Category: Credit Scores

How Is Your Credit Score Calculated and Why Is It Important?

You know credit scores exist. You might even know what yours is. But do you know how it’s calculated and why it’s important? Your credit score affects whether you can get a credit card, rent an apartment, buy a house, start a business, or even get a cell phone contract. A low credit score can…


Impact of Higher Rates on Couples With Merged Finances

By Erica Sandberg From Bankrate.com Financial matters can be complicated to manage when you’re a couple. If you don’t come together to make decisions about how to handle your combined affairs, conflict can arise. With inflation and interest rates increasing, it’s even more important to make swift and positive choices. And if you’re like many consumers…


How Can I Build Credit?

Financial success is largely determined by your credit score. After all, having good or excellent credit will lower your interest rates, access perks like rewards, and gives you more negotiating power. And, it can also give you more opportunities to build your credit. What if you have poor credit? Well, for the 16 percent of Americans with a…


Kids and Money: Yours, Mine, and Ours

By Steve Rosen From Tribune Content Agency The time for newly married couples to discover each other’s credit score should not happen when applying for a car loan or filling out mortgage paperwork while house hunting for the first time. Yet, all too often those money talks either keep getting kicked down the road or…


Tips for Boosting Your Credit Score

By Pat Curry From Bankrate.com If you’re thinking about buying a house or a car, your credit score is a very important number. The interest rate you’ll pay for the money you borrow will be determined, in large part, by this three-digit number that’s generated from the information in your credit report. Most lenders have carved-in-stone rules…


12 Expenses Successful People Don’t Waste Time or Money on

By Charlene Oldham People have struck it rich by launching social media startups, inspiring wildly successful crowdfunding campaigns, and writing wizard-themed best-selling books. But most successful people have far more boring backstories of accumulating wealth through savvy spending and smart saving strategies. Aside from the occasional indulgence, most financially successful people keep a close eye on…


How To Improve Your Financial Health Score

Physical health is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word health. This is most likely followed by mental and emotional health. Your financial well-being is an equally important part of wellness. While it’s something that doesn’t require a doctor’s visit, financial health still has a significant impact on your life….


Medical Debt Comes Off Millions of Credit Reports—What You Should Know About It

By Ted Rossman From Bankrate.com In late March, the three major credit bureaus announced significant changes to how medical debt will affect Americans’ credit scores. On July 1, paid medical collections will disappear from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports. Previously, these could have remained for up to seven years. Also, unpaid medical collections will…


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…