What should you know about the business practices of credit card companies? How do credit card companies change credit card limits? What reasons do credit card companies give for changing credit card limits? How can you protect yourself when using a credit card? Learn more here about credit cards and your personal finance.
Build Credit Using Credit Cards, Not Debit Cards
Have a good credit score and history is critical to buying a home. What can you do if you're trying to improve your credit history to buy a home? Use credit cards wisely. Debit cards do not count toward building a credit history and score. If you can't qualify to get a credit card, you should set up a secured credit card with your bank.
Basic Financial Accounts For A Successful Financial Life, Alberto Azpe
Interview with Alberto Azpe, President of Hispanic Banking, Harris Bank about the basic accounts you need to have a successful financial life.
Personal Finances: Women Start To Take Charge Of Money
Women used to let their husbands and fathers manage their money. As time goes by more women are taking control of their personal finances. Learn what you can do to build wealth and have healthy personal finances.
How To Protect Your Identity
The key to your personal identity is your social security number. A unique number is issued to each U.S. citizen at birth, and typically this is the number used on bank account applications, on insurance forms and even your driver's license.
College Savings Plans: UPromise.com and BabyMint.com
If you're saving for college, 529 College Savings Plans offer easy options for stocking away cash. Upromise and BabyMint offer 529 plan credit cards that give you a small percentage of cash back as a contribution to a specified 529 plan if you buy from an affiliated company. 529 plans permit you to transfer the funds to other children, if the named child doesn't go to college.
Pay Off Credit Card Debt
You'll never get anywhere in life with credit card debt. Pay off your credit cards before making any large purchase like a house. Only charge what you can afford to pay off at the end of each month.
Interest Rate Changes Affect Consumers
Whenever the Federal Reserve raises or lowers interest rates, those changes affect the loans that consumers have that are tied to those rates. Interest rate changes affect mortgage loan rates, credit card interest rates and the rates that government bonds pay. Learn how the Federal Reserve may lower interest rates to try to boost the economy.
Debt Management Program: How To Research One
One way to pay down credit card debt and avoid bankruptcy is to enroll in a debt management program through a credit counseling service. But before enrolling in a debt management program you should research the credit counseling agency who offers it and make sure that the credit counselors are educated and qualified. Learn what questions to ask before enrolling in a debt management program.
Debt Management Program Can Help Avoid Bankruptcy
Do you feel like your debt is overwhelming or out of control? It may be worthwhile to enroll in a debt management program rather than filing for bankruptcy. While both a debt management program and bankruptcy look bad on your credit report, a bankruptcy makes for worse credit. Learn what to look for when choosing a debt management program.