Logan Abbott

With Earth Day 2011 upon us, the recent meteoric rise in gas prices remains a major focus.   Personally, every time I drive by a gas station my anxiety level causes me to hyperventilate and lose consciousness (thankfully my dog Buster knows to seize the wheel in such situations). In any case, with gas prices what they are these days, has there ever been a better time to live a greener lifestyle and save a little money to boot?  Here are 10 great ways to give your credit cards some rest and rediscover your eco-conscious side at the same time.

A wise man once told me "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."  Or maybe that's just a popular saying? In any event, unforeseen situations can spring up at any moment, and sometimes they force you to reach for your credit card at the least opportune times. While it's impossible to predict emergency situations before they happen, at the very least you can arm yourself with knowledge of the pros and cons of using your credit card to charge your way out of life's little mishaps. Here's a run-down of a common sticky situation, and how credit cards can and cannot help.

Ever since credit cards began featuring magnetic strips to hold personal information electronically, there has been very little innovation in terms of the way payments are processed by merchants.  Now, fifty years after the advent of magnetic strips, it seems the credit card industry is ready to take its next big leap forward. The good ol' mates down in Australia have recently unleashed an exciting new technology that may provide a glimpse into the future of credit cards.  The new innovation is called "Visa Contactless", and it works in conjunction with consumer iPhones.