Sunday, February 11, 2007
Interest Information
Select The Best Low APR Credit Cards
Hunting for low APR credit cards has become easier with the advent of the Internet where you can draw an easy comparison (from the various options available to you at the click of a mouse) as to which low APR credit card will be the best for your needs. The article below provides the complete informational lowdown on low APR credit cards.
Low APR credit cards charge you an interest rate even lower than the standard APR. The lower the interest rate or APR, the cheaper the card is to carry and the more money you'll save on it. So if you carry a large monthly card balance, a low APR credit card could be very beneficial for you and in some cases where low rate credit cards have offers, they can also help cardholders like you save significant dollars over time. What is an APR anyway? Well, let?s discuss?
Rationale of Low APR Credit Cards
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit; it is the amount of interest rate that is chargeable to any outstanding balance on a credit card. If you don?t make the full payment within the grace period certified by the credit cards company, the company has the right to charge you a fee for that service, an interest rate fee known as the APR. But for a credit card to be considered cheap for a consumer, it should have a low APR.
With a low APR credit card, comes an agenda in fine print. Lesser mortals like you and I fail to recognize the same and read it to our advantage. Here?s what the hidden agenda might state:
1) Annual Fee: Many a low APR credit card might offer you a low interest rate or APR but require you to pay a significant annual fee. If the effective interest rate (after counting the annual fee) is indeed higher than the actual rate, then this credit card is obviously only cloaked as a low APR credit card.
2) Low Introductory Rate: Credit card companies know that low introductory rates are a great promotional incentive. So when suddenly, the initial period expires, and your monthly minimum payments mount dramatically, you know something definitely smells fishy. Check it prior to applying before you fall prey to this credit card company trick.
3) High Balance Transfer Fees: Another trick in the trade is that some amongst the low APR credit card fraternity offer low balance transfer rates that come with significant fees. These balance transfer fees are always mentioned in the fine print or the terms and conditions but are rarely spoken loudly about in the promotional language of the card.
Moral of the Story: Read and re-read the fine print and all of the terms and conditions associated with any low APR credit card before you apply.
Follow these simple steps when shopping for low rate credit cards:
1) Call the institutions in which you already have bank account or credit card account. Discuss with them the possibility of converting your existing account to one with a lower APR than you currently have.
2) If your existing credit card company cannot indulge this special request of yours, seek a company that will.
3) Get in touch with the companies where you are interested in applying for low rate credit cards.
4) After selecting the best card, fill out the application and return as per the instructions via mail or online. Make a call to the credit card issuing company if you have not heard from them in the subsequent 10 to 15 business days.
5) You reserve the right to obtain an explanation if the credit card company has turned down your application. The denial letter must explain how you can obtain your credit report to investigate the application denial.
More Tips On Low Rate Credit Cards
One of the strategies that some people utilize to get the most out of their low rate credit cards is to keep rolling over credit card balances to different cards with 0% introductory APR offers until successfully paying down the card balance. But beware of this particular strategy. Make no bones about it though; this strategy takes time and discipline and a high degree of diligence and meticulousness in keeping exact records.
Credit card issuers reserve the lowest interest for customers with the strongest credit histories, so, as always, try to maintain a clean credit history.
About the Author:
Robert Alan suggests visiting CreditCardAssist.com for more information on low APR credit cards.
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Smart Cards and Access Control - A Look Into the Not Too Distant Future
Highly popular in Europe and Asia, smart cards are making a strong impact in America.
Originally requiring contact with the reader in order to transfer information, manufacturers have begun building proximity, non-contact type cards that transfer bi-directional data utilizing RFID technology.
By encoding the cards and the readers with 64-bit encrypted "keys", manufacturers are able to provide highly secure credentials for access and simultaneously open up a whole new world of possible applications for proximity cards.
The data chips on smart cards can be segregated into separate application areas. Some manufactures provide as many as 16-different application areas. Each application area can be provided with its own unique 64-bit "key" so that only specific readers can access the information in that area.
In other words, you can have a reader in the library that has the 64-bit key to application area # 4 where the card stores all of your library information including which books you have checked out and not returned. A reader in the cafeteria has the 64-bit key to application area # 6 which debits money from your account for food purchases. The reader on the student housing building has the 64-bit key to application area # 1 where your card access level information is stored which grants you access into the dormitory.
With the advances in smart card technology, manufacturers are working on stand alone readers and locksets that are essentially "off-line" but they will still be able to integrate with P.C. based electronic access control systems.
The stand alone ?smart? locks will incorporate smart card readers with the ability to write the transaction back to the smart card. A person could visit hundreds of the "off-line" readers and when he reads his card at an "on-line" reader, the stored transactions would be downloaded to the database. If a person is fired, or taken out of the database for any reason, the "on-line" system can write the necessary information deleting the card, to each card that it reads. In this way, the information is transferred to the "off-line" readers telling them to delete the access privileges of the card.
Theoretically, this will allow large users of access control systems to customize their solutions and provide a mix of on-line and off-line readers that can be centrally managed while taking advantage of their existing communication infrastructure.
