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If you start missing payments on a credit card or loan, or -- worse -- your creditor sends one of your outstanding debts to a collection agent, a negative mark will go on your credit rating, which will often prevent you from getting credit in the future.

If you find yourself in this situation, it is imperative that you take steps to repair your credit rating as soon as possible.

Although it seems like a daunting task, if you do nothing your credit rating will remain the same for up to seven years, causing you all sorts of hassles, and preventing you from obtaining any type of loan.

An important step in credit repair is the acquisition of a secured credit card. Generally, if you have bad credit, you will be turned down for any credit card application.

This puts you in a bind, because without a credit card you have no way of improving your situation by proving to creditors that you can pay your bills on time and responsibly.

To engage in credit repair, you should look into what is called a "secured credit card." This is a credit card marketed specifically to people with bad credit.

Generally, these cards work by requiring an initial deposit that is equal to your credit limit. In other words, if you make an initial deposit of $500, you will have a credit limit of $500.

The issuer will then reserve the right to use your deposit against any outstanding balance on the card if payments are not met after a certain amount of time.

As you can see, this type of card carries no risk for the issuer (because they can always use your deposit against the balance - you'll never end up "owing" them anything), and therefore can be freely issued to people with bad credit.

Unfortunately, most of these cards will have yearly annual fees that regular credit cards are often free of.

Once you have a secured credit card, you can engage in credit repair by using it sparingly but regularly, and making sure you make all payments on time.

By doing this you will slowly repair your credit. What you will be doing is demonstrating to creditors that you are responsible and can be trusted with credit.

If you don't take steps towards credit repair by doing things like getting a secured credit card, your credit rating will effectively remain in a static state for years.

Credit reporting agencies will keep any marks on your credit report for 7 years, so unless you are willing to wait that along, it is imperative that you take the necessary credit repair steps.

By obtaining a secured credit card and using it responsibly, you will be able to reduce the 7 year wait period before being offered credit again.

Drikus Botha is wellknown for his articles and e-courses. You can subscribe to one of his free credit repair e-courses right here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Drikus_Botha

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Yes, low APR credit cards are on the rise. Many credit cards are competing for your business to give you the best and lowest rates available today. There are so many credit cards from you to choose from that they are doing all kinds of things to get your attention including lowering their interest rate and giving you no annual fees.

Why is this happening? Because there are so many credit card companies. They all want your business and this is an attractive incentive to get you to apply and own one of their credit cards. If you choose a low APR credit card over one with 19.99 percent you are sure to go with the lower APR.

The only problem is that sometime these 0% and low APR credit cards are only promotional ways to get you to apply and then later your interest rate will rise. Many credit card companies have low APR credit cards for a certain amount of time such as 3 months, 6 months and some up to one year. You will have to compare to find out which one keeps the lower APR after the promotional period to ensure you are getting the best deal around.

No matter what the reason low APR credit cards are here to stay as long as the companies are competing for your business. Just remember to compare everything they offer besides the lower interest rate. You may find that several credit card companies are now offering other wonderful incentives for you to apply with them such as reward programs.

No matter which company you choose, you will enjoy the low APR credit cards even if it is only for a limited time. You will be able to save money on your purchases because you will not have to pay any interest until the promotional period is over. Just be sure your balance is very low when the interest rate kicks in and you will be fine.