As the holiday marketing machine cranks into gear, more of us will start contemplating the upcoming season’s spending — and our credit limits. Credit card issuers have relaxed their lending policies, says CardRatings.com …
credit cards
CFPB Plans to Fix “Anti-Housewife” Credit Card Law
The Credit CARD Act of 2009 ushered in a slew of new protections for credit cardholders, but it also led to some unintended consequences. One of the biggest was the clause that can be thought of as the “stay-at-home-mom penalty,” and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now says it’s going to fix that.
Yikes — When Debt Costs You a Job
Unpaid credit card debts can cause a whole host of headaches, from annoying collection calls all the way to wage garnishment. In the case of this one borrower, though, his debt situation snowballed so badly it cost him his job.
The Real Reason We’re Suddenly Happier With Our Credit Cards
New research shows Americans are having a big love-in with their credit cards — relatively speaking, that is. J.D. Power and Associates said last week that we’re happier with our credit cards than we’ve ever been in the six …
Who Says Kids Are Spoiled? Parents Expect Pre-Teens to Start Saving for College
At 12 years old, most of us didn’t hold down regular jobs, except for maybe the odd baby-sitting or lawn-mowing gig. But one-fourth of parents today expect their kids to start socking away the contents of their piggy banks to …
Make Sure You’re Not Being Charged This Credit Card Fee
Last month, Capital One was hit with a $210 million penalty for engaging in sneaky marketing practices, including pressuring customers to sign on to pricey services of dubious value such as credit monitoring and “payment …
Terrible Financial Advice: Top 10 Tips You Shouldn’t Follow
It seems like everyone from bloggers to your next-door neighbor doles out financial advice these days. It can be difficult figuring out who to believe, and bad tips can pop up as frequently as thunderstorms in the summertime. In …
5 Weird Reasons You Might Get Rejected for a Credit Card
5 Smart Strategies to Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt
Minimum payment due, reads the box on your credit-card statement. What an enticing idea: Pay a small amount and you’re off the hook for the whole bill—for a while, anyway. Alas, as the more than 45% of Americans who carry a …
12 Things You Should Always Haggle Over
You know the saying “Everything is negotiable”? It’s true, and the mind-set that no price is set in stone can be applied to a wide variety of goods and services. Some people are intimidated by the idea of haggling or think it …
Do Credit-Card-Comparison Sites Work as Promised?
Tech tools that let you comparison-shop are awesome: You go to a single destination, plug in a little info, and some app or bot combs the universe looking to match your needs with the best deal. That’s the idea, anyway. …
On Square, Biohazards, Biting and the Psychology of Money
The deal announced this week between Square and Starbucks is exciting but worrisome. Square streamlines the transactions that define our everyday economic lives — just say your name and you’ve paid. Partnering with the coffee …