Many consumers are in search of some helpful and legitimate strategies to help rebuild credit history, because of the continuous increase of consumer debt. Lots of people fear the “b” word (no, not that one)! The word “budget” usually sends a very negative image to most people’s minds; they think they have to pinch every penny and be forced to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of their life. Thankfully, that’s all a myth! Making a great plan for controlling your debt and rebuilding your credit and credit scores, by using different types of credit cards can help eliminate your worries.

For some consumers, these types of credit cards may be the main solution, because they are very effective, and some consumers aren’t able to get a traditional credit card, or even open a bank account. This day and age, most households have both parents working, so that there are two incomes supporting the family, which of course means there’s slim to no time for creating budgets or researching solutions for maintaining a higher credit score.

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Let’s take our first step and evaluate both secured and pre-paid credit cards and the pros and cons of each for your situation.

a.) Secured Credit Cards

Advantages- Having a secured credit card is a very easy and cost effective way to build your credit. These secured credit cards can also rebuild and improve damaged credit reports. They work exactly like a traditional credit card.

Cons – One of the major drawbacks to this type of card is that to secure the card you must put down a $200 to $250 deposit with your application. For many this may be a tuff requirement. These cards also tend to have much higher interest rates (15% or higher) and additional charges such as an annual fee (usually around $50). Despite these drawbacks, for many looking to rebuild their credit, these cards make sense.

2. Pre-Paid Credit Cards

Advantages- Pre-Paid Credit Cards are a very useful tool, because they give you all of the flexibility and freedom of using your own money. They look, feel, and spend just like a real credit card; they can be used in any occasion that you would use a regular credit card. With these cards, you determine how much money you would like in the account by “loading” money, instead of the company offering you a credit limit based on your financial history. Almost everyone can be approved for this type of card, and yes….even if you’ve had a bad credit past.

Negatives-This may not be the best choice if you’re looking to establish or rebuild your credit. Pre-Paid cards may not report your repayment history to the credit bureaus. If the company doesn’t report back on your account, this type of card, unfortunately, will not improve your credit. If you look at all of your options available, and compare cards based on your needs, you’ll be just fine.

Note that pre-paid credit cards may not be allowed in some situations. When you rent a car or book a hotel, some places will not allow use of a pre-paid card to hold car rentals or rooms. Be safe and call ahead of time to ask about the company’s policy on pre-paid cards before you’re halfway through the process.

Identity Theft Protection and Identity Theft Prevention are very important. Prevent Identity Theft with LifeLock. Life Lock can make certain that identity theft never happens to you. If you would like to learn more about how to protect yourself from identity thieves, visit lifelock.com

Consumer advocate Linda Seamore is dedicated to educating people on how to protect their identity. After research on identity theft, she found out about Life Lock , the industry leader in ID theft protection. Life Lock is hands-on identity theft protection that specializes in prevention rather than after-the-fact protection. Visit www.LifeLock.com & learn how to take control.

Related posts:

1. 5 Best Ways to Maintain Good Credit
2. True Confessions of an Identity Thief

The U.S. Postal Service has shown that there were close to 12 million cases of identity theft in the country for the year 2006; which totaled to approximately $6.3 billion to consumers. This ridiculous statistic most certainly made consumers more aware; but so many people still don’t know about the special methods these identity crooks use. At an exclusive interview, an infamous identity thief revealed 4 common myths she took advantage of, in order to prey upon the innocent.

Mistake #1: All Identity Thieves are Men

This is a quite common mistake that most identity thieves say make their job that much easier. A major problem is that the media always portrays identity thieves as men. However, most of these criminals are good-looking and well-kept women. You can easily dodge this trap, by being careful with your information around both men and women. Research has shown that both men and women let down their guard around women, as opposed to men. Just keep in mind that any one of us could be a potential identity thief. No need to become paranoid; simply be more careful.

Mistake #2: Trusting the Nice Store Clerk or Friendly Waiter

We understand this is probably one of the most difficult things to avoid, because we usually have to give our personal information at checkout or when the bill comes at the restaurant. Shockingly, some of the people who wait may have two jobs. During the day, they may work in the department store, and in the evening they take on a side job. This “side” job is sometimes a way to easily steal credit card numbers from their customers. It works like magic, because they have access to your credit card number in hand. If you really want to stay on top of this, you have to check your account statements. Keeping a journal of your expenses may be a good thing to help you monitor.

If you monitor your statement closely as soon as you receive them, the less stressed you’ll be, should a situation occur. Let’s think about it…how quickly can a person, working at a shopping mall or restaurant, get access to hundreds of customers’ personal data? You got it…very quickly! Our notorious identity thief revealed in her interview that most identity theft criminals work at these sorts of places for a few months, and once all the information is in-hand, they’re on the next flight to the Bahamas!

Misconception # 3 Tossing Out That Junk Mail Unopened

Whether you have good credit, great credit or terrible credit, it really does not matter. You will receive in a given month between 12 and 50 plus new offers each month to open new banking, credit accounts. The problem with this is that most of us are lazy. We fall in one of two categories. The first is a person who does not own a personal shredding machine and simply tosses the multiple credit offers in the trash or simply tears them in half and then tosses them. The second is the person who does own a personal shredder but has become too lazy to shred each and every piece of documentation sent to them.

Listen, all a thief has to do is get a hold of one piece of information from your trash can and you quickly become a victim. Dont believe me? Let me ask you this, what are doing at 3a.m.? Really, well guess what our trustworthy identity thief is doing? She is in your trash can randomly pulling a bag out of your can for shifting and sorting later. Tip: After you shred your documents, add a little water to the bag before you seal it and then toss it. Not only will the pages be sliced and diced but will also be a wet and soggy mess, completely unusable by anyone.

Mistake #4: Mailing or Receiving items from Your Home

By now you are beginning to see the point. Identity thieves commit their crimes in several ways. They steal credit card payments and other outgoing mail from private or curbside mailboxes. In fact, according to our expert, some will go a step further and file a change of address form in the victims name to divert mail and gather personal and financial data. Here is a simple tip. First, drop all of your outgoing mail in a local United States Postal Service mailbox. Second, consider opening a P.O. Box. I know this seems inconvenient but to truly protect yourself, these are some of the preventative measures you must take to win the fight against identity theft.

The biggest issue is that there are so many avenues in which to become a victim; stay protected all day every day. Don’t try to fix the problem alone!

It’s very difficult to protect yourself and your family, successfully, without help. Trying to do it alone can be worrisome and not very effective. It makes a huge difference when you have someone protecting you who has actually been through the storm! LifeLock is a company who has absolutely outstanding identity theft protection for everyday people.

When finding an identity theft protection service provider, make certain it has been recommended by law officials, and that the service will actually work in a real-life situation.

Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Theft Protection are nothing to joke about. STOP Identity Theft with LifeLock. LifeLock guarantees identity theft will NEVER happen to you. Please visit lifelock.com to learn more about how to protect you and your loved ones from identity theft.

Author Linda Seamore is a consumer advocate dedicated to educating people how to protect their identity. After months of exhausting research, she stumbled upon LifeLock.com the industry leader in ID theft protection. Life Lock is a proactive identity theft protection agency, specializing in prevention of identity theft rather than just the reporting of it.

Related posts:

1. 5 Best Ways to Maintain Good Credit
2. Improve Your Credit Score, No Matter What Your Situation!
3. True Story of Dani’s Spectacular Rise to Success