Shortly after my husband passed away in a fatal car accident, I started looking into several debt diet plans. I knew that for the first time in my life, I had to take control of my financial future and that I was way too far in debt to keep up the pace and still support my kids.

The first thing I wanted to know was how to reduce credit card debt. As my husband had handled the finances in the marriage, I had no idea that we owed so much. I thought we may owe a little, but I was shocked at how big the number was. I was concerned that I was not going to be able to support my family.

I decided that I was going to do poor credit debt consolidation and stop using credit altogether. It made the most sense if I was ever going to get rid of the debt.

I would certainly advise any wife to know exactly what the financial situation is in their home at all times.

I recently read a blog post, one of those “ask the expert” type articles. This one was about a marketing couple who apparently were not from the USA and so could not use the usual US payment processor. Furthermore the woman and her husband weren’t sure they had the credit rating to use the traditional shopping cart services either. Their question was, what are the advantages and disadvantages of high risk merchant accounts?

The first advantage is fewer restrictions. That is also the first disadvantage, since fewer restrictions can lead to abuses of the system. Another advantage is that approval for an account can happen in as little as 72 hours instead of in three to four weeks, as is the case with some merchant accounts. Again, this can be a disadvantage, too, because a shorter approval time might mean the company does not do thorough background and credit checks.

The “expert” blogger did not offer advice. Instead he laid out the pro’s and the con’s, leaving the decision totally up to the couple asking the question.

Through most of my life, things have gone smoothly with my credit cards.  I always make the payments on time and I make sure to keep my spending to a minimum.  But there was one point in my life where I had some problems with one of my cards.

Things all started when I made a payment at the bank on the due date for my minimum payment.  You see, it was close to closing time at the bank, but I was lucky enough to get in just before it closed.  But, I had to wait in line to make my payment, and then I was on my way.

The problems started when I went to the gas station to fill up my car and the credit card processing device on the pump declined my card.  I had to go inside to talk to a clerk as I was so embarrassed that it had happened.

I went home and made a call to the credit card company.  As it turns out, they froze my card as they didn’t get the payment that I had made at the bank earlier.  I learned that I need to make my payments early so that I don’t have any problems using my credit card anymore.

With the growth my business has been experiencing, it is time for us to get our first business credit card.  This would not only help us have better tracking for our bill payments, but give us credit on demand should we need it.

Since I’ve never applied for a business credit card before, I decided that it might be smart to look at some review websites and make my decision based on the credit card ratings given to each card.  Specifically, I’m looking for sites that allow user ratings so that I can see what other business owners experiences have been with the cards I am looking at.

I will just have to remember that even though there are many business credit cards available, the business really only needs one.  So I will just have to make sure that I pick the best for us and our company.

A friend of mine owns and operates a brick-and-mortar kitchen supply store.  They provide everything from kitchen accessories to kitchen appliances at prices that are very inexpensive compared to other businesses in town.

They have been doing some research over the past few months to see how well their business would do if they had an online division.  According to the research that they have done, their prices are similar and quite often cheaper than other retailers in their industry.

Then contracted a web design firm to design an online storefront for them and to find a company to provide them with the Internet merchant accounts that they will need to accept payment online.  Things are coming together very quickly and she is hoping to have the store open before May.

From the customers that she is mentioned her plans to, it looks like she will have a very positive response from her customers and should have no problems succeeding online.

My brother and I were just chilling the other night, listening to music on our satellite radio when we got into a deep discussion about saving for our futures. We were not discussing the immediate future, but for one day when we retire. My brother is very passionate about this and I am sure that he is Michael Dinich’s biggest fan.

I really never understood why saving for retirement pertained to me, as I was young and just out of high school. Then my brother showed me a daily article that said we should be saving for retirement from the moment we start working at a paying job. We would then never even miss the money because it would just be another deduction that was always there.

It made sense to me, even though my biggest worry money wise was whether my paycheck would be big enough for all of the clothes that I wanted that week. My brother taught me that your money matters, even if you don’t have financial responsibilities. I am glad that he cares enough to show me what is important and I am glad to know that when I do retire, I will be just fine, because of the wise words of Michael Dinich.

My niece just turned eighteen and that makes me feel old.  But it never really sunk in until she told me that she was having problems choosing from the many college student credit cards available.

College?  Credit cards for students?

Back up for a minute - I had to ask her if she was in college.  When I found out she was, I had to shake my head - where had the past year gone?

Well, I guess since she is in college, has a job, and is looking at her first credit card, I could help her out.  Out of all the student credit card applications, we picked out the ones that would be the best for her.  She has applied for a few of them and we will have to wait and see how things turn out.

I just can’t believe she is old enough for her first credit card - boy have the years flown by.

With the price of gasoline climbing higher and higher, many people are looking for ways to reduce the cost of driving their car.  Sure, you could buy a hybrid and get better gas mileage, but the extra cost for having the hybrid feature installed in your car doesn’t really give you relief in the short term.

So, in an effort to give consumers a better deal, many credit card companies now offer gas credit cards.  What a gas credit card aims to do is give the card holder cash back on all their purchases of gasoline.  This not only makes buying gas more convenient (you could pay at the pump and not have to go inside to pay), but helps ease the burden of driving a car.

Some of the gas cards on the market also give you cash back on other purchases essentially giving you a discount on products you buy wherever you go.

Where can you get a gas card?

Check with your financial institution as many of them now offer credit cards with cash back on all your gas purchases.

As a mortgage broker, I spend my days approving or not approving mortgage loans. It is a very sad part of my job when I have to say no to potential clients, but it is part of my job, nonetheless. For the most part, my job is ok and the people that I make happy more than make up for the ones that I disappoint.

Another part of my job is finding mortgage leads. I look for bank foreclosures and homes that are good starter homes. It helps my clients know what they are looking for and what price range we can work with.

The best real estate place is the Internet. You can find homes for sale almost anywhere just by going online and searching the area in which you are looking. That is where I start when I am sitting with my clients. When it comes down to it though, it is not my job to find the property, just to approve the mortgage, but I like to go the extra mile to get them started.

One of the easiest parts of my job is to approve FHA loans. These are usually the ones that get approved the fastest and it makes my job a whole lot easier.

Even though most of us haven’t used the Internet for a very long amount of time (in comparison to our age), I cannot think of how we survived without it.  This is especially evident in terms of my finances.

I really used to hate going to the bank to apply for a loan, or take my money to deposit at a teller.  Long lines, and few tellers usually  made my experience mediocre at best.  I can remember applying for home equity loans twice where I waited for an hour to see a loans officer, only to be told an hour later that they were sick and had not come to work.

But thankfully, I don’t have to waste my life in line anymore.  In fact, just this past week, I applied for payday loans online and requested some information for a debt consolidation program.  There were no lines, no hassles, and I did them both after midnight in my pajamas.

Do I like the convenience the Internet provides me in regards to my finances?  You bet.  In fact, if they were to get rid of the brick and mortar banks, and just put everything online, that would be perfect for me.