Easy Finance

Australian banking major NAB, is adding fuel to the competition war fire, challenging its big four rivals to match it, as the lender applies credit card changes to both new and existing accounts, that will save its customers a combined $225 million.

Credit card reforms proposed by the federal government were passed by the lower house of parliament’s yesterday and also received support from the opposition. Under the proposed changes, unsolicited credit limit upgrades will be banned, while over-the-limit fees will be scaled back. Banks will also have to alter “payment hierarchies”, which effectively direct customer repayments to the credit card debt with the highest interest rates.

The reform proposals still must pass the Senate, but are likely to do so without amendments.

The changes are meant to be applicable only to new accounts, despite an attempt by the Green Party to make the law applicable to existing accounts. NAB h

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Last week, while I was away on vacation, I received a call from Citibank about my credit card. Since I wasnt keeping up to date on the latest financial news and gossip, I wasnt aware that Citi had been hacked. Normally, when systems get hacked like this, Ive dodged the bullet. This time, I wasnt so lucky because my Citi mtvU card was a victim, part of the lucky 1% of North American credit card holders. While on the phone with Citi, they agreed to ship out a new card to me as soon as possible, which is standard procedure.

What gets a little annoying is that replacing a card, especially one so intertwined in my financial network map is time better spent elsewhere. This does, however, force me to update my map to reflect its current state something Id been too lazy to do. Thankfully, due to my desire to simplify our finances, the updated map has fewer lines on it.

Whats not cool is how Citi allegedly knew about the hack for weeks before going public.

1. List all of your credit card accounts: Make a list of your credit card accounts, jotting down your current balance, the minimum payment, and the interest rate. When I did this my list followed this format: BOA Visa – $2,500 – $75 – 9.99%. (16 seconds)
2. Figure out which order you want to pay them off in: Next, decide what order you want to pay your credit cards off in. Either order it by starting with the lowest balance, or by starting with the highest interest rate. Paying of the high interest card will save you money in the long run, but there is something to be said for the emotional boost that comes from starting with the lowest balance and paying something of quickly. (7 seconds)
3. Decide how much you can pay toward debt reduction each month: Review your monthly budget, including expenses. This can be done quite quickly if you have personal finance software, or use a web app. Figure out where you can cut back on waste. Experts estimate that most households waste 10% to 15% of their income each month. Look

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