Going to the emergency room or having an unexpected illness can be expensive. And just like any other bill, you need to pay your medical bills. Doctors and hospitals usually do not report debts to credit reporting agencies, but that doesn’t mean if you have unpaid medical bills you’re off…

When Americans find themselves in extreme financial distress, as millions are today, payday loans might seem like the only option for relief. But the truth is, they’re unfair, costly, and take advantage of people who are most vulnerable. Payday loans are often issued to people who have bad credit, no…

Late Payments With Your Landlord vs With Credit Reporting Agencies Are you worried about late payments to your landlord and it negatively affecting your credit score? A late rent payment might mean different things to you, to your landlord, and to credit bureaus. To help with that we will answer…

You probably have a general idea of how to get a good credit score – like by paying your bills on time, avoiding excessive debt, and not applying for too many credit cards. But there are a lot of credit myths out there that can prevent you from maximizing your…

Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Are you having difficulty paying all your bills on time? Are your credit cards maxed out? If the above sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Like many other people out there, your finances could use some TLC – but you keep putting it off, and…

Yes, it's true, you CAN build your credit score without your own credit card. If you already have a car loan or your cell phone line, you'll have to get creative if you want to build your score without using your own credit card. Luckily, we have some ideas for…

Credit laws and consumer protections are complicated. You don’t need to know every detail about these laws but you should definitely be familiar with your rights so know how to properly respond to issues that arise. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The Fair…

When applying for a mortgage, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is one of the factors, along with credit score and income, that lenders use to determine your mortgage eligibility. If you’re hoping to qualify for a mortgage or a refinance, you’ll need to know about your debt-to-income ratio and how to…

We live in a credit-driven world, so if you have a low or no credit score, you might be getting through life without having a credit card. That can be challenging since you always need cash readily available to buy what you need.  It’s the catch-22 of credit. If you…

The Answers To All Your Important Questions. Credit is the ability to borrow money or access goods or services with the understanding that you'll pay later. Lenders, merchants and service providers (known collectively as creditors) grant credit based on their confidence you can be trusted to pay back what you…