Credit cards can be excellent money management tools for organizing and paying monthly living expenses, especially when used properly. Aside from the obvious benefits, such as being able to repay the monthly expenses over the course of a year in small increments, using credit cards to pay recurring bills carries a number of other advantages as well. Consider the following three reasons to use credit cards for monthly expenses.

Establishing and Maintaining a Budget

Although it is possible to design a comprehensive monthly budget which can be adhered to using cash, debit, checks and other basic payment methods, using a credit card will provide simplified expenditure monitoring and recording which can greatly enhance the accounting process.

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In a bid to mitigate risk, Bank of America is adding a $59 annual fee to select credit cards, according to ABC News.

The Charlotte-based bank began sending notices out to card holders last week, and will assess the annual fee on May credit card statements.

The change doesn’t affect a specific credit card issued by the bank, but rather a specific type of card holder.

Those with lower-than-average Fico scores and those who often make late payments are being targeted.

Additionally, many of those subject to the fee don’t have any other relationship with Bank of America, such as a checking and/or savings account.

Bank of America said the average customer being assessed the annual fee has an interest rate of 14%, and noted that such customers wouldn’t qualify for such a credit card today.

This looks to be a loophole around the new credit card rules, which prohibit interest rate hikes in the first year an account is opened, or on existing balances.

We were all warned that the credit card companies would come up with some way to fund the shortfall tied to the new rules, and this appears to be one way.

A company spokesperson said roughly 5% of the bank’s credit card customers would be affected.

This news makes it all the more clear that having a good credit score is even more important going forward.

ANZ customers are seeking an average refund of about $1,500 per account holder as part of the huge $50 million class action currently being pursued against the bank for “fee gouging”.

According to the AAP, the claims of the 27,000 customers who are participating in the lawsuit range from hundreds of dollars to over $35,000.

The claims are for fees that customers allege were charged unfairly by ANZ from 2004 such as dishonour fees on bank accounts and over-limit fees and late payment fees on credit cards.

News of the average claim amount came as it was reported that the federal court has called on international accounting firm Deloitte to help it find the easiest way through the class action, which is now due to reconvene on March 7th.

It was also confirmed that another 11 banks, including the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank, are expected to face similar actions against them.

Such unprecedented legal action against the banks could lead to improved rights for consumers, thereby encouraging more people to compare credit cards and other products in search of the best deals.

The case against ANZ is being funded on a no-win no-fee basis by IMF Australia.

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Are you happy in your current job? While some people are undeniably happy in their career path, others often lament that their job is but a means to an end, a way to make some money and bide time until they figure out what they really want to do.

A new study that was recently released concluded employees value coworkers and personal control in their work over their compensation. CareerBliss.com conducted a survey to find what jobs people were most happy with and on the opposite end of the spectrum, what types of jobs people hate.

The company combed through 200,000 independent employee reviews from 70,000 jobs all around the country and collected data on nine factors it deemed were the most important to workplace satisfaction and happiness. Read full article…

Consumer credit scores fell a whopping two points since January 2010, according to a survey released this week by Credit Karma.

The company, which provides a quasi free credit score, said the national average credit score was 667 last month, down one point from December and two points from January 2010.

That’s much lower than the so-called average credit score from Fico, which weighs in at a healthy 713.

Consumers in Los Angeles and Philadelphia fared the worst, with credit score declines of five points, while New York residents saw an average decline of four points, and Chicago, Houston and Seattle residents saw three point declines.

However, seven states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina still have what’s considered fair to bad credit scores of 650 or lower.

The report revealed that Massachusetts had the highest credit score nationally with an average score of 685, while Mississippi was lowest at 631.

Since January 2010, the average consumer with an account:

- Decreased credit card debt 9% to $7,200
– Decreased home mortgage loan balances 4% to $173,967
– Decreased home equity 5% to $49,469
– Increased auto loans 3% to $15,140
– Increased student loans 9% to $28,715

Remember, the best way to raise your credit score is to simply pay all bills on time and keep debt levels low.

If you’re curious where you stand credit wise, click to get all 3 credit scores free for 30 days.