Beware Of Store Credit Cards

There is no question about that retailers offer more discounts with their credit cards when you purchase at the store than with other financial products or even when you pay in cash. However, what is the cost concealed within these offers? The store must be getting something out of it; otherwise they wouldn’t do it. But what is it? Customer Fidelity
What stores get in exchange from these offers is customer fidelity. They make sure that you’ll keep buying at their store. Thus, they are guaranteeing an income from which they’ll benefit in terms of interests.Customer fidelity is a very important thing for companies. Most companies spend a lot of money to secure customer fidelity. But in this case, the one paying for it is the same customer that they want to turn into a regular company’s customer. Interest Rate Charged For Financing
Another thing they get, that may sound as the most important one but not always is, is the return for financing your purchases. When you purchase goods and don’t pay the whole balance at the end of the period, you are financing your purchase and they will charge an interest rate for the unpaid balance.All credit cards charge an interest rate for this service with the sole exception of certain promotions that charge a 0% interest rate for financing but only for a limited period of time. However, the interest rate charged by store credit cards is significantly higher than the rate charged by most regular credit cards. Thus, though you might get that 10% discount on the retail price, you may end up overpaying due to the high interest rates that are charged for financing. Sharing Your Data For Revenue
Also, most stores share your personal information with other companies so these companies can send you offers and promotions according to your needs and buying behavior. Of course, they don’t do this out of the goodness of their hearts. They actually charge a fair amount of money for providing their databases that are packed with very interesting details about you and your buying habits.If you are concerned about your privacy, you should always read the contract thoroughly before signing cause you may be giving written authorization to disclose this information and you may not be noticing it.This is a common practice among stores. Those stores that can obtain a fair amount of data about their customers usually sell this information to other companies and that’s the reason why people get offers in their mails with attractive content and they don’t know where did these companies got their contact information.As you can see, before jumping in to accepting that store card that they are offering you, you should consider all these variables and analyze whether it is really to your advantage.

How to Build a Healthy Lifestyle

Diet – lets face it, with out this you probably will not be as successful losing weight as you would like. You can exercise all you want, but if you go to the fast food drive through all the time or eat the morning donuts you probably will not have much success. Lets talk about the fat first. You can do the low carbohydrate diets that actually say you should eat fatty foods and cut out the carbs. This does help you lose weight fast. The problem with these types of diets are that once you go off the diet and start eating normal again the weight starts coming back two fold. There are the only carbohydrate diets which actually are pretty good for your heart. You find that your body starts missing the protein that it used to get from meat and you start getting tired. The next diet you can try is being a vegetarian which is a very good diet and you will lose weight but you must replace your protein and make sure you get enough vitamins and don’t short yourself any nutrients. You know the best way to diet really is to watch your calories and fat intake. Eating smaller portions at more times through out the day would be the best for you. It allows your body to burn each and every meal you eat rather then storing it for later or turning it to fat. It is hard to keep track of all this but once you start doing it you will find it will get easier and easier. Lets face it losing weight and keeping it off is a life changing job that you have to work at. You will see great results if you add our next subject we will talk about.Exercise – This is the hardest to keep faithful to. It is the hardest to start and the hardest to do when you just do not want to do it. When you first start exercising you will be sore in the days following but you need to work through it and pretty soon it will not hurt anymore. First start a walking program 1 to 2 miles a day or 20 to 30 minutes a day. Do what you can handle maybe it is more or less. Then get yourself some 1 to 5 pound dumbbells and start doing regular exercise routines. Pick a routine, one that you think will work for you. You can lose weight with out exercising but that doesn’t mean that you are living healthy. Exercising helps your muscles be lose and tone. Sweating helps get rid of the toxins in your body that could cause cancers. Exercising also helps your heart, the most important muscle in your body, exercising helps keep your blood vessels open and clear. As you get older, if you do not exercise in some way your body starts to deteriorate faster. You can’t stop the aging but you will feel better and will be able to do the things you like. To keep up with both dieting and exercising you have to take control of the one thing that will make you quit. Try hard to master this next topic.Your will – If you can control this, you will be successful. Your will is what tells you what you feel like doing. Like, this is not the day for exercise or this candy bar is looking so good to me today. Then before you know it your week is filled with not exercising and as many candy bars and fast food as you can eat. To take control of your will you have to find ways to keep you focused. Post positive notes around your house or work. There is many different ways to keep your will focused. Once you train your mind to get rid of all the negativity that stops you from exercising and dieting, the easier you find it is to change to a healthier lifestyle. Try posting pictures of you when you start your program. Then start posting pictures of yourself after you have been on your program for a month or two. The whole idea here is to keep everything positive and get rid of all the negative. When you start seeing all the results, it will be easy to do all three steps to a healthy lifestyle.

Do You Qualify For A Home Repair Grant?

If you’ve ever had damage done to your home or been involved in an unfortunate situation of having rain or snow engulf your dwelling. A home repair grant may be the perfect answer for your situation. This article will help you discover some places to look for help and how to find out if you qualify for a home repair grant.The good newsThey always say – the good news is the best place to start, and this article is no exception. Did you know that a home repair grant does not need to be paid back? Most home repair grants are either privately funded or government funded. There are grants for many different classes of people. From seniors to handicapped individuals in need of home repair grant assistance.Seniors age 55 and olderSome cities have special programs that will offer a one time home repair grant to seniors age 55 and older. This can be a wonderful blessing if you are on a limited or fixed income. You would need to check with your local city officials to find out the exact requirements and availability in your specific area. But, this might be a great option to consider.Private home repair grantOften time’s private individuals, prominent business people, and others will offer assistance through a private home repair grant. You might find this information at your local chamber of commerce or perhaps you might find local businesses running ads in your local newspaper offering assistance for home repair to qualifying individuals. One of the local realtors in my area has been helping individuals for several years with their needs. He usually offers to help with food expenses as well. This can be a real win – win situation for both you and the business person.Disabled individual may qualify tooThere are special programs available for certain disabled individuals who need assistance through a home repair grant. Check your city for disabled assistance programs to see if they can give you further information.The internet is always a good place to searchThe internet is a great place to start when trying to find information. You will find qualifications forms and many types of grants being offered. This will give you some things to compare. Although many of the programs online will be specific to a certain area; you may be able to find local listings, and direct numbers of people to contact for home repair grant assistance. Regardless of your situation it never hurts to do some checking around if you are in need of assistance.