A few years ago, my best friend said something that really stuck with me. The gist was this: It doesn’t matter whether you make $25,000 or $100,000 a year — you’ll still feel like you don’t have enough money. That’s easy for someone making $100,000 to say, I thought at the time. But here’s the [...]
Credit scores are creeping upward for most Americans, according to the latest “State of Credit” report from credit bureau Experian. The average U.S. credit score hit 680 in 2018, up from 675 the year before, the report found. That’s the biggest one-year jump since 2008, but not quite back to the 685 average that year [...]
All of us are vulnerable to fraud. But the ways some older people use technology can put them at higher risk. That’s where you come in. When you’re home for the holidays, or the next time you visit your folks, offer to help with a few tasks that can keep your parents safer online. Check [...]
Fraud at the ATM can lead to money being drained from a bank account, and consumers have a new reminder to check for fraudulent charges. FICO reported today that the number of debit cards compromised at ATMs and merchant devices in the U.S. rose 10% in 2017 over the previous year. It’s a less extreme increase than the [...]
Chances are good that the Equifax data breach affects you. What do you do next? The short answers: Consider a credit freeze. Scrutinize your credit statements. And check your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. Equifax says hackers used a website application vulnerability to access the personal information of about 143 million U.S. consumers, or more than half [...]
Shopping for school supplies, electronics and clothing can be a chore — and an expensive one at that. Families with children in grades K-12 plan to spend an average of $687.72 on back-to-school shopping, about $14 more than last year’s average of $673.57, according to the National Retail Federation. College students and their families plan to [...]
Talking about debt can be awkward or embarrassing, leaving you to worry in silence about your own rising balances or a family member’s finances. Here are answers to some questions you might hesitate to ask. Will my debt ever get so old that I won’t have to pay it? Not really. Many debts that might [...]
College prepares students to be everything from accountants and teachers to government workers and health care technicians, but not all students learn basic money management skills. Here’s advice for this year’s graduates on how to succeed financially. 1. Use a tried-and-true budgeting strategy A regular paycheck, however small, can feel like a windfall for those [...]
With nearly 38,000 complaints logged in 2015, credit card fraud ranks as the second most common form of identity theft, trailing only tax- or wage-related fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. It can take many forms, including: Scammers who try to sucker you into giving up credit card info over the phone. E-mail phishing. [...]
If you’ve read any of the student-debt success stories circulated in the media lately, you might think the only way to pay down your debt is to give up coffee, your social life and your apartment. “It seems like borrowers are told that they have to live on beans in a shantytown and pay off [...]
