Credit Card Advice

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In a word – yes. You can apply for as many credit cards as you want. However, you must keep certain factors in mind if you want to avoid doing harm to your finances and credit score.

Applying for too many credit cards at once will result in numerous inquiries on your credit history. Everytime you do something with you credit card, wether it be apply or cancel one, it is recorded onto your history. Since this is one of the many factors considered in determining your credit score, you must keep this in mind before making numerous applications. A large number of inquiries by numerous credit card issuers will hit your score negatively, especially if you are diapproved.

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Changing your mobile phone like your outfit has become a standard practice lately.  But what do you do with your phone? Put it in your drawer, in the bin, or give it to your nephew to play with?

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There is no question that the Irish economy changed when the euro was introduced. But whether converting to the euro was what caused those changes is a matter of speculation. Because Ireland is an island, and because it is located rather far away from other EU countries, some economists thought that the introduction of the euro would cause an increase in exports. The reasoning was that countries on the continent were used to trading with one another before the advent of the euro, and that Ireland would gain attention by being the new trading partner on the block.

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Depending how you interpret the word “design,” you can pick a “best” in many ways. If you’re looking for a credit card that looks nice, then there are credit card issuers like Capital One whose platinum MasterCards can be personalized in many different ways. However, if you get a credit card with the lowest interest rate that does not have a “smart chip” as some European Visa cards do, you can personalize your card in an almost infinite number of ways with credit card skins.

Think of credit card skins like the “skins” that people choose to dress up their iPod. It’s like a wardrobe of tiny clothing that won’t keep your card from working like it’s supposed to (unless you have a “smart chip” Visa). Credit card skins are basically super thin stickers that you apply to the front of your card with a hole over where your name, card number, and expiration date go.

There are websites where you can choose from a dizzying array of credit card skins with every kind of graphic or message you can imagine, from gay pride to preppy Argyle designs. Creditcovers.com has hundreds of designs to choose from and an opportunity to make your own design and make royalties from it if it sells.

Businesses can order custom credit card skins as unique and fun promotional giveaways. You can also make your own graphic credit card skins using a template in Adobe PhotoShop or a similar graphics program using t-shirt transfer paper and a color inkjet printer. Once you have the design the right size and the right shape (with the hole for your name, card number, and expiration date, print it out onto t-shirt transfer paper then cut the design out with scissors. You then put spray mount on the card, peel the backing from the transfer paper and place the design on the card. Put the ironing paper that comes with the t-shirt transfer paper over the card on an ironing board or reasonable facsimile. Preheat iron to “low.” Iron the card for 15 seconds. Check if the design adheres. If not, iron for 15 more seconds. But be careful, lest you melt your credit card with too much heat. Let cool. After the card has cooled cut away excess transfer paper with a mat knife.

Sometimes the best design for a credit card is the one that brings you the lowest interest rate. Once you have that, if it isn’t beautiful enough for you, then skins are the way to personalize your card into a statement about yourself.

Here are ten day trips you can experience in Ireland without spending a lot of money.

1. Fota Gardens and Wildlife Park, Cork. Visiting the wildlife park costs €13.50 for adults, €9.00 for U16 students, senior citizens and the disabled. A family ticket for two adults and up to four children is €56.00. Mornings and evenings you can watch wardens feeding the animals. You can also partake of Arts and Crafts, and special musical programs.
2. Mountain View Stables, Poulnagun Lisdoonvarna. A three hour horseback tour takes in view of the Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, and Galway Bay. Beginners are welcome as are advanced riders.
3. Glenveagh National Park and Castle, Donegal.The staff are all local, and have been rated as friendly and helpful. Even the food in the small coffee shop gets rave reviews. The park includes the two highest mountains in Donegal, Errigal and Slieve Sneacht.
4. Muckross House and Gardens, Killarney. At €5.75 per adult, this is hailed as one of the best values for a day out. The mansion and gardens are spectacular. A 90 minute hike features animals, farms, and a blacksmith.
5. The 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour, Dublin, costs €12 and those who have participated say its guides are extremely knowledgeable and give the history of the 1916 Rebellion in such a way that the two hour tour seems to fly by.
6. National Botanic Gardens, Dublin is free. If you ride a bus to get there, it costs €1.50, and you have to have exact change. The National Botanic Gardens have received great reviews from plant lovers to families wanting a place to picnic.
7. The Milk Market, Limerick.This is an outdoor flea market where you can find a huge range of items for sale (but not milk). Fresh food on offer is anything from artisanal cheese to crepes to cherries.
8. The Lough Gill Drive, Sligo. This drive is said to be so captivating it has caused people to uproot and move here. It is very unspoiled and un-touristy.
9. Jack Meade’s Pub, Waterford. Jack Meade’s is more a place for a night out than a day out, but it comes highly recommended for its food, drinks (even fancy coffee drinks) and atmosphere. It is described as the Ireland you always imagined.
10. Cloghereen Blue Pool Walk, Killarney. This is a nature reserve with marked footpaths plus some unmarked paths that stray slightly. It’s a long, but easy walk to see the blue pool. This is one of those often overlooked, yet beautiful place you’re glad you found.

During the boom days when everyone assumed that housing prices would continue to rise ad infinitum, Ireland was wedded to their credit cards. There was always more credit on tap. Buying and selling property was the kind of thing you would feel left out if you weren’t doing. The consumer’s mindset was largely “Buy now, pay later,” and unfortunately, the “Rip Off Ireland” concept was largely tolerated by consumers. But something happened on the way to the credit crunch. Even before banks cut off questionable lending, people started to realize that accumulating debt was ultimately not going to be offset by a continued boom in property prices.

By the time the credit crunch hit in 2008, many consumers worldwide were already going on the assumption that all the financial candy they’d been eating the past few years was going to result in several years of biliousness. Ireland was no exception. Thrift quickly became the new standard.

To that end, consumers are paying much more attention to the terms of service of their credit cards, canceling those with the worst terms and transferring balances to cards with lower interest rates or better perks. If you do carry a credit card with a balance, you can probably find a better deal if you do some searching. Here are a few things to look for when looking for better credit card deals in Ireland.

Perhaps the the change that would make the biggest difference would be a lower interest rate overall, not just a low or 0% introductory rate. Unless you plan to pay off your entire balance quickly, low “teaser” rates are likely to rebound back to where your rates were before – or worse.

That said, if you have the means to pay off your credit card balance, you might consider getting a card with a low or 0% teaser rate on balance transfers. The longer that rate holds, the better. It isn’t as easy now to find cards with teaser rates that last for a year, but six months is still fairly easy to find. But if you know you’ll eventually be carrying a balance again, then overall interest rate is the most important characteristic you should look for in a card.

Rebates in the form of gasoline, airline miles or some sort of points reward scheme are quite appealing when money is tight. But again: if you carry a balance, interest rates will undoubtedly dwarf any perks or savings you might receive from a rebate card.

With a new attitude toward thrift, Irish credit card holders are more accepting of the idea that enticing financial offers from credit card companies often come at a very dear price.