Americans are up to their ears in high-interest credit card debt, but, if bankruptcy is not an option, there is a way to decrease your monthly burden.
But before you start your journey - here is a sample of some recent surveys:
Experian: The typical American has a credit card balance of $6,375.00, up nearly 3 percent from last year.
Federal Reserve: Total credit card debt has reached its highest point ever, surpassing $1 trillion in 2017
Bankrate: Credit card interest rates are at a record high, at an average of 17 percent.
WalletHub: With the Federal Reserve's latest quarter-point interest-rate hike, credit card users will pay ...
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How Other People Can Affect Your Credit Score
Here are a few of the most common ways that other people can affect your credit score, along with some ways to protect yourself.
1. When you're an authorized user on someone else's credit card
You may think that being added as an authorized user places all the responsibility on the primary cardholder, but in fact, your authorized-user status will also be reported to credit bureaus. While you aren't primarily responsible for repaying the debt, all activity associated with the account will show up on your credit report.
This is why becoming an authorized user is sometimes recommended as a way to build credit. If the primary cardholder ...
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Fed Reports That Credit Card Debt Has Hit $1 Trillion
American's credit card debt has just hit a disturbing record of $1.02 Trillion according to the Federal Reserve. You may be surprised how much we owe.
Most of us owe money on some combination of mortgages, student loans, cars, and credit cards. Medical debts and personal loans are pretty common, too.
While being in debt may be considered “normal”, you may be wondering how your debt compares to your peers'. And now, you can find out thanks to the 2017 State of Credit report from Experian. Here are a few key findings from that report, along with some tips on what you can do if your debts are higher than you'd like.
How high is the ...
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Credit Card Debt Increases Most Since Prior To Great Recession
According to WalletHub, Americans added $92.2 billion in credit card debt in 2017, the most since 2007 - prior to the Great Recession. When you include all outstanding balances, the Federal Reserve estimates that Americans owe more than $1 trillion in credit card debt.
So what’s the deal? In the fourth quarter of 2017, Americans added $67.6 billion in credit card debt, which was the highest quarterly accumulation in 30 years. Looking back over the past couple of years, you can also see a speedy incline in debt, with debt climbing from $43 billion in 2015 to $87 billion 2016. This growing burden could be attributed to historically low ...
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Supreme Court To Consider Challenge to Merchant Vendor Fees
Every time a consumer swipes his or her credit card, the credit card company collects a merchant vendor fee. Do most consumers know this? Probably not. This is because American Express policies prohibit retailers from educating consumers about these fees or giving consumers benefits for using lower-cost cards. Although retailers are fighting for the right to disclose these fees, credit card companies are determined to keep consumers in the dark.
Retailers are supporting an action that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The case, Ohio et al. v. American Express, began when the Federal Government and 11 states sued ...
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Consumer’s Appetite For Debt On the Rise
Interest rates are on the rise, but that hasn’t curbed Americans’ appetite for consumer debt. If anything, consumers are borrowing more on credit cards or through auto loans than they have in years, and lenders seeking growth are happy to oblige them.
Recently, a male millennial said he signed up for more than five credit cards over the past year, from issuers including Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services, after he received offers in the mail. He also took out a $36,000 loan to buy a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. This individual, who rents, said the offers have been arriving as his credit score has improved. He ...
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VantageScore – Credit Scoring Game Changer?
Various sources have reported that lenders are increasingly using VantageScore to determine credit worthiness. You need to know what it is and why it could be a game changer.
VantageScore is a credit scoring model that first emerged in 2006 as a joint venture of the big three credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — and now has the distinction of being one of only two scoring models lenders rely on to make lending decisions (the other being FICO). VantageScore currently claims about 10% of this hard-to-crack market for credit scores used in the lending industry, with the greatest adoption seen among the largest banks and ...
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Don’t Ignore Your Credit Report
It pays to be familiar with your credit report. The information it contains determines your credit score, your ability to access credit and loans, and even your chances of landing a job or signing a lease. It's a good idea to check your credit report on at least an annual basis. In certain scenarios, however, you should closely monitor your credit report no matter when you last checked it. Here are six times you need to check your credit report.
Debt Collectors are Calling
If you're getting calls from debt collectors regarding unpaid bills, you may need to do some damage control. Whether the debt in question is valid or not, it could ...
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How Parents Can Help Their Children Apply for Credit
John was a college student who was working to establish credit so that he can build a good financial future. One month there was an oversight and he missed his car lease payment by a few days. He panicked, thinking that his credit was ‘ruined’. Fortunately, his parents set him straight about how the credit ranking system works. But what was exactly wrong with their son’s understanding that set off his panic state? Students should be taught ahead of time the truths and myths of obtaining credit, specifically, John should have been told the following:
Unless he is 30 days (or more) behind on a payment, his credit will not be affected. ...
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Unique Ways to Manage Your Credit
To many, making payments on time and staying below 30% of your balance is all you need to keep a high credit score. Although these are major components that are used in the formulas to determine your credit score, they are not the only ones.
In addition, there are certain metrics that could affect your credit score that you might not normally consider. Let’s take a look at them.
Closing Unused Accounts
One would think that if you are not using a credit card or other loan, such as a line of credit, it would make sense to close it out. Reason being that it would keep your credit file more organized and up to date.
You may be surprised ...
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What Makes Me Different From the Others?