| Living without credit cards today is a very brave | | | | upside: You get a fully fledged Visa card with all the |
| thing to do. You need them for everything from | | | | conveniences and wide acceptance that goes with |
| checking into a hotel room to shopping on line and | | | | that - without a credit limit. Because it's prepaid, the |
| everything inbetween. With the cards comes the | | | | bopo dosen't need to be attached to a bank |
| temptation, and with the temptation comes high | | | | account, you add cash via the website or at |
| interest rates and charges that add up so fast. | | | | designated 'top up' locations. You keep track of your |
| Fortunately there are alternatives: the debit card and | | | | cash by putting what you can afford to spend on |
| the bopo card. They both use your own cash, but in | | | | the card and keeping the rent money separate. The |
| different ways. | | | | bopo can store $1000 at a time or add $2000 over a |
| Debit cards: This is the plastic card without the | | | | 30-day period. A 100-point identification check will get |
| interest. The upside to this is "No debt" You get to | | | | you a storage limit of $25,000 - all you need is the |
| shop like a diva, flashing the plastic and carrying | | | | cash to fill it. |
| nothing but glossy store bags. Buying online without | | | | The downside: Again,it's that you need to have the |
| having to print out that "pay me later" form and all | | | | money to spend it. If you are planning a holiday, it's |
| you are paying is the actual price not the 14,15 ot 17 | | | | terrific and a safe way to carry money overseas. |
| percent extra it will cost you by the time you add on | | | | You get access to the Visa network of ATMs and |
| the interest charges. This means you are living within | | | | outlets. No more worring about traveller's cheques |
| your means - there is no overspending when it's | | | | and foreign exchanges - and if your card is stolen the |
| coming straight out of your account. The bonus is | | | | thieves don't gain access to your entire bank account |
| you think twice or thrice about those impulse | | | | as they would with a debit card. If you link your card |
| purchases...they don't seem as vital when you're | | | | to other family memembers they can even transfer |
| actually paying for them! Try it I did, it's the | | | | money to you via SMS or the bopo website in case |
| strangest feeling when you know it's your own | | | | of emergency. |
| money paying for it. A big wake up experience. | | | | You must think I'm a genius! No - I Love the sound |
| Now for the downside: Well, its simple you need to | | | | of all this - just have to find the cash money first! |
| have enough cash in your account to cover your | | | | This is one way to really curb your spending once |
| purchases. This is both an upside and a downside. It | | | | and for all. I got straight on to it and as I said earlier |
| curbs your spending sprees,and it stops you spending! | | | | in the piece, it's the weirdest feeling spending my |
| The money you save on interest charges can be | | | | own money - wish I had of done this years ago - |
| popped into savings or spent on something else. | | | | only they didn't have these facilities. Now they have I |
| Bopo cards: Bopo is a prepaid Visa card. Put simply, | | | | hope to stay out of debt and stop paying all those |
| you load it up with cash and then off you go. With a | | | | expensive charges. I was a shopoholic - now I think |
| traditional credit card your balance goes up as you | | | | twice! |
| shop - on this one, the balance goes down! Another | | | | I found all this info on my favourite ebook superstore |
| bonus is there are no annual or monthly fees. The | | | | cbdeluxe - you can too. Goodluck! |