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MoneyTips Americans appear to be feeling more confident in their finances – at least with respect to their credit card payments. According to a new survey from CompareCards.com, more Americans are paying their credit card bills in full. As of January 2019, 39% of survey respondents paid all credit card bills in full over the last six months and 69% paid at least half of their bills in full over the same time period. "It's great news that more Americans are paying their card statement balances in full each month," said CompareCards.com Chief Industry Analyst Matt Schulz. "Job No. 1 for anyone with a credit card is to pay your balance off as soon as possible, and it's a positive sign that more Americans are able to do that every month." If consumers follow through on their survey statements, momentum for full payments will keep growing. Almost half (48%) of respondents are very confident they will pay all credit card bills in full for the current month&

MoneyTips Debt, Shmebt Do you pay off your credit card bill every month? If not, how often do you pay off the full balance? If you haven't in the last year, you're with the majority of balance-carrying Americans. According to a recent CreditCards.com poll, over half (56%) of Americans who have balances carry them for over a year – and half of that group isn't stressed about their debt. Approximately 23% of debtors have been in debt for at least three years, and 14% of debtors have been in debt for at least five years. If you don't care about running debt, you should. You're not only paying extra interest charges, you're also leaving yourself no cushion for a true financial emergency. The More You Have, The More You Spend Debt isn't inherently bad – it allows you to handle large purchases without destroying cash flow. However, the convenience of credit cards can lead to excessive debt through overspending. The

MoneyTips Debt, Shmebt Do you pay off your credit card bill every month? If not, how often do you pay off the full balance? If you haven't in the last year, you're with the majority of balance-carrying Americans. According to a recent CreditCards.com poll, over half (56%) of Americans who have balances carry them for over a year – and half of that group isn't stressed about their debt. Approximately 23% of debtors have been in debt for at least three years, and 14% of debtors have been in debt for at least five years. If you don't care about running debt, you should. You're not only paying extra interest charges, you're also leaving yourself no cushion for a true financial emergency. The More You Have, The More You Spend Debt isn't inherently bad – it allows you to handle large purchases without destroying cash flow. However, the convenience of credit cards can lead to excessive debt through overspending. The

MoneyTips We've all heard the scary statistics of identity theft. In the last year: An estimated 16.7 million people were victims Identity theft cost Americans $17 billion (compared to a whopping $21.8 billion in 2012) The Federal Trade Commission took 371,061 reports of identity theft in the U.S., including 133,015 reports of credit card fraud Behind all of these numbers are living, breathing identity theft victims. Each victim now has trouble convincing people that he is who he says he is… and that various nefarious crooks aren't him! This is one such story of an educated, computer-savvy victim, along with tips on how you can protect your identity from this digital epidemic. Greg's Story In 2011, Greg Scott's credit card was compromised. The IT professional discovered the problem when his card was unexpectedly declined while ordering equipment for a customer over the phone.Turns out, the decline was because there we... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2H2f

MoneyTips We've all heard the scary statistics of identity theft. In the last year: An estimated 16.7 million people were victims Identity theft cost Americans $17 billion (compared to a whopping $21.8 billion in 2012) The Federal Trade Commission took 371,061 reports of identity theft in the U.S., including 133,015 reports of credit card fraud Behind all of these numbers are living, breathing identity theft victims. Each victim now has trouble convincing people that he is who he says he is… and that various nefarious crooks aren't him! This is one such story of an educated, computer-savvy victim, along with tips on how you can protect your identity from this digital epidemic. Greg's Story In 2011, Greg Scott's credit card was compromised. The IT professional discovered the problem when his card was unexpectedly declined while ordering equipment for a customer over the phone.Turns out, the decline was because there we... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2H2f

MoneyTips When it comes to dealing with risk, America's housing market struggles with balance. How can lenders offer affordable home mortgages for more Americans and still maintain proper safeguards? The Great Recession was driven in part by overly risky loans that were packaged as securities and sold to investors who were unaware of the underlying risk. The resulting housing market collapse led to the Dodd-Frank regulations that regulated mortgage lending and applied credit-tightening safeguards. Most of those safeguards are still in place, but loan offers are starting to creep back into risky territory – and investors are happy to buy up those loans looking for returns. Dodd-Frank instituted qualifying mortgage rules – a set of lending restrictions that must be met before loans can be purchased by the mortgage loan backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Riskier unqualified loans may still be granted, but lenders don't receive protections associated with qualified ... f

MoneyTips When it comes to dealing with risk, America's housing market struggles with balance. How can lenders offer affordable home mortgages for more Americans and still maintain proper safeguards? The Great Recession was driven in part by overly risky loans that were packaged as securities and sold to investors who were unaware of the underlying risk. The resulting housing market collapse led to the Dodd-Frank regulations that regulated mortgage lending and applied credit-tightening safeguards. Most of those safeguards are still in place, but loan offers are starting to creep back into risky territory – and investors are happy to buy up those loans looking for returns. Dodd-Frank instituted qualifying mortgage rules – a set of lending restrictions that must be met before loans can be purchased by the mortgage loan backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Riskier unqualified loans may still be granted, but lenders don't receive protections associated with qualified ... f

