So, you’ve thought about whether renting or buying your next home is the right decision for you. If you decide to buy a home, you’ll likely have to prepare for financing your purchase with mortgage payments. Here’s where things can get a bit tricky. While getting a hold of the costs involved with home buying can… Read More

Spring and summer vacations are lifesavers after a long, dark winter, though the cost of travel can make planning a trip stressful. But don’t let a tight budget keep you from having a getaway. There are ways to do it for less that won’t diminish your experience. In fact, some may enhance it. 1. Be Flexible on Travel Dates… Read More

You may have heard about it on the news, your neighbors may be bragging about it or you could have even received eligibility notice in the mail — but what is the real deal behind refinancing? Before you crunch your personal numbers and weigh the costs and benefits of refinancing your mortgage, you need to be… Read More

The recent announcement from American Express that it will raise interest rates for more than 1 million cardholders has a lot of people asking questions, like how this change will affect them or whether or not this could be the start of an industry-wide trend. It’s been a while since credit card issuers were in… Read More

If you have student loan debt, you’ve probably noticed that your loans have a language all their own – and the last thing you want to do is spend your free time learning it. The good news is that you don’t need to be fluent in loan lingo in order to navigate the world of education debt… Read More

In early December 2014 I went to the doctor for a twinge. Fifty-six days, two surgeries and countless tests later I’ve been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. I could recount for you all the co-pay and medication costs, but let’s talk about all the things I bought that insurance doesn’t come close to covering: $99 –… Read More

When a widespread data breach happens, children are often the most at risk for identity theft. Their clean credit histories make them targets for identity thieves to steal information and open new lines of credit. After the Anthem data breach, millions of children in the U.S. had their personal information exposed, making them vulnerable to… Read More

Mobile alerts from your credit card issuer can do much more than alert you to possible fraud. You can use that information to help you improve your credit. First, a word about how credit scores work. The two biggest factors are paying on time (35%) and the amount of credit you use relative to your… Read More

Last year, Apple captured the imagination of technology enthusiasts and credit card users alike when it introduced its Apple Pay mobile payments system. No longer would credit card users need to carry around a bulging wallet filled with myriad credit cards — their smartphones could simply be waived in front of a payment terminal. That payment process has… Read More

Ivory, one of our readers, bought a car at a dealership and drove it home. Fifteen days later, she received a letter saying that the loan had been denied. Here’s her story: Me and my mom were approved for an auto loan on 1/27 we signed all the paperwork even got the car payment bank… Read More