Tag Archives: pay
Green Dot Prepaid Credit Card – Review
The Green Dot Credit Card is a prepaid card. This may be unfamiliar so let me explain the basics.
This is not like an unsecured card where the company issues it and attaches a limit on which they then charge interest as it is used. With this you must deposit money and then that amount then becomes your limit.
Instead of making purchases and paying for them later and the interest rate and associated fees. You pay beforehand by loading cash amounts. The issuer is Columbus Bank and Trust Company.
You will need to reload funds onto the card. The minimum amount of the initial load is $20 and the maximum amount of the initial load is $2,500.
You can not have more than $2,500 loaded on the card at any given time. To reload your Green Dot card, you may have a portion of your paycheck directly deposited to your card or you may purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak universal reload from locations such as Rite Aid, CVS, Eckerd, Radio Shack, The Pantry and other participating merchants. The MoneyPak costs $4.95.
You will be charged a $4.95 per month maintenance fee, $2.50 for each ATM transaction ($3.00 per international ATM transaction, $4.00 per cash advance from a teller or non-ATM transaction), up to $1.00 per call to obtain your balance using the interactive voice response system or a live operator, and $10 fee to replace a lost or stolen card. Always be sure to read the Terms and Conditions before applying.
Columbus Bank and Trust Company also offer a Premier version of this card. Be sure to research the Premier card fees before moving forward.
Fees include a one-time $19.95 membership enrollment fee and a $5.00 fee per month if you do not load $750 per month to the card. Additional charges may accrue if you use an ATM.
Likewise, if you purchase one of these cards at a store, the retailer will charge an initial activation fee and a reload fee. Be sure to check with the retailer for the costs involved with purchasing one of these cards.
I do not suggest these cards, however it depend on your situation and why you need the card. Again, personally, I don’t really feel that I want to pay to call someone’s answering machine.
I also don’t want to pay $5 per month merely because I don’t reload $750 per month. I believe I should be the one to decide how much a balance I want to maintain.
Additionally, there are other cards which allow more flexibility as to reload options.
Monthly Payment Loan – Almost Everyone Needs One
Almost everyone needs to get a monthly payment loan at some point in their life. Buying a home or car can cost so much money that saving up for the needed cash takes years and years. A monthly payment loan can allow someone to get what they want or need quickly and pay off the loan over time. In essence, a monthly payment loan allows you to get what you need now, and then save up for it through the monthly payments. The trade off is that you pay interest on the loan, so you pay a little more in the end to get what you need now instead of much later.
Different monthly payment loans come with different terms and rates, so it is important to shop around to try and find the best deal. You should check out many different banks and financial institutions to see which one offers the best monthly payment loan for you and your needs. One bank might offer a lower rate to your neighbor, but your credit history and amortization schedule needs might be different, so a different bank may offer you the best rate. This is why it is important to actually do the footwork and shop around yourself instead of using the bank or financial institution that someone else says gave them the best terms after they shopped around.
Interest rates, especially on mortgages, change over time depending on various trends. If you can wait for a few months, you should consider watching the rate trends and looking into the rates of past months. If the interest rates are abnormally high at the moment, you should wait for them to drop because getting your loan. Likewise, if they are abnormally low at the moment, you should try to get a loan or mortgage as soon as possible to capitalize on the low rates before they rise.
Obviously, your credit score has a large impact on your monthly payment loan terms and rates, so you should get copies of your credit reports from each of the three credit reporting agencies to check for mistakes. If there are any mistakes on your credit report, getting them fixed can make a huge positive impact on your credit score, and thus, your monthly payment loan terms and rates. It is a good idea to attain all three main credit reports because mistakes that show up on one may not show up on another. If you obtain your credit report from one or two of the three major agencies, you might not find any mistakes. However, the bank might get your credit report from the third agency, and that report may show credit information that the other two did not.
When you get a monthly payment loan, your amortization schedule is the month by month payment plan that you use to pay off the loan. The longer you take to pay off the monthly payment loan, the more extra money you pay in interest. However, higher monthly payments that pay off the monthly payment loan sooner make a larger impact on your monthly budget. You need to carefully consider your amortization schedule and look down the line to be sure you will be able to make your payments every month.