MBNA is Europes largest credit card provider. Based in Chester, UK, it has a wide range of affinity and charity credit cards, along with its own competitive APR credit cards.

MBNA offers online banking so that you can have 24-hour access to all your credit card accounts, including making payments, balance transfers, loans, paying your balance, increasing your limit and much more at no extra cost. In fact they have online only credit cards too, ensuring you make the most amount of saving my remaining an MBNA valued customer.

You will be able to log onto the MBNA website with a password and be taken to a page with your accounts. From there you can look at your credit card statement and see all the charges you’ve made. This is an easy way to keep track of your spending. It is also an opportunity for you to watch out for fraudulent transactions. If you see what you believe to be a fraudulent transaction, you should notify the bank as soon as you can, they have a well detailed credit card security and protection procedures to make sure you are safe at all times.

You can set up an automatic transfer each month to transfer money from your checking or savings account to your credit card account. Or you can transfer the money online yourself if you want to pay different amounts each month.

Your statement will show you where you made purchases, the amount of purchase, credits issued (for example, if you returned merchandise), your running credit card balance, how much you’re paying in interest, whether you’ve been assessed any fees, and how much credit you still have available. Your statement can be downloaded and printed out, as can bank statements for up to 24 months.

If you are part of a rewards program, your statement may include information about your rewards points or cash back up to the current statement, or if it is part of an affinity like the play.com credit card, you can see where you need to go to check your points balance.

When reviewing your credit card statement, check the due date first. The due date can vary by a day or two every month, and if you’re late, you’ll probably be assessed a late fee. Also check your balance to be sure you are not in danger of going over your credit limit. There are fees if that happens, too. Some people compare their charges to their sales slips to make sure the correct amounts were charged.

Being burdened with accrued unpaid dues and charges can be one of the worst things that can happen to a credit card holder. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, fear not as there is always help available. You just need to be willing and can speak to somebody who knows how to consolidate credit card debt. Transferring all your debts to the same card is perhaps the most common method adopted by people but you may also find a new card where you can transfer your balance and pay your debt before the offer ends, which is usually within 12 months.

The whole idea of consolidating your credit card debt to a new card is only successful if the offers in the new card are better than the previous card. A balance transfer credit card helps you to consolidate credit card debt and lessen the burden of debt. But there are a few features you need to check to avoid extra spending.

* Keep a watch on the offer: Find out how long the offer will last to avoid unnecessary spending. Such offers keep on changing very frequently. Keep a track of it and see what you have to do keep them.
* Transfer your money on time: Try to do the credit card balance transfers on time without overlapping to avoid paying high interest charges.
* Check for annual fees: Check if there are annual fees applicable to your card. As balance transfer credit cards offer very low interest rates, often it is seen that they charge a high annual fee. This point is to be taken into account while deciding whether to choose that card.
* Look for the interest-free method: Unlike a long term solution to consolidate credit card debt, this is an interest-free method to consolidate credit card debt within 6 to 12 months.
* Read the fine print: Do not forget to read the fine print. Check whether your balance transfer card offers 0% APR. Also check that the 0% includes your balance transfer and the time you have before the APR changes.
* Trust a reputable company: It is better you apply with a company whom you trust. Never apply just for the sake of missing out on a good offer.

Card providers achieve sky-high profits by offering various interest rates and fees for their clients. So before you take your step to consolidate credit card debt, give special attention to the features of such balance transfer credit cards.

The main tip to reducing your Irish credit card costs is to pay them off every month. But in real life, that’s not always possible. Emergencies come up, and you need time to pay off your expenses. But if you can’t pay off your entire balance every month, the next best thing you can do to keep expenses down is to pay as much as you can, and pay on time. That way you’ll keep your average daily balance as low as possible (which is what your minimum payments are based on), and you won’t be hit with late fees. If you have a low APR credit card, then the interest will be low also, just in case you cant pay back the whole amount borrowed in one go!

If you have a wallet full of credit cards, the most obvious way to keep your expenses down is to pay off and get rid of cards you don’t use. Another option is transferring the balance to another card if that is possible. Most money experts recommend having two credit cards so that you minimize the amount of financial hot water you can get into while having a “backup” card if the other one should be lost, stolen, or not accepted somewhere you need to use it.

