The Internet is a beast with a long memory. Sometimes the photos and personal information it retains creates a one-sided and unfair impression of an individual, and sometimes the information about the person is just plain wrong. No one can ever assure themselves that this information will not come back to haunt them in any future credit granting decision. To this end, more and more people are making a claim that they have certain rights to privacy that the Internet presently ignores. These rights they say extend to personal information that is normally found in or derived from credit reporting agencies.

A great answer to preventing fraudulent use of credit cards is here. Many of us have been victimized in some form with credit fraud, especially if you shopped at Target or one of the other companies involved in the December 2013 credit card fraud. Even if you don’t lose money, it is very inconvenient  to obtain new credit cards. Plus, the identity theft will have access to your personal information. They can use this to open new accounts in your name and easily damage your credit score.

Completing college and beginning a career is a heady experience. It is also a time when many people begin the process of building solid credit histories and ratings. Starting off on the right foot will make it easier to build financial security in the years ahead, and always have access to credit when it is needed for major purchases. Here are some tips that will help achieve this goal of financial stability. 

It can be a real challenge when trying to settle out of control debts to come up with a settlement or repayment plan that is affordable. However, once you've finally put together a financial recovery plan you can live with, how do you actually go about making payments? Not all payment methods are equally safe and effective. While there is no method that is best under all circumstances, here are some things to consider before you decide what method of dealing with debt collectors works best for you.

The 2009 Credit Card Act made it necessary for lenders to give their customers more detailed information pertaining to their bills. As a result, credit card statements now include information pertaining to minimum payments, overall balances, due dates and the amount of time that it will take to pay the full balance on an account when making minimum payments. This information has been available to consumers since 2010, although it has long been possible for people to make these calculations themselves.