Life is experience. Substance dependence overtakes a person?s ability to make her own decisions to experience life, and life is no longer actively participated in. Therefore, in overcoming addiction, it is vital to learn to re-experience life. This lesson helps a treatment center resident reintegrate into the world after therapy is through. Experiential therapy is this bridge to leaving a life of substance dependency and commencing a life of health, both physical and mental. Experiential therapy is a necessary component in the steps towards a complete therapy. In addition to counseling and more traditional therapies, experiential is the door to the world - it forces the patient to test herself, to get up when she falls, to learn that giving up is not an option. This is a vital lesson to learn when overcoming addiction, as when problems arise after therapy, the former patient will remember that there are other means of dealing with problems than turning back to addiction.
Experiential therapy includes many various forms, and can be divided into two main categories: outdoor experiential therapy and indoor experiential therapy. Both aim at physical and mental challenges in order to succeed. Equine therapy, which falls within the category of outdoor experiential therapy, is worth reviewing on its own due to its uniqueness and successful results. Research supports the use of experiential therapy, as motivation increases and social integration is easier through the experience of such therapy.
The great outdoors is well known for its healing abilities, and exercise in itself releases the same good-feeling endorphins as a high does. There we have it: the high that is healthy. Outdoor experiential therapy utilizes nature to help residents work through their problems and free themselves from dependency through the physical challenges offered in nature. Activities can include winter sports like snowshoeing, and summer sports like hiking. More radical activities, like a heli-experience, are also possible. The heli-experience takes people to literally previously unknown heights. In opening new worlds, these experiences reconnect residences to their world, which is so important to eventually helping them reconnect with the people who live in this world. While outdoor activities are beneficial for the social aspect of interacting with other residents, their main achievement is to make the resident introspect and put a perspective on the resident?s own life in the context of the towering natural world.
Indoor experiential therapy can be based on an indoor ropes and challenge course. While also containing the aspect of physical challenge, indoor experiential therapy is a greater internal challenge. The resident must mentally prepare herself for the challenges that come at such heights. Also, trust is an invaluable lesson learned in indoor therapy. Partners rely on each other to succeed in these activities, thus learning to communicate effectively and learning to trust another. This can be an especially difficult aspect of healing from addiction, as for so many, trust is not a part of a life of addiction. Learning to rebuild personal self-confidence and trust in others is vital for a successful recovery from substance dependence. Reintegrating into society after therapy is one of the most difficult aspects of recovery, so having a treatment program that rebuilds the elements of trust and confidence, needed for a successful life in our society, is especially beneficial.
Equine therapy, a certain highlight of the outdoor experiential therapy, combines aspects used both in outdoor and indoor therapy. From the aspect of the outdoors, equine therapy offers the chance to be with, in and beyond nature, with a living being that sees us only for who we are. Horses are extremely intelligent creatures, having a special history with the human race. So vital in the development of the modern world, horses were the first vehicles for transporting messengers and mail efficiently, as the Pony Express reminds us, and were man?s trusted guides in exploration and on battlefields. And, while a horse does not judge mankind, it certainly can read a character and will cleverly use a human?s personality to its advantage. Trust is an essential element of equine therapy, and it is a relationship with a creature that will not lie about its feelings. When a genuine friendship is formed between horse and man, it is a lifelong bond. Equine therapy combines the power of nature and a physical challenge with the need to build a trusting relationship with a fellow living creature and increase self-confidence. In this manner, equine therapy is especially helpful for residents of treatment centers, as it combines all elements so beneficial to recovery in one activity.