One of the best ways to keep your credit card costs down is to avoid cards with lots of “perks” like points, airline miles, or some other incentive. While these cards can work well if you are disciplined, use your card a lot, and pay off your balance in full every month, if you carry a balance, the interest you’ll pay will far overshadow any benefit you’d get from the card’s perks.

So, supposing that you can’t pay your balance in full every month, you usually pay on time, and you’ve cut back to two credit cards. How do you save on credit card expenses? You could use them less, for one thing. It is much harder to be disciplined and stick to a shopping list if you have the extra cushion of credit that a credit card gives you, so taking out cash and using it may be a way to cut down on card use, thus lowering the amount of debt you have.

Other than that, your best bet is to choose a credit card with no annual fee and the lowest interest rate you can qualify for. Once you have that, and you avoid late fees, or over the limit fees, you’ll do best with a low interest rate card.

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.

Secondly, why would you want numerous credit cards at once? There is no real point in having a dozen credit cards if you are not going to use all of  them. It is not just a question of administrative fees and the annual charges that you pay. Lenders will notice that you have a large number of cards that are not used very often.

Lenders will use this as a pretext to conclude that you are not very confident about your finances and that you have the cards to overcome financial emergencies. Whether this is the truth or not is not relevant.

Thirdly, you should consider the pros and cons of going in for many credit cards at once. If you fly a lot, going in for a credit card that offers airmiles as rewards is a smart move. Your decision to apply for many cards at once should be based on common sense and need, if you need to have two cards, one for emergencies, and one for wants – maybe directly linked to your current account, so the balance is paid off in full at the end of each month – what have you got to worry about?

Irrespective of whether you are applying for a credit card or multiple credit cards, you should make use of the internet to get all the information you need. There are numerous credit card issuers in the market. It is not possible to determine a single card issuer as the best one for all persons. A lot depends on your specific requirements.

Hence, make use of the resources you have at your disposal to compare and analyze the pros and cons of different deals before you take a final decision.There are even options of getting a second card from your partner or spouses account, hence helping collect those airmiles and keeping your spending under control!

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?

The best option all round is to recycle. Not only are you helping the environment, but you could also get a significant amount of cash in return!

Most of the recycling companies are promoting special offers or even give cold hard cash for old mobiles so it has become very easy to get rid of your old mobile. You only need to search for the best mobile phone recycling companies that offer you best price.

But, is recycling really a necessity? The main reason behind recycling is the need to keep the planet healthy. The mobile phones contain hazardous substance, including lead, copper, rhodium, palladium, beryllium which affect the environment in a deadly manner. So when we sell our old mobiles and buy newer ones, the old mobiles are safely disposed and that is the smallest good thing we can do for the environment.

In 1984, the first mobile phone appeared on the market – still a rarity at that time – was a real “brick”. Nowadays, after billions were invested in research, the mobile phone became very small and with incredible performance. The “Brick” – the ancestor of current mobile phones, was weighing approximately half a kilogram and only offered a half hour of talking. In 1996, the first clamshell mobile phone appeared, inspired by the terminals used in the movie Star Trek.

Many companies are daily manufacturing mobiles with new and improved featured. As a result, people tend to buy newer mobile versions with new software and technologies and they forget about the older ones.

You only need to find which company will pays more for your mobile. One of the best sites you can visit on the internet is www.love2recycle.com. This is very good site where you can sell your mobile for a great price. Once the mobile is sent for the recycling process they will check for the condition of the mobile. Many companies accept broken and even unused handset, because from the broken handset they can extract useful metals like gold, silver or titanium. These metals can be reused for other purposes; they can be melted and used in electronic circuit boards. Therefore, recycling is better than disposing our old mobiles as we are using less resources mined from the earth.

If you think just for a minute, when you are selling your used mobile handset you can save some money and buying a better brand or a newer handset. Meanwhile, your old mobile handset will be put to good use, extracting all the harmful metals thus helping the environment.

Now recycling has become a greater trend as we are saving the earth from future destruction. Save earth by recycling the older mobile phones and make some money whilst your at it!

1) A Vacation

We’re all in need of a vacation once in a while but going into debt for a plane ticket or hotel stay is a bad idea all around. Accumulating debt to take a trip somewhere sunny might be exactly what you’d like to do right now but sit down and look at your finances before you get too excited about the trip. You don’t really need to go – of course, it would be nice but make sure you have the cash first. It’s that simple.