MoneyTips When it comes to dealing with risk, America's housing market struggles with balance. How can lenders offer affordable home mortgages for more Americans and still maintain proper safeguards? The Great Recession was driven in part by overly risky loans that were packaged as securities and sold to investors who were unaware of the underlying risk. The resulting housing market collapse led to the Dodd-Frank regulations that regulated mortgage lending and applied credit-tightening safeguards. Most of those safeguards are still in place, but loan offers are starting to creep back into risky territory – and investors are happy to buy up those loans looking for returns. Dodd-Frank instituted qualifying mortgage rules – a set of lending restrictions that must be met before loans can be purchased by the mortgage loan backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Riskier unqualified loans may still be granted, but lenders don't receive protections associated with qualified ... f

MoneyTips You don't have any financial issues to hide from your partner ... do you? According to a new survey from CreditCards.com, almost 1 in 5 of us does. The survey found that 19% of Americans have at least one financial account that they hide from their spouse or live-in partner – either banking or credit card accounts. That translates to around 29 million Americans who aren't fully open with their loved one about finances. The true number of cheaters is likely higher. Why expect 100% of people who would lie to their partner to be completely truthful with a survey that asks about cheating habits, confidential or not? Cheaters may rationalize their behavior by saying that their cheating is only financial, not physical in nature. That doesn't fly with most Americans. Approximately 35% of respondents believe that financial cheating is just as bad as physical cheating... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2V64eag

MoneyTips Have We Finally Hit the Debt Wall? According to the old saying, the two certainties in life are death and taxes. Maybe we should add debt to the list. The New York Federal Reserve's latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows that household debt rose by $869 billion in Q4 2018 to hit $13.54 trillion. That's the 18 th consecutive quarterly increase – but the trend may be nearing an end. Over the same time period, new credit extensions for auto loans and mortgages slowed and the number of new credit inquiries over the previous six months fell to the lowest level – fewer than 145 million – since the New York Fed's database began in 2003. Have Americans concluded that they have too much debt – and, if so, is that a good or bad omen? Good News, Bad News Credit inquiries are credit report requests from lenders, also known as "... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2IpLZuT

MoneyTips By Sandra Parsons Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt especially crippling in an economy of rising costs. Using an anonymized sample, LendingTree analyzed 2018 second quarter credit report data for 75,000 My LendingTree users aged 65-70 across the fifty largest metropolitan centers in the US. They calculated three main metrics: median non-mortgage debt balances; distribution of debt by type (auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans ); and average credit score. The results might surprise you. The Average Median Non-Mortgage Debt Among Retirement-Aged... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2SKzTBe

MoneyTips By Sandra Parsons Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt especially crippling in an economy of rising costs. Using an anonymized sample, LendingTree analyzed 2018 second quarter credit report data for 75,000 My LendingTree users aged 65-70 across the fifty largest metropolitan centers in the US. They calculated three main metrics: median non-mortgage debt balances; distribution of debt by type (auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans ); and average credit score. The results might surprise you. The Average Median Non-Mortgage Debt Among Retirement-Aged... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2SKzTBe

MoneyTips By Sandra Parsons Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt especially crippling in an economy of rising costs. Using an anonymized sample, LendingTree analyzed 2018 second quarter credit report data for 75,000 My LendingTree users aged 65-70 across the fifty largest metropolitan centers in the US. They calculated three main metrics: median non-mortgage debt balances; distribution of debt by type (auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans ); and average credit score. The results might surprise you. The Average Median Non-Mortgage Debt Among Retirement-Aged... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2SKzTBe

MoneyTips By Sandra Parsons Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt especially crippling in an economy of rising costs. Using an anonymized sample, LendingTree analyzed 2018 second quarter credit report data for 75,000 My LendingTree users aged 65-70 across the fifty largest metropolitan centers in the US. They calculated three main metrics: median non-mortgage debt balances; distribution of debt by type (auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans ); and average credit score. The results might surprise you. The Average Median Non-Mortgage Debt Among Retirement-Aged... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2SKzTBe

MoneyTips You're a pretty tech-savvy person. You know how to avoid common scams. You can spot phishing e-mails a mile away – even spear phishing e-mails tailored specifically to fool you. Would you like to put your skills to the test? Jigsaw offers an online quiz to test your phish-detecting acumen. The quiz, based on the results of multiple worldwide security training sessions, features eight modified examples of real-life phishing scams – including the infamous attack that tricked John Podesta into allowing Russian hackers access to Hillary Clinton's campaign. All quiz questions are challenging and relatively subtle – there are no stereotypical Nigerian princes here. Since Jigsaw is a division of Google, you can trust that it’s legit; Google probably already knows more about you than you suspect! You're presented with a fictional e-mail and asked to determine whether it's legitimate or a phishin... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2N7WAcG

