vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Of course credit cards are viewed as credit. If you're using money on a credit card, you are not directly paying for your transactions on goods/services immediately: this is the act of borrowing credit to pay for them. Debit cards, on the other hand, work where the funds are taken from an account immediately (or subject to a small delay - but usually no more than 24 hours - depending on various factors). You should never miss credit card payments, as that will affect your credit rating. If you have unpaid money on your card this is debt - plain and simple. But to answer your question succinctly - yes, credit cards are a form of credit, as the name suggests. When you apply for a mortgage any unpaid credit (debt) is considered and would adversely affect you if you have such debts. The level to which it affects you depends on the amount of debt. This is how it works in the UK, but to my knowledge it is the same in the US and most other countries. Please clarify if you think this is incorrect.
Agree with the comment, 760 is a good score. The average score is less than 700 and average score for your age group is even lower.  (Source: https://www.creditkarma.com/trends/age)   Just keep paying your credit card bills on time. You could also ask for increases in your credit limits on your existing credit cards, which may increase your score, but could decrease it in the short term depending on how your credit card company looks at your credit history in the process.  (Source: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2014/06/27/3-ways-to-increase-your-credit-card-spending-limit)
Depending on  your credit score you might be able to balance transfer to a lower rate. Credit is still cheap, with a good credit score you should be able to get ~ 6%, maybe even lower if you go through a credit union.  Given you return is 13% (!!) I would not divert money from that.
First, A credit account is increased by credit transactions and decreased by debits. Liabilities is a credit account and should be a positive number.  A debit account is increased by debit transactions and decreased by credit. Assets is a debit account and should be a positive number.  Equity = Assets (debit) - Liabilities (credit) may be positive or negative.  You currently are subtracting a negative number for a net positive, since your Liabilities is set as a debit account.  How you currently are set -> Equity = Assets (debit) - Liabilities (debit) It is easier to understand if you change the columns from Increase/Decrease to Credit/Debit. I believe this is changed through Edit > Preferences > Accounts > Labels > Use formal accounting labels.  To fix your situation, open up the Loan account and switch columns on the amounts. This will decrease Opening Balances and increase the loan, per your current column headings.  This is a snippet of Opening Balances. You see that Opening Balances is debited and the Loan/Liability account credited. I included Petty Cash to show the reverse. Petty Cash is an asset, so it credits Opening Balances and debits Petty cash. This is a student loan Liability account. As you see, the Opening Balance is debited and decreased. The loan is credited and Liabilities increased. As payments are made, the reverse happens. The loan, being a credit account, is debited and the balance decreases. Opening Balances moves closer to 0 as well. The savings account, being a debit account, is credited and the balance decreases. There has been no change in Equity since Liabilities and Assets decresed by the same amount.
"BlackJack's answer is technically correct: government credit ratings are independent of corporate credit ratings.  The rating should reflect the borrower's ability to repay its obligations. One reason the book you read may have stated that corporate credit ratings cannot be better than the government's credit rating is that the government, unlike the corporation, can steal (or in government parlance ""tax"") from anywhere or anyone.  So if a government finds itself in financial difficulty it could simply take the cash from corporations or people with high credit ratings by a variety of methods: implement windfall profit taxes, take over industries, take peoples gold, tax pension savings, or simply take peoples pensions or retirement savings.  This increases the risk of doing business in a country with an over-extended government. Over extended governments do not die gracefully.  They only die when there is nothing left to steal."
A Credit Balance means that you overpayed. That's nothing to worry about; it will just be used up by your next charges. Note that this can have two reasons - either you really paid too much; or you paid off a charge that is still 'pending' - meaning it has not yet posted and is not considered in the amount you owe: Most charges in restaurants for example are pending for a day or more, because the original charge is your bill without tip (they don't know the tip when the run the card!), and the merchant spends his weekends or evenings to type in the final amount (including tip) and post the pending charge. If this is the case, it will settle ('get posted') in a day or two, and then it will match up.
You won't get reported to a credit bureau for an overdraft, that's a service offered internal to the bank.  The only way it would affect your credit score is if you had an overdraft fee that you didn't pay, which would get reported. There's is a system that gets a notice when you overdraft though.  The bank MIGHT report you to ChexSystems, which is an agency that tracks the mishandling of accounts.  Generally, a fee based overdraft is an agreement with you and the bank that they will charge you a fee, this is desirable to the bank, so they don't report to ChexSystems unless there's some sort of abuse.  Banks view overdraft like a product for revenue generation and they encourage you to continue.  Examples of abuse are: intentional overdrawing where the bank updates the account balances by batch jobs, so that you can overdraft 5x$1000 on an account that only has $1000+fees in it.  Banks check ChexSystems to see if you have mishandled accounts to determine if you can open up another account, though they're mostly checking to see if you are leaving accounts in bad or negative status.
