Step 1: Determine a Destination If you’re like me, you probably already have a bucket list of travel destinations. That’s great. But before I decide on a destination for a particular trip, I research the cost and weather using these tools: Numbeo.com: The world’s largest user-contributed database on cost-of-living worldwide. SoloTravel.org: A site which offers… Read More

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General lobbed a grenade at the federal student aid program. In a harshly critical memorandum to the Federal Student Aid’s Chief Operating Officer, the assistant inspector general condemned the agency’s repeated failure to validate the accuracy of certain subcontractor invoices before authorizing payment. These… Read More

Michelle wants to buy a home but can’t get a loan. The problem? An emergency room bill from six years ago that is listed on her credit reports as severely past due. John is fighting a $406 bill he received after being seen in the ER for what the doctor diagnosed as a case of… Read More

By Ked Harley Applying for a small business loan has always been a hassle, but with the world economy still floundering and credit still tight, the process in recent years has become a full-on nightmare. The good news is that, while lending is still slow, it’s picking up; and with both the government and big… Read More

Millions of Americans are now carrying some amount of medical debt as a result of healthcare they received at some point in their lives, and these balances can often linger for some time, or lapse into delinquency and default. Potentially more problematic for consumers, though, is that the cost of this type of care seems to be… Read More

The number of homes for sale nationwide has been rising steadily so far this year but is still somewhat restricted from the numbers seen at this time in 2012, leading to speculation about the eagerness of buyers to deal with the frustration this lack of inventory can typically engender. Overall, the amount of homes on… Read More

During the recent housing downturn, borrowers nationwide saw the value of their homes slip so considerably that they ended up owing more on their mortgages than the properties were worth. However, that trend has slowly been reversing itself for some time, thanks to the market’s turnaround, and that continued into the first quarter of the year. Some 850,000 homeowners… Read More

This week the experts from Credit.com contributed to various news outlets on subjects including identity theft, smartphone security and work place privacy. Check out the hits… Credit.com chairman and co-founder, Adam Levin spoke to MainStreet about the dangers of discarding your smartphone before deleting the data from them. @Mainstr @Adam_K_Levin Adam also spoke to MarketWatch… Read More

Identity theft is a lot like the flu. You can do everything right – minimize your risk of exposure and so forth – but if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, then you’re toast. You can be standing next to the wrong person on a bus and get the flu, and… Read More

The biggest news this week is all about a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on overdraft fees. CFPB Zeroes In on Bank Overdraft Fees The CFPB released a report Tuesday that showed the burden overdraft fees can have on those who opt in for the service banks provide. The starkest statistic from the… Read More