We may love to dream and fantasize about our retirement, but we usually don’t look forward to the retirement planning. Thinking about a long-term goal like retirement can be overwhelming, but it can also be inspiring. Sometimes knowing what we are working toward can help motivate us to establish healthy financial habits and get there…. Read More

Here’s an unfortunate scenario that popped up on Reddit recently: A man moved in with his girlfriend, and he opened a credit card to handle shared expenses. First, he added her as an authorized user, but then he added her as an accountholder, at which point she transferred $10,000 of balances from other credit cards… Read More

Before I had a credit card — before I even knew what a credit card was — I knew credit card debt was something to be avoided at all costs. I hadn’t yet graduated from banking of the piggy variety, and my mom already had me thinking about debt. She used my childhood curiosity as… Read More

As the U.S. economy recovers from the recession, many lenders have eased financing standards, resulting in an increase in loans available to consumers with poor credit. The earliest and strongest recovery came in the auto market, and while a bump in subprime used-car lending has triggered some murmuring of a bubble, it appears to be… Read More

America’s newest federal agency just turned 3 years old, and it continues to be the preferred punching bag for everyone from the American Bankers Association to politicians like Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who once famously and proudly proclaimed that, “Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks.” The CFPB, on the other hand,… Read More

A reader wrote to us to ask about canceling a credit card belonging to her husband, who has dementia. The card, which had never been used, had begun to charge an annual fee. She has power of attorney, but the card issuer still refused to allow her to close the account. She wrote: Since I can’t close the account… Read More

The nation’s second-largest mortgage lender recently raised eyebrows after suggesting it might stop making FHA loans. JPMorgan Chase has already scaled back lending to lower-credit borrowers, citing the increased costs of foreclosure and regulatory action. But the firm’s chief executive went a step further in a conference call last week, noting Chase is “struggling” with… Read More

It takes more than fierce faith to answer a call to religious service. You also have to be debt-free. It’s a logical requirement – you’ll struggle to make necessary loan payments if you’ve taken a vow of poverty – but it’s also emerged as a significant obstacle to people hoping to join religious orders. A 2011 Georgetown… Read More

Ever wonder what a company does about the consumer complaints it receives? If that “company” happens to be the U.S. Department of Education, the answer is nothing — at least according to a scathing report by the DOE’s Office of the Inspector General. In its July 2014 audit of the “Handling of Borrower Complaints against… Read More

Hitting big in Vegas, winning the lottery, inheriting a fortune and inventing the next billion-dollar idea can be paths to financial freedom. Unfortunately for most of us, our own path instead requires some smart decision-making, discipline, budgeting and real work. No matter the size of your paycheck, your financial moves can make a big impact… Read More