Joshua Heckathorn

  Dear Creditnet: I have nine years of credit-history and while my credit is "good", it's not "excellent". I'm currently interested in applying for a top-notch rewards credit card, but my chances of getting approved seem to be much higher if I apply for the student version of the card. So my question is will a student credit card have the same effect as a regular credit card on my credit score? And what about rebuilding my credit-history? Will a student credit card help improve my credit just as much as any other credit card?

As I was driving back from my recent vacation to North Carolina, I did something I’ve never done before—I bought a lottery ticket. The jackpot was $137 million and as I talked to the woman behind the register, I could tell she was amused by my clear naïveté in this venture. I chose my numbers, paid a dollar and got back on the road. I viewed the dollar I’d just handed over as, at worst, a donation to the state of North Carolina or, at best, the luckiest dollar I’d ever spent. My wife and I passed the next hour of driving discussing what we would do with the money if we won. Would I keep my job? How much would we give away? Would my friends and family judge me if I insisted on riding a gold Segway everywhere I went?

 I purchased my first gallon of eggnog today, which officially marks the beginning of the holiday season in my mind. Let the overspending and overeating begin! Chances are you'll kick off the holidays this week with a tradition or two of your own. And if you're anything like the majority of people in this country, at least part of the excitement will include shopping like a crazy person. But before you hit the malls on Black Friday or your favorite websites on Cyber Monday, you may want to follow these 5 steps to make sure you're well prepared for the full-frontal assault your wallet is about to take.