If you buy a lot of books, you might be interested in a credit card that rewards you for book purchases, like the Barnes & Noble MasterCard or Amazon.com Rewards Visa.
With the Barnes & Noble MasterCard, you get 5% cash back (credited to your account each month) on all your Barnes & Noble purchases. Other purchases earn one point per dollar and earn a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card once you accumulate 2500 points. You get a $25 gift card after your first purchase or balance transfer.
The Amazon.com Rewards Visa is another great deal - $30 credit when you're approved for the card and the ability to redeem points at anytime. So if you've accumulated 500 points, you can get $5 off your purchase right now. You earn 3 points per dollar for Amazon purchases, 2 points on gas station, drug store, and restaurant purchases, and 1 point on everything else.
Read the reviews to get details on fees, interest rate, and complete reward summary.
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Certain businesses check your credit report to make a yes or no decision about your application. For example, you can almost guarantee your credit report will be checked when you apply for a credit card or loan.
You can improve the chances of getting your application approved by checking your credit report before you put in credit-based applications. This way you have time to clean up your credit if it's necessary. Read When to Check Your Credit Report to see the specific times you should check your report.
More on Credit Reports:
The new credit card rules require your credit card bill to be due on the same date every month. This takes some guesswork out of when to send your payment. Knowing the due date won't always make it easier to send your credit card payment, though.
When you're tempted to put off your payment a few days or weeks, think about the consequences - like a lower credit score or late payment fees. Read: 7 Reasons to Make Your Credit Card Payment on Time.
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It's hard to stay motivated paying off your debt. You sacrifice and send payments month after month, but your balances seem to inch down.
Creating milestones in debt plan can keep you from becoming discouraged. Milestones are mini-goals that you'll pass on your way to debt freedom. As you reach a milestone, give yourself a small reward to remind you of the great progress you're making.
Get more details on creating debt milestones.
Use one of these free worksheets to create and track your debt milestones:
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