Just as Americans find themselves increasingly indebted to credit card companies and payday lenders, interest rates have begun to rise and housing values have gone the other way. Adjustable rate mortgages have “reset,” leaving millions of Americans with higher mortgage payments than they ever intended, and to make matters worse, even car loans have been [...]

When selecting a credit counselor, you have a lot of choices. Thanks to the increased indebtedness of the average American household and changes in the Federal Bankruptcy Code, there are literally thousands of consumer credit counseling services from which to choose. With that in mind, why settle for anything less than the best? But if [...]

The two dominant myths about credit counseling and debt management plans are that (1) they are magic bullets to eliminate your debt, without exception, for pennies on the dollar; and (2) they are rip-off operations that will charge you onerous fees, take your money and run, leaving you in worse shape than you were before. [...]

In the broad sense, “credit counseling” can refer to any of the educational or debt relief services provided by a credit counseling service. Obviously, taking a voluntary class in budget management will have no direct effect on your credit – although it could help you to improve your credit score if you implement what you [...]

What is credit counseling, and how do you know if it’s right for you? Examine your financial situation. Do you frequently miss monthly payments on at least one of your credit cards or other debts? Do you have several credit cards which are all close to maxed out? Do you have a credit card that’s [...]

A little bit of planning goes a long way in maximizing the earnings you accumulate on your cash back credit card. Here are some tips to get you started: 1. Pay your regular monthly bills with your cash back card to earn cash back on your telephone bills, mortgage, cable bills, and so on. 2. [...]

Consumers may already be using an RFID tag inside their key chain to pay for gas, allowing the credit card to remain in its spot in their wallet, while MasterCard holders have the ability to tap and go with a PayPass card. Now, a company called ViVOtech is planning to give cell phones the ability [...]

Verified by Visa (VbV) is an online service designed to make Internet transactions safer by authenticating a cardholder’s identity at the time of purchase. Verified by Visa software installed at a merchant website activates the cardholder interface during the authentication process. The goal of Verified by Visa is to create a level of consumer trust [...]