How much house can I afford? This is one of the questions that we those of us who don’t already have a home think about on a regular basis. And it’s a fair question. There are all kinds of people telling you to get the biggest house you can because Read more…
Payday loans. Not much makes my skin crawl as much as thinking about this topic. I get it. Sometimes people come on hard times and need to get a loan. I have been there. I have maxed out credit cards, written hot checks, borrowed from family and friends, and yes, Read more…
Student loan debt statistics. Oh boy. This one hits home for me. Student loans are something that millions of Americans struggle with. Myself included. Student loans used to be that high school underclassmen who annoys the seniors in the halls between classes. But now they have grown into the football Read more…
As a student or prospective student, it is important that you understand the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized student loans. It can make a big difference in the amount of student loan debt that you take on. (Hopefully you don’t take on any student loan debt though!) Understanding the differences Read more…
Credit card benefits. Credit cards are one of the most divisive financial tools that exist. In one extreme camp you have people who swear by them because of a lot of the reasons that I will get into later in this article. And on the other camp are people who Read more…
Credit cards and credit card fees. The sharpest financial double edged sword if there ever was one. Credit cards can be a good financial tool to help get you cash back and reward points. But if you are not VERY careful, you can have a financial tiger by the tail. Read more…
How do student loans work? That is a question that I wish more people would ask before actually taking them out. However, most people (much less an 18 year-old) understand some of the complexities that student loans have. In fact, most people don’t understand how any type of loan works. Read more…
Credit Mix is really exactly what it sounds like. It is simply the different types of credit that you have. It makes up the smallest portion of your credit score (10%). Here’s how it works: (1) Credit Mix is Not That Important There are several different types of credit accounts Read more…
Credit and collections. Yuck. This is one of those topics that no one wants to read about. If you are reading this, you are probably doing so because you need to read it. No one wants to read about bad debt or collections. But unfortunately, sometimes it is necessary. I Read more…
A hard credit pull VS. a soft credit pull. If you opened this article not knowing the difference, trust me, you’re not alone. When I was a banker, most of the clients that I worked with had no idea. But let me tell you, there is a BIG difference between Read more…