This year, Americans want to spend their Memorial Day weekend away from home, despite reports that gas prices are going to be the highest they’ve been in more than a decade. This is according to a recent report from AAA, which used economic variables to forecast domestic travel volumes, as well as data from research firm... Read More
[Disclosure: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.] Credit card points can bestow untold value on cardholders, as every purchase earns points to be banked for future redemption. Points can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, including travel, merchandise, cash back, gift cards and charitable donations. But not all points programs are equal. Signup... Read More
Whether you’re dreaming of an hour-long massage or lazy days lounging under the summer sun, you’ll want to budget wisely for your staycation. After all, you’ve worked hard for this well-deserved treat, and the last thing you want is for your savings account to plummet just when you’ve begun to relax. (Overspending can also tank your credit if you... Read More
If you’ve had a loved one die in military service, you especially understand the importance of Memorial Day, which honors the fallen men and women who served the United States. Whether you’ve lost a loved one or not, doing something to recognize the sacrifices of our fallen heroes this year can be a wonderful way... Read More
The 43 million Americans with student loans — and the millions more who will take out their first college loans this fall — should pay close attention to President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget. It requests dramatic changes to the help offered to borrowers, calling for an end to many benefits for lower-income students, and... Read More
Starting a business almost always takes money. When saving up to make the self-employment switch, financial expert Edward Kohlhepp, CFP from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, recommends that you don’t sell yourself short. “Don’t stop when you have enough to just buy the business,” he says. “You’ll need money for operating expenses such as taxes, rent and payroll,... Read More
[Disclosure: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.] When you are searching for a new credit card, you tend to be drawn into the information the credit card companies want you to see. They highlight the signup bonus, the ability to earn rewards on purchases, and the annual fees. But your card might have other... Read More
When I first became a freelance writer I couldn’t have been happier with the decision. The ability to be my own boss (to a certain extent), work with multiple clients and set my own schedule, was immensely appealing. I discovered quickly, however, that if I wasn’t careful, the flexibility of my new career course could... Read More
If money’s tight, you may think it’s hurting your social life, especially if you’re turning down invitations because you can’t seem to make ends meet. This scenario is all-too-prevalent among recent college grads, and no wonder. Student loan repayments, rent, car payments, a wardrobe for work and other bills can add up. (Here are tips... Read More
May is a big month for college graduates. There’s all the last-minute details with finishing school – finals, papers, moving, selling stuff. There’s the family, the cap and gown, the parties, the sad farewells. Then after all that, there are the questions. What now? Where will I go? What will I do? We can’t answer... Read More
Certain credit cards and other financial products mentioned in this and other sponsored content on Credit.com are Partners with Credit.com. Credit.com receives compensation if our users apply for and ultimately sign up for any financial products or cards offered.
Hello, Reader!
Thanks for checking out Credit.com. We hope you find the site and the journalism we produce useful. We wanted to take some time to tell you a bit about ourselves.
Our People
The Credit.com editorial team is staffed by a team of editors and reporters, each with many years of financial reporting experience. We’ve worked for places like the New York Times, American Banker, Frontline, TheStreet.com, Business Insider, ABC News, NBC News, CNBC and many others. We also employ a few freelancers and more than 50 contributors (these are typically subject matter experts from the worlds of finance, academia, politics, business and elsewhere).
Our Reporting
We take great pains to ensure that the articles, video and graphics you see on Credit.com are thoroughly reported and fact-checked. Each story is read by two separate editors, and we adhere to the highest editorial standards. We’re not perfect, however, and if you see something that you think is wrong, please email us at editorial team [at] credit [dot] com,
The Credit.com editorial team is committed to providing our readers and viewers with sound, well-reported and understandable information designed to inform and empower. We won’t tell you what to do. We will, however, do our best to explain the consequences of various actions, thereby arming you with the information you need to make decisions that are in your best interests. We also write about things relating to money and finance we think are interesting and want to share.
In addition to appearing on Credit.com, our articles are syndicated to dozens of other news sites. We have more than 100 partners, including MSN, ABC News, CBS News, Yahoo, Marketwatch, Scripps, Money Magazine and many others. This network operates similarly to the Associated Press or Reuters, except we focus almost exclusively on issues relating to personal finance. These are not advertorial or paid placements, rather we provide these articles to our partners in most cases for free. These relationships create more awareness of Credit.com in general and they result in more traffic to us as well.
Our Business Model
Credit.com’s journalism is largely supported by an e-commerce business model. Rather than rely on revenue from display ad impressions, Credit.com maintains a financial marketplace separate from its editorial pages. When someone navigates to those pages, and applies for a credit card, for example, Credit.com will get paid what is essentially a finder’s fee if that person ends up getting the card. That doesn’t mean, however, that our editorial decisions are informed by the products available in our marketplace. The editorial team chooses what to write about and how to write about it independently of the decisions and priorities of the business side of the company. In fact, we maintain a strict and important firewall between the editorial and business departments. Our mission as journalists is to serve the reader, not the advertiser. In that sense, we are no different from any other news organization that is supported by ad revenue.
Visitors to Credit.com are also able to register for a free Credit.com account, which gives them access to a tool called The Credit Report Card. This tool provides users with two free credit scores and a breakdown of the information in their Experian credit report, updated twice monthly. Again, this tool is entirely free, and we mention that frequently in our articles, because we think that it’s a good thing for users to have access to data like this. Separate from its educational value, there is also a business angle to the Credit Report Card. Registered users can be matched with products and services for which they are most likely to qualify. In other words, if you register and you find that your credit is less than stellar, Credit.com won’t recommend a high-end platinum credit card that requires an excellent credit score You’d likely get rejected, and that’s no good for you or Credit.com. You’d be no closer to getting a product you need, there’d be a wasted inquiry on your credit report, and Credit.com wouldn’t get paid. These are essentially what are commonly referred to as "targeted ads" in the world of the Internet. Despite all of this, however, even if you never apply for any product, the Credit Report Card will remain free, and none of this will impact how the editorial team reports on credit and credit scores.
Our Owners
Credit.com is owned by Progrexion Holdings Inc. which is the owner and administrator of a number of business related to credit and credit repair, including CreditRepair.com, and eFolks. In addition, Progrexion also provides services to Lexington Law Firm as a third party provider. Despite being owned by Progrexion, it is not the role of the Credit.com editorial team to advocate the use of the company’s other services. In articles, reporters may mention credit repair as an option, for example, but we’ll also be sure to note the various alternatives to that service. Furthermore, you may see ads for credit repair services on Credit.com, but the editorial team isn’t responsible for the creation or implementation of those ads, anymore than reporters for the New York Times or Washington Post are responsible for the ads on their sites.
Your Stories
Lastly, much of what we do is informed by our own experiences as well as the experiences of our readers. We want to tell your stories if you’re interested in sharing them. Please email us at story ideas [at] credit [dot] com with ideas or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by.
- The Credit.com Editorial Team
Nick Jarman
Clark Randall
Tracie Fobes
Brian Acton
Brian Kuhn
Jill Krasny
Jim Wang
Christine DiGangi
Adam Levin
Scott Sheldon
Brooke Niemeyer
Jeff Rose
Mia Taylor
Cheryl Lock
Bob Sullivan
Kali Geldis
Leslie Tayne
Trae Bodge
Constance Brinkley-Badgett
Gerri Detweiler
Myles Ma
Michael Schreiber
Mitchell D. Weiss
Karin Price Mueller
Jeanne Kelly
