Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. There have been more than 13 million victims annually. There are radio and television ads screaming that if you're serious about protection, sign up with one of the ?identity theft protection services.? But are these products wort… Continue Reading

There are dozens of ?gurus? offering advice on how to keep your financial house in order. Check out your local bookstore and you can find shelves of books and tapes and CDs on how to eliminate your debt. There are even those who advertise on TV with plans to help you cure your indebtedness (for a fe… Continue Reading

OR?Is Saving Money Bad for the Economy? I came across this article a few weeks ago, Industrial output falls as consumers cut back spending, and have been trying to decide what it is about it that I find so disturbing. I?m not targeting it as some sort of special case; in fact it?s one of hundr… Continue Reading

I hate the credit cards vs debit cards topic ? so why am I writing about it? Because it seems to be a staple topic of the personal finance blogosphere! And almost universally, the conclusion will inevitably come down on the side credit cards as the better deal. Warning: If you?re looking for that… Continue Reading

As a financial blog owner and writer, I?m drawn to articles on credit. I find any that smack of credit score mania to be especially interesting. Yesterday, on Yahoo Finance I found an article entitled, How Not Driving Can Hurt Millennials' Credit Scores. Driving and credit scores? What?s the connect… Continue Reading

How much do credit scores matter? We often hear or read of someone saying something to the effect of I?m not worried about my credit scores, I don?t plan to borrow money anyway. I?m not a credit score junkie myself, and tend to have only modest interest in them. And I even tend to think that credit … Continue Reading

Credit cards can be an advantage with international travel, to build a good credit reputation and even as a back up to a well-funded emergency fund... Continue Reading

If your credit scores are not where they need to be, there are steps you can take that will raise them, and raise them substantially. There are companies advertising to do this job for you, but you don?t need to pay someone else to do this for you. No one knows your credit situation better than yo… Continue Reading