Failing Financial Literacy?

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Financial Literacy Month is a great time to take a look at how we are doing when it comes to making the grade with our financial knowledge. Millions of Americans are failing miserably and among them, are college students. With little financial finesse and the freedom to make their own decisions many are starting their financial lives in need of debt help. Researchers from five American universities recently conducted a survey on credit card debt and financial literacy among college students and released the results in April just in time for Financial Literacy Month. The findings confirm that our youth […] Read more »

Turn the Tables on Your Debt to Savings Ratio

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Recent years have been tough on everyone; unemployment, the mortgage debacle, and rising costs on everything from food to gas have caused many of us to re-evaluate our budgets and learn to cut back. One in four Americans has more debt than savings. A recent survey by Bankrate.com found that 25 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings. Yikes, that is definitely a scary statistic. But, you don’t have to let it happen to you! While credit card debt may take some time to get out of there are lots of things you […] Read more »

Uncle Sam Wants to Know: Did You Have Debt Forgiven?

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April 15th is right around the corner and that means, it’s time to pay up. For many Americans 2011 was another year of unemployment, rising costs, and underwater mortgages. In fact according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Americans owe a combined $11.5 trillion on credit cards, car loans, mortgages and other consumer debt. So in a desperate attempt to keep their finances afloat many have turned to settling their debts. Settling a debt is certainly damaging to your credit, but to make matters worse, Uncle Sam wants his take as well. If you have a debt forgiven […] Read more »

The Absolute Best Way to Use Your Credit Cards Responsibly

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Personal finance bloggers, writers, and TV personalities love to talk about credit cards.  I hear and read them give advice about using cards in ways that will maximize your credit score, they tell you how to find the “Best” cards for you, and they give you info on how to get the most lucrative credit card perks like airline miles and cash back. Most of these gurus generally give good solid advice (for those that use credit cards), and most people need good advice when it comes to using credit cards in a responsible manner, because when it comes to […] Read more »

The Lost Subject: Personal Finance

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Were you taught about money and personal finance when you were in school? I wasn’t. Even today personal finance is not taught in most schools or considered a curriculum requirement for college students. How do we expect today’s youth to stop the vicious cycle of debt if we don’t teach them how? The latest report from the Federal Reserve shows that consumers are still using their credit cards in a big way; revolving credit, which is made up primarily of credit card debt rose to $801.0 billion. It’s obvious the cycle continues as millions of Americans rack up debt and […] Read more »

Surprise, Your Credit Report Stinks

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Credit reports are a funny thing that even the most seasoned of financial experts have trouble understanding. With all of the “myths” and “misconceptions” about credit scores swirling around it can be difficult to decipher myth from the real truth. Recently my friend went to a car dealership in search of a new vehicle to replace their old vehicle. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the money saved up to purchase the vehicle (I advised paying cash makes the most financial senseJ), and were going to have to finance the vehicle. When applying for any loan or line of credit you are […] Read more »

Credit Card Emergency Funds – An Alarming Trend in Society

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The following is a guest post by Jacob from My Personal Finance Journey, a personal finance blog offering actionable personal finance advice with the goal of achieving long-term success. In particular, Jacob focuses on long term investing and asset allocation strategy analysis, deciding how to prioritize new funds as they come in to various spending requirement areas, and how to develop a lifestyle of frugality. Several months ago through the magic of LinkedIn, Brad and I were able to find out that we actually lived in the same city in Virginia. This was quite an awesome find, being as that the personal […] Read more »

Kids and Money – Credit Cards for 2 Year Olds?

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Do you want your 2 year old “learning” to swipe a credit card? This Christmas Noah (our 2 year old) was given a Shop and Learn Cash Register. At first I was excited. The nerd in me eagerly opened it up and secretly drooled over the idea that Noah was going to start learning about money. It had buttons, sounds, lights, a working coin drawer, a scanner and groceries to ring up. Perfect fun right? Then I noticed it also came with a credit card. I’d rather it not have a card at all — debit or credit — but […] Read more »

Changing My Money Mind in 2012

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It’s that time of year when we all vow to change our ways and resolve to go on a diet, quit smoking, or get out of debt. How many of us actually have a plan in place to make our resolutions a reality? Unfortunately most of us don’t and this is why we are doomed to fail before we even start. Yes, money is necessary to support our lifestyle, but do we let it determine how we live our lives? The fact is many of us do. We allow ourselves to live up to or above our means which often […] Read more »

Just Say No to Inflatable Santa’s

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“Mommy please can we get one of those inflatable Santa’s?” This is the plea I have heard from my eight year old son since we began to decorate (with our already purchased) holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving. My answer remains constant, “Not right now buddy, we don’t need an inflatable Santa.”  Unfortunately millions of Americans apparently do feel they need inflatable Santa’s, two Christmas trees, and thousands of twinkle lights to adorn their homes so they can feel the magic of the holidays.  According to a Bloomberg report, “This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the […] Read more »

I Hear the Secrets that you Keep…

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I do, I hear them; the denial, self talk, and the inevitable, “What am I going to do?” They are secrets you keep from everyone; your family, your friends, and even your significant other. You’re in debt. It doesn’t matter how it happened, what matters now is that you do something about it.  That’s where I come in. I am a certified credit counselor for CareOne Debt Relief Services and everyday I talk to people about their debt. Sometimes I am the first person they have admitted this to and they are scared, apprehensive, and skeptical. I would be too; […] Read more »

Paper or Plastic: Taking a Family Vacation without Credit Cards

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If you are like most American families, with the stagnant recession, escalating gas prices, and unstable job market, you’ve chosen to forgo vacations for in-home activities. Believe it or not, there is a way to stick to a no-credit card spending mentality, and still provide a wonderful family vacation to your family. Because booking hotel, airplane, and car rentals often request a credit card as payment, it takes a little more creativity to make a family vacation possible with using plastic. Sometimes, it might involve using family and friends who still use credit cards. Do not hesitate to give close […] Read more »

An American Tale: A Life of Credit and Debt

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Credit Cards. In my college years, those two words meant freedom. They provided me with a sense of security. They allowed me to finally purchase anything I needed without having to ask my parents for help. Credit cards were the answer when I was hungry or late on a bill payment because my checking account was low. They provided a means of fun. I didn’t have to say ‘no’ to myself anymore. I could go out to dinner at a place that didn’t have a drive-thru. I could go on spring break to Florida. I could buy concert tickets when […] Read more »

It’s True, I Get Paid to Write for American Express

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American Express? Yep, You Read That Correctly I was recently contacted by someone who wanted to know if I would be interested in getting paid to write articles geared towards helping young people become more financially responsible. I responded with interest and wanted to know more. When I found out that the new site called CURRENCY, was being developed by American Express and Federated Media, I chuckled at the irony, but the timing couldn’t have been better. Currency Launched on Tuesday. Here are two of my published articles: Looking for a Job? Get Creative Going Back to School? Don’t Ruin […] Read more »