If you’re looking for a new loan or mortgage, or thinking of changing insurance providers, or maybe getting a new credit card, you’ve probably considered using a price comparison site, like Lending Tree, Quicken Loans, or Credit Karma. Why wouldn’t you? They make it very easy to see what’s available, compare interest rates, and see […]
What makes more sense and why… I’d had it with the next-to-0% interest Bank of America pays on checking account balances. I bet you feel the same, because it isn’t just my bank, or just checking accounts for that matter. It’s become next to impossible to get a decent interest rate. Slim Interest-Rate Pickings Are […]
Unexpected bank fees can come as a shock, especially if you don’t have much money to start with. And, of course, those with less money are actually more likely to find a bank charge they weren’t prepared for on their statement. Here are a few common bank charges, and how to avoid them. Minimum balance […]
Most people have a love-hate relationship with credit. We love that it’s easy, and always within reach. But we hate that it’s so easy to spend money we don’t necessarily have and that can get us into financial trouble. Understanding what credit is, how we can use it to our advantage, and what major mistakes […]
You may have heard that a high credit utilization rate hurts your credit score, but what does that mean? What exactly is a credit utilization rate? How much does it hurt your credit score? And what can you do about it? Your credit utilization rate, also referred to as your credit utilization ratio, refers to […]
Credit cards are like a power saw. Use them right and you can easily do things with much less effort than without. Use them wrong and you can (figuratively, for cards) cut off your fingers (ouch!!!). Here are the best and worst ways to use your credit cards, and how in some situations, one of […]
It’s inevitable. In every life a little rain must fall. I’m not talking about floods or a Noah’s ark-type deluge, but more like the kind of unexpected shower that really messes up your day. The kind that comes with an equally unexpected price tag. Like when your car makes a “funny” noise that ends up […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just released its annual report of the Private Education Loan Ombudsman, detailing statistics of complaints relating to student loans over the past two years (through August 2019) The report bases its findings on data from the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database. The database, typically updated daily, holds information on complaints […]
As recently reported by CreditCards.com, the state whose residents are best at managing their money is South Dakota, followed by Montana and a three-way tie between Wisconsin, Maine, and Vermont for 3rd place. This ranking places Texas, Maryland, and Washington DC at the bottom of the pile. As a Maryland resident, something smelled fishy here, […]