Credit and Debit

Credit scores were invented as a means of helping financial institutions trust people they were making loans to. An individual with a high credit score is more likely to pay back a loan than someone with a low score. Credit scores are managed by third-party organizations, called credit bureaus. Scores go up and down based… Read More

Today’s young professionals have a complicated relationship with credit. A report last year found that more than three in five millennials did not own a credit card, while another survey, by Creditcards.com, found that 36% of 18-to-29 year olds have never had one. Millennials, of course, had the distinct misfortune of entering the job market… Read More

These days, credit scores are everywhere. Many banks now print credit scores on your monthly credit card statement, and companies and online sites like CreditKarma.com give credit scores for free. Americans increasingly understand how their score is calculated and how to improve it. However, just because you have a good credit score doesn’t mean you… Read More

So what if the first of the year has already come and gone? It’s never too late to establish yearly money goals for yourself. If your credit score needs work (or if you’ve been denied credit), there’s no time like the present to raise your personal FICO score. Obviously, you’re not going to improve a… Read More

A new product out of the UK is making news in the financial world. It’s called Osper, and it’s a prepaid debit card meant to teach kids how to manage money. Aimed at parents with young children, the card connects to an app on your phone and allows kids to spend money on a budget…. Read More

A scary new fact was recently reported, more than a third of all Americans have debt in collections. And the number does not appear to be dropping, even as more and more proof stacks up that the economy is ramping back up toward full recovery. About 35 percent of people have had their debts turned over… Read More

You always hear that cash is king, but is that really true today?  Swiping a card, whether it is credit or debit, has become one of the most common methods of payment for everyday purchases.  It’s so easy to pay by card that many of us have likely never stopped to think about how the… Read More

We know by now that your credit score is a very important number as it relates to your personal financial success. It can mean the difference between getting a loan for home or car ownership or not. And it can affect the rates you pay when you are approved for a loan. But things happen,… Read More

Credit cards can be very useful tools if you use them the right way. But they also come with their dangers. Richard Barrington, writing for FiveCentNickel.com, lists the possible side effects of credit cards. They start with the added costs when you don’t pay off your debt on time. If you allow interest to accrue… Read More

Picking the right credit card can help with your finances. There are a number of cards out there that claim to have the best rewards, but how do you know which is the best? Mike Jelinek, writing for The Simple Dollar, did the work for you. He analyzed a number of rewards cards that claim… Read More