Personal Finance

There are two different types of credit that you should be aware of: non-revolving and revolving credit. Knowing what the differences are is essential to understanding the effect it has on your long-term credit and which one to use in a variety of financial situations. What Is Revolving Credit?...

How well do you understand your monthly mortgage bill? If you have a mortgage, you need to understand PITI, or Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. Or if you’re shopping for a home, you want to know your estimated PITI so you know your mortgage is affordable. The bottom line is that...

Are you preparing for a move to the land down under? Offering beautiful beaches, a laid-back lifestyle and unique landscape, Australia can be a great seachange for some U.S. expats. If you make the migration south, you will find many cultural similarities between Australia and the US and the shared...

When looking for your first credit card, you might initially be overwhelmed by the number of options available to you. Rewards cards, travel cards, secured cards, and unsecured cards: you might not understand the difference. Precisely what is a secured credit card, and when should you choose it...

The type of home you choose is a very personal decision. Whether you’re considering a house or condo, there are significant differences that you want to carefully contemplate. Without being overly stereotypical, single-family houses with white picket fences are favored by families and people...

Medean, an all-in-one budgeting app founded in 2015, said Thursday it's launching Medean 2.0, an overhauled version of the existing application. The app now fuses two existing elements — Medean Score and Achievements — into a new feature called Journey, which gives...

Having a good credit score is something that many people obsess over. Having the highest credit score possible dictates the types of credit cards you can get, or your ability to get a loan. In today’s society, more businesses are stressing the importance of having good credit. But why is it...

You hear a lot about the down payment required to buy a home, but closing costs are also a significant consideration. You can’t eliminate all or even most of these costs, but there are steps you can take to reduce them. You can do this by understanding how much closing costs amount to...

Since the financial crisis of 2008, many banks have tightened the restrictions around their lending criteria, making it harder for borrowers to get approved for a loan. While there are many reasons for this, people are now turning to nontraditional ways to get approved for loans. One example is...

When you first obtain a credit card, being able to pay for your everyday items and earn rewards while doing it might seem like the perfect solution. Yet that little plastic card can be detrimental to your credit if you aren’t careful. If you are uncertain what your credit score is,...

When you get your first credit card, it might seem like just a tool to help you make everyday purchases, but it's much more than that. While credit cards can be great, if you have noticed that your credit score is lower than it should be, or you're getting unfamiliar bills in the mail, you...

Not every home improvement adds equity to your home value immediately. If you’re about to drop $45,000 on a new gourmet kitchen, your own pleasure in that kitchen should be at least as valuable to you as what it does to increase your home equity. The Hanley Wood Construction Industry Database...

Owning your home comes with many great benefits. It certainly is the biggest asset for most people. Building equity through appreciated value is a lot like having a savings account — savings that are available to you as a cash-out refinance. This is nothing new; homeowners have always been...

If you’ve been searching terms like "how much is my home worth" and are disappointed with the results, you might be thinking about ways to increase its value. To get the best bang for your buck, consider some of these options. Update The Kitchen When searching for a new home, many...

Buying a first home is elusive for many young people. You have to come up with a huge down payment. Your credit score needs to be high or needs to be improved. You have to decide the house for which you want to make your biggest financial commitment. While there are more issues, these are the big...