If the only thing that matters to you when paying off debt is saving dollars and cents, the payment strategy that clearly makes the most financial sense is paying off your balance with the highest...
Credit Card Tips
Weekly Credit Cards Tips
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What's the Best Way to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?
Sep 26, 2022
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Start Teaching Your Children About Money Early
Sep 24, 2022When should you start teaching your children about money? Many parents simply take care of their family finances, but it is important to educate your children about money early on. You don’t...
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Pay Off Student Loans or Save for Down Payment?
Aug 08, 2017School is behind you and you've been lucky enough to land a decent job, but cutting monthly rent checks is getting old fast. Is it time to bite the bullet and finally buy a place of your own?...
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How to Prioritize Your Debt.
Apr 28, 2017Depending on how much debt you have and how many bills you need to pay, it may be impossible to pay it all off at once. Instead, it is necessary to prioritize the ones that are most in need of being...
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Last-Minute Tax Tips
Apr 14, 2017If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, here are some last minute tips to help you before Tax Day: Watch for errors: Even though you don’t have a lot of time left, it is really...
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Tips for Keeping Holiday Spending In Line
Dec 12, 2016The holidays are in full swing. With Thanksgiving behind us and Black Friday something of a memory, all of our efforts are placed on Christmas. And now that it's only a matter of weeks away,...
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Thinking About An Annuity for Your Retirement Fund?
Oct 24, 2016Many investors have grown financial assets in the stock market, and as retirement approaches, they begin to think about buying an annuity. There are two different types of annuities that may help you...
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How to Avoid Credit Card Tipping Scams
Sep 26, 2016Dishonest restaurant servers know how easy it is to overlook an extra 50 cents on a dinner bill, which is why one of the most common credit card scams involves waiters adding just a little extra tip...
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Learn Your Rights Under the CROA
Sep 01, 2016The Credit Repair Organizations Act, also known as CROA, is a section of the Consumer Credit Protection Act that protects consumers from credit repair scams. Credit repair organizations can be an...
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Beware of Tricky Credit Card Payment Terms
Aug 23, 2016Some consumers find it more convenient to pay off their credit card bills in several payments throughout the month. Why would they want to do that? Well, there are several reasons. Perhaps they...
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Be Smart About Corporate Credit Card Use
Aug 18, 2016If you have a company credit card for the first time, you may be feeling excited about your newfound spending power. But before you go swiping your card everywhere, you need to make sure you...
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House Hunting? Don't Forget About Your CU Ratio
Jul 25, 2016As rates on 30-year fixed mortgages hover around 3.5 percent and home prices in many parts of the country are starting to dramatically rise, it may finally be time to take the plunge and purchase the...
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Looking for a Loan? Think Small and Local
Jul 15, 2016The "too-big-to-fail" banks have received billions in taxpayer bailouts, yet purse strings often remain tight. Whether you're looking for a new home loan, auto loan, student loan,...
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Will Student Loan Rehabilitation Fix My Credit?
Jul 06, 2016Student loan rehabilitation is a process that allows those who have defaulted on federal student loans to make on-time payments for a set period of time in order to rehabilitate their loans and...
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Closed by Consumer vs. Closed by Creditor
Jun 30, 2016A closed credit card account will show up on your credit report as either "Closed by Consumer" or "Closed by Creditor". The words may not be exactly the same, but a close...
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Time to Ditch the Debit Card When Shopping Online
Jun 30, 2016There are still way too many consumers out there that use debit cards to shop online. If you're one of them, listen up. It's time to finally ditch the old debit card and make sure you're protecting...
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Avoid On-the-spot Signups for Retail Credit Cards
Jun 20, 2016Retail credit cards can become a huge problem for those who find it difficult to just say no to the "get 10-percent off your purchase today" sales tactic. Remember that credit card companies are in...
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What Are the Risks of Co-signing?
Jun 07, 2016If you haven't been asked by a close friend or family member to co-sign on a loan or credit card application yet, consider yourself lucky. Chances are you will be asked at some point in your life,...
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Will Shopping the Market Hurt My FICO Scores?
Jun 01, 2016Are you ready to shop for the best deals on a home or auto loan? While multiple inquiries at one time for your credit report information can theoretically hurt your credit scores, the fact is they...
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See What Income-Based Repayment Can Do For You
May 20, 2016Are you struggling to keep up with your federal student loan payments? If so, a provision of the 2007 College Cost Reduction And Access Act, known as IBR (Income-Based Repayment), may be just what...
