Total Identity Protection

What’s the biggest amount you’ve ever charged to your credit card at one time? One thousand dollars? Several thousand dollars? Or was the figure in the tens of thousands of dollars? Now imagine that you spent that same amount every single month. You’d either be a credit debt masochist … or you’d be a millionaire.

These millionaires do tend to make astoundingly expensive purchases (to us anyway) on their credit cards rather frequently. For instance, one 38-year old businessman in Singapore has put over US$4 million on his credit card in 2011 alone. Those charges include a US$36,000 restaurant bill and an almost US$650,000 car (he said he once incurred a single credit card charge of about US$8 million!). A law firm owner claims to charge about US$25,000 monthly to his credit cards. And a woman said she used to tally over US$16,000 each month in credit card charges on jewelry alone — thanks to her success as a Feng Shui consultant.As you might imagine, credit card companies really, really love big spenders.

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The credit cards for poor credit used to be available from several major lenders. Credit was flowing freely and lending institutions were interested in acquiring as many credit customers as possible.

Even major credit lending banks would forgive some poor credit if the late payments showing on your credit report were balanced by timely payment on accounts in recent months.

If you had bad credit with multiple reports of non-payment or late payments the major credit lenders would refer you to a secured credit card but a small amount of poor credit was tolerated.

The downturn in the economy led to a credit crisis and lenders have responded by tightening their requirements for people who are applying for new credit accounts.

Today only consumers with good credit should both to apply for credit cards from the big banks. Lenders no longer separate “poor” credit from “bad” credit and now any black mark on your credit report is a major problem when you apply for new credit cards.

The best option is to visit your local bank branch.

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If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re probably going to screw up at some point. That’s ok. Entrepreneurship is a constant process of quickly testing hypotheses, failing, refining and testing again. If you’re not failing, you’re not learning, right?

Watch Alex Taussig’s extended video interview from the special Nightly Business Report broadcast “Young Entrepreneurs” on Monday, May 30, 2011.

Well, not all fails are created equal. Some are wholly unnecessary, and I’d like to list my top 15 here. Note that many of these are based on advice from actual entrepreneurs who would rather you learn from their mistakes than repeat them.

So, without further ado, here are 15 mistakes you don’t have to make as a young, first-time entrepreneur. Enjoy!

#15: You’re trapped in the “college bubble.” When you’re in college, it’s tempting to see the world through the perspective of a college student.

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Debt is no longer atypical and almost anyone or everyone got some. It just depends on how one can handle his/her finances. Having overwhelming credit issues can root from several different grounds. As soon as debt gets out of control, it can produce nasty effects such as restlessness, fear and anger on one’s emotional health. Depression is another common addition to the list of consequences of uncontained money matters.

When you face an overshadowing debt, you will also come face to face with depression. Depression is a condition that makes you think you’re doomed to fail with resolving your problem. Keep in mind that depression is never easy to fake. So, if you believe you or someone you know are weighed down by bills and due dates and are displaying the depression symptom, acquire a shrink’s assistance ASAP. It won’t necessarily be the direct solution to your money situation.

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As chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Bernanke’s official purview is in the monetary, not the fiscal realm, of course. But in a conversation in the new Weekend Business podcast, Catherine Rampell says he seemed to be deliberately vague about the central bank’s own plans.

While he said the Fed’s full toolkit is available as needed, he didn’t spell out what the bank’s actions might entail. On the other hand, he said that short-term fiscal stimulus, combined with longer-term debt reduction, would do much to invigorate the economy.

In another podcast conversation and in the Economic View column in Sunday Business, Richard Thaler, the University of Chicago economist, says Congress has been much better at spending than at budget-cutting, which is part of what he calls a self-restraint problem. Like people with a New Year’s Day hangover, many members of Congress find it easy to make promises if they needn’t fulfill them for months or years to come. Read more…

Active Duty personnel, veterans, retired members of the military, and employees of the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in down payment and closing costs in the purchase of a first home.  The national nonprofit Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation is offering the assistance through its Dream Makers program and says the grants can be applied to a mortgage from any financial institution.  More information is available at www.PentagonFoundation.org.  Click on the Dream Makers link.