Credit Lessons for Freshmen

[I]t’s your child’s first year in college, the first year they will be away from your watchful eye. You’re going to have to trust them to make some good decisions on their own. However, it’s also important to educate them on what being independent really means. And that includes teaching them abo...
Credit Lessons for Freshmen

How Many Credit Cards Should You Have?

[A]pply for your first credit card and get approved, and you’ll start a trend. Pretty soon, credit card companies will be sending you offers almost every day. What seems like a good idea of applying for a new card will quickly become a problem. With fantastic rates, great rewards and cute d...
How Many Credit Cards Should You Have?

What to Consider When Buying a Home

[Y]ou’ve finally made it. You have what it takes to get approved for financing and can get a home loan. Before you start shopping for your dream place, you have several things to consider to ensure no buyer’s regret.
How Much Can You Afford?
Sure, you got approved for a certain amount of fin...
What to Consider When Buying a Home

What Can You Do with Bad Credit?

You always hear about all of the things you can’t do when you have bad credit. You can’t get a home loan and maybe not even a car loan. You usually can’t get a credit card and you may get turned down for rental housing with bad credit.
Having bad credit isn’t a good situation to be in. You have ...
What Can You Do with Bad Credit?

Big Changes Coming to Credit Reports

[I]f you have a bad credit score, you may benefit from the changes coming to credit reports soon. If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ll see your credit score improve. In fact, it is expected that up to seven percent of those who have credit histories could see a benefit.
What Changes
Most civ...
Big Changes Coming to Credit Reports

Be Realistic When Budgeting to Get Out of Debt

[Y]ou’re deep in debt and you want to pay it off to improve your credit score and to make life simpler. You want to pay it off as quickly as possible, which means making some major changes in your finances and life.
Many experts tell you to stop spending any more money than you have to. No g...
Be Realistic When Budgeting to Get Out of Debt

3 Ways You Can Waste Your Money

[I]f you’re trying to become more financially stable and improve your credit rating, you must be careful with how you spend your money. While you don’t want to give up everything fun in life in order to be frugal, you also want to avoid wasting your money on unnecessary expenses. Here are three w...
3 Ways You Can Waste Your Money

Starting Over from Bad Credit

[Y]ou hit rock bottom with your credit. All of your accounts went to collections and your car was repossessed. You don’t even want to check your credit score because you know it’s bad. While the situation might seem hopeless, you can turn it around. Once you’ve lost any credit worthiness, you are...
Starting Over from Bad Credit

How to Talk to a Boyfriend/Girlfriend about Their Credit Rating

[I]f you’ve been dating someone for a while, you may be getting serious. Before you start dreaming about the perfect wedding day or what life will be like with 2.5 kids and a dog, you need to know you’re on the same page about important issues.
While many people think nothing of talking about ho...
How to Talk to a Boyfriend/Girlfriend about Their Credit Rating

3 Tips to Help Your Kids When They Have Summer Jobs

[I]f your kids are old enough to take on a summer job, now is a golden opportunity to teach them about money and finances. If you start them out right, they will know how to handle money and financial responsibility for when they are earning a full-time income. Here are three tips to use this...
3 Tips to Help Your Kids When They Have Summer Jobs