Though the United States government hasn’t been fiscally responsible this year, at least the American people have: For the 9th consecutive quarter, delinquency rates fell for consumer credit cards. It’s exciting news, but it remains to be seen if consumers kept up these good habits on Black Friday. US retail sales hit $11.4 billion to kick off the holiday shopping [...]
In the good ol’ days, a gold or platinum credit card signaled that you had arrived. It meant lenders considered you a good credit risk with significant spending and a sterling payment history. With that came perks, most often a higher credit limit and cash back on purchases as a concession for a bank’s best [...]
Pretend your brother has come to you with a problem: His credit score is shot, but he wants to buy a new car. He is asking you not for money but to cosign an auto loan for him of $20,000. You have a flawless credit report and you agree, but less than a year later, [...]
Blue Monday, officially the most depressing day of the year, is coming up on January 24. How was it calculated? Here’s the official formula, courtesy of the U.K.’s Mental Health Foundation: According to the scientists who developed it, “The model was broken down using six immediately identifiable factors; weather (W), debt (d), time since Christmas [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. According to a recent poll by Consumer Reports, a whopping 13.6 million Americans are still paying off the debt they incurred from last year’s holiday shopping. To keep yourself out of that [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. Gossip Girl and Animal House notwithstanding, college students are usually a lot smarter than their parents give them credit for. But with personal finance education so woefully lacking at the high-school and [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. You’ve heard of “good debt” and “bad debt,” but if your end goal is to be debt free, you have to just say no to any and all loans. That means you’ll [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. If you have a major purchase on the horizon — be it electronics, home furnishings, or a vehicle — now is the time to start considering your options to keep costs low [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. Student loans are intended to pay for your education, but I’ve known a few people who took liberties with exactly how they used that money. Here are some of the worst ways [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. By now you know why a ship-shape credit score is in your best financial interests: It helps you qualify for the lowest interest rates on mortgages and other loans, saves you from [...]