2) Buying Clothing

Yes, that was a beautiful dress and yes it fit you perfectly. Just because you would look great in it doesn’t mean you need to buy it. When you look at the credit card bill a month from now you’ll be thinking another story altogether. And it’s not just expensive fashion items… if you pick up a whole bunch of small items you’ll be breaking the bank very quickly. That dress wont feel like such a great idea if you can’t pay rent in a few months. Buy the dress but make sure you have the money for it.

3) Pay Off Other Debt

The only time this one might work is if you use a small loan to pay off other debts that are at higher interest rates – something like an IVA. Make sure you know what you’re doing though because it could end up costing you. Moving money around isn’t going to pay down your debt – you have to get serious and start paying it off.

4) Getting Gifts for Others

Some people can’t help themselves… they just love giving gifts. That is fine but when it’s going to put you in the poorhouse it’s probably time to start thinking about holding off. This is one that hits people really hard around Christmas. Families will buy all kinds of presents during the holidays and when they wake up to this spending in the new year things aren’t looking so great. Spend what you have!

5) Furnishing Your Home

It would be nice to get a new couch. That one you have is falling apart but then where does it end? If you can’t afford a new couch then don’t buy one. Going into debt for furniture doesn’t make any sense – just like clothing – these things are not necessary for your day-to-day life. It’s nice to nice things but it’s not worth it to go into debt for it.

I guess you see a pattern arising: don’t buy it unless you have the money. Otherwise you’ll be need of debt help. If it’s something that will hold it’s value or will even increase in value (like a home) then go for it but don’t go into debt for a coffee table!

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.

This isn’t to say that the continent didn’t trade with Ireland before the euro, just that it became significantly easier with a common currency.

However, that’s not how it went down.

Ireland’s property price bubble began shortly before the introduction of the euro. After 2003, capital inflows rose more than 50% of the GDP – a phenomenal rate. Much of this capital was absorbed by locally controlled Irish banks.

The collapse in construction and real estate and the fall of property prices, along with the troubles of the banking system worldwide harmed employment and weakened the economy as the world headed into recession in 2008. But studies of other small economies in the periphery of Europe have found that the euro was neither necessary nor sufficient for the economic trouble in Ireland. In other words, the euro was along for the ride, but it wasn’t the euro’s fault that the economy rose rapidly then fell.

What the euro did was trigger low interest rates that got the property bubble underway, and eased the financing of the property bubble. This weakened some of the traditional restraints on emerging imbalances: it was uncharted territory for the Irish economy. The other economies in Europe and its surrounding regions that also suffered major economic setbacks, specifically Iceland and Latvia, were not members of the EU. So the introduction of the euro is not likely to be to blame for the economic downturn.

Another example, the fortunes of Portugal, another small country on the periphery of Europe and an EU member, show that a massive price bubble was not inevitable with the adoption of the euro.

There is no denying that after the introduction of the euro in 2002 there was a wave of optimism in EU countries based on the new currency system. But though the euro can be blamed as a cause of low interest rates that fueled the property boom, the currency itself does not appear to have changed the Irish economy any more than it would have changed had it not adopted the euro.

It’s hard to know what to do with old financial statements – which ones to keep and which to shred. But there are guidelines, and in general, if the statement could have to do with taxes, you should keep it for a long time, perhaps several years. Of course, if you do all your banking online, it is rather a moot point, because there aren’t paper records to protect. But how do you know what to do with other financial statements?

Tax returns should have the longest shelf life, as should cheques and receipts for things like charity contributions, mortgage interest, and other documents that may affect your taxes. You should keep such records for several years, if not permanently.

Documents related to pensions should be kept for at least a year, and permanently if possible. The same goes for bank statements where there might be something that relates to your taxes. For bank statements that don’t have any long term importance, you can get rid of them after a year.

You should keep your credit card statements anywhere from a couple of months to several years. Again, it depends on whether the statements contain tax related expenses. If not, keep your receipts until you get your monthly credit card statement. If they match up, go ahead and shred the receipts. Hang onto the credit card statement for another month or so, and if there are no purchases with long term importance or related to taxes, you can get rid of them then.