Another popular feature of smart cards is the ability to store biometric access control templates which allows faster response from biometric authentication readers. This innovative approach to biometric technology allows you to carry around your biometric template with you, rather than having it stored on the computer or the reader itself.
Because the template comparison becomes a one to one versus a one to many, it frees up valuable processor time and hard drive storage space, which allows the new bread of biometric readers to work very quickly.
Very soon, when you use your credit card at a point of sale, you might have to present your finger to a biometric reader to verify your identity. Not long after that, even internet transactions will be authenticated using some form of smart cards and biometric identification.
Get ready America, as all of these transactions are sure to use some type of Smart Card Technology!
Roy Stephenson is a Security Consultant with over 21 Years Experience Designing and Installing High End Integrated Security Systems. He is currently the VP of Marketing at http://www.Security-Kits.Com |
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How to Maintain your Career in Management - Simple Concepts and Skills
In order for you to maintain your crucial management career there are a number of basic concepts and skills to understand and learn.
Master and understand them wisely . 1) Importance of analyzing cost variances
This is what accountants do with the difference between budgeted costs and actual costs. Significant differences (which accountants insist on calling "variances") are reviewed and targeted for corrective action.
In many companies, accountants spend so much time identifying variances and making sure they're allocated to the right accounting period that they never get around to telling management what the variances mean or what might have caused them. Don't assume that accountants know the meaning or cause of every variance, and don't let them imply that you should, either. Make them give you a plain-language explanation of what caused the variances (you might insist on calling them "differences" to assert your position). If they don't know, make it clear that you expect them to find out and get back to you.
2) Exports as a vital component of the company's financial reports
"Export or die" is a highly overrated slogan. As an effective manager should regard this as a choice between two legitimate alternatives, and the second one might not be too bad.
Exporting is a pain in the neck. If you're already doing it, it may be worth continuing, but you're always Your life and peace of mind are at the mercy of foreign exchange fluctuations, volatile political changes, legal problems, and bewildering cultural quirks that would challenge the patience of a diplomat or the-President's chief of protocol. In many backward Moslem countries , showing your host the sole of your shoe is a cultural insult serious enough to have you executed by a firing squad. You will notice that in most photos of prominent American politicians visiting such areas the photos invariably show the politician or military leader's feet planted firmly on the ground as if they are glued there. Culture nuances can often be overlooked or not understood for their significance.
If you recall when Prince Bandr of Saudi Arabia visited the Bush ranch what the west saw in the photos was a nice foreigner dressed in blue jeans chatting with his good friend George W. Busch . The message the west saw in their eyes was that he is our friend " One of the Boys'. The message to the other side was rather different. First of all Prince Bandr sat on a pillow.
He was physically higher ( by several inches ) than the President of the United States . More important .
Secondly his finger was pointed at George Bush in the important photos which were displayed world wide. The message was you stupid .... You had better know your place . Who needs such aggravation .
Better to stay at home . 3) Meetings
It's been said that managers have meetings only when they don't know what to do. That's not entirely true. They also have meetings when they know what to do, but want to share the responsibility, or when they want someone else to do it or suggest it.
The purpose of many meetigs and the committees they span is to ensure that no one specifuc can held responsible.
Even with the most accurate meeting notes is very difficult to assign specific responsibility for actions and mistakes . The meeting or committee is faceless .
4)Financing
Finance has close ties to accounting, and in fact many people who work in fianc? may be accounting majors who could not pass the exams.
The folks in finance figure out how to pay for things ( such as recently acquired companies or a larger more spacious head office building ) by selling more stock ( which they call "equity" securities ") or borrowing through the sale of bonds ( which they call "debt security ").
The finance department may also field enquiries from stockholders and suggest how much profit, if any will be paid to stockholders as dividends in each quarter.
5) Recruiting
Savvy recruiting is one of the most important weapons in your corporate management arsenal because you need a good team to work with.
As well a good team can help you shine through good weather and bad.
Most managers recruit so badly that you can look better than average just by avoiding stupid mistakes.
A vacancy offers two choices.
You can either fill the job or eliminate it.
If you decide that the position is essential then proceeds with care. What you want to do is to hire people who meet the following two major criteria:
1) They are competent enough to their job, but not ambitious enough to come after yours.
2) They feel loyalty to you for hiring them, so you can count on them to stand behind you in a crisis or at least not stab you in the back .
6) Training
I keep six honest serving men, They taught me all I knew; Their names are what and why and when And How and Where and Who. This passage from Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant's Child" has lots of relevance in management.
Use it as a guide when you are
1) Preparing a presentation
2 ) Explaining something in a training or orientation session
3) Justifying a major project
4) Writing a letter or memo
Testing what you write or say against these six key words helps you explain your point to others --and help you understand it yourself.
6)Advertising
Don't fool around with advertising. Delegate the work to an outside ad agency. You can then plead ignorance (which is, of course, the truth) and crucify the agency if a campaign flops. Experts make ideal scapegoats when things go wrong.
I am sure that you can think of many advertising "duds".
