Those of us who’ve been around a while remember when banks had decent interest rates. What’s the interest on your savings account now? 0.05%? 0.01%? Maybe even 0% because your balance isn’t above $10,000? In the past decade, interest rates have varied wildly as the economy has gone from good to bad and back, although […]
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Credit, Home Loans, and Car Loans
If you’ve read my prior posts, you should have some good ideas about how to maintain or improve your credit score. In this post, I discuss the impact of your credit score and credit reports on home and car loans. First, when many people take a home or car loan, they often do so with their […]
Freezing Credit Reports
In the past few years, many people have become aware of the ability to freeze credit reports, due to the 2015 Experian/T-Mobile data breach and the much larger 2017 Equifax breach, where the data of more than 140 million people was exposed. Talk of freezing credit reports was very much in the news at that […]
Credit Card Network Benefits
While thousands of banks issue credit cards, those cards are generally part of a credit card network. The most common credit card networks are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. The networks themselves are generally of no concern to you, as most of your interactions regarding your card are with the creditor (the bank). That […]
Credit Limits
Almost all credit cards have a limit, which is the maximum balance that you can have on the card. If you attempt to go above that amount, your purchase will usually be declined. A key part of managing your credit is understanding limits, how they work, and what you can do with them. In a […]
Closing Accounts (Part 2)
In my last post, I discussed why you should aim to keep accounts open. Fortunately, the effort that you have to put forth usually consists of making at least one purchase a year on a credit card that you would not normally use. What happens if the creditor decides to close your account? What should […]
Closing Accounts (Part 1)
One of the simplest things you can do to maintain a healthy credit score is to use your credit cards occasionally, even if you don’t really see a need to. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard people say things like “I don’t use this credit card a lot, I should just close it” […]
Disputing Items on Your Credit Report
I hope you keep tabs on your credit report by looking at it every year for free on annualcreditreport.com, as well as on an ongoing basis by using sites such as creditkarma or credit sesame. If so, you might find that not all the information on your report may be correct, so what should you […]
Credit Facts and Myths Part 2
Last week I discussed some facts, myths, and misconceptions that some people have about credit cards. If you haven’t read it, be sure to check it out! Now for Part Two. If I don’t use my credit card, won’t they close the account? Maybe; it depends on the individual company. Usually, the time it takes […]
Credit Facts and Myths Part 1
Over the years in my interactions with family, friends, and acquaintances both in person and online, I’ve been privy to various (mis)conceptions that people have about credit and I would like to address some of them. You shouldn’t pay off your credit card in full, because carrying a balance and paying interest results in a […]
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