Experiential therapy teaches lessons of confidence in the self as well as in others, and teaches facing challenges and overcoming them. Motivation is of prime importance in overcoming an addiction, and what better place to find motivation than where we naturally seek it: in situations that encourage us to aim higher than we imagine is possible. Through the motivation that appears in the physical activities, treatment center residents learn to carry it over to their own lives, and find the necessary motivation to deal with personal issues. Simultaneously building confidence and trust in themselves and others only strengthens the desire for motivation. The added health benefits of partaking in physical exercise show themselves both on the bodies and minds of patients. Getting the body into shape helps stabilize the mind, and helps lead a generally healthier life. There is never an easy cure to addiction, and many paths and steps must be followed to guide to a better life. The step of experiential therapy is one of the most rewarding steps in treatment, as the treatment resident is aware first-hand of its results. This personal feeling of achievement in overcoming challenges makes great headway in the recovery process from addiction.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Acne and Menopause
Menopause has some very interesting symptoms. Women can experience insomnia, hot flashes, extreme night sweats, irritability, anxiety, headaches, achy joints, mood swings, trouble concentrating, and even acne. Some women never experience the last one, but for at least ten percent of all menopause patients, pimples and blemishes are a real problem. Some women haven't had a zit since their teen years, and suddenly their faces are full of them. The truth is, though, those teens and the women going through menopause have a number of things in common. Acne is typically caused by hormone swings, which occurs on an extensive basis during both puberty and menopause. It is hard for most women to regress back to their teen years of worrying about a pimple in the mirror when they're struggling to deal with all of the other symptoms of menopause.
Acne during menopause occurs for much the same reason that acne occurs during any other portion of life. The skin has a number of sebaceous glands. These glands produce skin oil, scientifically known as sebum. Skin cells are consistently regenerated. Old ones die, and they are quickly replaced with new ones. When the body's hormones rage, hormones that include estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA, the sebaceous glands become sensitive and started producing more sebum than they need to. More skin cells begin to die. As a result, not only do you have more facial oil than you need, you also have more dead skin cells than you need. Your body cannot keep up, and it cannot get rid of the unwanted materials fast enough. The hair follicles on the face get clogged with the oil and the dead cells. The sebum production increases again, and your teenage acne flairs up anew.
Those terrible white heads occur because all skin has bacteria that live off of the sebum. Then the sebum builds up under the skin, as occurs with too much sebum production, the bacteria and the oil combine. An inflamed area builds up with white puss underneath. Blackheads also occur when the bacteria and oil combine under the skin, but with a blackhead, air leaks in. As a result, the material that is caught in the pore turns black. Menopause acne isn't entirely like all other acne, though. Both the sebaceous glands and the hair follicles on the face contain an enzyme. This particular enzyme is able to turn estrogen into androgen testosterone. This can cause more oil production than all other sources combine. This means more breakouts than you probably had in your teen years.
The acne you experience during menopause can be overly frustrating. You, however, do have some ways to try to clear it up. Your first step is to examine your diet. You need to be eating foods that are high in calcium and fiber. Also, be sure you cut back on your fat and the carbohydrates you eat. Carbohydrates can take your body's insulin and turn it into androgens. As we talked about before, androgen can increase the sebum production in the skin. One other change you might want to make in your diet is to be sure that you are drinking eight to ten glasses of water each day.
In addition to making some dietary changes, you might want to consider adding some supplements to your life. There are so many vitamins, herbs, and minerals widely available that can help you get rid of the oil production in your body. Most studies suggest that you should add Vitamin B and Vitamin C to your diet. Your diet and supplement things aren't the only things you should consider, though, you should also clean your skin at least twice each day. You should exfoliate on a regular basis, as this can help get rid of those dead skin cells. Also, be sure to use a toner to close up those open pores that are so famous for collecting the things that create acne.
Jonathan Gracey is CEO of a new web portal called http://www.canyoutellme.com which is focused on providing information to researchers about a variety of topics, not here-to-fore available on the major search engines.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Acne during menopause occurs for much the same reason that acne occurs during any other portion of life. The skin has a number of sebaceous glands. These glands produce skin oil, scientifically known as sebum. Skin cells are consistently regenerated. Old ones die, and they are quickly replaced with new ones. When the body's hormones rage, hormones that include estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA, the sebaceous glands become sensitive and started producing more sebum than they need to. More skin cells begin to die. As a result, not only do you have more facial oil than you need, you also have more dead skin cells than you need. Your body cannot keep up, and it cannot get rid of the unwanted materials fast enough. The hair follicles on the face get clogged with the oil and the dead cells. The sebum production increases again, and your teenage acne flairs up anew.
