Many prepaid credit cards market themselves to people with bad credit. They claim that they guarantee approval and that they are a great way to rebuild credit.

While it is true that there is no credit check or qualification for a prepaid debit card, most of these cards do not report to your credit. Because there is no monthly payment and no credit is being extended, there is really nothing for them to report. For this reason, prepaid credit cards are really not a good tool to use to build credit.

For those who do not have the ability to qualify for a credit card, they can help you do things like shop online, or rent a car.

You do need to do research prior to getting one though. Most all cards will have a start up fee and will typically require you to pay either a monthly maintenance fee or pay a fee every time you make a deposit. Researching up front will help you find the card with the lowest fees.

Vincent Polisi is the founder of the Wealth Consortium

Many people have probably still never heard of the log book loan, but those that have will wonder why I refer to it as being a risky form of credit. That is unless you have actually had to make use of this loan product at some point in the past. If you have handed over your log book to a lender in exchange for cash then you will know the pearls involved in their use.

Log book loans are renowned for have high interest rates, something that everyone expects form an emergency credit product. What they don’t expect is the speed at which the lenders are at the doorstep to collect your vehicle if you fall behind in your payments. You might take out one of these loans when your cash flow situation is good, but what happens if you lose your job before you have finished your repayments? Are you willing to lose your car as well? Think carefully before putting any property that you own on the line for a secured loan.