"Is there any practical reason... to hold off on making payments until I receive a billing statement? Yes, a few:   As for a zero balance, FICO consumer affairs manager Barry Paperno says, ""The idea here is the lower, the better, in terms of the utilization percentage, but something is better than nothing....The score wants to see some kind of activity.""  How low should you go? In a recent interview, FICO spokesman Craig Watts said, ""If your utilization is 10 percent or lower, you're in great shape as far as utilization goes."" That being said, there are downsides especially if you wind up forgetting to make a payment.  The easiest thing to do (also from a time management perspective) is to get your billing statement once a month, verify the purchases on it, and at that time you receive the statement schedule an online bill payment so that it will be paid in full before the due date.   As Aganju points out, you don't have to wait for a paper bill in hand or even an e-mail notification; you can go online after your statement date to get the statement.  This makes sure you won't have extra costs related to unreliability of mail (if you still receive paper statements)/e-mail, though it does require remembering to check (and/or setting a recurring calendar reminder).  Paying much in advance of that, as is your current practice, might be a good idea to free up available balance if you are planning a purchase that would take you over your credit limit, but this should be relatively rare (and some credit card companies will raise that limit if you have been paying well and ask nicely, though find out first if they do a ""hard pull"" of your credit report for that)."
I have heard that it is better for your credit score to pay them down over time. Will it make much of a difference? I have never heard that, however, the financial institutions (who are charging you an amount of interest which was at one time in the not so distant past classified and punishable in state criminal codes) really enjoy you thinking that way. You are clearly capable of doing the math yourself. While I don't know the exact numbers, I am totally confident that you will find in about 5 or 10 minutes (if that long) that eliminating debt of any kind in your life will pay an immediate return that beats the great majority of other investments in terms of risk/reward. After the immediate financial return, there is a quieter, subtler, and even greater long term benefit. Basic principle: Highest Rates First Perhaps this decision could be considered slightly less important than deciding not to smoke during your youth; but I would put it as a close second. You are already in a position where you can see the damage that your prior decisions (about financial debt) have produced. Run the clock back to the time in your life when you were debt free. Now, pay off that debt with the big check, and start from zero. Now, turn on your psychic powers and predict the same amount of time, in the future, with the same amount of money (don't even try to adjust for inflation; just use flat dollars) WITHOUT losing the money which you have given to the financial institutions during this previous part of your life. Do you now see why the financial institutions want you to think about slowly paying them off instead of waking up tomorrow without owing them anything ?
In the United States, when applying for credit cards, proof of income is on an honor system. You can make $15k a year and write on your application that you make $150k a year. They don't check that value other than to have their computer systems figure out risk and you get a yes or no. It was traditionally easy to attain credit, but that got tightened in 2008/2009 with the housing crisis. This is starting to change again and credit is flowing much more easily.
You could also switch to CreditKarma to file taxes, it's 100% free and just launched. I'm not affiliated with them, just bringing up an alternative.