Those terrible white heads occur because all skin has bacteria that live off of the sebum. Then the sebum builds up under the skin, as occurs with too much sebum production, the bacteria and the oil combine. An inflamed area builds up with white puss underneath. Blackheads also occur when the bacteria and oil combine under the skin, but with a blackhead, air leaks in. As a result, the material that is caught in the pore turns black. Menopause acne isn't entirely like all other acne, though. Both the sebaceous glands and the hair follicles on the face contain an enzyme. This particular enzyme is able to turn estrogen into androgen testosterone. This can cause more oil production than all other sources combine. This means more breakouts than you probably had in your teen years.
The acne you experience during menopause can be overly frustrating. You, however, do have some ways to try to clear it up. Your first step is to examine your diet. You need to be eating foods that are high in calcium and fiber. Also, be sure you cut back on your fat and the carbohydrates you eat. Carbohydrates can take your body's insulin and turn it into androgens. As we talked about before, androgen can increase the sebum production in the skin. One other change you might want to make in your diet is to be sure that you are drinking eight to ten glasses of water each day.
In addition to making some dietary changes, you might want to consider adding some supplements to your life. There are so many vitamins, herbs, and minerals widely available that can help you get rid of the oil production in your body. Most studies suggest that you should add Vitamin B and Vitamin C to your diet. Your diet and supplement things aren't the only things you should consider, though, you should also clean your skin at least twice each day. You should exfoliate on a regular basis, as this can help get rid of those dead skin cells. Also, be sure to use a toner to close up those open pores that are so famous for collecting the things that create acne.
Jonathan Gracey is CEO of a new web portal called http://www.canyoutellme.com which is focused on providing information to researchers about a variety of topics, not here-to-fore available on the major search engines.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
24 Reasons to Do Your Workout Today
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Need a little extra motivation to get moving today? Here's a quick list of the ways that today's workout will boost your mind, body, and soul.
Exercise:
? Improves the quality of your sleep.
? Burns fat.
? Boosts your metabolism.
? Charges your immune system for one to three hours after each workout.
? Increases your circulation.
? Eliminates toxins through the sweat glands and lymph system.
? Regulates blood sugar levels.
? Lowers blood pressure.
? Lowers cholesterol.
? Lowers your risk of stroke. Even low-intensity workouts, such as walking and biking, can lower this risk by 23 percent, the American Heart Association reports. A job entailing physical activity can lower it by 49 percent.
? Increases muscle mass.
? Strengthens your heart and lungs.
? Reduces your risk of various kinds of cancer, including breast cancer.
? Slashes your risk of developing coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Burning 2,000 calories per week in your workout and daily activities reduces your risk of heart disease by 40 percent.
? Helps you control anxiety.
? Provides an appropriate outlet for aggression and tension.
? Helps you lose weight. Exercise is critical to any weight loss strategy, and it may be an even more significant factor than diet. A study in Great Britain involved researchers tracking 1,000 female twins. Researchers considered all factors that might influence the women's weight, including smoking, hormone therapy, diet, and physical exercise. Physical activity had the most profound effect on weight. Even the women whose physical activity consisted of relatively low intensity exercises, such as golf and bowling, had less body fat--particularly dangerous abdominal fat.
? Helps keep your body looking great. Your clothes fit better and your posture improves.
? Improves your self-esteem.
? Improves your sex life. One study reports that physically active women are more likely to describe themselves as assertive, sexy, and physically strong. A majority of them also said exercise helped to boost their career, relationships, self-esteem, and sex life.
