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to erase the debt! He will pay $7,000 in interest on the $2,000 thathe borrowed to make his purchases. John could save a lot ofmoney by doubling his monthly payments and making every effortto bring the account balance down to zero as soon as possible.Paying for CollegeGoing to college canbe an incredible experience,but with therising cost of tuition,some students feel it isa financial impossibility.Loans are a goodway to pay for college,but many studentsavoid loans becausethey know that loansmust be repaid. Grantsand scholarships areavailable, but earningthem usually requiresexceptional grades.How can you maximizeyour chances ofearning a scholarshipor grant?Get InvolvedInvestigate requirementsfor scholarships,researching not justacademic scholarshipsbut those that areaffiliated with yourethnicity, your religiousaffiliation, and yourextracurricularactivities. See yourschool counselor forother options.Smart CardsA smart card is a new kind of card with a computer chip that canstore a large amount of data. Smart cards can hold debit and credit cardbalances, identification information, and much more. New data andapplications can be downloaded without a new card having to be issued.Smart cards can provide more security for online purchases, especiallythose made by cell phones. In addition, with new electronic signaturelaws (see Chapter 13), you will be able to sign online with your privatedigital signature stored in your smart card. Figure 22.3 offers some tipsfor buying online with a credit card.Disputed PurchasesIf you have a dispute with a credit card purchase, do not pay the billfor the disputed item. Instead, notify the credit card issuer by telephoneimmediately. The company or bank that issued the card must put thedisputed amount on hold and send you a form to fill out explaining thedispute. The card issuer will attempt to resolve the dispute and informyou of the results. If the problem is not corrected and the credit cardissuer brings suit, you may use as a defense the fact that unsatisfactorygoods or services were received.For this law to apply, the initial transaction must have taken place inyour state or within 100 miles of your mailing address. Creditors cannotgive you a poor credit rating for exercising your rights under this act.Lost or Stolen Credit CardsYou are responsible for only $50 of any unauthorized charges madebefore you notify the credit card issuer of the loss, theft, or unauthorizeduse of your card. You are not responsible for any unauthorizedcharges made after the company has been notified.Example 4. Tipper lost her credit card but did not notify the cardissuer for a week. Meanwhile, someone who found the card hadcharged a purchase of $175 with it. Tipper will have to pay $50toward this unauthorized purchase. If she had notified the cardissuer before the illegal purchase happened, however, she wouldnot have had to pay anything.490 Unit 5: Using Your Purchasing PowerCredit Card BlockingWhen you use a credit card to rent a car or to check into a hotel, theclerk usually gives an estimated bill to the credit card issuer. If the