It’s hard to argue there are deep divisions between Red and Blue states in America, but one thing seems to be bringing the country together: sky-high real estate prices. Americans are fleeing expensive coastal cities, which tend to vote for Democrats, and migrating to cheaper, smaller places in the middle of the country, which tend... Read More

You know that “starter” credit card collecting dust in your wallet? The one with a high interest rate, lackluster benefits, and zero rewards? Now that you’ve upgraded to a better card, you might be tempted to close your old cards and never look back. Not so fast! Canceling your old credit cards can actually hurt... Read More

If you’ve ever argued with your credit card company about anything (and a lot of us have), then you probably know there are a great deal of fine print and hoops to jump through when it comes to credit cards. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned, habitual swiper, or you’re brand new to the... Read More

You’ve heard the saying, “what goes up, must come down.” This is true of interest rates, which means that interest rates must also go back up now that they’ve dropped down. We’re just coming out of a period of historically low interest rates, and the economy is strong. When that happens, the Federal Reserve usually... Read More

Congress is taking aim at high-rate, short-term lenders in the U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright and Steve Cohn are joining forces with Senators Dick Durbin, Barbara Boxer, Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley and Sheldon Whitehouse to establish a national usury limit for consumer credit transactions. Their targets are banks and finance companies that market payday- and account-advance... Read More

Having poor or no credit may not seem like a big deal to some people, but your credit standing impacts more areas of your life than you may think. There’s the obvious concept — bad credit means you’ll likely have trouble getting credit — but your credit standing can make life much more expensive than it needs to... Read More