Quit Spending On Credit Cards

Credit card borrowers have a few watershed moments on the path to significant credit card debt. The first sign of impending trouble is the month when you don't pay one of your balances in full. Then comes the month when you can't make any payments in full. Finally, the month arrives when you quit trying to pay extra and just resign yourself to making minimums.

The impact on your finances can be dramatic. We're often told to consider the real cost of buying on credit and shown how much interest you'll pay on that purchase. But the assumption that you eventually pay off the credit card debt is too simplistic for people with chronic credit card debt. Because you never pay off the debt and keep revolving it, the cost is essentially infinite.

In this situation, continuing down a path of credit card spending when you have debt is flirting with danger. You can't use credit cards as a way out of the problem if credit card debt is your problem. To use an old clich: if you want to get out of the credit card pit, quit digging.

Would you play a game if you knew the cards were stacked against you? Probably not. But in the credit game, the cards are definitely stacked against you. Here are a few examples:
You pay more for items when you buy with credit. Studies by Dunn & Bradstreet, MIT, and USA Technologies show people will spend 15-100% more for an item with credit.
You buy more per shopping event. McDonalds found that the average order increased by 55% when they started accepting credit.

By splitting the purchasing and payment events, credit card companies and merchants have stacked the cards against you in ways that are nearly impossible to control. They know you'll buy more because you don't have the same visual cues that you have when you pay with cash or debit. The only way you can win is not to play.

So how can you stop? Here are a few tried-and-true techniques that have worked for others:
Destroy all of your cards but the lowest APR card. The safest way to not use them is to simply destroy them. Cut them up or burn them. Use your creativity and vent your frustration on plastic.
Put your lowest-APR card in a safe place for use in emergencies:
o Put it on ice! Freeze your card in a bowl of ice and leave them in the freezer.
o Put it in a safe deposit box. Out of sight, out of mind.
o Put it in a plastic bag or a can and bury it in the ground.
o Give it to someone a family member or friend for safekeeping. Chances are the undesirable experience of explaining to them why you want your cards back will overrule your urge to spend.
o Wrap it in duct tape to make it hard to use in a store.

QuickStart Action:
Come to terms with the real cost of spending and recognize that the costs of relying on credit cards outweighs the convenience, rewards, or any other argument in favor.
Set up a separate checking or prepaid account with a debit card for spending. Fund this from your paycheck or primary checking account or limit your discretionary spending to this account.
Destroy all your cards but one
Put one card away for emergencies
Define what an emergency is for you. Deciding, in advance, what is an emergency and what is not can keep you from reaching for the plastic when the time comes.

Capital One Buys Orchard Bank and HSBC Credit Cards - Orchard Bank Future In Doubt

In recent news Capital One Bank purchased the Orchard Bank Credit Card and all of the US credit cards issued by HSBC bank. The details and exact amounts of this purchase are currently unclear but we are confident that Capital One paid a hefty price.

Orchard bank has a trusted leader and brand in the bad credit credit card market for years. Additionally they have a huge customer base and many current card holders. It is arguably one of the biggest sub prime lending acquisitions.

We believe the acquisition of the Orchard Bank Credit Card is a subsequent result of the mortgage collapse and banking crisis in our country. Just like many local banks were forced to merge with larger banks and thus consolidated our choices of banks to use, we believe the credit card industry is going through the same process.

It is rumored that Capital One is actually going to shut down the Orchard Bank Credit Card. We believe that Capital One has made an aggressive attempt to target individuals with a less-than-perfect credit rating by rolling out a prepaid credit card, secured credit card, and an unsecured credit card for fair credit. This way we think Capital One intends to shrink the market and their brand will fill the void.

One of the most unique features about the Orchard Bank Credit Card was its application process. When you provided your information and your application was processed Orchard Bank would return to you and offer you all the credit cards that you qualified for which included: an unsecured MasterCard, a secured MasterCard, prepaid MasterCard… And then you would choose which credit card was right for your needs.

It certainly appears that Capital One could provide this option to applicants, we hope they do because we have heard many consumers say they appreciate this upfront process. Another concern we have is what alternatives will be left for consumers as the orchard bank secured credit card was one of the most competitive price and best secured credit card offers on the market.

It would report to all three major credit bureaus, charged you a 9.9% APR, and an annual fee of . This compared to unsecured credit cards before the mortgage collapse was a very low priced credit card that would still give you an opportunity to build positive credit. However today we have seen some partially secured credit card offers that we would not recommend to our worst enemies!

These partially secured credit cards require an upfront deposit, the most popular offer we have seen charges an outrageous 36% APR, roughly in upfront fees, and then another in annual fees. Thus, it will be interesting to see what comes of Capital One purchasing the HSBC Orchard Bank Credit Card and if there will continue to be competitively priced secured bad credit card offers available.

As of today and according to both websites it doesn't appear that Orchard Bank or HSBC Credit Cards will continue to be offered. With that said we are by no means executives with Capital One and have no way of knowing for sure, one way or another. Currently at the Orchard Bank website you can still apply for a credit card but from insider information, we have heard Orchard bank is going to stop accepting applications around the end of May.