A year ago I purchased a laptop on one of those zero percent financing deals. I consider myself as someone who knows how to make a dollar holler and waited a few days before the due date to pay the bill online.
Well imagine my dismay when they asked me to pay ten dollars for the privilege of paying the bill online. It almost sent me over the edge and then they added insult to injury when they added another thirteen dollars for refusing to pay the ten dollars.
I called customer service and ended up speaking to a woman named Joe in India who would not give me her last name but did take the charge off the bill. All I could think was that it is about time someone took a look at the abusive practices being used by credit card companies.
Say "Bye-Bye" to Your Grace Period No grace period means that you'll start accruing interest the moment you charge something and that can cost you a bundle of "extra" interest. Most credit card issuers have already reduced their grace period from 25 days to 20 days. Many others have eliminated the grace period altogether. Now they are coming up with more and more reasons to take away your grace period. Miss a payment? Stop carrying a balance? Bye-bye grace period!
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Punishing You for Being Smart These fees are the lowest of the low because they penalize you for being a responsible credit card user. Some of the biggest offenders include charging you a fee for: + Closing your account + Failing to use a card for a period of time (such as six months or a year) + Not carrying a balance + Every transaction each and every time that you use your card If your card charges you any of these fees, it's time to look for a new card!
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Lowering Your Minimum Payment Another way some cards try to jack up their profits and lure you deeper into debt is by lowering the minimum payment due on your balance. It used to be cards required a minimum monthly payment of about 4% of your balance, but many now require as little at 2%. Don't fall for it! Going from a $40 payment to a $25 payment on a $2,500 balance means it will take you an extra 19 months to pay off your balance!
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Inviting You to Skip a Payment Broke this month? In their infinite generosity (ha!), some cards will "invite" you to skip a payment. This "helpful" offer, which sounds great at first blush, often comes after the holidays when your balance is big and your wallet is stretched. DON'T DO IT! Skipping that payment can lead to a host of trouble from a higher interest rate to possibly having to make extra payments in the future. Are you starting to notice a pattern?! You should be skeptical whenever your credit card company does something "nice" for you without you asking for it!
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Tricky Timing We all know that our payment is due on a certain date or it's late, right? But a new twist being thrown into the mix is having your payment due by a certain time on the due date. If your payment is due at noon, and gets processed at 12:01, you get socked with a late fee AND likely a higher interest rate. Gimme a break! Carefully check your statement so you avoid this trap.
By Brennan Williams, BlackVoices.com Being one of today's most sought out artist has lead singer/songwriter T-Pain ahead of the pack with five 2008 BET Award nominations.
The Florida native is nominated for his appearances on Kanye West's 'Good Life,' Flo Rida's 'Low' and Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss' in the best collaboration category. And nominated twice for video of the year.
BET Executive Vice President Stephen Hill has definitely kept his eye on the singer over the past year, whose signature vocoder style has influenced other A-list artist such as Snoop Dogg.
"T-Pain is everywhere," Hill told the Associated Press. "He's got five nominations, none of them for his own work...He's had a great year; he's introduced a new element."
Academy Award winner Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give), Oscar nominee Queen Latifah (Chicago) and Katie Holmes (Thank You for Smoking) star in 'Mad Money', a comedy about three ordinary women who form an unlikely friendship and decide to do something extraordinary- rob one of the most secure banks in the world. Mad Money is directed by Academy Award winner Callie Khouri (screenwriter of Thelma and Louise, director of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), from a script by Khouri and Glen Gers (Fracture).
... Mr. Mike Norman, a Marietta, Ga., bar owner who is selling t-shirts with "Obama '08" printed on the front -- along with a cartoon monkey eating a banana.
Norman says he printed and started selling the t-shirts because he thinks Obama looks like the character Curious George. But we all know the real reason, and he thinks he's being funny. Well of course, Mr. Obama Monkey T-Shirt Maker's attracted all kinds of negative attention to himself, and it's well deserved. ...
In the grand scheme of things, this really isn't that important, but I just gotta talk about it anyway because I want to state my unadulterated support for WNBC (New York) anchor Sue Simmons, despite any criticism she got for saying f*ck on live television.
In fact, I really wish I didn't have to put an asterisk in place of the "u" in f*ck, as I write this because this is a word that so f*cking many of us use every day. Simmons, a veteran broadcaster of nearly three decades should be allowed a pass. After all, she didn't even know she was on live TV, but rather thought she and co-anchor Chuck Scarborough were taping a promo. ...
By Brennan Williams, BlackVoices.com Sexy R&B superstar Rihanna recently made history with her latest single 'Take A Bow.'
The hit song made one of the biggest jumps recorded in 'Billboard' history, moving from #53 to #1 in one week.
In addition to sliding into the Number One slot on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart, the single debuted on the 'Billboard' Hot Digital Songs Chart with a phenomenal first week of 266,696 scans.
Not bad, considering the Grammy Award winning beauty's forthcoming CD/DVD re-release of her latest album 'Good Girl Gone Bad.'
MIAMI (May 15) - One of five suspects charged in the slaying of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor has pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and burglary.
Defense attorney Michael Hornung says that according to the plea agreement, Venjah Hunte will serve 29 years in prison and cooperate with prosecutors.
