Thanks to the latest wave of soap opera news casting I leapt out of bed this morning with the grace of a white tailed deer and ran to the window to see the promised ‘Great Snow Storm of Western Ontario 2011.'
What a letdown!
I'm writing from work and I actually made it here early. Sure the journey was no picnic but this was not what I was hoping for. Our chance for redemption after the Army fiasco of 1999, to dig ourselves out of massive snow dump without declaring martial law is a nonstarter{C} . A day to skip work and still be able to look the boss in the eye but now Snow-mageddon has been downgraded faster than Bank of Ireland bonds. If I could do it all again I'd be a stockbroker or a meteorologist...no accountability. Of course school is out but who's surprised by that?
How does this relate to money or finance I hear you cry, but wait it’s coming!
This is the perfect opportunity to point out habits that will have your credit card company downgrade you quicker then the Weather Network has just down graded the worst snowstorm Toronto has seen since 1999. The ironic thing about being downgraded is that your interest rate will be upgraded to account for a greater risk of default.
1) Not making the minimum payment by the due date. If you do this your interest rate can be increased from 2%-6% depending on your card issuer. The increase may be temporary but you can usually expect it to be permanent.
2) Dishonoured payments. If you make a credit card payment by cheque and it’s returned NSF you may face an interest hike on top of the NSF fee.
3) You go over your credit limit. Of course there’s the fee but also an interest rate hike depending on your credit card issuer.
If you’ve found yourself in any of these situations call us. Tackling a financial ‘situation’ is like shovelling snow...the longer you wait to deal with it, the heavier the burden.
About the Author
Emma Rogers
