Is Your Credit Ready for the Holidays?

Credit often becomes even more important or a bigger hindrance around the holidays. It can either make your holidays better because you can spend more, or it can limit how much you have to spend if you have bad credit or none at all. Here are some ways to make sure your credit is ready for this...
Is Your Credit Ready for the Holidays?

What Happens to Your Store Credit Card When the Store Closes

[S]tore credit cards are nice for a lot of users. They often come with special perks and rewards. You may get an added discount or special coupons on sales. You may gain points that can be used towards purchases. However, these benefits only work as long as your store is open. What happens to...
What Happens to Your Store Credit Card When the Store Closes

How Business Credit Cards Affect Your Credit Score

[B]usiness credit cards are a great option for people who own a small business. It allows them to use credit to pay for purchases or expenses when they have limited or delayed cash flow. It also makes it easier to keep personal and business expenses separate.
You should know that if your...
How Business Credit Cards Affect Your Credit Score

How to Protect Your Identity at Home

[W]hen you hear about identity theft, you may think about all of the public computers in use as well as the credit card machines in stores. While these are all areas that are vulnerable to hackers and those who want to steal your identity, one of the most dangerous areas is at home. Why? Because...
How to Protect Your Identity at Home

Common Mistakes People Make with Credit

[W]hen you get approved for a credit card or account, it’s a powerful, exciting feeling. You begin imagining how having this credit card is going to change your life. Before you get too excited and start using your new credit card, you should know the most common mistakes that people make when...
Common Mistakes People Make with Credit

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

What to Consider with Annual Fee Credit Cards

[M]any credit cards come with an annual fee. In fact, people with bad credit often assume that’s the only kind of card they can qualify for. While it’s true that many cards have the fee, not all do. Before you apply for a card, you should consider the annual fee.
Cards for Bad Credit
A secured cr...
What to Consider with Annual Fee Credit Cards

How a Credit Card Can Help You Build Credit

[A]fter the recession of 2008, more people have become conscious of debt. Some of them have decided to give up using credit cards or other forms of credit in favor of a cash-only approach. While this is a good idea for people with bad spending habits or those who have a tendency to live beyond...
How a Credit Card Can Help You Build Credit

What You Should Know about Balance Transfer Cards

[I]f you have multiple credit cards that are maxed out or if you have a high interest credit card with a balance, a balance transfer card may seem like the perfect answer to your situation. However, you should understand some basic facts about this card.
It Can Save Money
Yes, getting a balance...
What You Should Know about Balance Transfer Cards

Mistakes People Make with Credit Cards

[G]etting a credit card can be a sign of “growing up” for many. It feels good to know you have earned your way to having credit or to have rebuilt your credit to the point where you can be trusted with credit again. However, not everyone handles this new responsibility in the best way. Here are t...
Mistakes People Make with Credit Cards

When You Can’t Pay Your Credit Cards

[P]erhaps you’ve had some unexpected expenses that wiped out your salary or you’ve had your hours cut at work. Whatever the reason, you don’t have enough money for all of your bills and the credit card seems the easiest bill to cut out.
The Danger of Not Paying
If you are unable to pay your cred...
When You Can’t Pay Your Credit Cards

Can Two or More Credit Cards Build Credit Faster?

[M]ost people know that getting a credit card can help you build credit. The next question is whether two cards can do twice the work. It follows the idea that if some is good, more is better. However, in the case of credit cards and your credit rating, more isn’t always better.
When More is B...
Can Two or More Credit Cards Build Credit Faster?

How to Enjoy the Benefits of a Cash-back Rewards Credit Card

[G]etting cash back for purchases you would make anyway seems like getting free money. To take advantage of this type of credit card and enjoy the rewards, you need to follow these tips.
Check Your Credit
First, you should check your credit rating and make sure you have a good credit score. Most...
How to Enjoy the Benefits of a Cash-back Rewards Credit Card

How to Stop Being a Co-Signer and Will It Hurt Your Credit?

[M]any people become co-signers as a favor to a family member or friend who doesn’t have a credit history. After some time, they may want to take their name off the account. This is not always an easy fix, and it may have an impact to both people’s credit.
The Process
Generally, you have two opt...
How to Stop Being a Co-Signer and Will It Hurt Your Credit?

How to Build Credit without a Credit Card

[A]sk almost any expert, and they’ll tell you the easiest way to build credit is to get a credit card and use it responsibly. However, some people don’t like the idea of using credit to pay for things, so they want to find another way to build their credit history.
1. Ask Your Landlord to Report ...
How to Build Credit without a Credit Card

3 Things Everyone Should Do Before Getting a Credit Card

[A]s the time nears for students to start college, many parents will help them get their first credit card. Other people may be trying to build or rebuild credit with a new card. Before you submit an application for a Visa or MasterCard, here are three things you should do.
1. Start a Savings...
3 Things Everyone Should Do Before Getting a Credit Card

How to Use Nontraditional Credit To Help You

[I]f you’re like many people with bad credit or past credit problems, you may not qualify for traditional credit such as loans and credit cards. Your negative credit makes it difficult to establish new positive credit because it seems like no one will give you a chance. However, you can use n...
How to Use Nontraditional Credit To Help You

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Furniture Store Credit

[M]ost furniture stores offer you some type of financing or credit to make a purchase. They know most people don’t have a lot of extra cash lying around, and buying furniture can be expensive. That’s why these stores offer credit cards, lines of credit and in-house financing. Before you go on a s...
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Furniture Store Credit

All About Gift Cards

[G]ift cards are always a great gift choice when you don’t know what else to buy. The market for this convenient present continues to grow exponentially. Gift cards are a great gift for anyone, but particularly for people without access to traditional credit. They enable the recipients to...
All About Gift Cards

Reading Your Credit Card Agreements

[O]pening up a new credit card is easier than ever before. Card offers flow freely through the mail, advertising their unique rewards and benefits. Consumers are just a few easy clicks away from signing up for a new account online. With the ease and speed involved in opening an account, it would...
Reading Your Credit Card Agreements