Wondering why your credit score seems to be fluctuating? When you’re struggling to make payments on your debts, should you go into default? What happens if your debt consolidation company goes bankrupt? This morning on NBC, the expert panel tackled these money questions – watch the video below for the answers.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Last week after I launched my new product, the JeanChatzky Score Builder, I had the opportunity to talk about it with Andrea Coombes on MarketWatch. Watch the video below for more information on how Score Builder can help you improve your credit score in just 120 days!
My husband and I are now unable to make payments on our debts since he lost his job two years ago. We’re considering bankruptcy, but we both have good credit scores (over 700). How will bankruptcy affect our credit? – Nancy, North Carolina
Let’s not sugar coat this. It will likely take your scores down by a couple hundred points. In fact, filing will have more of an impact on you and your husband because you have good scores than it would on people with so-so scores. Why? You have further to fall. That’s the bad news. More…
Over the weekend, I spoke to a group of high school students in New Jersey, and promised them I’d post a PDF of the college budget worksheet from my latest book, Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved. Here it is, not only for those students, but for anyone else who is heading off to college at the end of the summer – or for parents who are sending a kid off to college. As you prepare, you’ll no doubt be up to your ears in shower caddies, miniature refrigerators, and extra-long sheets. But don’t forget to add a little financial education to your list. It will go a long way, I promise.
This week, I invited Kimberly Danger, the founder of mommysavers.com, to guest post and share some ideas for entertaining your kids on the cheap this summer. Read on for her great tips.
With the school year coming to a close, moms everywhere are wondering how to keep the kids busy this summer without going broke. If you don’t have tons of money for camps and lessons, you can still keep your kids active and entertained thanks to some great in-store workshops and money-saving strategies.
Summer Reading Programs
Most community libraries host their own summer reading programs, but did you know that you can also sign up for them at a book store near you? You don’t even have to leave the house to get started. Download Barnes and Noble’s Passport to Reading form online and after your child reads eight books, bring it to a store to receive a free book. Check out the Double Dog Dare Reading Program at Borders, where kids get a free book after reading ten. More…
WHO: Kim & Scott Holstein
WHAT: Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels
WHERE: Chicago
WHEN: 1995
HOW: Kim Holstein was frustrated by her day job, but after reading about a woman who made and sold soft pretzels, she had an idea. “After reading that article, I couldn’t get pretzels out of my mind,” says Holstein. After completing graduate school and meeting her future husband Scott (who also had a passion for pretzels), the two began to brainstorm a business in her Lincoln Park apartment. To allow their business to succeed, they knew they needed to add a new twist to the pretzel. “[We wanted] to transform the soft pretzel from a snack item to an anytime meal for people on the go.” More…
“I had a card cancelled because of debt on other cards. The company cited a ‘credit review’ even though I was not late on my payments. Is this allowed under the CARD Act? Is it something that is common?” – Joseph
Lenders conduct credit reviews periodically to evaluate the riskiness of their customers. If a card issuer feels you’re too great a financial risk – whether it’s because of how much credit you have available, or because your credit score suddenly decreased – they may cancel your account to protect themselves. More…
Today is a big day in my world – as we speak, I’m at the FinovateSpring 2010 conference in San Francisco.
Let me back up a bit, though. Finovate is a bi-yearly conference that allows people like me to showcase new innovations in banking or financial technology. I’m here today because I’ve spent the last year working on two new products to help you manage your debt and credit. I’m so excited to finally be able to share them with you. More…
Whether you like it or not, credit scores are important. They come into play when you want to finance a car, take out a mortgage, or get a credit card. Many landlords will check your credit score before renting you an apartment, and, believe it or not, more and more employers are running checks as part of the hiring process. They want to see how responsible and organized you are, and your credit score is one reflection of that.
Unfortunately, the recession has hit credit scores pretty hard. Scores that were great a few years ago are now just good, and those that used to be acceptable are now not good at all. You need a higher score than ever before if you want to get the best interest rates. That’s why I decided to launch the JeanChatzky Score Builder, which will help you earn a better credit score in only 120 days.
Developed in conjunction with my friends at SmartCredit.com, this application will help you make sense of credit scores. Together, we’ll go through the positives and negatives that are affecting your score, then I’ll show you how to clean up the negatives one by one. By pushing a single button, you’ll be able contact your creditors directly through the program and ask that a negative be removed, updated or paid off. All the while, Score Builder will keep track of creditors’ responses – and your credit score’s improvement.
I invite you to check out the Score Builder application by signing up for a five-day free trial of SmartCredit.com. If you like the service, a basic membership is only $19.95 a month. And if you’re already a member of SmartCredit.com? Score Builder is included in that membership, free of charge.
I know that by now, you’ve read more than a few articles about the health care reform bill. But I also know you still have questions – for one of my blog posts on WalletPop.com, I recently talked to the folks at ehealthinsurance.com, and they told me that they’ve been flooded with calls from people who are just plain confused (many are asking for “free Obama care,” in fact). So I thought I’d take a few minutes and bring you up to speed about a few changes that are going to impact families with children.
For starters, you should know that nothing about this bill is immediate. It takes awhile to get the ball rolling with a huge piece of legislation like this, and it is certainly going to take some time for the insurance companies to get acclimated. But two big changes are going to come in September, and I want you to be prepared for them. More…
Better credit in 120 days, powered by Smart Credit
Become debt free on $10 a day with this online program that works with your readiness to change.
I believe knowing how to manage our money is one of the most important life skills for adults - and even more important to pass on to our kids.
A reference guide for money issues that has been carefully indexed so you can flip to the section you need and absorb the information.
In this updated edition, I give you up-to-date strategies to help you get out of debt within three years.
© Samuel Bennett, Inc. 2009-2012. All Rights Reserved. All trademark rights to marks used
on this website are property of the owner of this website unless separately acknowledged.
