Americans are adding to their credit card balances again, and experts warn more of us are likely to get in over our heads this year.
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What’s Hot on the Dating Scene? Good Credit
The hottest prospects on today’s dating scene don’t just have great abs; they have a great credit score.
Beware Panic Shopping! How to Make a Last-Minute Gift Count
With just days until Christmas three-quarters of adults still have shopping to do. History tells us they will waste their money. Here’s how to make a last-minute gift matter.
Is This the Best Way to Curb Your Kid’s Excessive Spending?
A prepaid debit card might help your kid learn a bit of financial prudence.
A Credit Card Promises to Do the Price-Matching Legwork for You
In today’s nonstop-discount marketplace, virtually every shopper has purchased an item at what seems to be a fair price — only to kick oneself a week later when it pops up in a much cheaper sale.
Study: Credit Card Comparison Sites Don’t Work as Promised
Credit card comparison websites can help consumers pick the best card for their needs, but the services come with a big possible conflict of interest. Most of these sites have a business model that relies on affiliate marketing: …
With Obama Win, Wall Street Cop Stays On the Beat
This week’s election was a cliffhanger for many people, but the stakes were higher than most for the director and staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency, which opened its doors in July 2011, was a …
The Poet Laureate of Identity Theft
To literary-minded Americans, he’s a scribe of suburban ennui. To a loose confederacy of Nigerian hackers, he’s a potentially lucrative collection of account numbers and passwords. In both cases, he’s Rick Moody. And after a …
4 Ways You Pay Too Much–and What to Do About It
By seizing on promotions and not paying attention to new products and changing markets, consumers end up in the wrong loans all the time. They spend an estimated $541 a month more than necessary on their debt repayment. Here’s …
Think You Just Bought Your “Real” Credit Score? Think Again
Conventional wisdom says before you make a big purchase like a house or a car, go online to check your credit score. Although you can get one report per bureau per year for free through annualcreditreport.com, you have to pay to …
We Finally Have Slightly Better Credit, Not That It’s Doing Us Much Good
Americans’ credit scores finally appear to be inching back up after taking a beating during and after the last recession. But for a whole host of reasons, this might not have as much practical benefit as you’d expect. While
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Which Cost Less: Checking Accounts Or Prepaid Debit Cards?
Unless you’re a whiz at managing your money, a checking account is going to cost you more than a prepaid debit card, a new report concludes. And if you do a really poor job handling your personal finances, you could end up paying …