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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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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Fed Reports That Credit Card Debt Has Hit $1 Trillion
American's credit card debt has just hit a disturbing record of $1.02 Trillion according to the Federal Reserve. You may be surprised how much we owe.
Most of us owe money on some combination of mortgages, student loans, cars, and credit cards. Medical debts and personal loans are pretty common, too.
While being in debt may be considered “normal”, you may be wondering how your debt compares to your peers'. And now, you can find out thanks to the 2017 State of Credit report from Experian. Here are a few key findings from that report, along with some tips on what you can do if your debts are higher than you'd like.
How high is the ...
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Social Security Benefits Sooner Rather Than Later – Not a Bad Idea
Though your Social Security benefits are calculated based on what you earned during your career, the age at which you first file for them can impact your ultimate payout. If you claim benefits at full retirement age (FRA), which, for today's workers, is 66, 67, or somewhere in between, you'll get the exact amount you're entitled to based on your earnings history. However, if you hold off past FRA, you'll boost your payments by 8% a year, up until age 70.
Now, on the one hand, that's a pretty good deal, because you're basically getting a risk-free 8% return on your money by waiting until age 70. On the other hand, filing for Social Security ...
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Senate Passes Bill Providing for Free Credit Freezes – Possible Expansion of VantageScore
The Senate has passed a bill that would roll back some banking regulations. Indirectly, the bill addresses Equifax’s historic data breach in which Social Security numbers and other personal data of 150 million people were exposed — a number that comprises well over half the U.S.’s adult population.
Though Sens. Mark Warner (D-Virg.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) had put forth a bill in January that would hold credit reporting agencies responsible for breaches, it did not progress and Congress had failed to issue a legislative response to the Equifax breach.
In a move meant to benefit consumers, the new Senate bill, which was introduced ...
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Credit Card Debt Increases Most Since Prior To Great Recession
According to WalletHub, Americans added $92.2 billion in credit card debt in 2017, the most since 2007 - prior to the Great Recession. When you include all outstanding balances, the Federal Reserve estimates that Americans owe more than $1 trillion in credit card debt.
So what’s the deal? In the fourth quarter of 2017, Americans added $67.6 billion in credit card debt, which was the highest quarterly accumulation in 30 years. Looking back over the past couple of years, you can also see a speedy incline in debt, with debt climbing from $43 billion in 2015 to $87 billion 2016. This growing burden could be attributed to historically low ...
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Fed Chairman Questions Discharge of Student Loans in Bankruptcy
Market Watch reported today that the new chairman of the Federal Reserve questioned why struggling borrowers can’t discharge their student loans in bankruptcy.
“Alone among all kinds of debt, we don’t allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy,” Jerome Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday. “I’d be at a loss to explain why that should be the case.”
Powell’s comments came in response to a question from Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, about whether high levels of student debt create a drag on the economy. More than 40 million Americans hold nearly $1.4 trillion in outstanding student ...
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