When you enter your 20s, you try to figure out life and (hopefully) learn from your mistakes. For many, it’s the first time they’re faced with dealing with finances completely on their own.
You may be taking out student loans or trying to pay them off. You’re learning to manage credit cards and pay your bills, and you’re entering the workforce. What you do with your money in your 20s -- your saving and spending habits, and the debt you incur -- will stay with you into your 30s and beyond.
Penny-pinching and living within a budget aren't fun, but it’s a whole lot better than finding yourself swimming in debt and stressed about money. If ...
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Five Bad Financial Habits That Are Signs of Trouble
Good financial habits don't just happen. Like washboard abs, most people have to work to develop them.
Racking up monthly charges on your credit cards without paying off the balance is a common bad financial habit. Not reviewing credit card statements is another.
But other, more subtle behaviors can be tipoffs to a disorganized financial life.
Getting caught with a late fee because you lost or forgot about a bill points to a too-loose approach to finances. Avoiding financial decisions because you don't know enough is another warning bell.
Sometimes an otherwise good financial decision – such as making extra mortgage payments – ...
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Delinquent Credit Card Debt – One Cycle Is All It Takes To Begin the Spiral
Delinquent credit card debt is like having mold in your house. As time passes, they both silently get worse and become more difficult to fix.
When you make a payment after the due date on your credit card statement, you have a delinquent credit card account on your hands. You might think that one missed payment doesn't matter. In fact, many people seem to believe this.
According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling 2018 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, 25 percent of Americans said they didn't pay their bills on time. While it's heartening to know that 75 percent do pay their bills on time, the 25 percent who don't are on ...
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Millennials Share Everything With Their Spouses – Except Their Finances
Millennials share everything on social media, but when it comes to their spouses, they are doing a poor job of discussing their finances, which is creating stress and strain in their relationships.
This is just one of the findings from Fidelity Investments' Couples & Money study, which found that, while the majority of survey respondents said they are communicating about finances, one-third don't even know how much the other half of the couple makes, while one-seventh aren't even sure if their spouse is employed.
Life is busy, and millennial newlyweds have to juggle their careers, their marriage and debt. That may be one of the ...
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My Credit Score Suddenly Dropped – Why???
Few things in personal finance are scarier -- or more bewildering -- than opening your credit report and seeing that your credit score suddenly has dropped.
Your credit score - that little number - plays a large role in your financial life. A poor credit score can damage prospects for getting the credit card you want, or the terms you need on a mortgage or auto loan. It could also influence what interest rate you potentially pay..
Many factors can cause your credit score to slip, or even to free fall. Knowing which financial actions lower your score can help you avoid such mistakes.
Top Two Reasons Your Credit Score Might ...
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Baby Boomers Far From Debt-Free In Retirement
Two or three decades ago, it was a foregone conclusion that people would be debt-free upon retirement. Student loans, mortgage debt, car payments—those were the concerns of younger individuals, barriers to entry to the golden years of life. Unfortunately, times have changed.
Per capita, debt among 65-year-olds increased by 48% between 2003 and 2015, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Of all types of debt, student loans were the biggest culprit, with the per-capita student loan burden increasing 886% for 65-year-olds during that time frame. Second to student loans was mortgage debt, increasing 47% for those approaching ...
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If Bankruptcy Is Not An Option – Negotiate Your Interest Rates
Americans are up to their ears in high-interest credit card debt, but, if bankruptcy is not an option, there is a way to decrease your monthly burden.
But before you start your journey - here is a sample of some recent surveys:
Experian: The typical American has a credit card balance of $6,375.00, up nearly 3 percent from last year.
Federal Reserve: Total credit card debt has reached its highest point ever, surpassing $1 trillion in 2017
Bankrate: Credit card interest rates are at a record high, at an average of 17 percent.
WalletHub: With the Federal Reserve's latest quarter-point interest-rate hike, credit card users will pay ...
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Student Loans – A Real Life Retrospective – Huffington Post
I came across this article originally published by the Huffington Post and have re-posted it in its entirety as it is an honest assessment by a real victim of student loan debt.
“In 2018, Americans owe more than $1.4 trillion in student loan debt. The average American under 35 owes about $67,000 of any type of debt.
And yet, discussion of the financial impact of some of life’s most important decisions is noticeably missing from a social media landscape that rewards effortlessness and ease. If YouTubers or Instagram influencers fall among the 80 percent of Americans who have some sort of debt, they are exceptionally skilled at editing it ...
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Decrease in Real Estate Inventory Now Driving Home Prices
While many people still think that the last housing crisis in the United States was largely due to banks offering too many subprime mortgages, it's now clear that wasn't actually the case. Instead, recent research pins the blame on house flippers and speculators, who pumped markets up, then defaulted in large numbers when they were unable to turn a profit on their investment properties.
Now, however, a different set of circumstances entirely looks poised cause a different type of housing crisis.
Since the real estate market crash took the wind out of the construction boom of the 2000s, fewer homes are being built per U.S. household than ...
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How Other People Can Affect Your Credit Score
Here are a few of the most common ways that other people can affect your credit score, along with some ways to protect yourself.
1. When you're an authorized user on someone else's credit card
You may think that being added as an authorized user places all the responsibility on the primary cardholder, but in fact, your authorized-user status will also be reported to credit bureaus. While you aren't primarily responsible for repaying the debt, all activity associated with the account will show up on your credit report.
This is why becoming an authorized user is sometimes recommended as a way to build credit. If the primary cardholder ...
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