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Sooner Partners and Old Dominion Associates Lead Those With Credit Card Debt To Make Financial Mistakes

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Sooner Partners and Old Dominion Associates personal finance and debt consolidation offers are bait and switch. Sooner Partners and Old Dominion Associates has begun flooding the market with debt consolidation and credit card relief offers in the mail. The problem is that the terms and conditions are at the very least confusing, and possibly even suspect.  The low offers of 3.05% APR are very difficult to qualify for. 

The interest rates are so low that you would have to have near-perfect credit to be approved for one of their offers. Many debt consolidation review sites have been following Sooner Partners & Old Dominion Associates – as well as other companies that are marketing these low interest rates offers.

To prevent these perils and end up in a weak financial predicament, refrain from indulging in any of the following financial missteps.

1. Paying Automatic Bills

If you can setup automatic bill payments, it saves you from late payment surcharge. However, at times, you don’t have any idea about how much money you have in your account. As a result, you face overdraft charges or penalties in response to returned payments.

Experts believe that setting up an automatic payment schedule is a bad idea. By relying on such a schedule, you often fail to check if you have any money left in your account to pay the bills.

Rather than configuring automatic payments, one of the wiser strategies is to set up alerts through which you can pay these bills on time.

2. Failing to Create an Emergency Fund

Unforeseen expenses are always around the corner. You may lose your job in a sudden turn of events or your car might break down unexpectedly during a trip. Without an emergency fund, you have nowhere to go. It offers you much-needed assistance when the going gets tough.

If you and your partner both work jobs, try to save enough money in your account so that you can so that you can survive for three months without a job. Save for six months if you are the sole earner in your home. Even if you find it hard to save, try to accumulate enough money to pay for groceries or repairs.

3. Struggling with Budgeting

Failing to make a budget is one of those financial strategies that can lead you into a financial crisis. Budgeting allows you to pay off debt or reduce it to a significant extent. In this way, you can save money for emergency. Other than keeping you safe in times of need, budgeting provides you with an effective roadmap that allows you to address your financial objectives. By setting a spending target and sticking to it, you can budget better.

4. Deciding Against a Retirement Strategy

Surviving without funds in old age can be harder than you imagine. Young people often decide against retirement savings because they believe that it is too “far away.” However, what they don’t realize is that this extended period can generate them excellent compound interest on their retirement plans.

Some people incorrectly assume that they will not need a lot of money in their retirement. This is an incorrect assessment because the cost of living always rises with time. Moreover, retirement is a phase during which people will want to pursue their passion and hobbies like traveling. Hence, they are going to need money. To save up for your retirement, you can either go for a 401(k) plan or open an individual account.

5. Not Getting Insurance

What will you do if an untimely disaster damages your personal possessions like car or residential property?

Insurance is something where you need to strike a balance and ensure that you are neither investing too much nor spending too little. Ideally, you should cover your primary assets, especially your health. In this way, you can stop a natural disaster form taking the form of a personal financial disaster. Apart from health, get insurance for your vehicle and property where the coverage is enough to pay for catastrophic care in the event of illness or accident.

6. Using Home Equity as an ATM

Many people believe that this practice is among the smartest financial strategy, but it is not! A HELOC (home equity line of credit) allows user to purchase anything at low interest rates. When you miss out on a credit card payment, it merely affects your credit history and rating. Doing the same with HELOC can put your ownership of the house at risk.

7. Overlooking Your Credit Report

Even if you ignore your credit report, a lot of other parties will like to have a look at it. Traditionally, these reports were merely used as part of the eligibility criteria for new debt consolidation loans and credit card relief. Today, they are used in non-credit scenarios like bank accounts, insurance policies, bank accounts, and job applications. As a rule of thumb, check the following information in your credit report:

· Does it have your correct information like name, address, limits, and balances?

· Is there any account that does not belong to you? This can be a sign of identity theft.

· How are you running up balances?

· Have negatives like bankruptcies, collections, charge-offs, and late payments been removed?

8. Paying Late

Even if you do not struggle from any money issues, but end up paying late bills, your credit score can plummet. As a result, your creditors can increase your rates or end your credit line whereas the ones in the future may charge higher rates or reject you. Moreover, late payments can make you pay for additional charges. Since, this is one of those financial mistakes that is easy to get rid of, start paying on time from this moment on.

9. Co-signing Loans

Co-signing a loan can land you in mess. Often, the other person ignores it, which means the burden falls on your shoulders. With late or missed payments, your credit score can take a hit and as soon as it drops down, creditors are certainly going to be ruthless. They will increase interest rates and cut credit lines.

In the best-case scenario, if your co-signer is punctual with all the payments, the card limit or loan balance is still going to be the part of your existing obligations whenever you go for a new loan.

10. Spending More Than You Can Afford

Spending more than you earn is common, yet it is one of the worst financial mistakes. You can avoid this situation by paying with cash or a debit card – one that does not offers overdraft protection with your account.

By making sure that you don’t commit to any of the financial mistakes mentioned above, you will become a lot more efficient with your savings and manage your debts better.

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

Remote Professionals Getting More Value for Their Work Thanks to Borderless Banking

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Not too long ago, the idea of working remotely from an island in Thailand or a co-working space in Berlin sounded like the kind of fantasy only tech moguls or backpacking freelancers could afford. 

Fast forward to today, and it’s as good as a global reality. Millions of professionals have cut the cord from traditional office life in exchange for flexibility, freedom, and a work-life balance that fits their personal rhythm and not their employer’s timezone.

However, as remote work has reshaped how people earn a living, it’s also pointed out the existing limits to most of the world’s financial systems. Traditional banking simply wasn’t built for a workforce that’s always on the move, operating in multiple currencies, and getting paid across borders. 

