A lot of people find it hard to decide whether they would buy prepaid phone plans or not. The dilemma usually lies on the difficulty of weighing out the pros and cons of using wireless prepaid phone services.

Actually the issue of whether or not to purchase prepaid phones is caused by the misconception and wrong information that people obtain about prepaid phones. So to finally correct these misconceptions, allow us to present the real benefits and disadvantages of buying and using prepaid cell phone service.

The Advantages of Prepaid Phones

Prepaid plans work best for teen agers. Through a wireless prepaid phone service, parents can easily control and manage the cell phone activities of their teenage children. Through a prepaid plan, parents can help their children understand the value of living – and in this case calling and texting – within their means.

Should they go overboard, these youngsters will be left with a mobile phone that will merely serve as a paperweight until new minutes could be loaded to it. Yes, prepaid services will teach your kids the value of responsibly managing not just their finances but also the minutes in their phones.

A prepaid cell phone service does not require providers to evaluate your credit report. Since your consumption of the minutes is limited, prepaid phone providers need not worry about the risk of offering this prepaid plan to as many people as they can. This means that everyone can enjoy the use of prepaid plans in their phones.

The Drawbacks in using Prepaid Phones

Now let us discuss the cons or disadvantages of prepaid phones. A lot of people usually complain about the high call rates charged on most prepaid phone cards. If we will look closely, most of the prepaid plans for cell phones charge higher costs per minute of call than post paid plans. Hence, a prepaid phone user needs to be conscious about the calls he/she makes.

Also, prepaid plans usually have expiration dates. To enjoy the continuous services of your prepaid plan, you have to re-load minutes to your phone. This will be a major drawback if you use your phone for web surfing, because your surfing will be interrupted once your prepaid minutes run out.

Lastly, some providers of wireless prepaid phone services deactivate not just your phone but even your phone number if you fail to reload immediately. This will require you to re-do the whole application process just so you could get a new phone number.

Now that you know the real pros and cons of using prepaid phones, we hope that you can analyze and finally decide whether or not to purchase a prepaid phone plan.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

If you have tried making a money transfer using a traditional Wire Money Transfer Service, then you will agree that the process can be very inconvenient, time-consuming and costly.  Thanks to the introduction of the Prepaid Debit Cards in the market, money transfers have become a virtually effortless process.  Furthermore, sending money through prepaid cards are free from any service charge so you can imagine how much savings you can enjoy if you’re someone who uses money transfer services regularly.

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Money Transfers and Prepaid Debit Cards – Perfect Partners

Anyone can easily get a prepaid debit card whether he/she has a credit history or not.  Even people who suffer from a history of bad credit can get one without difficulty.  To be able to use the money transfer feature, both the sender and the recipient must have a prepaid debit card.

If you need to send money, all you have to do is make a deposit to your prepaid debit account and transfer it to the recipient’s debit account.  If you already have existing funds in your account, sending money is as easy as logging in to your online debit account.

Once the transfer has been done, the recipient can instantly make a withdrawal from an ATM nearest to his/her location.  The recipient can also choose not to withdraw the funds and use the prepaid debit card for payments.

Who Can Use Prepaid Cards for Money Sending

Prepaid debit cards are ideal for people who often need to make money transfers on a regular basis.  For instance, parents who have college kids in boarding schools can use prepaid cards for sending their monthly allowance.  If you are working abroad, you can also use a prepaid debit card for sending money to your loved ones.

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The great thing about prepaid cards is that they are supported by major credit card Networks like VISA, MasterCard and American Express so you can be assured that the card can be accepted in a wide range of merchants and establishments worldwide.

Small business owners who need to send salary payments to their employees can greatly benefit from prepaid debit cards because it’s a more convenient way to make money transfers and it is free as well.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

When it comes to online shopping, paying through credit cards is the way to go.  However, with case of ID theft and credit card fraud on the rise, many consumers prefer to use other modes of payment.  For instance, online shoppers usually prefer to send their payments through a reputable third party online payment service like Pay Pal.  Some also prefer to use prepaid debit card rather than a standard credit card to reduce the risk of theft and fraud.

Online Payment System Enhancements

In response to the increasing cases of ID theft and fraud, credit card issuers constantly enhance their services by providing special protection for their customers.  Today, most credit cards provide the Zero Liability Fraud Protection, Card Replacement, and Cash Replacement features.  These features give cardholders additional protection against thieves who may try to steal their card details and use them to commit unauthorized transactions.

Internet merchants also take the extra step to ensure their customers’ and their own protection as well.  By using a secured server with a standard encryption of 128-bit, online sellers can block ID thieves who may try to hack their systems.  If you’re going to make an online purchase, make sure that the merchant is using a secured server.  A secured website must begin with the URL https:// and you should see a locked icon in the bottom right corner of your browser.

Internet marketers must take the extra time to verify the identity of a customer or a credit cardholder by calling the credit card company.  This is especially true for customers who place exceptionally large orders online or those who live from outside the US.