"For a newly registered business, you'll be using your ""personal"" credit score to get the credit.  You will need to sign for the credit card personally so that if your business goes under, they still get paid. Your idea of opening a business card to increase your credit score is not a sound one. Business plastic might not show up on   your personal credit history. While   some issuers report business accounts   on a consumer's personal credit   history, others don't. This cuts both ways. Some   entrepreneurs want business cards on   their personal reports, believing   those nice high limits and good   payment histories will boost their   scores. Other small business owners,   especially those who keep high running   balances, know that including that   credit line could potentially lower   their personal credit scores even if   they pay off the cards in full every   month. There is one instance in which the   card will show up on your personal   credit history: if you go into   default. You're not entitled to a   positive mark, ""but if you get a   negative mark, it will go on your   personal report,"" Frank says. And some further information related to evaluating a business for a credit card: If an issuer is evaluating you for a   business card, the company should be   asking about your business, says   Frank. In addition, there ""should be   something on the application that   indicates it's for business use,"" he   says. Bottom line: If it's a business   card, expect that the issuer will want   at least some information pertaining   to your business. There is additional underwriting for   small business cards, says Alfonso. In   addition to personal salary and credit   scores, business owners ""can share   financials with us, and we evaluate   the entire business financial   background in order to give them   larger lines,"" she says. Anticipate that the issuer will check   your personal credit, too. ""The vast   majority of business cards are based   on a personal credit score,"" says   Frank. In addition, many issuers ask   entrepreneurs to personally guarantee   the accounts. That means even if the   businesses go bust, the owners promise   to repay the debts. Source"
I have the mortgage from Lender A. Can I get a HELOC from Lender B? Yes. Do banks pull my credit to approve a HELOC account? Yes. How is it reported to the credit bureaus and how does it affect my credit (Let's say my limit is $30k and I use all of $30k)?  It is reported as HELOC and the current balance. Similar to credit cards (in fact, some banks report it exactly as credit cards). Anything unique about it's tax deduction? Same as mortgage, except that the limit is $100K unless used for home improvement. Anything else to watch out for? LTV - Loan to Value. This is the ratio of your overall home value to the indebtedness secured by the home. Currently, your LTV is 93% (you have 7% equity). For HELOC, most banks require the LTV, including the HELOC, not to exceed 75%. So the chances you'll get a HELOC are pretty slim.
Regarding what's being reported on your credit report, you need to type a letter to each credit bureau which is reporting the information telling them who you are and that you are disputing this information on your report. Mail it to the bureaus by certified mail with return receipt. Under United States law they are required to verify the information on your report, if you dispute it, and remove the information if they are unable to verify it. In many cases, it's too much of a hassle and the bureaus just remove the information. The other thing I'll leave you with is that you said you've only had credit in the past six months. Six months is not enough time to build an adequate credit profile. You really need to be strategic about your credit score. Every time you apply for credit, it drags the score just a little bit lower. Your question wasn't really about building credit, so I'll spare you the novel on that, but I would encourage you to seek out one of the many resources which are readily available online. I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice. You should consult with an attorney who is licensed to practice law in your particular jurisdiction.
The calculation is to figure out how many dollars you get in return for the amount of dollars you spend. In your case, you know you get 1000 points for $1000 dollars, and can redeem one movie ticket for 1000 points. Therefore, Granted that you could also redeem a $8-9 ticket, making your return 0.8-0.9%.  In addition, this can get more complicated for some points cards that may give out free points, and is especially so if there's an intermediary such as AIR MILES, for which points can be earned in numerous ways. To get really nitty gritty, you could to keep a spreadsheet where you list number of dollars spent, number of points gained, number of points redeemed, and value of reward received. Thus, you can figure out exactly what your cost is for each point (second factor from above), as well as the ultimate value of each point with respect to rewards redeemed (first factor). I'm considering doing that myself since I'm prone to spreadsheet addiction, but this method is likely overkill for most points cards.
My question is, how income tax is calculated for partial redemption. Same as normal. The redemption should always be treated as FIFO. Say you are buying 10 units every month [I know the units maybe in fraction and price would be different every month and you are investing fixed amount]. After say 9 months you have 90 units. Now when you sell say 45 units, you are actually selling 10 units from first 4 months and 5 units from 5th month. So calculate the price at which you purchased these units. This becomes your cost. Now when you sell, you know the price. So subtract the sell price from cost price. This is your taxable income. Short term capital gains is taxed as per your tax bracket. So add this taxable income to your other income and calculate taxes accordingly. You have to pay tax in advance and not wait till year end. You can do this online as well.
The equation for the payment is  This board does not support Latex (the number formatting code) so the above is an image, the code is M is the payment calculated, n is the number of months or periods to pay off, and i is the rate per period. You can see that with i appearing 3 times in this equation, it's not possible to isolate to the form i=....  so a calculator will 'guess,' and use, say, 10%. It then raises or lowers the rate until the result is within the calculator's tolerance. I've observed that unlike other calculations, when you hit the button to calculate, a noticeable time lag occurs. I hope I haven't read too much into your question, it seemed to me this was what you asked.
