A private label card is a credit card offered by a retailer to be used exclusively at its stores. The cards are usually managed by a financial institution and not by the retailer. It’s like your favorite store stamped its logo on one of your credit cards – it’s still a credit card, it just has a different design (…and you can only use it in one place).
Archive for the ‘Credit’ Category
A Private Label Card is…
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011Making it Work: Internet Shopping Entrepreneurs Talk Shop
Monday, June 27th, 2011Carla Holtze and Kimberly Skelton used business school as an excuse to do what they already wanted to do: create a social website that roughly imitates the experience of having your best friend give you the thumbs-up or thumbs-down in the dressing room. Thus was born WingTipIt.com.
But starting a company isn’t easy – especially when it involves learning new technology in a relatively new industry. Watch them talk about what’s worked and what hasn’t:
>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!
Apparently Debt is the New Cigarettes
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
(photo credit: paalia)
Now, debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing, okay? But this is a little crazy. For the past 25 years, people in their early and mid-twenties have reported feeling a thrill of maturity and self-confidence when they first started to dig themselves into the debt hole.
Whether the money was going toward education or just going into the “I’ll pay for this pizza later” pile, young adults – especially those in the lowest 25% of income earners – said they experienced greater “self-esteem and perceived mastery” when they began to run up a tab.
Some kinds of debt are better than others. In general, debt that can be considered an investment in something – like a home, or an education that can get you a better job – is a good thing. But debt that gets you nothing but fees, interest rates, and a pizza that has long since been digested and forgotten – i.e., credit card debt – is not good.
The most important factor in determining whether your debt is good or bad is whether you’re able to make payments in full and on time. If you don’t, your credit score will suffer and you’ll find yourself on the road to Massive Debt.
Which, by the time you reach 28 (according to the study), will start to make you feel kind of bad about yourself.
Credit Scores Around the Country [Interactive Infographic]
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
(click on the map to go to the interactive graphic)
Do you know what your credit score is? Maybe you should try surviving the credit storm before you start buying houses…
(Via Column Five for Credit Sesame)
Accounts Receivable is…
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011Accounts receivable (A/R) is an accounting term that refers to money someone owes to a store or business. If you buy something from a store, but don’t pay them right away – the amount that you owe goes into the store’s accounts receivable record.
Most large companies have an entire accounts receivable department that is solely focused on keeping track of money owed to the company.
Accounts Payable is…
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011Accounts payable (A/Ps) is an accounting term that refers to money owed by a person or business to another person or business.
For example, if an office has bottled water delivered each week but doesn’t pay for it until the end of the month, the charge goes into accounts payable until the check is written. Employee paychecks also fall into the category of accounts payable until they are actually given out to employees.
Why are gas prices so wildly different around the world?
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
(photo credit: Drew__)
If you’ve been in Europe recently, you’ve probably noticed all those extra digits in the price of “petrol.” In the U.S., we’re horrified at the idea of paying $4 a gallon for gas, but in Norway they’ve already blown past the equivalent of $9.
But… why? Is it harder to pump oil in to Norwegian gas stations? Is greater demand among the Norse driving prices up? Not even.
There are a few reasons, but according to Aaron Smith at CNN, it’s pretty much all about the government. Governments can either charge their citizens extra to buy gas (by taxing it) or the pay them to buy gas (by handing out subsidies, which lower the price per gallon).
Taxing gas is useful because the money pays for government programs. And handing out subsidies is useful if you want to keep your population happy. (You see this a lot in oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia. It’s hard to be angry at the super-wealthy ruling elite when they’re basically paying for your gasoline.)
The moral of the story: Stuff is only worth what someone says it’s worth. $3 or $10, you still need it to make your Hummer go.
How much do you think you should pay to fill up your gas tank?
What If China Says “Sorry, Pay Up” to U.S.?
Friday, February 4th, 2011
credit: Lars Plougmann
Is there a “Plan B?”
- Countries like the U.S. sell government bonds to raise money. Bonds are a form of debt – when the bond-holder cashes in their bond, the government has to pay them back with interest.
- China is the biggest buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds, which means that if it suddenly sold off a lot of them, it could screw up the entire U.S. market.
- A dramatic change like that would also hurt China’s economy, so there are probably only two situations in which China would consider selling off that much U.S. debt:
- China and the U.S. get into a serious fight. Like, a military-style fight, probably over resources in Asia
- China starts to think the American dollar is going to totally tank, and gets out while it still can
- So what’s Plan B? There is no official plan, but the U.S. government would probably start asking its own citizens and its friends around the world to buy a whole lot of bonds. And the Fed would have a much bigger problem on its hands than the recession.
Facts & Figures
- China is the United States’ biggest creditor in the world
- If you include Hong Kong, China holds almost $1 trillion in U.S. debt
Best Quotes
“I worry that we could be at a tipping point.” – Eswar Prasad, economist at the Brookings Institution, former IMF official
“The U.S. government should have and maybe still could call on the people of the U.S. to invest in U.S. debt…. What we need to do is have a plan that’s reasoned, reasonable, can reassure our foreign lenders and also demonstrate to the American people that Washington can get something done” – David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General
What do you think?
How has your life been affected by the rise of China?
Whoa – Credit Card Fees Higher Than Ever!
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011“NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Interest rates are now hovering near record highs, at an average rate of 14.72%. And if your credit is bad enough, you could even end up with a rate as high as 59.9% APR.
That’s because while the CARD Act helped crack down on certain fees and requires more disclosures, it didn’t cap every credit card holder’s worst enemy: interest rates.”
What do you think?
Do you know how much interest your card company will charge you for a late payment?
Sneaky Tricks Debit Card Companies Play – And How To Play Them Back
Friday, January 7th, 2011The man behind the Your Money column in the NYTimes gives a fast-moving and really useful explanation of debit and credit cards. Understanding the difference and some features of each can potentially save you a few hundred bucks a month – money you can surely put to much better use.
Feed your head, not your bank’s overdraft fee collectors.