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How to Avoid Foreign Transaction Fees
May 11, 2016Foreign transaction fees are often as high as 4 percent and are charged by virtually all credit card issuers for purchases made overseas. How can you avoid them? If you're like most world...
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Think twice before getting a cash advance.
May 06, 2016If you are in a lot of debt, a cash advance or payday loan can seem incredibly helpful. With a cash advance, you get cash almost immediately. These loans are easy to get approved for, and you can...
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Pay Rent With Credit Cards and Earn Big Rewards
Apr 19, 2016If you rent an apartment, the largest expense in your monthly budget is most likely your rent. So would you put your rent on a credit card if you could? If you plan to pay off your...
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Think Twice Before Paying Taxes with Your Credit Card
Apr 01, 2016Tax time is upon us yet again, which means many of you will be scrambling over the next few weeks to get your tax returns done and cut a check to old Uncle Sam. However, in recent years the IRS has...
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Leaving Monthly Balances Won't Boost Credit Scores
Mar 15, 2016You've probably had friends tell you how they established their credit history faster by leaving monthly balances on credit cards instead of paying balances in full. I hope you didn't fall...
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Don't Sweat the Soft Inquiries
Mar 14, 2016A soft inquiry is recorded on your credit report when an existing creditor reviews your file, a prospective creditor pulls your report for marketing purposes, or you order your own credit report for...
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How Much Does an Inquiry Hurt Your FICO Score?
Mar 03, 2016A hard inquiry occurs when you apply for credit and the lender pulls your credit scores as part of the application process. Credit reports include records of all hard inquiries for up to 2...
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Should I Add My Child as an Authorized User on Credit Cards?
Feb 22, 2016If you care about the financial future of your children, then you know how important it is to begin helping them build good credit from an early age. One of the best and safest ways to do that...
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Foreclosure and Your FICO Credit Scores
Feb 04, 2016A foreclosure ranks high among the most damaging hits to your credit score. In fact, FICO has stated that foreclosures will typically result in a loss of 85 to 105 points for someone with a 680...
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Will too much plastic hurt my credit score?
Jan 18, 2016In order to have a great credit score, it's important to have some credit cards in your wallet and a lot of available credit to use. So, will having too much plastic in your pocket hurt...
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Weekly Tip: Don’t let your credit cards collect dust.
Jan 04, 2016If you have a lot of credit cards, or even just some you use more than others, it’s easy to forget about certain cards. They then end up collecting dust for years. And although you may have...
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Weekly Tip: Pay back your student loans in a timely manner.
Dec 28, 2015Do you have student loans? If you’re one of the many Americans who was forced to take out loans in order to afford the exorbitant price of college, you might want to consider paying back...
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Weekly Tip: Look out for key terms in credit card agreements
Dec 21, 2015Can you say that you’ve honestly read your entire credit card agreement? With the number of pages and insanely tiny print, reading through the fine print seems awfully similar to reading the...
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Weekly Tip: Alternative Loan Tips for Millennials
Aug 12, 2015As a result of the financial drawback, banks have tightened up their belts regarding how much they are willing to loan to new borrowers. Some will not lend money out at all to unknown borrowers...
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Weekly Tip: Be proactive about your credit card security.
Jul 05, 2015Identity theft is a huge problem in today’s world. According to the Federal Trade Commission, 9 million Americans fall victim to identity theft every year. This is a huge number, and although...
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Weekly Tip: Lower your debts.
May 15, 2015Everyone has gone through moments in life when bills just add up to the point where there's not enough income to pay everything on time. For anyone that is struggling with money as of late,...
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Weekly Tip: Buy local.
Apr 03, 2015Locally owned companies frequently use suppliers and service providers in the area. All of the income is spent by local family members and employees. It's true that chain stores benefit the...
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Weekly Tip: Think about waiting before collecting Social Security benefits.
Mar 20, 2015Although you may start collecting Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, you may not want to. Obviously if you really need to, it is important to start receiving those benefits....
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Weekly Tip: Find out whether you are affected by the Obamacare Penalty.
Feb 13, 2015Obamacare has been one of the central topics of Obama’s presidency. And now with the healthcare deadline approaching on February 15th, everyone is scrambling to apply and get covered. That...
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Weekly Tip: Be careful of online scams on Cyber Monday.
Dec 01, 2014Today is Cyber Monday, and that means lots of people will be buying online. And while there might be plenty of good deals, there are also a lot of online scams. So before you buy just anything, it...
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