About.com Credit / Debt Management

Prioritizing Your Debt Payments

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:54 +0000

You have a stack of bills in front of you and you may not be able to pay them all. Which debts are the most important? Many people make the mistake of paying their credit cards before their other debts. I argue that credit cards fall very low on the list of debt priorities, especially if you have a mortgage and auto loan. Learn why your mortgage should top your list of debt obligations: How to Prioritize Your Debt Payments

Bill Me Later Faces Class Action Lawsuit

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:00:21 +0000

Bill Me Later, the online processor that lets you pay for purchases later, is facing a class-action lawsuit in California for skirting state interest and credit card fee laws. According to Business Journal, online message boards quote interest rates between 40% and 100%.

Forum poster HBSSLaw wants you to contact the law firm (Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro)�if you feel you've been overcharged interest from Bill Me Later. You can email billmelater@hbsslaw.com to give your story or to join the case.

Do Bank Overdrafts Affect Your Credit?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:00:17 +0000

When I first opened a checking account, I consistently overdrafted because I didn't understand that my deposits were not immediately available for withdrawal. In fact, at that bank cash deposits made after 2 p.m. were not available until the next business day. Checks had to clear before they were available. So, a rush to the bank to cover a check or debit before it posted was in vain.

Those were the days of checks being returned for non-sufficient funds (NSF), which is a whole lot more expensive than overdraft protection because you're charged two NSF fees plus returned check fees from the merchant. And you still have to cover the amount of the original transaction. A $1.00 candy bar could end up costing more than $100. I think people who complain about overdraft protection are nuts. Please pay the transaction for me and charge me $36.

Some overdrafts are innocent, you thought you had enough money in your account. Others are part of chronic money mismanagement. Will those checking account slipups hurt your credit score? Not automatically, but they can eventually. Learn how bank overdrafts can affect your credit.

What else hurts your credit score?

Do Bank Overdrafts Affect Your Credit? originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 08:00:17.

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How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:00:07 +0000

Payday is days away. You have no gas, little food, and no money. For some people, this only has to happen one time before they change their spending habits. For others, living paycheck to paycheck is a viciously uncomfortable way of life. But, it's something that can be changed in just a few steps. Learn what you can do to stop living paycheck to paycheck.

How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 08:00:07.

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Looking for an Apartment? Beware Credit Report Scams

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:11:21 +0000

This scam seems to have been around for at least a year, so if you've been looking for an apartment, you might have encountered it.

You've been looking for an apartment on Craigslist, as I recommend people do when they have bad credit. You find a listing that seems too good to be true. You send an inquiry and get a response back saying you can apply just send a copy of your credit report (or your credit score). The inquiry (or even the ad itself) includes a link to a place that you can get a free credit report. You order your credit report and never hear from the landlord again. Maybe the apartment's been filled. Or maybe there was no apartment. Weeks later you get a mysterious charge on your credit card statement related to the free credit report you ordered.

What's the scam? Read more...

Looking for an Apartment? Beware Credit Report Scams originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 03:11:21.

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President Obama Addresses Student Loan Forgiveness

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:21:55 +0000

In his State of the Union 2010 speech, President Barack Obama mentioned student loan relief for college graduates who are struggling to make payments:

"...[L]et's tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years - and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college."

What he's talking about is a modification to the Income-Based Repayment program (IBR) that was created in 2007. The current program forgives certain unpaid federal student loans after 25 years, or 10 years for people who work in public service. Borrowers enrolled in the program pay a lower monthly payment based on income, family size, and loan amount as long as the monthly payment is lower than what would be paid on a standard 10-year repayment plan. Read more...

President Obama Addresses Student Loan Forgiveness originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 03:21:55.

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Federal Reserve Board Launches Site Explaining New Credit Card Rules

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:47:43 +0000

LThe Federal Reserve Board (FRB) has launched a website that covers some of the key changes of the new credit card rules that will go into effect on February 22. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was signed last May by President Barack Obama. Some of the rules went into effect last October. This includes a 45-day advance notification for interest rate increases. Read more...

Federal Reserve Board Launches Site Explaining New Credit Card Rules originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 18:47:43.

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First Comes FICO, Then Comes Love

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:45:43 +0000

A bad credit score can keep you from doing a lot of things - buying a house, getting a credit card, and yes, it can even keep you from getting a date. I recently discovered a dating website that helps people mate based on their credit score. I can't help but think the dependency on credit scores has gone too far. What do you think? Does credit matter when you're choosing a date? Would you date or marry someone with bad credit?

View Results

First Comes FICO, Then Comes Love originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 00:45:43.

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The Statute of Limitations in Your State

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:23:50 +0000

Are you being contacted about an old debt? The statute of limitations on that debt may have passed, preventing you from being sued over the debt. Each state has a different statute of limitations on debt like credit cards and loans, so make sure you know the statute in your state before agreeing to pay an old debt.

More on Debt Statute of Limitations

The Statute of Limitations in Your State originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 13:23:50.

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Closing Credit Cards and Your FICO Score

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:16:43 +0000

You may check your credit score to find that your credit score is being pulled down because you have too many credit cards. Closing the credit cards won't help though because they'll still be listed on your credit report.

I've been reading conflicting statements about exactly what closing a credit card does to your credit score. For example, one blog stated closing a credit card with a balance hurts your credit score, another blog said it didn't. So, rather than guess around about the true answers, I went straight to the source - FICO. Read what Craig Watts, FICO Public Affairs Director, has to say about a few misconceptions and exaggerations about how your FICO score is affected by closing a credit card.�Closing Credit Cards Affects Your FICO Score tells you what's true and not true about FICO scores and closed credit cards.

Closing Credit Cards and Your FICO Score originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 00:16:43.

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