You’re meticulous about your credit. You have good or excellent credit, and you do everything necessary to keep it that way. But what if your spouse isn’t on board with your view of credit? What do you do when your spouse has bad credit? Unfortunately, this scenario is far from impossible. It’s not even necessarily […]
Young With Bad Credit – And Why You Must Get it Fixed
Lots of young people – typically young adults in their 20s – have bad credit. In fact, at times it can seem as if youth and bad credit are a perfectly natural match. But whether that’s true or not, it’s important that you get your bad credit fixed as soon as possible. Even though you […]
Using Secured Credit Cards to Rebuild Your Credit
If you’re in or just coming out of a bad credit episode, you may have found that getting new credit is no easy task. This is especially true if you’re trying to get a credit card. What you typically find is that, if you can get a credit card at all, they come with very […]
When Your Credit Card Debts Exceed Your Annual Income
When people start getting deep into debt, the process is often accompanied by a large helping of denial. That is, as their debt grows larger and more threatening, they begin to rationalize why it’s not so bad. This is when it becomes important to recognize important debt thresholds – clearly identifiable metrics that should absolutely […]
A Good Credit Score Can Mask a Serious Debt Problem
A good credit score is a source of pride and even prestige. People with high credit scores are sometimes fond of sharing their scores with others. It can be seen as a validation of our worth as borrowers, and at the extreme, as people. That’s because a high credit score indicates that we pay our […]
Failing to Teach Your Kids About Credit Will Set Them Up for Credit Failure
There’s a growing trend across the country of young people getting into credit and debt troubles very early in life. Part of the blame is easy credit. But equally culpable is a lack of credit education. Kids aren’t getting that from the usual sources that we expect. But failing to teach your kids about credit […]
Credit is NOT Free Money – And What Happens When You Think It Is
Ask anyone if credit is free money, and you’re likely to get a response along the lines of absolutely not! But turn the same person loose in an environment where they need to make a major purchase, and they may behave in a way that makes you think otherwise. That’s because the concept of credit […]
My Credit Cards are Maxed Out – Now What?
When you reach a point where your credit cards are maxed out, a whole chain of events begins to unfold, none of which are pleasant. It’s not a significant issue if one of your credit cards is maxed out. But if several or all are maxed out that’s a problem. And unfortunately, there isn’t an […]
Your Credit Card Limits Are Increasing – Is that Really a Good Thing?
It can be a real breath of fresh air when you open up a letter from a credit card company and find out that they just increased your credit card limit. After all, the mail often brings less satisfying correspondence, like bills. Not only does an increased credit limit bring greater spending flexibility, but it’s […]
How a Bad Credit Score Can Affect Leasing an Apartment
We naturally expect that credit will be issued when applying for a mortgage to buy a house. But it can also matter when it comes to renting. A bad credit score can affect leasing an apartment, and often in ways that aren’t obvious. Most Landlords Will Check Your Credit Just as is the case with […]