Intuit Credit Karma
College loan debt for students in Atlanta ranks among the highest compared to other cities, according to data from Credit Karma, a website that consolidates consumer financial information. For the past two years, student loan debt in Atlanta has hovered just below $40,000 ($39,855 in April, 2013).
Credit scores were long something that lenders got to see and consumers only found out about later. Now, pretty much anyone can take a look at their credit scores whenever they want to, but it's not clear which of those scores matter. And most scores that consumers see for free are not the same ones bankers are using to weigh customer creditworthiness.
Now that May has arrived, it's time to clean up your credit and think about educational expenses. You can simply set calendar reminders for yourself, and start thinking about your "financial calendar" the way you do your social calendar. You'd never neglect to send your mom a birthday card after jotting it down on your calendar--so treat important tasks like saving for retirement, preparing for taxes, and donating to charity in the same way. Get ready for a much more organized month (and year)!
It's no secret Memphis is home to some of the worst credit ratings in the country. If you're in debt and want to get out there are options. Emmy Stricklin learned about one of them when she downloaded her free money management application called Credit Karma. "It brought everything into light."
Credit is not only a way for consumers to extend their spending abilities; it's also used to judge financial responsibility -- all from information meticulously listed on credit reports. A February study from the Federal Trade Commission showed that 42 million Americans may have errors on their credit report. These errors cause unnecessary blemishes that result in lower credit scores, which means higher interest rates on mortgages and car loans -- all because of mistakes that are no fault of the consumer. "Look for derogatory marks, which can be missed payments, defaults, liens and garnishments," says Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO of CreditKarma.com. "These are the big uh-ohs and if not corrected, can cause your credit score to drop 100 to 200 points,"
When shopping for a mortgage don't neglect to check your credit before getting started.
Founder and CEO Ken Lin describes the Insight service as a way to look at all your finances in one place, for free. "Now you'll be able to look at your credit scores, all of your accounts, all of your assets, and the transactional information that comes along with it," he says. "It's an upgraded feature set that we thought was necessary."
By some estimates, nearly half of Americans don't know their credit scores -- and even fewer people would understand them even if they took the time to check. Financial advice service Credit Karma offers a pretty simple fix for the issue: Instead of charging people $10 or so per month to monitor their scores, Credit Karma offers the service for free, supplementing it with tools for tracking other financial information like bank accounts, bills, mortgages and loans. (And paying for all of it with targeted advertisements.)
Personal finance services became all the rage at the peak of the recession. It's one of those things that gives the illusion of being in control of your finances. Like how you eat a salad with dinner and tell yourself it's practically the same thing as doing cardio. One personal finance startup that landed its first round of funding during the recession--Credit Karma--announced Tuesday that it has raised a $30 million Series B round led by Ribbit Capital and Susquehanna Growth Equity, with help from existing investor Felicis Ventures. The new round brings Credit Karma's total raised to $33.5 million.
Consumer financial startup Credit Karma said on Tuesday it has raised $30 million in Series B funds to help it expand. The San Francisco company led by CEO Ken Lin said the round was led by Palo Alto-based Ribbit Capital, a venture firm focused on the financial services industry, and Susquehanna Growth Equity with participation from existing investor Palo Alto-based Felicis Ventures.