Who do you think bore the heat for the poor mistakes?
In all likelihood it was the advertising agency and never the management or especially the committee that hired them.
7) Managing Time
Management revolves around dealing with people and other resources. To do that well, you have to manage yourself. That boils down to managing your use of time. Good managers do this naturally or learn how to do it. Bad managers never master the art. .
Manage your time effectively by:
1) Minimizing interruptions
2 Setting aside thinking time
3)Controlling meetings with an iron hand
4)Refusing to get involved with activities that aren't connected with their objectives
5 ) Demanding that subordinates never bring them problems without also proposing solutions
6 )Announcing to everyone within earshot that their schedule is packed, and they'd have trouble making time for one more meeting, conference, or obligations .
Lastly a "my door is always open" philosophy can be one of the world's worst time-wasters.
You have to be available sometimes, of course, because you can't afford to isolate yourself from the mainstream of communications. The key is to make yourself accessible at certain times, so that your day is not riddled by constant interruptions. A secretary can serve as an excellent buffer to defend your schedule against unwanted meetings, drop-in visitors and casual employee chit-chat.
The two most common and most noticeable symptoms of poor time management are excessive overtime work and lugging work home at night and on weekends .
If you are doing either then you should analyze how you spend your day. Some deviant corporate cultures actually value and reward behavior of an unbalanced personal and family lifestyle which in the end result is very poor economy of any sort.
You may have to "go with the flow" - at least with overtime work.
Taking home one's work is the easiest ploy of all.
After all who can tell what is in the heavy briefcase?
Learn and understand these concepts and skills and you will be around for a long time. As with most of the important things in life that really matter actually they are quite simple.
It all depends on the application and being thorough .
Remember that those that don't know what to do go into a management career so your competition is minimal .
About the Author
Art Fellon Management Team Associate Ace Employment Services Winnipeg Experience in the Employment , Training and self help as well as library document preperation . F1 Martini Race SMS SMS Race Airport JFK JFK Airport
Interest Information
Fourth Of July - How To Select Ecards?
How to select ecards for Independence Day? It is a very significant t day when all Americans congratulate each other for the freedom they enjoy. The ecards must express their feelings effectively. Let us find out how to chose ecards for Fourth of July.
Look for Free ecards - Please look for free ecards. Most of the sites offer free ecards, but there is a problem with free ecards - that of quality. Not all of them offer good quality. There are few websites that offer free eacds of excellent quality. Look for them.
Flash or JPG - Flash ecards are much better than JPG ecards. Earlier there was this problem that the recipient may not have flash player on his/her computer. That is no more there as presently most of the users have flash player installed.
File size- Don't select ecards of heavy file size. That will take more time in downloading. Chose the middle range.
Music- Select ecards with music. You will get excellent free ecards with music matching the mood.
Designs - Most of the good designers design such ecards with the colors of flag and stars on the ecard. Select a design that is appealing to the eye and that evokes patriotism.
Recipient - Select the ecard as per the age group of the recipient. For younger generation use more bright colors and for higher age groups selects subdued colors.
Fourth of July is a very important occasion. Select the best possible ecards for Fourth of July and send as many as you can to all your friends, coworkers and family. Celebrate Independence Day in the true spirit of patriotism.
About the Author
CDMohatta writes content for 4th july ecards, holidays greeting and fun tests & quizzes. Banesto F1 Martini F1 F1 Martini Race SMS SMS Race Airport JFK JFK Airport F1 Banesto
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Is An Old Car Seat Acceptable?
A concerned mother recently asked. "My friend's children are all grown and she has an old car seat that she has given me. But I'm wondering if it is ok to use this seat with my child? Is my friend really doing me a huge favor?"
Experts would say absolutely not. The following are some important safety tips that are very crucial when considering a child safety seat.
1.) You should always avoid using a used car seat (even if it's in great shape). There are many factors that make the seat safe. First of all; every year new safety ratings rank car seats. Some other factors include child?s size, weight and height of a child and whether or not it's an infant that needs an extra head rest.
Car seats that come from yard sales or consignment shops may also have a bad history that you might never know. Absolutely never use a car seat that has been in an auto accident. Car seats that are purchased at consignment shops or yard sales may also be missing important parts or may have been in a auto accident which can cause the seat to be defective.
2.) Always look on the label for the date the seat was made. Many manufacturers recommend car seats only be used five to six years and absolutely do not use after ten years. Older car seats may have visible cracks which may lead to unsafe situations. If the car seat does not have a label with a model number and manufactured date you have no way of knowing if the seat has been recalled. If you seat does not have an owners manual or instructions you may be using it incorrectly.
Not only is it the law to have your child in a car seat but you are helping yourself. Parents that try to drive while holding their child are usually so distracted that they are putting more than just their own life and their children's lives at risk you are risking the life of all the other drives on the road. Car seats can become pricy but it is worth the price to have a car seat that you feel is protecting your child correctly.
For quality baby car seats and other baby products I recommend http://www.mystrollerstore.com Natalia Bonner-owner http://www.mystrollerstore.com |
