Survey Suggests Economic Overconfidence If the economy is so great and unemployment is so low, why do so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? And why don’t we seem to care?
The February PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report attempts to answer these questions, noting, “For three consecutive quarters, consumers have been optimistic about their financial futures
Borrowing
First-time homebuyers face many obstacles, but perhaps the most frustrating one is accumulating down payment money.
Traditional loans require a 20% down payment. Using Zillow’s $229,800 median home sale price for November 2018, that’s over $45,000 – and in many urban markets, a 20% down payment will easily top $100,000.
How long will it take
So Long, Free Credit Monitoring Were you one of the nearly 148 million consumers affected by the 2017 Equifax data breach? You may have taken advantage of Equifax’s free one-year offer of their TrustedID Premier service, extended to all affected consumers.
TrustedID Premier allowed consumers to lock their Equifax credit report, provided identity theft insurance,
First-time homebuyers face many challenges, but the biggest task may be coming up with a suitable down payment. Consumers in the early stages of their careers often face a fresh set of bills – and in some cases, mountains of student loan debt. A National Association of Realtors survey found that over half of
Which would you rather do in 2019 – lose the spare tire around your waist or the excess debt dragging down your finances?
Americans clearly struggle with both debt and obesity. In late 2018, NerdWallet estimated the average American credit card debt at $6,929 for households with any credit card debt – part
Tax filing season is upon us. Soon you will be filing your paperwork and perhaps receiving a nice check — unless thieves file a return in your name first and falsely claim your refund.
Unfortunately, if a thief has your Social Security number and other relevant information, tax identity theft is very hard to prevent.
If you’re a furloughed government employee or other worker sidelined by the shutdown – or worse, working without a paycheck – you’re probably at risk of missing payments or racking up large credit card bills. How do you keep your credit score from dropping as a result?
On-time payments are one of the
By Sandra Parsons
When you apply for a credit card, the card issuer collects personal information, including your income. It’s one of the factors they consider when deciding whether to approve or decline your application. If they do approve you, your income, along with your current debt load and credit score, helps them decide how
The Shutdown’s Housing Market Woes It’s a great time to buy a home, and you’re ready. You’ve saved up a suitable down payment, found a home, and settled on a lender. As an added bonus, interest rates are at their lowest point in the last nine months – despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
A balance transfer card with a 0% introductory interest rate can be an excellent way to consolidate high-interest debt and efficiently pay it down. It can also be a way to avoid reality and rack up even greater interest payments in the end.
A new study by CompareCards.com finds that too many Americans are taking
Can you pay off your credit card bill in full and still be charged interest? Yes – depending on the timing of your payment.
As National Financial Educators Founder and Chief Education Officer Adam Carroll points out, “One of the greatest expenses we have in our life is the interest expense on debt.” Interest charges
Identity thieves have many ways to steal your money – including fraudulent tax returns. They file a return in your name as early as possible to beat your legitimate return, with fake financial data designed to claim a large refund. You won’t realize this until your tax return is denied because there’s already been a
Holiday Debt On the Increase Are your credit cards still smoking from holiday overuse? Based on a recent MagnifyMoney survey, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Consumers who financed their holiday spending averaged $1,230 in holiday spending debt – a sharp increase from 2017’s $1,054 average and 2016’s $1,003 average. Increases in wages and consumer confidence are
Santa was not so kind to your friends and relatives this year, so you felt the need to fill the gap. You overspent on holiday gifts, and now you are stuck with a significant amount of holiday debt. Gratitude from gift recipients is a great feeling, but gratitude is not going to pay off your
What do you do with debts that have unfavorable interest rates or difficult payment terms? If you can, consolidate them into one debt stream with more favorable terms. Balance transfer credit cards exist for this purpose, but personal loans may be an even better alternative.
November 2018 data from LendingTree shows that over two-thirds of
According to Federal Reserve data, serious credit card delinquencies rose sharply in late 2016 and continued to grow through 2018, nearing 5% of cardholders. Similarly, involuntary account closures rose from 4.2% in 2016 to 7.2% in 2018 – but why?
If the economy is doing so well, why are people having trouble paying credit card
According to the latest Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Federal Reserve, America’s total household debt has surpassed $13.5 trillion. Do you sometimes feel like $13 trillion of that debt is yours?
Based on a recent survey by LightStream, almost one-quarter (23%) of Americans believe that it’s nearly impossible to climb out
Is 2019 the year you finally buy that starter home? Are you upgrading or downsizing to a new home? Are you interested in how your home value is likely to change over the next year? We offer these 2019 housing market predictions to consider as you review your housing plans for the year.
Inventory Will
Your Christmas gift from the Federal Reserve is here. Surprise! It’s another 0.25% hike in the Federal Funds rate. Sure, you’ve already gotten this same gift three other times in 2018, and nine times since late 2015 – but what else would you expect to receive from the Fed?
Interest rate hikes from the Fed
Do you take mobile device security as seriously as you should? You probably connect to the Internet more on mobile devices than you do on desktops – especially on smartphones, since you’re likely never far away from yours.
According to the 2018 Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, newly discovered malware for mobile devices increased by
Rewards cards can provide great benefits – but they can also tempt you to overspend. When that happens, you’re more likely to carry a balance and wipe out your rewards with interest charges.
According to a new survey by U.S. News, over half of America’s rewards cardholders have carried a balance at least once over
Times aren’t great in the mortgage refinancing market. According to the October 2018 Origination Insights Report from mortgage application software provider Ellie Mae, refinancing homes make up 32% of October’s closed mortgages – continuing a drop in refis that began five to six months prior.
It’s likely that mortgage rate increases are to blame for
Does your wallet take a bigger hit during the holiday season? If so, you aren’t alone. According to a recent study by LendingTree, more consumers fall behind on their bills in December than in any other month.
LendingTree reviewed anonymized credit report data from October 2017 through September 2018 and broke down the percentages of
How important is your credit score? It doesn’t generally affect your daily life but ignoring your credit score can cause serious financial problems.
Are you unconvinced? Consider the case of Cameron v. Cameron.
The New Jersey case concerns a divorce settlement where the wife would keep the home. The home had an outstanding mortgage in
The Pool Is Shrinking A home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC) can be a useful financial management tool – but only if you have the available equity to take advantage of it. Do you know how much you could borrow against your home if you had to?
Black Knight’s October 2018 Mortgage Monitor
Our prior article, 5 Steps To Be Your Own Mogul – Part 1, covers the first three steps to manage your finances like a business. Below we present the final two steps.
4. Forecasting
If you have performed the budget exercise and broken your expenses out into categories, you can start to highlight areas
Why not take some financial pointers from the business world and apply them to your personal finances? Whether you are a party of one or a family of four, it pays to be fiscally agile. Some of the longest financial plays in the business world today are small businesses that perennially stay afloat and drive
Can you avoid a New Year’s Day hangover? We’re not referring to the traditional hangover that comes from too much alcohol, but the financial hangover that comes from too many charges on your credit card.
Of course, you can avoid a New Year’s credit hangover – especially with some help. Consider these eleven ways to
It’s time to flex your credit-card-swiping muscles to prepare for the holidays – but what type of credit card will you be swiping? Will it be a general-use credit card, or a store credit card designed to maximize rewards with one merchant?
A new LendEDU.com survey provides insight into store credit cards and their holiday
By Eric Olsen, Executive Director, HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm
It’s a constant struggle to stay afloat financially on disability income. Many disabled persons have credit card debt they can’t pay, often incurred before they were disabled. What can disabled persons do about telephone calls and letters from collectors? What happens if you are sued? As
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