Many people know that having a good credit score is integral to making some of life’s biggest purchases. Without one, it’s challenging to qualify for a loan to buy a house or a car someday. However, even though credit scores are really important, they’re also a bit of a mystery. Not a lot of people... Read More
Many people believe that Americans waste a bunch of money eating out — that avocado toast and lattes are budget wreckers, for example — and that’s sort of true. In 2014, an important line was crossed — for the first time since the government tracked this sort of thing, families spent more eating out than... Read More
[DISCLOSURE: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.] There are many credit cards offered to military members and civilians alike that have great rewards programs, interest rates and features. But if you’re a service member who needs a credit card leading up to deployment, don’t jump at the first card that looks decent. Many cards... Read More
That pizza place down the street could make or break your home sale. The best real estate agents know how to use your favorite restaurants as evidence of a great neighborhood when they market your home to buyers—helping you get a faster sale and a better price. Top real estate agent George Graham stands behind using... Read More
There’s a revolution quietly taking place in the fashion industry. In case you haven’t been paying close attention, it’s now easier than ever to look like a well-heeled fashionista without spending like a Kardashian. We can thank the internet, the booming sharing economy and a growing group of savvy entrepreneurs, for this development. These sites,... Read More
It’s perhaps one of the most important financial numbers you should know, but many people aren’t even sure exactly what it is. If someone were to ask, would you know your net worth? Would you even know what the question meant? If you’ve never heard the term until today, fear not. Here’s everything you need... Read More
Data compromises and the identity-related crimes that flow from them are now the third certainty in life, right behind death and taxes. That said, there is plenty you can do to stay as crime-proof as possible. According to Risk Based Security, more than 4.2 billion records were compromised worldwide in 2016 alone. In truth, the... Read More
[DISCLOSURE: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.] Enthusiastic hosts love to throw parties for friends and family. Whether you like to put on lavish dinner parties with elaborate menus or make chili nachos for your friends on game day, you might be spending a lot at the supermarket. Some credit cards offer cash back... Read More
My family’s recent subscription to a meal planning service has been a godsend. With my husband and I both working full time while raising our two children, cooking has been put on the back burner. We found ourselves eating out too much and when we did cook at home, we used the same recipes over... Read More
Your kid doesn’t want to stay in the dorms, so now what? In today’s real estate market, finding a place to live can cost a fortune. From negotiating tactics to gaining a leg up over the competition, real estate experts share 11 ways to save on your kids’ new pad. How to Get Started Where... 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.
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
Karin Price Mueller
Brooke Niemeyer
Paige DiFiore
Adam Levin
Brian Kuhn
Gerri Detweiler
Scott Sheldon
Brian Acton
Jill Krasny
Tracie Fobes
Jeff Rose
Jeanne Kelly
Mia Taylor
Michael Schreiber
Trae Bodge
Christine DiGangi
Bob Sullivan
Cheryl Lock
Clark Randall
Jim Wang
Nick Jarman
Myles Ma
Constance Brinkley-Badgett
Kali Geldis
