Tag: credit score

Use Your Tax Refund to Knock Down Debt, Lift Your Finances

So you’re expecting a tax refund this year. With inflation driving up the price of gas, food, and nearly everything else, that extra money can’t come soon enough. The hard part is deciding how to spend it. Should you invest the money? Book a trip? If you really want to do yourself a favor, use…


How Buy Now, Pay Later Loans Could Alter Credit

Expanding access to credit is a worthy goal. Too many people can’t get a mortgage or an emergency loan at a reasonable rate because they can’t show a solid credit history. They may pay more for insurance or make large security deposits to get utilities or rent an apartment. Recently, the three major credit bureaus…


More Than Your Credit Could Be Hurt by Someone’s Error

A big credit reporting agency makes a mistake on your credit report, possibly lowering your score, but rarely corrects it, a federal agency contends. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion routinely failed to fully respond to consumers with errors in their reports, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a new report. In 2021, Equifax,…


Tis the Season to Go into the Red

You find yourself unable to pay more than a small percentage of credit card bills each month. You only make the minimum payment. You never seem to pay off any part of the principal. You don’t expect to ever retire your entire credit card debt in part because the interest amounts are growing. You think…


As ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Surges, a Third of US Users Fall Behind on Payments

A third of U.S. consumers who used “buy now, pay later” services have fallen behind on one or more payments, and 72 percent of those said their credit score declined, a new study published by personal finance company Credit Karma showed. The study, conducted by software firm Qualtrics, surveyed 1,044 adult consumers in the United…


Is Your ‘Woke Credit Score’ High Enough to Keep You From Being Denied Service by Major Corporations?

Commentary America is no longer a country being divided between conservative and progressive, between Republican and Democrat. It’s now being divided between the “woke” and the “non-woke.” And thus far, the woke appear to be gaining the upper hand. To be “woke” means to have been “awakened” to the awful truth about America, just how…


Money Myths: 10 Ways We Fool Ourselves About Managing Credit

Dear Readers: April Fools’ Day can make for a good joke, but there are certain myths about money that, if not dispelled quickly, are no laughing matter. Misconceptions about credit and debt are right at the top of the list. Here are 10 common beliefs about credit that can lead to financial trouble. Don’t fall…