Intuit Credit Karma
If you are a stay-at-home mom, or a stay-at-home dad for that matter, you may think your credit score is inseparable from your working spouse's credit. Not so! Everyone has his or her own score. As a Financial Advisor I urge each and every person to work diligently to improve your individual credit score. Your credit score is one of your most important possessions.
In one of the more frustrating headaches in financial disclosure, you generally must pay to see your credit score--the three-digit grade that predicts how risky you are as a borrower. But there are some sites who do give you your score for free.
We've mentioned Credit Karma's free credit monitoring services and free monthly credit scores in the past, but now you can get all of their free financial services on the go, thanks to their new Android app.
Consumers whacked down credit card debt last year, and average debt loads dropped in every state.The decline came as weak consumer confidence kept spending in check and banks continued to tighten their lending and slash credit limits for many existing customers, said Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma.
While Americans are known as big spenders on credit, some surveys show that since the Great Recession of 2008-09, consumers are becoming more frugal.
Many consumers are considering financial resolutions in 2013. Most vow to save more, spend less and pay off debt. What's on your list? Better still, what should be on it?
What is your credit score? It's a simple question, but almost half of all Americans don't know their credit score. In addition to not knowing their credit score, most Americans do not know how their credit score is calculated, or what factors affect their scores.
Florida Governor Rick Scott called on administrators in the Florida College System to help make college affordable by sponsoring degree programs that cost $10,000 or less. But for those already with hefty student loans, South Florida's income drop has made it harder for many with student loans to pay them back, said Amy Leone, the public relations coordinator for Credit Karma, the consumer website that surveyed average college loan balances across the nation
Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma in San Francisco, Calif., said in an age where about half of all marriages end in divorce, it is important for both spouses to have access to credit. "Even if things are great today, if a couple gets divorced, one of them could very easily be in a situation with no credit and they can't even rent an apartment, because in most cases landlords do credit checks," Mr. Lin said.
We often hear about "the top 1%" in wealth and income, but although many of us may never achieve that status, how about aiming to at least be in the top 25%? Specifically, I'm referring to those with a credit score over 785, placing them in the top 25% of credit scores.