You want a great credit score?  First you need to know what you’re working with. Even if you know the number of your score, you won’t know if it’s good or bad until you know the range used by the scoring model. If you have poor credit, you may be dealing with a score in… Read More

Your next vacation is probably fun to think about, but the thought of paying for it may not be. Sometimes we have to think about the not-so-fun things so we can enjoy the fun ones. Spend a little time considering the following four “not fun” topics so your next vacation can be stress-free. 1. Life… Read More

In February, a scam surfaced that alerted Netflix users their accounts had been compromised and they needed to call customer support to resolve the issue. The 800-number connected users with hackers trying to get customers’ personal information — a practice known as phishing — as well as attempting to search victims’ computers using remote-access software…. Read More

If you’ve ever applied for a credit card or loan, you’re probably aware that your credit score was used in the application review process. But that wasn’t always the case. Lenders started using credit scores for consumer loan products in the 1980s, but the roots of credit scoring came decades earlier. In 1941, the National… Read More

As if alternative financing isn’t expensive enough, an illuminating article in Bloomberg Businessweek calls attention to the increasing use of intermediaries—brokers, in this instance—by small business and consumer borrowers seeking help finding a good deal on a loan. There are two main types of financial market intermediaries: consultants and brokers. They couldn’t be more different… Read More

God lives in Brooklyn. No, really. God Gazarov, New York resident, has been in the news lately because of a lawsuit over his credit history. Gazarov says credit reporting agency Equifax doesn’t accept his first name as legitimate, and, as a result, it falsely reports that he has no credit history. He said that snag… Read More

If you don’t know your credit score, you have a few options for figuring it out: You can purchase one, get an account with a company that provides them for free or use a credit score calculator. All these options can help you get an idea of your credit standing and allow you to set… Read More

You have probably heard the advice not to waste money on credit repair. You’ve been told there is nothing they can do that you can’t do on your own. But there you are staring at your credit report or your credit score and you have no clue what to do next. That’s when the idea… Read More

So you’re wondering if you can negotiate with your credit card company? The short answer: it depends. Credit card companies may negotiate on some things — credit line increases, due dates and even minimum payments. But other things — like special offer terms — aren’t really negotiable. The key is understanding what you can negotiate… Read More

One of the more commonly touted tactics to combat wage inequality is to advise people to openly discuss their salaries with co-workers and perhaps even friends. Last week President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss salaries at work. In an article discussing the move, Fortune magazine suggested that… Read More