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Why Gas Credit Cards Are No Longer Second-Rate
It used to be that gas credit cards were the credit cards you applied for when you needed to improve your credit history. Nowadays, that’s no longer the case. Gone is the era when all gas credit cards offered was a high interest rate and welcome to a day and age when these financial tools have become must-have pieces of plastic.
1. Kiss High Interest Goodbye
If you think carrying a gas credit card means paying interest rates of more than 20 percent, you may want to think twice.
Gas credit cards are no longer the money guzzlers they used to be. Nowadays you can get a gas credit card with an interest rate of well below 20 percent. Just shop around and you’ll find plenty of low-interest gas credit cards available.
2. Combat Those Gas Prices
Most of us do what we can to make our gas dollars stretch. Who can blame us with the way gas prices have been going? Usually, saving gas money means conserving gas and changing driving habits. After all, it’s not like you can find coupons for fuel discounts in the local paper.
While you may not be able to find coupons for 25 cents off a gallon of gas, you can use gas credit cards to save money at the pump. Many gas credit cards offer money back or gas rebates when you use the card to pay for your gas purchases.
While it may not seem like a lot, a gas rebate of 5 percent can equate to 15 cents a gallon. That’s taking a $3.00 gallon of gas and lowering the price to $2.85. Considering some people would drive across town to get that kind of a price break, gas credit cards are looking better and better as prices go up.
Just remember, pay those balances in full each month or your rebates won’t cover the finance charges you accrue.
3. More Than Just Gas
Some gas credit cards offer added perks that have nothing to do with gas stations or fuel. Some gas credit cards have been known to offer dining rebates, double cash back bonuses and other great perks.
If you haven’t considered gas credit cards lately, you may want to give them another glance. After all, many of us have been saying that gas is like gold — so maybe a gas card is like a gold card? Check out the current deals and you may be surprised that many of the gas credit cards out there really have a lot to offer.
Are 401k Loans a Good Idea?
Are 401k loans a good idea? No, not really, but they may still be your best option in certain situations.
Until you reach retirement age, 59 1/2 years old, there is a large penalty for withdrawing from your retirement account. If you take an early withdrawal you have to pay federal taxes, state taxes, and a ten percent penalty.
One way to avoid this and still take advantage of this money you’ve saved is to take a loan from your 401k, this is not available for everyone but some companies have worked it into their plans. There are a lot of downsides to doing this, however.
First of all, and this is often overlooked, the money you’ve borrowed isn’t being invested anymore. If you leave the money where it is in your account then you can keep earning returns on it, but while you’ve been borrowing it the money isn’t earning you more for your retirement.
You have five years to repay the loan, period. If you haven’t finished repaying it at that time then the remaining balance is treated as though you had cashed out in the first place, and you’ll then be charged taxes and the ten percent penalty on those funds.
Also, if you lose your job the balance becomes due and you’re typically given somewhere between one to two months to finish repaying the loan. If you don’t, then the balance is treated as though you cashed it out originally, and you’ll be charged the penalty and taxes on whatever you can’t repay.
On the upside, however, the internet on a 401k loan is very low compared to any of your other borrowing options, and the interest you pay goes straight into your retirement plan, so you’re paying the interest to your future self instead of a company. This is a big plus, and a large part of why so many people decide to take the risk.
If you feel you have no other option except to cash out your retirement account than borrowing instead and trying to make payments is certainly a better option for you, but if you have another option for getting funds I’d definitely recommend considering that first.