Having a tax lien on your credit report can weigh down your credit score, and can even make it tougher – if not impossible – to do things like sell or refinance a property, or get a loan. After all, a federal tax lien is viewed as a severe credit blemish by lenders, as well […]
Steps to Get a Tax Lien Removed From Your Credit Reports Read More »
College students: if you’re a procrastinator, or the type of person who does stuff not just at the last minute, but late, that bad habit is going to cost you big time on campus. If you’re late doing anything at all in college, expect your school to bill you for it. That includes being late
How Late Payment and Penalty Fees Drain College Students’ Budgets Read More »
Fannie Mae is rolling out a series of new mortgage rules that will make it easier for African-Americans, Latinos and others to qualify for home loans. Under recently announced guidelines, starting in 2016 Fannie Mae will require mortgage lenders to take into account non-traditional credit data from potential homebuyers, such as a person’s rent payments
Fannie Mae Making It Easier for African-Americans, Latinos to Get Mortgages Read More »
Many people living with crushing debt focus on the ways that those out-of-control bills affect their finances. And it’s easy to see why. When you have massive student loans, an enormous mortgage, or maxed out credit cards, those obligations can be a huge financial burden. They drain your wallet, put you in the trap of
5 Horrible Things About Debt That Have Nothing To Do With Money Read More »
Now is the time of year that millions of people nationwide start thinking about making New Year’s resolutions – especially financial resolutions. Many people grappling with various money problems are waiting for January 1 to roll around. At that point, they’ll make a financial New Year’s resolution such as getting out of debt, improving their
Don’t Make a Financial Resolution Until You Read This Read More »
Financial Planning Days start in October, kicking off a series of events all around the country designed to get Americans focused on their long-term financial security. If you’ve ever wanted to talk to a financial expert about how to improve your financial circumstances, but were worried that it might cost too much, you now have
Financial Planning Days: Get Free Money Help In Your Area Read More »
National Get Smart About Credit Day occurs this week, and takes place annually on the third Thursday of October. While it’s not a federal holiday, in some ways it should be. For every adult in America, your credit is an enormously important factor in your financial health and wellbeing. Your credit rating affects everything from
4 Credit Tips for National Get Smart About Credit Day Read More »
Smart Laundry Tips for College Students to Save Money: For many students, moving away to college means saying goodbye to home-cooked meals—and Mom or Dad doing the laundry. Suddenly, you’re responsible for cleaning your own clothes, and those small costs can add up fast. The average college student laundry cost runs about $2 to $3
Smart Laundry Tips for College Students to Save Money Read More »
It’s the final quarter of the year and that means it’s also the season when a lot of people do serious damage to their finances. To avoid becoming a negative financial statistic, make sure you avoid these three financial pitfalls at year-end. Holiday Overspending The temptation to spend a lot of money – or even
3 Financial Pitfalls To Avoid At Year-End Read More »
Forget about just charging you tuition and fees. One of the new ways colleges and universities are making money off students is by charging for a host of previously things that didn’t cost money – like academic fieldwork, research projects and internships. Conducting such research and academic work could costs hundreds or even thousands of
The Shocking New Trend With College Internships Read More »
Over the years, many people have asked me whether it’s worth it to pay a credit repair firm to remove negative information from their credit reports. My typical reply is: No, it’s usually not worth it – mainly because hiring a credit repair company to fix your credit is often a frustrating waste of time
7 Things Credit Repair Firms Won’t Tell You Read More »
If you tuned in recently to this season’s premiere episode of ABC’s “Black-ish,” you saw Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Anthony Anderson in rare form. In the season 2 opener of “Black-ish,” Anderson’s character (Dre) tackled a weighty subject – the use of the N-word in America – with a hefty dose of humor and grace.
No Joke: Financial Lessons From Black-ish Star Anthony Anderson Read More »
After a journalist recently asked me about owing my own company, it got me thinking about the pros and cons of entrepreneurship. Starting my own business with the help of One Indigenous Entrepreneur was absolutely the best thing I could have ever done for my career – and like a lot of successful entrepreneurs, I actually
The Joy of Entrepreneurship with My Spouse Read More »
I just got back over the weekend from FinCon, the annual financial conference for bloggers and, boy, am I glad I made the trip to Charlotte, NC! The founder of FinCon, Philip Taylor, who runs a terrific blog called PT Money, had invited me a couple times before to come out. But prior work commitments
FinCon Review: 10 Financial Bloggers of Color to Watch Read More »
If you need further proof that college in America has become more like big business, look no further than the emergence of “differential tuition” over the past decade. Differential tuition, as I explain in College Secrets, is a pricing structure under which colleges and universities charge some students a regular “base rate” of tuition but
Differential Tuition: A Hidden College Expense That Costs Families Thousands Read More »