Robin Givens is about to give daytime talk a second chance.
The 43-year-old actress had a previous stint as a daytime talk show host when she followed Mother Love as the second host of the nationally syndicated 'Forgive or Forget' in 2000.
Givens' new talk show will be produced by talk show veteran Montel Williams, whose self-titled talk show will end after 17 years on May 16.
There's been no announcement for a target airdate for Givens' new show.
Givens will star as controversial New York City radio host Wendy Williams in the forthcoming movie, 'Queen of Media,' which is based on the New York Times bestselling book about Williams' life.
For the third time in three months, Republicans lost a special congressional election in a safe GOP district. The Mississippi loss came 10 days after the GOP lost a traditional seat in Louisiana.
In Mississippi and Louisiana, Republicans used Barack Obama's past ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to try to scare up white votes. Instead, their strategy boosted black voter turnout. Now Congressional Republicans are scared the three straight losses foretell disaster in November.
While Wright didn't work any magic for the GOP in Mississippi, 52 percent of voters in West Virginia said Obama shares the views of Wright. The question is open-ended so it is not clear to which views they are referring. Obama has, after all, denounced and repudiated Wright.
After years of struggling with the confines of a major label structure and the battle to maintain the integrity of his art, soul singer Rahsaan Patterson decided to do things his way and he hasn't looked back.
Patterson, who released two critically acclaimed CD's (1997's 'Rahsaan Patterson' and 1999's 'Love in Stereo') on MCA Records, formed his own label in 2004 and has enjoyed the freedom of taking charge of his own musical destiny.
"What excites me now is the potential for independent artists to gain exposure, more mainstream exposure.I feel like the industry is catching up to the art of it.The commerce aspect will always be there, but the purpose of music is starting to come more to the forefront.The artists that do it independently do it because they have to.It's their art, it's their craft," he told me.
His latest offering, 'Wines and Spirits,' was released last fall and its second single 'Feels Good' is making a significant impact at Urban Adult Contemporary radio stations.
Every now and again, OK maybe a little too much, this Style Spotter enjoys after work drinks and light dinner with friends.However, for those of you new to the city it can be a hassle to find a chic place to unwind after such a hectic metropolitan day. You need a restaurant/bar where reservations are unnecessary, where cocktails are dangerously pretty and where the appetizers are what they should be... appetizing!
Well, my fabulous sister-in-law and I walked down trendy 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn to spot after work hot spots for those in need of a proper dose of spring time fun!
Nana located on 155 5th Avenue is a modern mix of Asian Fusion. There's a delectable sushi bar and drinks range from sake to raspberry, white chocolate martini's. So, very good.(hiccup!)
This week during the Cannes Film Festival in Paris, filmmaker James Toback will unveil his new documentary, "Tyson," an in-depth look at the life of Mike Tyson. The film contains segments from over 30 hours of interviews with the former champ, plus highlights and lowlights from his career.
"I look at it now and I'm embarrassed I did it," Tyson told the New York Times. "There's a lot of information people didn't need to know. I don't know who I am. That might sound stupid. I really have no idea. All my life I have been drinking and drugging and partying and all of a sudden this comes to a stop. I never thought I would live to this age."
The talk show titan has canceled her own show, opting not to bring back her debut reality series, 'Oprah's Big Give' for a second season.
In a shocking move, Winfrey, 54, asked ABC executives not to renew her weekly primetime show about charitable giving.
"We loved that show and absolutely would have loved to bring it back," ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said yesterday during an upfront press conference. "But it was something [Oprah] didn't want to do."
Do you have hard water in your area? Does your hair fill dull and coated after washing?
You might want to try a chelating shampoo. Chelate means "claw" in latin. If we look closely at the chemical structure of chelators, we would see that they have these tiny claw-like branches.These branches grab and attach themselves to calcium and magnesium ions found in water. An abundance of these ions results in "hard water" and cause soap film (which is what we find all over our shower walls and bath tubs).
This film also prevents shampoos from lathering and leaves the hair dull, hard and coated. A chelating shampoo will prevent the film from depositing on the hair shaft and restore shine and luster to the hair. Some find them to be a bit stripping so it's best to use them once or twice a month.
All of these products can be found online or at your local Beauty Supply Store. Happy growing:) For more tips and articles, join me at www.healthytextures.com.
Hillary Clinton easily won West Virginia, beating Barack Obama 67 percent to 26 percent. Clinton's trouncing of Obama did not change the game. Her pick-up of 20 delegates was offset by the 30 superdelegates who moved to Obama in the past week.
West Virginia matters because it highlights Obama's weakness with white working-class voters. CNN exit polls show that white folks ain't feeling Obama. Indeed, 35 percent of Clinton voters said they would vote for John McCain if Obama is the nominee.
... Mr. Mike Norman, a Marietta, Ga., bar owner who is selling t-shirts with "Obama '08" printed on the front -- along with a cartoon monkey eating a banana. 
In Mississippi and Louisiana, Republicans used Barack Obama's past ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to try to scare up white votes. Instead, their strategy boosted black voter turnout. Now Congressional Republicans are scared the three straight losses foretell 
Oprah Winfrey
