What You Should Know about Experian

[E]xperian is one of the three major credit reporting agencies for the US. It is the newest, formed in 1996. It also happens to be the biggest of the three with around 220 million consumers included and 25 million businesses.
What Experian Does
Just like with the other two credit reporting...
What You Should Know about Experian

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?

How to Avoid Common Holiday Gimmicks to Protect Your Credit (and Why You Should)

[R]etailers look at the holiday season as their time to make money and make up for any struggles from the rest of the year. They work to come up with all kinds of ways to bring in new business during this season. However, not all marketing ploys and gimmicks are good for you or for your credit....
How to Avoid Common Holiday Gimmicks to Protect Your Credit (and Why You Should)

Reasons Why Your Credit Application May be Rejected Even with Excellent Credit

[I]f you have been told you have excellent credit or your credit score is in the upper 700s or even 800, you may think the sky’s the limit on applications. You get a wake-up call when a creditor tells you that your application has been rejected. How could this happen to someone with...
Reasons Why Your Credit Application May be Rejected Even with Excellent Credit

Reasons Why an Online Bank Can Help Your Financial Status (and Your Credit)

If you’re like most people, you get into trouble with your credit because you don’t have enough money to pay the bills on time. You may live too close to the max of your budget or have too many unexpected expenses come up. If this sounds like you, then you’ll want to look for ways to get more...
Reasons Why an Online Bank Can Help Your Financial Status (and Your Credit)

Do You Need a Financial Mentor?

[S]chools often encourage mentorships for students. Some employers have mentor programs, pairing new employees with those who have many years of experience. Mentors can offer encouragement, advice and accountability to those who need it.
Anyone who struggles with their finances may want to...
Do You Need a Financial Mentor?

3 Things to Do When You Know You Can’t Pay a Bill

One of the worst feelings you can have is when you have a bill coming due and no way to pay it. You have either spent all of the money or you have to spend it on something more important. You don’t want to have to deal with those phone calls from creditors because you don’t know what to tell...
3 Things to Do When You Know You Can’t Pay a Bill

Good and Bad Reasons to Have a Credit Card

[G]etting approved for a credit card is a sign of responsibility. It can give you freedom with your finances. For instance, you can book a hotel or buy airline tickets, which would be difficult without a card. You should know why you want a credit card and understand if those reasons are good or...
Good and Bad Reasons to Have a Credit Card

Should You Avoid All Debt?

You hear financial experts preach about getting out of debt. They tell you to cut up your credit cards and pay for everything with cash. While some people may need to follow this advice, you may wonder if it’s the case for everyone. Should you avoid ever having any kind of debt again?
Not...
Should You Avoid All Debt?

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

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 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?

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

4 Steps to Improve Your Credit

[F]or people with bad credit, they are often looking for the easiest or best ways to improve their credit scores. While the quick-fix schemes promised by some companies don’t really work, there are some steps you can take on your own. You won’t see an improvement overnight, but your credit score ...
4 Steps to Improve Your Credit

The Basics of a Credit Report

If you’ve been researching about how to improve your credit, you’ve probably read about credit reports. Many times, articles and other information assumes you know what a credit report is and how it looks. For those without that knowledge, here are the basics.
What Is a Credit Report?
It’s a list...
The Basics of a Credit Report

3 Ways to Get an Emergency Fund Fast

The car broke down and the mechanic says it will cost $300 to fix it. It may not sound like much money, but for many people it means they can’t pay another bill. The reason is they don’t have an emergency fund, which can help them pay unexpected bills and protect their credit rating.
An eme...
3 Ways to Get an Emergency Fund Fast

3 Things You Need to Understand about an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is something every adult should have. It provides funds to have on hand in case an unexpected expense comes up. It may be a car repair, sick person, home repair or other expense that you didn’t budget in. Many people try to build an emergency fund but fail. Here are three t...
3 Things You Need to Understand about an Emergency Fund

The Number One Thing You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

Look up information on improving a credit score or how to get good credit, and you’ll find all kinds of advice. Some of it is accurate while some is advice you should never follow. Some of the tips will cost you money like hiring a credit repair company. Much of the advice will fail to give you t...
The Number One Thing You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

How to Remember Your Passwords and Keep Your Identity Safe

[O]ne of the easiest ways to have your credit ruined is for someone to steal your identity and open up accounts in your name but not pay them. They can also access your real accounts and max them out. To protect yourself and your credit rating, you need to have strong passwords. The problem for...
How to Remember Your Passwords and Keep Your Identity Safe

3 Reasons to Start Out a Marriage with Good Credit

[W]ith summer comes plans for weddings, big beautiful bouquets, a gorgeous wedding dress, garden ceremony and many other unique plans. Of course, each of these items cost money, which can add up to thousands of dollars. What many couples fail to plan for as they dream of their wedding is how to...
3 Reasons to Start Out a Marriage with Good Credit