When you’re sick, you go to the doctor. When your car dies, you find a mechanic. But when it comes to your money, do you really need a financial adviser, or can you do it yourself? Here’s this week’s question: Do I really need a financial adviser to handle my money, or will I do just fine… Read More

So you’re ready to buy a house. Or are you? The selling price is not the only cost you need to prepare for if you are seriously considering making a home purchase. Often forgotten in the equation are the closing costs. What Are We Talking About? Closing costs are the fees paid at the closing of… Read More

For all the headlines about the improving economy and record-low mortgage rates, most consumers aren’t in a position to benefit from them, according to a report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED).  The study found that 56% of consumers have subprime credit scores. That means they are unable to take advantage of the best — or… Read More

A commenter on our blog said he’d heard of a creative way to get rid of a lawsuit from a credit card issuer. “Doug” said lawyers he know have told him that suing a customer is a violation of the issuer’s arbitration clause that comes standard in nearly ever cardholder agreement out there. Here’s what he had… Read More

The next-best thing to being in Phoenix on Sunday for the Super Bowl may be to watch it on a gigantic TV screen. If that 48” screen you have now just won’t cut it, you  may be heading out to do some last-minute shopping to find one that will let you feel like you’re right… Read More

Our lives are intertwined with employment, because money dictates so much of how people participate in society. And where do you get money? Usually, your job. Your job may determine where you live, how you socialize, what you wear and certainly how much money you can spend on all these things. As much as it’s wrapped… Read More

A reader recently wrote us to ask about judgments and what exactly a creditor can get access to when you owe them money. Just got a judgment today on my credit report. I know they can seize your bank account potentially (of which I have basically nothing). Can they do anything with your PayPal account?… Read More

Katherine Schreiber, 26, has twice been engaged to the same man, and neither time involved an expensive trip to the jewelry store. The first time, in September 2013, her fiancé proposed with a ring that had been in his family. Schreiber says that though she’s never been much of a jewelry person, she dutifully wore the ring,… Read More

“Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity,” Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed in The Facebook Effect. Easy for him to say. Facebook has made a mint on data integrity—your personal information yoked to likes and dislikes sold to the highest bidder. But here’s some bad news for Zuck: When it comes… Read More

VantageScore is making headway into the credit score market dominated by FICO, says the firm behind the upstart measure of credit-worthiness. Nearly one billion VantageScores were generated in 2014 — a 600% increase — says VantageScore Solutions LLC, a creation of the nation’s three credit bureaus. The number of banks using the scores increased by… Read More