Credit Cards Articles

You may check your credit score to find that your credit score is being pulled down because you have too many credit cards. Closing the credit cards won’t help though because they’ll still be listed on your credit report.

I’ve been reading conflicting statements about exactly what closing a credit card does to your credit score. For example, one blog stated closing a credit card with a balance hurts your credit score, another blog said it didn’t. So, rather than guess around about the true answers, I went straight to the source – FICO.

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While most of us are busy earning and budgeting our money,  a handful of artists are spending their time finding creative ways to convert currency into art. Here are six artists who use cash as their canvas.

Scott Campbell

This Brooklyn-based artist makes a living pawning his premium tattoo services for a whopping $300 per hour. Wonder what he does with all of that money? Campbell collects stacks of singles, and uses a special etching process to engrave incredibly detailed imagery into his cash. The original dollar bills may be destroyed, but the resulting art is priceless.

Justine Smith

British sculptor Justine Smith uses currency as her clay, creating eye popping designs laced with capitalist themes.

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When was the last time you used at a prepaid card to make a purchase? While for some it may have been a while, for others it is a daily occurrence as using prepaid cards have become a growing trend within the United States.

Unlike in the past, prepaid card issuers are much more competitive than every before. Within the last few months we have seem multiple card offers display unique features that my not have been associated with prepaid cards in the past. Even with these new features, these types of payment alternatives are becoming ever increasingly cheaper to use as the fees that are associated with them have dwindled well below what you may have been used to in the past.

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When there is a tragedy such as the recent earthquake that struck Haiti, there are millions of people looking to offer whatever they can to help. For many, the best way to contribute is by giving money donations, which on many accounts are given by way of credit card. However, while the money is given in hopes that all will be put to good use, it may be surprising to some that up to 3 percent of their donation amount will be pocketed by credit card issuers as what is known as a “transaction fee”. While it may not seem like much to some, when you calculate the number of people that are giving and the amount of money that is donated it ends up being millions of dollars that could be spent to help people in need.

While a transaction fee is utilized for nearly every purchase, not every credit card issuer takes a cut when the money is given for charitable purposes.

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