credit Card
Britain is a nation of animal lovers, so it's not surprising that there are many charities set up to look after old, sick or neglected animals. Donations to these charities can be made by supporting events, by setting up bank direct debits and by using cash. Making credit card payments is another way of supporting a charity. This has been made even easier with the appearance of charity credit cards.

43). Tracker Mortgages – Are They Worth The Gamble?
How well do you know the money market? A tracker rate mortgage has a variable rate, usually a set percentage above or below the Bank of England’s base rate.

44). Adverse Credit Credit Cards
As their very name suggests, adverse credit credit cards are an option available to those who have a bad credit history and, thus, credit rating.

Why you may want to apply

If you do happen to have a bad credit rating, then there is a strong likelihood that you’ll be successful when applying for one of these credit cards where you have been turned down when applying to the mainstream card issuers.

45). Credit Card Debt – First Steps To Resolution
If you have let your credit card debt get out of hand, then do not panic. You are among a fast growing group of people who are falling victim to the UK’s ever increasing credit card debt mountain. As a nation, we are adding to our credit card debt at a truly alarming rate. With the number of people now in credit card debt approaching half of the population, this trend is only growing and growing.

46). How To Choose Your New Credit Card
Choosing a new credit card is not just a personal choice. It's a lifestyle choice. There are hundreds of credit cards to choose from and savvy shoppers will want to choose credit cards that suit the way they spend and the things they want to do.

Why Do You Need A Credit Card?

First of all, consumers need to consider why they need a credit card. For example, some people may be using the credit card to improve their personal cash flow.

47). 0% Credit Cards: Are They Worth It?
Credit card jumping has become a common practice. The term refers to the habit of moving debt balances from card to card to take advantage of preferential rates. But just how worthwhile is credit card jumping for consumers?

UK consumers have staggering levels of debt. Consumer borrowing has grown by more than 50% in five years. It's no wonder that people are looking for new ways to ease the debt burden.

48). UK Home Owner Loan Application Reasons
If you have a bad credit rating or a credit report which shows defaults and County Court Judgements (CCJs), it can be difficult to get a loan at a reasonable interest rate. One option that is useful for people with a bad credit rating is a homeowner loan. A homeowner loan is a secured loan that provides security for lenders and money for borrowers.

A secured loan is a good option for people with outstanding debts who also own a home.

49). What Are Business Loans and Their Benefits
There are a number of ways you can finance your business. Whether you are just starting out, or are considering expanding and growing your business, you will need to make investments if the business is to have the assets it needs to get off the ground.

50). Re-mortgaging – Guide To The Best Deals
When interest rates fall, there are savings to be made. This is true for everyone, not just people currently looking for a new home or mortgage.

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