Thankfully, that’s where borderless banking like Black Banx have proven vital, and has quietly transformed the way money is managed for people vacationing and working overseas alike.

The Rise of the Remote Work Economy

Remote work isn’t just a pandemic-era trend that faded with Zoom fatigue—it’s become a defining feature of the modern workforce. A recent survey revealed that over 39% of Gen Z and Millennials planned to live and work abroad for extended periods this year, many staying six months or more in a single location. That’s beyond a short trip, and can be considered as good as a sabbatical with a substantial lifestyle shift.

According to recent estimates, the digital nomad economy now also contributes as much as US$787 billion annually to the global economy. And this isn’t just entry-level gig work. A third of digital nomads earn between US$100,000 and US$250,000, while another third take in US$50,000 to US$100,000 annually. 

It is indeed evident that the manner in which many make a living has changed. Unfortunately, most financial systems haven’t kept up.

Where Traditional Banks Are Still Falling Short

For those who have ever tried to open a bank account abroad or receive payment from a foreign client, they already know the drill: the paperwork is endless, delays are frustrating, and the fees? So much to do, even for the smallest amounts of money.

Just to name few of the hurdles remote workers still face with conventional banking:

  • Account setup restrictions: Need proof of residence, tax IDs, or a local job offer—things many digital nomads simply don’t have.
  • Slow international transfers: Payments can take days to process, which is a nightmare when rent’s due.
  • High foreign exchange fees: Currency conversions often come with steep, hidden costs.
  • Limited multi-currency support: Most banks still force users to operate in a single currency, making financial planning chaotic at best.

And perhaps most tellingly, many banks have digitized their operations but haven’t personalized their services. According to Accenture’s 2025 Banking Trends Report, while digital transformation has improved efficiency, it often sacrifices the customer experience. That’s not great news for people who live outside the lines.

Borderless Banking for Professionals Across the Globe

The concept of borderless banking goes far beyond wiring money internationally. Fundamentally, it’s also about being able to eliminate the friction between people and their money, no matter where they are in the world, and maintaining an ecosystem where geography, bureaucracy, and currency don’t stand in the way of financial freedom.

A working example of this is Black Banx, a Toronto-based fintech founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer. Since launching globally in 2015, it has grown to serve over 78 million clients in 180+ countries as of Q1 2025, proof that people take to digital banking solutions when it is accessible, affordable, and is useful in just about any locale.

In the first three months of this year, Black Banx had also earned US$4.3 billion in revenue and US$1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, more than double from the same quarter the previous year and showing it has consistently delivered tangible value to global customers—remote professionals included

How Borderless Banking Maximizes Value for Remote Workers

1. Instant Account Access—No Strings Attached

The times of hunting down local branches or collecting endless documents just to open an account are finished. With borderless banks, users can open an account in minutes using just a photo ID—no proof of address or income required. That’s a lifesaver for anyone living outside their passport country or hopping from one location to another.

2. Multi-Currency Mastery

Managing money in multiple currencies used to mean juggling several accounts—or worse, losing money on conversions. Borderless platforms like Black Banx support 28 FIAT currencies and allow real-time currency conversions at competitive rates. That means remote workers can:

  • Invoice clients in one currency
  • Spend or save in another
  • Hedge against local currency fluctuations
  • Avoid excessive conversion fees altogether

3. Seamless, Real-Time Global Payments

Getting paid late, or paying others late, isn’t just inconvenient; it can damage relationships and disrupt your cash flow. With real-time payment support, remote workers can receive funds instantly, no matter where their clients are. This is particularly valuable for freelancers and entrepreneurs juggling multiple contracts across time zones.

Plus, bulk payment features and API integration streamline processes for those running teams or businesses.

4. Built-In Crypto Options

It isn’t surprising that many digital nomads are already deep into crypto. Whether it’s for investment, faster transactions, or avoiding traditional finance red tape, crypto is becoming essential.

Since 2016, Black Banx has allowed users to send, receive, and convert crypto (like BTC and ETH) within their accounts. That integration saves users from having to manage separate crypto wallets, and adds another layer of flexibility to their financial toolkit.

5. Secure Transactions

Remote workers often log in to work from cafés, coworking spaces, and airports, to name a few. Of course, this flexibility of being able to work almost anywhere should never come at the cost of security. Borderless banks like Black Banx use end-to-end encryption, AI fraud detection, and two-factor authentication to keep accounts safe from risky elements.

Financial Freedom, Not Just Convenience

Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of borderless banking is the freedom it provides. Not just to access money, but to fully participate in the global economy. For millions of professionals in underbanked regions like Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, borderless banking has become a gateway to financial inclusion and a way to take on opportunities that typically wouldn’t be available to them if not remote.

By removing barriers to entry, platforms like Black Banx empower underserved individuals to both take control of their finances and increase their earning power by working with companies from higher paying markets. This democratization of finance isn’t just good for individuals, it’s good for the global economy as a whole.

As Black Banx CEO Michael Gastauer put it: “Our multi-currency solutions enable businesses to tap into global talent without worrying about payment complexities. We make cross-border transactions as seamless as local ones.”

The Road Ahead

By 2030, the number of digital nomads worldwide is expected to soar past 60 million, according to the Forbes Technology Council. That means tens of millions of workers will be navigating foreign currencies, time zones, and financial systems—all while expecting the same seamless experience they’d get at home.

Indeed, remote professionals aren’t just looking for places to work—they’re looking for systems that work for them. In a lifestyle built on flexibility, traditional banking is proving too rigid, too slow, and too expensive.

Borderless banking services like those offered by the likes of Black Banx, on the other hand, offer exactly what today’s global workforce needs: instant access, multi-currency support, real-time payments, crypto integration, and enterprise-level security—all in a streamlined experience.

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