Category: credit card

US Household Credit Card Debt Up 13 Percent as Cost of Living Surges: Report

Credit card debt held by American households surged in the second quarter of 2022, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data’s quarterly report, published on Aug. 2. The report (pdf) on household debt and credit showed that total household debt reached $16.15 trillion at the end of June, marking an…


Millennial Money: 5 Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid Right Now

When times are tough, credit card debt may be inevitable if you’re learning to manage credit or are forced to make risky financial decisions due to hardships. For Lydia Senn and her husband, who are Alabama residents, this was their reality during the Great Recession in 2008 after she lost her job and he took…


Ed Perkins on Travel: Check Your Plastic Before You Leave

Road trip to intercontinental flight to cruise, no matter where your summer trip takes you, it’s a good idea to check your plastic to make sure of what it does — and doesn’t — do to minimize your risks. By “plastic” I mean the credit, debit, and travel-service organization membership cards which, collectively, offer a…


Choose a Payment Method: PayPal vs Credit

You’re about to make an online purchase. At the shopping cart, a payment choice comes up. Do you want to use PayPal or a credit card to pay for the purchase? They both seem like good options. What are the differences? And is one more secure than the other? The Basics of PayPal PayPal is…


Choose a Payment Method: PayPal vs Credit Card

You’re about to make an online purchase. At the shopping cart, a payment choice comes up. Do you want to use PayPal or a credit card to pay for the purchase? They both seem like good options. What are the differences? And is one more secure than the other? The Basics of PayPal PayPal is…


5 Best Credit Cards for Seniors and Retirees in 2022

Choosing the right credit card as a senior or retiree can sometimes be tricky. There are many options available, and it’s essential to find one that offers the best benefits for your current needs. Unfortunately, those needs and our preferences change as we age, so the card that was our ideal fit in our twenties or thirties…


Curb Inflation With 5 Credit Card Perks

As prices on goods and services continue to rise because of inflation, scaling back expenses isn’t the only way to free up cash to cover essentials. Credit cards can feature valuable perks for new applicants, whether your goal is to pay off debt or save on costs. Even if you already have a card, you…


US Banks Finally See Upturn in Credit-Card Borrowing

NEW YORK—Big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup appear set for some earnings boost from a pick-up in the battered credit-card business, but a possible recession would pull consumers back and bring losses on outstanding loans. JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon have recently warned of growing recession risks and braced investors…


How to Manage Personal Credit Card Debt as an Entrepreneur

How much debt is lurking behind our credit reports? One WalletHub study found that the average household owes $8,600 to credit card providers—which is unsurprising, given that Americans have collectively racked up more than $1 trillion in IOUs (I own you, or debts). In other words, founders are more likely than not to be floating in fiscal…


The Perils of Plastic: The Problems With Debit and Credit Cards Are Deeper Than We Thought

One night, a decade ago, I was on a sales trip. My wife called me up to complain about the $1,700 dinner that I had enjoyed in Bangkok. Of course she was mostly concerned because she knew that I was in Washington, DC, not Thailand. A copy of my credit card had made it there,…