Your minimum payment is meant to keep you in debt. A minimum payment is generally calculated as 2-3% of your balance, or 1% of your balance plus interest and fees. This minimum payment is specifically calculated to maximize the amount of interest you pay, and the length of your repayment. Keep in mind, the interest you pay is profit for…
Credit monitoring: What it is and why you may or may not need it. Credit monitoring services are deployed primarily to keep an eye on your credit profile, including your credit report and credit score. It can be treated as an early warning system of any potential fraud that can prevent further damage. Lately, monitoring services are becoming increasingly popular….
Lenders look at more than just your credit score, including your debt-to-income. A strong foundation for financial health lies in maintaining your debts at a manageable level. The general idea being to keep yourself in a positive equity position when looking at your debt-to-income ratio. While your debt to income ratio doesn’t directly affect your credit score, it is an…
The balance transfer game can be fun, until you lose the game. A credit card balance transfer is a common way of avoiding interest rates. This is done by frequently moving your debt to new sources, chasing low introductory rates. While this can be an effective way to avoid excessive interest rates, it can be equally dangerous. For consumers with…
Save early for a better later. The whole world revolves around money. unfortunate, but all too often the case. When you’re young, you quickly spend money without giving a second thought to the possibility of adverse effects. You’re certainly not thinking of how to avoid debt. It’s essential that children are educated about the value of money, so they understand…
Unsecured credit step aside, secured credit is here to help rebuild. Times are tough for the general population’s credit. Even those who enjoyed easy approvals and low interest rates in years past are starting to feel the crunch. The reality is, your credit card or other unsecured debt always catches up to you. When this happens, we enter a rebuilding…
Credit reporting at home and abroad. A great deal of attention is put on the three-digit credit score that summarizes your creditworthiness. Have you ever wondered how the credit reporting system came to be? Or, what are the credit systems in different countries in the world? Do you need to rebuild credit if you move to a new country? Let’s…
What exactly are old collections? When an account becomes severely past due, the account is turned over to collections by the creditor. This generally occurs between 60 and 180 days of being overdue. The creditor will either pass it on to their in-house collections department, or sell the debt to a an outside collection agency. The collection agency then become…
Independence can be great, but not when you have to pay a deposit on everything! The task of landing in your dream apartment doesn’t end with just signing a lease notice, paying the rent, and shifting your things. You also have to set up some or all of your utilities. These include Electricity, Water, gas, sewer, and TV/Internet, etc. Are…
Make sure your extra payments go to the principle and not the interest. In order to pay off your loan sooner, you ought to make extra payments towards your principal balance. Most people are not aware that extra payments do not always go directly to the principal, but are applied to the interest instead. Remember, the interest is the lenders…