This past week, I've heard the phrase "I never thought it would happen to me" more than ever before. A rather crafty scam artist took a list of names and phone numbers and started sending multiple phishing texts and phone calls to my clients and others across the nation. Because of the timing and persistence of these points of contact, many people were tricked into entering their card number and pin. Now before you go thinking you would never provide such information to somebody, let me tell you that the methods of this scammer were quite convincing in many instances. Luckily, we are positive the list was not secured via our database, so no sensitive information was compromised, but the growing risk of identity theft has never been more apparent to me.

While the past few years have been treacherous for the credit card industry, there is one area of the business that has grown dramatically: prepaid debit cards. Consumers have increasingly turned to prepaid debit cards as an easy way to have access to their cash without having to worry about keeping cash on hand.  From parents using it to distribute allowance to their kids, to consumers simply trying to stick to a budget, prepaid debit cards have been a big hit.

It’s a question we hear all the time from credit card users, especially in the younger demographic: “So what if I have bad credit?  I don’t have anything I need to go into debt for anyway.” This is a very risky line of thinking.  While young consumers (particularly students) may not be thinking about their credit at this stage in their life, they’re just around the corner from having it be an all-encompassing aspect of their adult lives.

Going through a bankruptcy can be painful, but the bankruptcy itself usually isn't what causes all the ulcers and sleepless nights. Those often arrive in full force after the bankruptcy is finalized and you're trying to repair your damaged credit.  The process can be infuriating! Fortunately, the mantra "time heals all wounds" directly applies to rebuilding your credit as well.  Of course, that doesn't mean you should just sit back and do nothing to improve your financial situation, so let's discuss a few of the practical methods you can use to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy.

It seems as though airlines are doing every little thing they can lately to tack on fees (American Airlines, for example, now charges $8 for a blanket and neck pillow) while simultaneously curtailing service (removing a number of lavatories to make room for more seating). Somewhat paradoxically however, airlines also love to offer incentives for flying with them. The most common among these incentives are of course frequent flier programs, in which points accumulated through travel and other purchases can be applied as airfare discounts and upgrades. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about $8 blankets or the lack of sufficient lavatories. What we can do as savvy travelers is find the best ways to take advantage of the incentives airlines actually still provide. Here are some tips on how to rack up airline frequent flyer miles as fast as possible: