The term credit can mean many things. For most people, it is the ability to borrow today and pay later. The idea of “credit-worthiness” defines our personal finances, and reaches out to all parts of our financial lives. Credit can be an accounting term. You can talk about credit cards, your credit history, your credit score, or the three credits you got in college for taking Bowling. This page is the credit nerve center of ThinkGlink.com. From this page you can learn more about what credit means and how having good, bad, or mediocre credit affects your personal finances.
Americans Taking on Risk to Pay Off Debt, Study Finds
Americans today continue to be disciplined with their spending habits. Saving money continues to be one of consumers’ top financial goals, but many have taken on more risk than they would prefer in order to play catch-up and pay off debt, according to a recent study from Northwestern Mutual. The 2013 Planning and Progress Study, [...]
Tips to Help Prevent Medicare Fraud and Identity Theft
Whether you’re a Medicare beneficiary or know someone who is, you’ve likely heard about the risks of Medicare fraud and medical identity theft. While the government is taking steps to mitigate these issues, there are things you can do now to protect yourself. Medicare is one of the country’s largest programs, with more than 49 [...]
Missed a Mortgage Payment? How it Affects Your Credit Score
If you missed a mortgage payment, you might want to know how it affects your credit score. Missing mortgage payments can hurt your credit score. Q: I met Ilyce at a speech she was giving last year about financial planning and retirement. Last week, I was laid off by the company that sponsored the speech. [...]
Paying Off Debt Using Life Lessons from the Military
In honor of Military Saves, I thought it would be appropriate to share how I, an Army veteran who had over $32,000 of credit card debt, was able to pay off debt by taking a few lessons from the military and applying them to my finances. Military Saves is a week when the military community [...]
How to Pay Off Debt Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Plenty of people know the anxiety of overbearing debt. According to one source, households in the United States average $15,422 in credit card debt; $34,703 in student loan debt; and $149,782 in mortgage debt. With all of that pressure, many people think it’s impossible to improve their financial situations. However, with some work and smart [...]
Can a Loan Modification Hurt Your Credit Score?
Applying for a loan modification can affect your credit score while you wait for your loan application to be processed. Q: Unfortunately, I am stuck with one of the worst monster mega banks for my loan modification. When I applied for a loan modification, they classified me as "delinquent" while they were processing my application. [...]
Is College Debt Worth It?
With student loan debt topping $1 trillion and the cost of college rising at four times the rate of inflation, many parents and high school seniors are asking themselves a fairly obvious question: Is college still worth it? According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the answer is still yes. [...]
Money Management Lessons from the Military
The military is known for turning ordinary citizens into soldiers but not usually for teaching those soldiers about money management and how to handle their personal finances. However, the military did teach Steve Repak, Army veteran and Certified Financial Planner™, all he needed to know about personal finance so that he could dig himself out of debt and build his [...]
Cancelling Credit Cards to Get Cash Out Refinance
Cancelling Credit Cards to Get Cash Out Refinance. You have an excellent credit score, great credit history, plenty of equity, and yet lender wants borrower to cancel many of his credit cards to qualify for a refinance. Q: I have a situation in my mortgage refinance process and need your advice. My lender wants me [...]