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Save Money with a Summer Staycation

Girl relaxing on her staycationSo you’ve seen the sun, the surf, the sand, and you’re ready for a vacation that doesn’t give you bathing suit anxiety or an empty bank account. You’re not alone.

Conventional vacations can be costly, stressful and leave you feeling like you’ve been through a triathlon rather than tranquility. Many wise travelers have opted for “stay at home vacations”, or staycations, to avoid the expensive hassle and enjoy their immediate environment more than ever before.

How do You Savor a Staycation?

Master the Art of Laying

When’s the last time you curled up under the covers while nibbling on a croissant? You haven’t? I knew it. There’s nothing better than being still and getting cozy.

Sleep in. Eat breakfast in bed. Cultivate calm.

What Are Credit Card Hackers?

Hackers break into computers or computer networks for a variety of reasons. Some do it illegally for profit, some are paid to do it legally, and others simply do it for the challenge. Credit card hackers, however, do their dirty deed with only one thing in mind—stealing your credit card information to make money. Ever heard of Lush, the handmade cosmetic company that sells all sorts of interesting bath and shower products? Their UK website was recently hacked and may have exposed the credit card information of every customer that purchased a product online between October 2010 and January 2011.

5 Money Management Myths

5 Money Management Myths
Money Management.

It can be the difference between living free from financial worries or scraping by from paycheck to paycheck. But there are several money management myths floating around that can act as roadblocks on your way to financial security.

Fear not, however, because we’re here to guide you through these myths and help establish a financial plan that’s right for you.

Why Bad Credit Happens to Good People

When people envision a person with bad credit, they may imagine a worn down casino dweller who has visited the wrong loan shark one or two many times.  But in reality, most people with bad credit are much more like the guy or girl next door. Bad credit can happen to normal, everyday Americans who have never made any life-destroying decisions or been careless with their money.

Why Good Credit is So Important

[caption id="attachment_2133" align="alignnone" width="414" caption=" "]credit history good credit scores[/caption]

You grow up learning that good credit is a near-necessity in life. But the older you get, the more people you meet with bad credit.

They are your friends.

They are your family members.

They are people you like and you respect and you look up to. And it's confusing when they seem to be getting by just fine, even with hefty debts and a bad credit score.

For some, dealing with bad credit is just a part of life. But they are missing out on a lot.

10 Best Credit Card Designs Ever

Your credit card is much more than a piece of plastic. It’s a status symbol. It’s an expression of your personality. It’s how you open your beer in a pinch.

The credit card has come a long way since the Diners Club of 1950. Now with more benefits and custom options than ever before, credit card companies are doing everything to attract customers. Even redesigning the credit card itself.

Introducing the top 10 best credit card designs:

10. Epos Card

Epos released a spectacular lineup of artistic credit cards in 2009. Here are just a few of their 100 jaw-dropping designs:

creditcard numbers

How to Destroy Your Credit Score in 3 Easy Steps

Credit Cards Credit cards can be a major pain in the neck. With annoyances like payment dates, interest charges, and annual fees, it's easy to become fed up. So after years of headaches, you’ve decided to do away with credit cards once and for all by destroying your credit.  While we here at Creditnet would strongly advise against this decision, this is America, so who are we to stop you from doing what you want?  In all honesty, you’ll be happy to know that despite spending all those years garnering an excellent credit score, demolishing it can be easy as pie.

5 Credit Card Myths

[caption id="attachment_1955" align="alignleft" width="254" caption=" "]Credit Card Myths[/caption]

That shiny piece of plastic burning a rectangle-shaped hole in your wallet is one of life's trickiest necessities.

On the one hand, you can't make it much farther than 25 without some line of credit to show for yourself.

On the other, credit cards are often intimidating: whole episodes of Oprah are dedicated to really good people with decades' worth of credit card debt they didn’t mean to accrue. You're a good person. Does that mean you are going to accrue a Kilimanjaro-sized mountain of debt as well?

The CFPB: A New Cop on the Beat

[caption id="attachment_1905" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=" "]Consumer financial protection bureau[/caption]

Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor appointed by Obama to get the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) up and running, sat down with the LA Times earlier this week for a Q&A session.

If you missed it and still have lingering questions about what it is Warren and the CFPB will be focusing on in the coming months, I highly recommend checking out the full interview for all the details.

Card Issuers Don't Care What Credit Limit You "Need"

[caption id="attachment_1735" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=" "]Credit limits for Balance Transfer Credit Cards[/caption] Credit issuers have become quite stingy when offering new credit card limits. But who can really blame them? With unemployment high and the economy still sputtering along, it shouldn't come as a surprise that credit issuers want to do everything possible to reduce unnecessary risk. Likewise, consumers are trying to reduce their own risk by paying down credit card debt and saving more cash. According to the latest report from the Federal Reserve Bank, revolving credit decreased nearly $900 million between June and July of this year. That marks a total annual decline of 1.8 percent and suggests that Americans are truly serious about not only curbing spending but also managing their existing debt.

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