? Enhances your mood and relaxes your body by increasing blood flow to the brain and triggering the release of endorphins.
? Increases creativity and alertness.
? Reduces stress.
? Energizes you like nothing else. The energy boost from cardiovascular exercise is instantaneous and lasts for hours.
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com. Read her reviews of behavior modification programs, including programs designed to help you eat for health and enjoy exercising - or read more articles by Susie Cortright at Free-Article-Bank.com, featuring free, quality articles for your website or ezine.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
How Interest Rates are Determined
It's important to know how much interest you earn on your savings. This helps you to project where your financial standing is in the future. This is often necessary, as in saving for retirement. It's a good idea to understand how financial institutions determine their interest rates.
There are so many factors that affect interest rates. The Federal Reserve lowers and raises the short-term interest rates in order to stabilize our nation's financial system. Economic ups and downs are monitored by the Fed on a routine basis.
Rates are raised during good times, called economic expansions. This helps keep the economy from growing too fast and suffering from inflation. Inflation occurs when prices rise on goods and services. The idea behind raising the rates is that lending becomes more expensive. Businesses and individuals will therefore spend less and save more.
When the economy is slowing down, or contracting, the Fed lowers short-term rates. Lower rates usually result in more borrowing. The economy is boosted by an increase in spending, which helps to prevent recession. Recessions occur when consumers stop spending and save their money. Businesses find that they are no longer able afford to stay in business. Employment rates will drop also.
The short-term rates are the rates that banks charge each other to borrow money. When a bank can borrow money at a lower rate, they will lend money at a lower rate. And the same for higher rates. Cuts are raises are passed on to businesses and consumers.
There are other factors that influence interest rates. Crisis and disasters that affect oil-production, even overseas, can have major economic impacts. Long-term rates aren't as easily influenced as are short-term rates, but eventually the impact is felt by both.
What is good for the saver isn't good for the borrower. When rates are high, you will earn a lot on your savings, but if you need to borrow, you will pay more. When rates are low, it's the perfect time to borrow, but your savings will not see high growth.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
There are so many factors that affect interest rates. The Federal Reserve lowers and raises the short-term interest rates in order to stabilize our nation's financial system. Economic ups and downs are monitored by the Fed on a routine basis.
Rates are raised during good times, called economic expansions. This helps keep the economy from growing too fast and suffering from inflation. Inflation occurs when prices rise on goods and services. The idea behind raising the rates is that lending becomes more expensive. Businesses and individuals will therefore spend less and save more.
When the economy is slowing down, or contracting, the Fed lowers short-term rates. Lower rates usually result in more borrowing. The economy is boosted by an increase in spending, which helps to prevent recession. Recessions occur when consumers stop spending and save their money. Businesses find that they are no longer able afford to stay in business. Employment rates will drop also.
The short-term rates are the rates that banks charge each other to borrow money. When a bank can borrow money at a lower rate, they will lend money at a lower rate. And the same for higher rates. Cuts are raises are passed on to businesses and consumers.
There are other factors that influence interest rates. Crisis and disasters that affect oil-production, even overseas, can have major economic impacts. Long-term rates aren't as easily influenced as are short-term rates, but eventually the impact is felt by both.
What is good for the saver isn't good for the borrower. When rates are high, you will earn a lot on your savings, but if you need to borrow, you will pay more. When rates are low, it's the perfect time to borrow, but your savings will not see high growth.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
How to Achieve Currency Trading Success Part 1
Currency trading success can be achieved by anyone, as everything about trading currencies can be specifically learned, by any trader wishing to put it in the time and effort to do so.
Trading currencies successfully is a combination of two factors:
Firstly, you need a successful trading method for long term currency trading success to predict market direction and these systems fall into two categories:
1. Fundamental analysis
A currency trader who makes trades based upon fundamental analysis, will look at the supply and demand situation relevant to the particular currency studied, and try and predict the impact of such factors as:
? The health of the economy
? Interest rates
? Balance of payments
? Employment
? Trade deficit
? Other factors
In today?s markets with the all-fundamental information available in seconds anywhere in the world, fundamental news is quickly reflected in the price.
