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Show F6 TheSalt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Sunday, January 28, 1996 Control Credit-Card Debt Now or Pay Dearly Later By Barbara Wolle ‘ VS Ja! and February bring bills from your credit-card issuers for the presents you bought dur ing the December holiday season That means it’s now the season to give a present to yourself: pay downyourcredit-card debt dit-card industry. and with (0 issuers — not count ng credit unions that issue cards — you'll find plenty of choices If you haven't already now is the timeto get serious about pay ing off yourdebt lest you face se vere penalties that could get even tougher in 1996, large” a balance, But Diana Sun, a spokeswoman for Capital One Financial Corp., an issuer based in ized for carrying too much debt Falls Church, Va., said sucha policy is goodbusiness. some consumers are being penalI'm not suggesting that we're not responsible for the debts we incur,” according to groupsthat track the credit-card industry For example, for many years ard issuers havechargedpenalty rates for customers who pay their bills late, skip payments or exceed their credit limit she said. “However, Sunsaid Capital Onereviews its credit-card portfolio period y andevaluates each consumer's total financial situation “to target ona surgical basis peopleat different risk levels.” She said the bank does that so customersin goodfinancial status issu- ers also bear some responsibility for And as you pay it down. look for ways t reduce i our future debt load. For starters. try to find a card with a lower interest rate than you now pa Competition is fierce in the 1 carry a balance,” Susswein said What we're seeing these days is giving us all types of incen tives to addto debt Susswein said banks show greed” if they increase rates for consumers they decide have “too do not subsidizethoseat financial risk. Such review also helps the bank prevent losses from customers who rack up large balances and neverpay them off. credit-card debt: there will be fewer low-rate offers this year. said Robert McKinley. president of RAMResearch Groupin Frederick, Md., which publishes Card Trak, a monthlypublication that lists low-rate cards. McKinley also saidthis year is. suers will approve fewer card “If their credit picture has de- holders applying for their best cial discipline. Equally important is preventing the problem from occurring again. It’s great if you can payoff yourcredit cardbills in full each month, But if you can't, establish a plan to keep yourdebt as low aspossible. The New YorkState Society of Certified Public Accountants. ad- teriorated dram: ly, we look to raise the rate,” S rates and that introductory “tea er rates’ will rise — fromthecur- vises that you not spend more than 10 percent to 15 percent of yourtotal monthly net income on ing that the specific increas rent average of 9 percent, to 10 percent. In addition, issuers will stop increasing credit lines. Paying off debt, however, is as personal, student andcar loans but does not include mortgage pends on theindividual but it is often a jumpof 1 or 2 percentage points. Another reason to pay down just one part ofdeveloping finan- consumer debt. 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Some card issuers just increase the interest rate they charge some customers if they decide they're charging too muchor not enough In some cases, consumers report their interest rate almost doubled, to 24.9 percent from 12.9 percent, because their issuers felt they made too many charges on the credit card of an other bank Consumers have spent the last few years being encouraged by credit-card companies to spend spend, spend and even moreso to Communication Styles Differ With Gender By Barbara Ash TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT According to popular author and communication expert Debo: rah Tannen, there are somegen: eral differences in the communi cation styles of men and women Tannen, author of the best-sell ing books, You Just Don t Under stand: Men and Women in Communication and Talking from 9 to 5: How Women’s and Men's Conversational Styles Affect Who Gets Ahead, Who Gets Heard Who Gets Credit and What Gets Done at Work, identifies these differences @ Mentease others, use playful put-downs while women tend to express humor by being mocking @ Women ask questions, self men don't ask as often for fear of appearing weak @ Men give criticism directly while womenaretentative to soft en the impact in consideration of the other person's feelings ™Men critique others when asked, but often don't solicit feed back. Men don't compliment as a rule, especially other men. Wo men do compliment as aritual and expect a return compliment to round out the ritual and main. tain balance in a relationship @ Men tend to be more goal-ori ented, determined to get the job done no matter what. Women tend to take others’ personal situ ations into consideration and try to keep people happy when set ting deadlines and giving assign ments @ Men try to change feelings when they becoming Mr. women’s upset by Fix-It — offering solutions to their problems rather than letting them talk scenarios ut and process the @ Men talk more authoritatively rupt more at meeting @ Women often wait for the right moment, which doesn't al ways come, to break into a con versation and express their ideas ae) 3,000.00Fert. Eta ee eetad VVVVVVVYYVYVVYVYVY REREAAAE a includes payments on credit cards as well ee *All items limited quantities. Items must be picked up attime of purchase. No layaways. 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