The term “get rid of” goes well beyond tossing your statements into the bin. At the very least, they should be run through a shredder. Cross cut shredders are more destructive than regular shredders, but even with regular shredders, if you mix up the shredded paper that collects, you’re going to put off all but the most determined (or crazy) criminals wanting your financial information.

Some people go farther than shredding their financial records. Some incinerate them, and others get very creative, using them to line the cat box or composting the bits with chicken manure (if they have chickens). These measures are probably not necessary, but it does point up the need to keep your financial information close to the chest.

If you have the option of having your statements online, it may be worthwhile. For one thing, they’ll be archived, and for another, you won’t accidentally leave them lying around in plain view where a dishonest repairman or dodgy roommate might see them.

Credit card fraud is a worldwide problem, and the poor economy has made it even more of a problem. It is vital that you protect yourself from credit card fraud, and there are a number of steps you can take to do so.

First and foremost, only keep the best credit cards. If you have two or more credit cards that are costing you too much in interest – close them down!

So, assuming you’ve got rid of your excess credit cards, what do you do about the ones you still carry around? Several things. For one, if it’s just a quick trip to the market for milk, leave your credit card at home. That way you don’t risk dropping it, or losing it. If you’re like most people, though, carrying your credit cards is a way of avoiding having to carry around large sums of cash, and that is a good thing. If someone takes several hundred euros cash from you, you really have no recourse. But if someone takes several hundred euros in the form of a credit card, your losses are limited.

Here are a few ways to avoid credit card fraud.

• If anyone calls you or e-mails you saying they are your bank and they need your credit card details for some reason that might sound perfectly legitimate, do not provide any of that information. Instead, call or e-mail your bank directly and ask if they contacted you wanting account details. Most will never call you asking for such information, so that you know that an e-mail or call asking for your credit card details is deceptive and dangerous.
• Do you ever play those games online where you have a formula for creating your “pirate name,” or your “stripper name”? Often they’ll say you use your mother’s maiden name for part of it, and then the name of your street for part of it, and maybe your pet’s name for part of it. It sounds innocent enough, except that these are the exact details you use online or over the phone to establish your identity, and if those details get into the hands of someone stealing your identity, they can do a lot more damage.
• Report any suspected credit card fraud immediately. If you report it within 24 hours, you usually won’t be held responsible for anything charged on the cards. But if you wait you may be out a certain amount, say €50, which isn’t that much when someone’s rung up thousands of euros worth of charges, but it’s still €50 that you’d like to keep if you can.

Choosing a credit card in Ireland, like anywhere else, involves taking into account what you want the credit card for and what kind of credit you have. Obviously, if you have good or excellent credit, you’ll have more choices and better interest rates. But with so many cards out there to choose from it can be confusing to know where to begin. Three types of credit cards you can choose from are “rewards” cards, so-called 0% cards, and balance transfer credit cards.

Rewards cards allow you to earn “points” or credits toward some goal when you use your credit card to make purchases. Maybe you’ll get discounts, or points to use toward purchases. Sometimes the “reward” is cash back.

0% credit cards vary. There are the 0% balance transfer cards that let you transfer a debt from another card. There are 0% cards that allows you to make purchases on which you won’t pay any interest until the introductory rate is over. That period may be a couple of months or a whole year.

Balance transfer cards may or may not have a 0% introductory “teaser” rate. Often they do have a low introductory rate for a set period from the time you open your card. It is important to know that the clock on the introductory rate begins when you open your account, not when you transfer your balances. If you wait to transfer balances, you’ll have a much shorter period in which you’ll benefit from the low rate.

Some people simply opt for the card with the lowest interest rate they can get. “No annual fee” cards are very common now, and you shouldn’t have to trade off a low interest rate at the expense of a high annual fee. There are plenty of no annual fee cards that carry relatively low interest rates. Often, in the long term, choosing the card with the lowest interest rate – particularly if there is no annual fee – is the best strategy. Assuming you make payments on time and don’t incur fees for going over your credit limit or for other reasons, you should be able to keep that relatively low interest rate. And if they try to raise it on you for no good reason, you can probably shop around and find another card that will offer you a low interest rate. Low interest rate cards may not have the cachet that points or rewards cards do, but when it comes to keeping credit card expenses under control, it’s almost always the best way to go.