Like so many others in our country, I’m in debt. Fortunately, it’s more of what some have termed the “good” kind of debt—the kind used for getting educated—but it’s debt nonetheless. So the big question that everyone with student loans, including myself, asks themselves at some point in time is "how fast should I pay these things off?" Some feel the lower interest rates justify a slower approach to tackling them, while others hold a more feverish Dave Ramsey approach.  Which is the right path to take?

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.

Check out this infographic to see how your state stacks up against others in terms of average credit score.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption=" "]Photo by Alan Cleaver[/caption]

It's a common misconception that entering a credit counseling program will ruin your credit scores.  Unfortunately, this misunderstanding scares thousands of consumers away from a service they could really benefit from using before their credit problems get out of control.

It's easy understand why a lot people believe this credit myth, since it makes sense that meeting with a counselor indicates you might be experiencing difficulty with your credit and need guidance.    If I were lending you money, like a credit card company does, that would worry me too.

If you haven't seen some of the killer no annual fee credit cards that have recently hit the market, you're missing out on all the fun. But why are there so many great deals this year, and who's getting the "hookup" if you're not? As the WSJ recently reported, "Many issuers feel emboldened to issue more credit cards because delinquencies and defaults have been down significantly in recent months." Interestingly enough, those who are receiving direct mail advertisements for the best credit card offers are not your run-of-the-mill consumers though.