Category: Personal Credit

I Was An ID Theft Victim: Here’s What I Did Right (And Wrong)

I Was An ID Theft Victim: Here’s What I Did Right (And Wrong)

It was bound to happen at some point: I became a victim of identity theft. After a 20+ year career writing and educating consumers about credit, including identity theft, I found myself on the other side of the story. I was alerted through credit monitoring that a new retail credit card had been opened in my name. While I had shopped at that store the day before, I most certainly had not opened an account. A phone call to the… Read More
8 Credit Card Lifehacks You’re Not Using Often Enough

8 Credit Card Lifehacks You’re Not Using Often Enough

Hacking used to be an obscure term that was used mostly by computer geeks to describe unauthorized access to a computer system. But somewhere along the way, the word evolved to include all sorts of tricks that were discovered to make our lives easier. One of the best ways to employ these so-called lifehacks is with our credit cards, as their intricate rules, terms and conditions are especially ripe for creative workarounds. Here are eight credit card lifehacks that you may… Read More
The Average FICO Score Is at an All-Time High. What’s Holding Yours Back?

The Average FICO Score Is at an All-Time High. What’s Holding Yours Back?

The average FICO score in the U.S. has just topped 700 for the first time since the credit scoring giant began tracking the data, continuing an upward trend in personal credit scores since the Great Recession. Based on data from April of this year, FICO found the average FICO score in the U.S. was 700, which is the highest that score has ever gone. Driving the trend is lower overall delinquencies on consumer credit reports, a rise in superprime consumers… Read More
Improve Your Credit Score This Month With This Little-Known Trick

Improve Your Credit Score This Month With This Little-Known Trick

Credit repair often takes time, but there’s one way to potentially change your credit scores dramatically—in as little as a month. It’s called “debt utilization,” and when used correctly, it may improve your credit scores.  When Calvin first started tracking his credit scores with Nav, for example, he was struck by how much his personal credit score would fluctuate from month to month. In the first four months he monitored it, his score went up 52 points, down 42 points… Read More
Your Credit Scores May Jump This Weekend. Here’s Why

Your Credit Scores May Jump This Weekend. Here’s Why

Severely negative information such as tax liens, judgments and collection accounts can hurt credit scores for years to come. If your credit reports contain items like that, you no doubt wish they would disappear. Your wish may be about to come true. Under a program called the National Consumer Assistance Plan, the three major national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — will make important changes to credit report data. These changes may impact millions of consumers. As… Read More
The Retiree’s Guide to Credit Management

The Retiree’s Guide to Credit Management

Advertiser's Disclosure Here’s one question that’s frequently asked: “is managing my credit in retirement different, really?” The quick answer is no—the same rules that apply for managing your credit still hold true. However, there are things you should be aware of throughout your golden years to keep your credit in good standing. Before we jump into some easy credit management tips, let’s look at why it’s important. You know that a great credit score is typically associated with better rates for… Read More