Could someone please explain to me how interest rates work? I like to think of interest rates as the price of money. It is specified as a percentage paid per unit of time (for example, 3%/year). To figure out how much interest money you get (or have to pay) for a given amount and time, multiply the amount with the interest rate and then divide by the time divided by the interest rate's specified time. That sounds awfully complicated, so let's look at a simple example instead. You deposit $1,000 at a fixed interest rate of 2% per year, for two and a half years, where the interest is paid at the end of the term. This means that you earn $1,000 * 2% = $20 per year in interest. Multiply this by [2.5 years] / [year] = 2.5, and you will have received $20 * 2.5 = $50 in interest over 2.5 years. If the interest is paid yearly, this gets slightly more complicated, but the principle is the same. Now imagine that you deposit $5,000 at a fixed 3% per year, for half a year. Again, the interest is paid at the end of the term. You now earn $5,000 * 3% [per year] * [[0.5 years] / [year]] = $75 in interest over six months. Variable interest rates makes this a little more complicated, but it is exactly the same thing in principle: calculate the interest paid for each period (taking any compounding into account), then add up all periods to get the total amount of interest paid over time. It also works the same way if you take out a loan rather than depositing money. Tax effects (capitals gains taxes or interest expense deductions) may make the actual amount paid or received different, but that does not change the fundamental aspect of how to calculate interest. Do CD's make more money with higher interest rates, or is it the other way around? Usually fixed interest rate instruments such as certificates of deposit, or loans with fixed rates, pay a higher interest rate for longer terms.
In my opinion, the simplest way to run these numbers is to first assume you are borrowing the full amount, including the points, if any.  They run a spreadsheet, and while using the new rate, apply your full current payment each month.  Then compare balances at month 48. You'll find it easy to calculate the breakeven. In the case of the negative points, it's immediate. For higher points, the B/E is later but then you are further ahead each month.
Line one shows your 1M, a return with a given rate, and year end withdrawal starting at 25,000.  So Line 2 starts with that balance, applies the rate again, and shows the higher withdrawal, by 3%/yr.  In Column one, I show the cumulative effect of the 3% inflation, and the last number in this column is the final balance (903K) but divided by the cumulative inflation.  To summarize - if you simply get the return of inflation, and start by spending just that amount, you'll find that after 20 years, you have half your real value.  The 1.029 is a trial and error method, as I don't know how a finance calculator would handle such a payment flow. I can load the sheet somewhere if you'd like.  Note: This is not exactly what the OP was looking for. If the concept is useful, I'll let it stand. If not, downvotes are welcome and I'll delete.
"Basically, your CC is (if normal) compounded monthly, based on a yearly APR. To calculate the amount of interest you'd pay on each of these accounts in a year, pull up a spreadsheet like Office Excel. Put in your current balance, then multiply it by the annual interest rate divided by 12, and add that quantity to the balance. Subtract any payment you make, and the result is your new balance. You can project this out for several months to get a good estimate of what you'll pay; in accounting or finance terms, what you're creating is an ""amortization table"". So, with a $10,000 balance, at 13.99% interest and making payments of $200/mo, the amortization table for one year's payments might look like: As you can see, $200 isn't paying down this card very quickly. In one year, you will have paid $2,400, of which $1,332.25 went straight into the bank's pockets in interest charges, reducing your balance by only $1,067.75. Up the payments to $300/mo, and in 1 year you will have paid $3,600, and only been charged $1,252.24 in interest, so you'll have reduced your balance by $2,347.76 to only $7,652.24, which further reduces interest charges down the line. You can track the differences in the Excel sheet and play ""what-ifs"" very easily to see the ramifications of spending your $5,000 in various ways. Understand that although, for instance, 13.99% may be your base interest rate, if the account has become delinquent, or you made any cash advances or balance transfers, higher or lower interest rates may be charged on a portion of the balance or the entire balance, depending on what's going on with your account; a balance transfer may get 0% interest for a year, then 19.99% interest after that if not paid off.
How does compounding of annual interest work? answers this question. It's not simple compound interest. It's a time value of money calculation similar to mortgage calculations. Only the cash flow is the other way, a 'deposit' instead of 'payment'. When using a finance calculator such as the TI-BA35 (Note, it's no longer manufactured, but you can find secondhand. It was the first electronic device I ever loved. Seriously) you enter PV (present value) FV (future value) Int (the interest rate) nPer (number of periods) PMT (payment).  For a mortgage, there's a PV, but FV = $0. For you, it's reversed. PMT on this model is a positive number, for you it's negative, the amount you deposit. You also need to account for the fact that a mortgage is paid on day 31, but you start deposits on Day 1. See the other answer (I linked at start) for the equations.