Consumers have largely tried to cut their dependence on credit cards since the recession began. However, the vast majority of Americans believe credit cards are important for the continued health of the economy and the American small business sector. Today, more than seven in 10 adults say that the economy is at least somewhat dependent upon… Read More

By Lauren Roberts Society’s come a long way since the days of picking up hitchhikers and leaving doors unlocked without a second thought. For better or worse, today’s world requires a lot more vigilance and privacy. Just as no one would reasonably offer a stranger a 250-mile lift to the next state, no one should… Read More

If a creditor gets a judgment against you for a debt collection item, you may wind up paying more than you bargained for. Our reader, Catherine, recently shared her experience with this: On Feb 09, 2012 the court requested garnishment on my wages every month. The total judgment due is $6161.15. Payroll has been deducting… Read More

When it comes to women and money, we’ve come a long way, baby. And did you know that today marks an important date in that thorny history? Fifty years ago — on June 10,1963 — President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, the law which first got around to making it illegal to discriminate… Read More

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the groundbreaking Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA or FACT Act) that granted all consumers the right to obtain a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus through  AnnualCreditReport.com. Yet despite there being no shortage of free credit score offers… Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a white paper today on the impact of overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on the average bank account holder. The report is the result of an examination the CFPB announced in February 2012, and involves an analysis of information provided from a request for information published in the… Read More

Taking a trip outside the U.S. requires preparation. Travelers need to get their passports in order, obtain any necessary entry visas, and choose the right credit card. So what makes one credit card better than another when traveling internationally? Foreign Transaction Fees Buried in the fine print of most credit card user agreements is one of… Read More

The housing market has made so many strides in the past few years due in large part to low prices and rates combining to create sky-high affordability that many experts see gains in the future being somewhat predictable. However, this may not be the case, thanks to the many irregularities that separate the current recovery… Read More

Brenda Woods did not want to move and leave the garden she had tended for some 40 years. But the roof on the manufactured home that she and her husband Larry had shared all those years was falling in, and their bank would not give them a loan to buy a replacement home. Brenda is… Read More

The number of data breaches has grown steadily over recent years, and for companies getting hit by them, the costs associated with dealing with the fallout are rising too. The average cost of dealing with a data breach in the U.S. alone may have dropped slightly to $5.4 million last year, but the the number… Read More