Traders therefore, can have difficulty acting quickly enough to position themselves in the market in relation to breaking news.
In light of this, more traders looking for currency trading success are using a technical approach to the markets.
2. Technical analysis
Technical analysis is the study of a currency, based strictly on using only the price history of the currency.
Technical analysis uses no information about the currencies supply and demand situation - it simply focuses on price action.
The common belief is that the currency price reflects all the known information about the currency as it is immediately discounted in price action.
Technical analysis however does something more - it indirectly studies human psychology.
Since price patterns reflect shifts in human psychology, one can assume that certain patterns, cycles and trends, will repeat themselves again, as human nature has remained constant over time.
Technical analysis takes into account both the fundamentals and the market participants psychology and this gives us a simple equation:
All known fundamentals + human psychology = Price action
The fundamentalist studies the cause of market movement, while the technician studies the effect.
For currency trading success, you need to catch the longer-term trends that yield the big profits. The technical trader does not care how and why these trends develop; all they want to do is make money from them when they occur.
Look at any currency price chart over time and you will see long-term trends and many of them last for years.
The secret of currency trading success is using technical analysis to spot them.
Long Term or Short Term Trading
For long term currency-trading success, is it better to be a long term trader, rather than a short-term trader.
While traders can, and do make money with short-term methods of trading, the fact is, currencies trend longer term and these are the trends that yield the biggest profits.
The reason for this is obvious:
Currencies reflect the underlying health of the economy.
These cycles of expansion and contraction, tend to last for many months or even years and a long term position trader has huge profit potential, if they can lock into and hold these longer term trends.
The choice between long term, and short term trading is subjective, but generally the longer-term price trends tend to be easier to predict, and offer better risk / reward, so a long-term approach is the one to focus on.
New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and currency trading success. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Trading currencies successfully is a combination of two factors:
Firstly, you need a successful trading method for long term currency trading success to predict market direction and these systems fall into two categories:
1. Fundamental analysis
A currency trader who makes trades based upon fundamental analysis, will look at the supply and demand situation relevant to the particular currency studied, and try and predict the impact of such factors as:
? The health of the economy
? Interest rates
? Balance of payments
? Employment
? Trade deficit
? Other factors
In today?s markets with the all-fundamental information available in seconds anywhere in the world, fundamental news is quickly reflected in the price.
Traders therefore, can have difficulty acting quickly enough to position themselves in the market in relation to breaking news.
In light of this, more traders looking for currency trading success are using a technical approach to the markets.
2. Technical analysis
Technical analysis is the study of a currency, based strictly on using only the price history of the currency.
Technical analysis uses no information about the currencies supply and demand situation - it simply focuses on price action.
The common belief is that the currency price reflects all the known information about the currency as it is immediately discounted in price action.
Technical analysis however does something more - it indirectly studies human psychology.
Since price patterns reflect shifts in human psychology, one can assume that certain patterns, cycles and trends, will repeat themselves again, as human nature has remained constant over time.
Technical analysis takes into account both the fundamentals and the market participants psychology and this gives us a simple equation:
All known fundamentals + human psychology = Price action
The fundamentalist studies the cause of market movement, while the technician studies the effect.
For currency trading success, you need to catch the longer-term trends that yield the big profits. The technical trader does not care how and why these trends develop; all they want to do is make money from them when they occur.
Look at any currency price chart over time and you will see long-term trends and many of them last for years.
The secret of currency trading success is using technical analysis to spot them.
Long Term or Short Term Trading
For long term currency-trading success, is it better to be a long term trader, rather than a short-term trader.
While traders can, and do make money with short-term methods of trading, the fact is, currencies trend longer term and these are the trends that yield the biggest profits.
The reason for this is obvious:
Currencies reflect the underlying health of the economy.