Reminders for Cardholders

As a credit cardholder, you are responsible to ensure your own protection.  Before buying online, carefully check the background and reputation of the merchant.  It is best to purchase only from online shops that are recognized by the Better Business Bureau as a trusted merchant.

Be vigilant about monitoring your credit card account, especially after making an online purchase.  Take advantage of the 24/7 online account access feature to ensure that no unauthorized charges have been made against you.  In case there are, call the merchant involved and your credit card issuer right away.

Instead of using your credit card, you may also apply for a prepaid debit card that you can use exclusively for making online purchases.  With a prepaid card, you can simply place an exact amount of deposit in your account, enough to make a purchase.  This way, you will not need to reveal your credit card information over the internet.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

This article will tackle the benefits of debit cards and why owning them is worth the choice. We’ll also discuss the difference of prepaid debit cards and how they can be useful for people with bad credit.

The Beginning of Prepaid Debit Cards

Prepaid debit cards were introduced in the market beginning in the early 1990s particularly to cater people with bad credit. Since poor credit will not qualify an individual for a standard credit card, he can opt to have a prepaid debit card instead.

It is called prepaid because it requires the card holder to submit a certain amount of deposit in his account. Usually, the card holder’s spending limit will depend on how much money he has on the account. Therefore, a prepaid debit card can also be considered as a secured form of credit card. Nevertheless, unlike a secured credit card, a prepaid debit card holder is not given a credit line.

Now let’s consider one by one the advantages of prepaid debit cards:

It can help put your spending in control. With a regular credit card, it may be too easy to charge purchases or expenses that are more than what you can afford to pay with your income. Many credit card holders tend to splurge without considering the consequences. In turn, unpaid credit card bills can become a start of more serious debt problems. With a prepaid credit card, you’re using the money you already placed it in your account. There’s no need to worry about repayments.

Prepaid debit cards are widely accepted form of payment. Prepaid debit cards are recognized and accepted by almost all merchants worldwide. These cards can be used both for online shopping or when purchasing from regular stores. You don’t have to put in a large amount of deposit into your debit card if you’re worried about online fraud. You can just deposit an estimated amount that you’ll be using for your planned online purchase.

Prepaid debit cards are easy to avail. Unlike credit cards that require good credit, prepaid debit card issuers do not make a check the applicant’s credit score. Debit card issuers have more lenient qualifications and are often readily available for anyone. Generally, most prepaid debit card companies only require that the applicant be of legal age.

Prepaid debit cards are more cost-effective than bank checks. Prepaid debit cards are ideal to use for payment instead of traditional bank checks. By using your debit card to make payments, you save from additional bank charges.

Prepaid debit cards are cheaper to use when sending funds. Money transfer agencies often charge a lot on delivery charges. If you frequently send money to your friends or loved ones from a far, debit cards will be a very useful tool for you.

Debit cards can be used to pay our freelancers. Are you a homebased business owner? Do you have freelance agents working for you? Then debit cards are great tools to use for sending payments to your freelancers anywhere in the world.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards, pre paid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

Its just been announced that Virgin Mobile USA is joining the growing trend towards offering prepaid services. Like I’ve said many times before…going prepaid doesn’t mean you have credit or financial problems! It means your SMART and want to keep more of your money in your pocket book!

Virgin’s new service is called Broadband2go and it offers broadband internet service at a discount rate. Many prepaid services now offer broadband. So if you are tired of the inflated rates you currently pay through your home broadband service and not only do you want fast internet service, but the ability to take that service you from computer to computer, check out your favorite prepaid services broadband offers.

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About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards, pre paid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

Some people automatically assume that anyone using a prepaid service is doing so because they have bad credit. Lets face it, a lot of times that true, but not always!

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Prepaid services are great for anyone who is:

• serious about staying on a budget – with prepaid services you know EXACTLY how much you can spend or how many minutes you have. Once you go through the money on your account you get notified to add more money. You can add the money or not, its up to you. No more surprise bills at the end of the month!
• anyone trying to get out of debt! Credit cards are too easy to run up thus leaving you perpetually in debt!
• they are good for anyone going to college – many of the credit cards have a credit builder function so you can work on building credit
• anyone who wants to stay off the credit radar! Most prepaid services don’t pull credit !
• the prepaid cell phones are great for anyone of any age. My sister gives them to her son so that in the summer when he is at his dad’s he always has a way of contacting her & she has a way of contacting him whenever she wants!

There are many ways of using a prepaid card or cell phone. You can use them for business too, i worked for a company online a few years back that gave us all a prepaid Wired card that they would load our paychecks on every 2 weeks. It worked out great. I could use it to make purchases and when I needed cash, I would just go to a store, buy whatever I needed and get some additional cash out with my purchase.

If you are considering going prepaid, now is the time to do it! I no longer want to be at the mercy of the credit bureaus!