Read all about it here to get educated on the subject:

NY Times Online
Consumers Dealt a New Hand in Credit Cards

There are some interesting new rules, such as:
“Card companies will have to give 45 days’ notice before raising their interest rates. There’s also a notice requirement for any significant change to a card’s terms, which may keep companies from surprising customers who have been saving their loyalty points for years with huge alterations in rewards programs.”

However, some are saying the new legislation won’t be that great for those of us who pay off the balance every month and use the cards to stack rewards.

What do you guys think about the new laws? They look pretty good to me.

And here is the rest of it.

The post Budgeting Babe Alert: New Credit Card Rules appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

• Always pay more than the minimum on your credit card to avoid interest piling up
• Always pay your bills on time
• Don’t buy what you don’t have the money for

This is the Budgeting Babe’s credit card mantra.

However, as I watched Frontline on PBS and learned more about how the industry works, I realized there is much more to consider when using credit. For instance, your payments on a mortgage, unrelated cards and other bills can alter the APR of your existing card. This could have a severely damaging effect on your past purchases.

Let’s say you bought a computer and furniture on credit the month you moved into your new condo, when your APR was around 8%. After one late mortgage payment, your APR of an unrelated card can hypothetically raise to as much as 40%! (Typically the increase would not be this dramatic.) Based on your new APR assigned due to an unrelated loan, you will pay much more than originally thought for your initial purchase. The process is perfectly legal.

For more fascinating credit industry tidbits, go to the frontline credit Web site:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/

You can take quizes, learn about the industry and watch the entire PBS show online free of charge. It will make you think twice about using your credit card vs. using your debit card for purchases during the holidays.

The post Credit 201 appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.