These cycles of expansion and contraction, tend to last for many months or even years and a long term position trader has huge profit potential, if they can lock into and hold these longer term trends.
The choice between long term, and short term trading is subjective, but generally the longer-term price trends tend to be easier to predict, and offer better risk / reward, so a long-term approach is the one to focus on.
New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and currency trading success. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
24 Reasons to Do Your Workout Today
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Need a little extra motivation to get moving today? Here's a quick list of the ways that today's workout will boost your mind, body, and soul.
Exercise:
? Improves the quality of your sleep.
? Burns fat.
? Boosts your metabolism.
? Charges your immune system for one to three hours after each workout.
? Increases your circulation.
? Eliminates toxins through the sweat glands and lymph system.
? Regulates blood sugar levels.
? Lowers blood pressure.
? Lowers cholesterol.
? Lowers your risk of stroke. Even low-intensity workouts, such as walking and biking, can lower this risk by 23 percent, the American Heart Association reports. A job entailing physical activity can lower it by 49 percent.
? Increases muscle mass.
? Strengthens your heart and lungs.
? Reduces your risk of various kinds of cancer, including breast cancer.
? Slashes your risk of developing coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Burning 2,000 calories per week in your workout and daily activities reduces your risk of heart disease by 40 percent.
? Helps you control anxiety.
? Provides an appropriate outlet for aggression and tension.
? Helps you lose weight. Exercise is critical to any weight loss strategy, and it may be an even more significant factor than diet. A study in Great Britain involved researchers tracking 1,000 female twins. Researchers considered all factors that might influence the women's weight, including smoking, hormone therapy, diet, and physical exercise. Physical activity had the most profound effect on weight. Even the women whose physical activity consisted of relatively low intensity exercises, such as golf and bowling, had less body fat--particularly dangerous abdominal fat.
? Helps keep your body looking great. Your clothes fit better and your posture improves.
? Improves your self-esteem.
? Improves your sex life. One study reports that physically active women are more likely to describe themselves as assertive, sexy, and physically strong. A majority of them also said exercise helped to boost their career, relationships, self-esteem, and sex life.
? Enhances your mood and relaxes your body by increasing blood flow to the brain and triggering the release of endorphins.
? Increases creativity and alertness.
? Reduces stress.
? Energizes you like nothing else. The energy boost from cardiovascular exercise is instantaneous and lasts for hours.
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com. Read her reviews of behavior modification programs, including programs designed to help you eat for health and enjoy exercising - or read more articles by Susie Cortright at Free-Article-Bank.com, featuring free, quality articles for your website or ezine.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Low APR Credit Cards Selecting the Best
Hunting for and selecting the very best low APR credit cards has become easier with the advent of the Internet where you can do easy comparisons (from the various options available to you at the click of a mouse) as to which low APR credit card will be the best for your needs.
Simply put, low APR credit cards charge you an interest rate even lower than the standard APR offered by most traditional credit cards. The lower the interest rate or APR, the cheaper the card is to carry and the more money you'll save on it. Easy enough, right? So if you carry a large monthly card balance, a low APR credit card could be very beneficial for you. In some cases, low rate credit cards can help cardholders save a lot of money. But what?s an APR anyway?
The Rationale of Low APR Credit Cards
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit; it is the amount of interest rate that is chargeable to any outstanding balance on a credit card. If you don?t make the full payment within the grace period certified by the credit card company, the card issuer has the right to charge you an interest rate for the service, a fee known as the APR. For a credit card to be considered a ?cheap? credit card it should have a low APR.
With a low APR credit card, there is always fine print in the terms and conditions to take note of. Commonly, consumers fail to read the fine print that might include the following:
1) Annual Fees: Many low APR credit card offers might provide a low interest rate or APR but require you to pay a substantial annual fee. If the effective interest rate (after counting the annual fee) is indeed higher than the actual rate, then this credit card is obviously masked in the garb of a low APR credit card.
2) Low Introductory Rates: Credit card companies know that low introductory rates are a great incentive. So when suddenly, the initial period ends, and your monthly minimum payment increases dramatically, you know something definitely smells fishy. Check it before you fall prey.
3) High Balance Transfer Fees: Another trick in the trade is that some amongst the low APR credit card fraternity offer low balance transfer rates that come with a high balance transfer fee (which would be mentioned in the fine print).
The moral of this story: Read and re-read the fine print associated with any low APR credit card before you apply.
Want Low Rate Credit Cards?
Follow these simple steps:
-Call the institutions in which you already have a bank account or credit card account. Discuss with them the possibility of converting your existing account to a low rate account.
-If your existing credit card company cannot provide this request, seek out an offer and a card issuer that does.
-Get in touch with the companies you are interested in applying for low rate credit cards. They might be able to provide information about existing card offers that you might not be aware of.
-Fill out the card application and return as per the instructions. Make a follow-up call to the credit card company if you have not heard from them within the next 10 to 15 business days.
-You have the right to obtain an explanation if the credit card company has turned down your application. The denial letter must explain how you can obtain your credit report.
Keep in mind, however, that credit card issuers reserve the lowest possible interest rate offers for customers with the strongest credit histories, so maintain a good credit history is essential when trying to secure all types of low APR credit cards.
For more information on a variety of low APR credit cards, Robert Alan recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Simply put, low APR credit cards charge you an interest rate even lower than the standard APR offered by most traditional credit cards. The lower the interest rate or APR, the cheaper the card is to carry and the more money you'll save on it. Easy enough, right? So if you carry a large monthly card balance, a low APR credit card could be very beneficial for you. In some cases, low rate credit cards can help cardholders save a lot of money. But what?s an APR anyway?
The Rationale of Low APR Credit Cards
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit; it is the amount of interest rate that is chargeable to any outstanding balance on a credit card. If you don?t make the full payment within the grace period certified by the credit card company, the card issuer has the right to charge you an interest rate for the service, a fee known as the APR. For a credit card to be considered a ?cheap? credit card it should have a low APR.
With a low APR credit card, there is always fine print in the terms and conditions to take note of. Commonly, consumers fail to read the fine print that might include the following:
1) Annual Fees: Many low APR credit card offers might provide a low interest rate or APR but require you to pay a substantial annual fee. If the effective interest rate (after counting the annual fee) is indeed higher than the actual rate, then this credit card is obviously masked in the garb of a low APR credit card.
2) Low Introductory Rates: Credit card companies know that low introductory rates are a great incentive. So when suddenly, the initial period ends, and your monthly minimum payment increases dramatically, you know something definitely smells fishy. Check it before you fall prey.
3) High Balance Transfer Fees: Another trick in the trade is that some amongst the low APR credit card fraternity offer low balance transfer rates that come with a high balance transfer fee (which would be mentioned in the fine print).
The moral of this story: Read and re-read the fine print associated with any low APR credit card before you apply.
Want Low Rate Credit Cards?
Follow these simple steps:
-Call the institutions in which you already have a bank account or credit card account. Discuss with them the possibility of converting your existing account to a low rate account.
-If your existing credit card company cannot provide this request, seek out an offer and a card issuer that does.
-Get in touch with the companies you are interested in applying for low rate credit cards. They might be able to provide information about existing card offers that you might not be aware of.
-Fill out the card application and return as per the instructions. Make a follow-up call to the credit card company if you have not heard from them within the next 10 to 15 business days.
-You have the right to obtain an explanation if the credit card company has turned down your application. The denial letter must explain how you can obtain your credit report.
Keep in mind, however, that credit card issuers reserve the lowest possible interest rate offers for customers with the strongest credit histories, so maintain a good credit history is essential when trying to secure all types of low APR credit cards.
For more information on a variety of low APR credit cards, Robert Alan recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