MoneyTips Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt. According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That's similar to the percentage in last year's Finder.com survey , so don't expect debt to become a desirable trend.) "With 72% of Americans saying they'd reconsider a romantic relationship if the other person was in debt, singles with unsettled loans might want to sort out their balance sheets before hitting the dating scene," says finder's Consumer Advocate Jennifer McDermott. According to the survey , "While debt is undoubtedly a turn off, not all debts are viewed as equally unappealing. For example, credit card debt is the number one ... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2IpAbZV

MoneyTips Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt. According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That's similar to the percentage in last year's Finder.com survey , so don't expect debt to become a desirable trend.) "With 72% of Americans saying they'd reconsider a romantic relationship if the other person was in debt, singles with unsettled loans might want to sort out their balance sheets before hitting the dating scene," says finder's Consumer Advocate Jennifer McDermott. According to the survey , "While debt is undoubtedly a turn off, not all debts are viewed as equally unappealing. For example, credit card debt is the number one ... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2IpAbZV

MoneyTips Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt. According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That's similar to the percentage in last year's Finder.com survey , so don't expect debt to become a desirable trend.) "With 72% of Americans saying they'd reconsider a romantic relationship if the other person was in debt, singles with unsettled loans might want to sort out their balance sheets before hitting the dating scene," says finder's Consumer Advocate Jennifer McDermott. According to the survey , "While debt is undoubtedly a turn off, not all debts are viewed as equally unappealing. For example, credit card debt is the number one ... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2IpAbZV

MoneyTips Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt. According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That's similar to the percentage in last year's Finder.com survey , so don't expect debt to become a desirable trend.) "With 72% of Americans saying they'd reconsider a romantic relationship if the other person was in debt, singles with unsettled loans might want to sort out their balance sheets before hitting the dating scene," says finder's Consumer Advocate Jennifer McDermott. According to the survey , "While debt is undoubtedly a turn off, not all debts are viewed as equally unappealing. For example, credit card debt is the number one ... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2IpAbZV

MoneyTips Survey Suggests Economic Overconfidence If the economy is so great and unemployment is so low, why do so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? And why don't we seem to care? The February PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report attempts to answer these questions, noting, "For three consecutive quarters, consumers have been optimistic about their financial futures – even while slipping further into debt." Results from the corresponding Q3 2018 survey suggest that we're relying too much on credit – giving us false confidence in our financial outlook. Overconfidence Rules According to the survey , 38.8% of Americans thought they were in better financial standing compared to a year ago, with 43.3% saying they were in about the same financial shape – similar numbers to the first two quarters of 2018... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2BvEMDO

MoneyTips After the 2017 announcement of the Equifax data breach that potentially compromised the personal information of almost 150 million consumers, you'd probably expect Congress to take significant action to prevent future breaches. To date, you'd be wrong – but that may change with a Democratic House eager to address consumer protection issues. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has authority to review credit reporting agencies (CRAs) like Equifax, including assessing their ability to handle data breaches. The Trump administration has shown little interest in regulating the credit reporting agencies (although, in fairness, Obama administration oversight didn't raise sufficient alarm bells, either). Legislative efforts didn't fare any better. Shortly after the breach announcement, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced the Comprehensive Consumer Credit Rep... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2Gkrlup

MoneyTips First-time homebuyers face many obstacles, but perhaps the most frustrating one is accumulating down payment money. Traditional loans require a 20% down payment. Using Zillow's $229,800 median home sale price for November 2018, that's over $45,000 – and in many urban markets, a 20% down payment will easily top $100,000. How long will it take you to save up a 20% down payment given today's median homebuyer income of $72,500? According to Zillow Research , you'll need 7.2 years on average with today's median home prices. That's 1.5 more years than it took in 1988, when the median home value was $79,400 and the median homebuyer income was $28,100. Since 1988, the median home value has increased by a factor of 2.8 while median homebuyer income increased by a factor just below 2.6. However, overall debt obligations have exploded. America's household... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2TEaS7p

MoneyTips So Long, Free Credit Monitoring Were you one of the nearly 148 million consumers affected by the 2017 Equifax data breach ? You may have taken advantage of Equifax's free one-year offer of their TrustedID Premier service, extended to all affected consumers. TrustedID Premier allowed consumers to lock their Equifax credit report, provided identity theft insurance, provided copies of their Equifax report and monitoring services for all three credit reporting agencies (including Experian and TransUnion), and checked the Internet for misuse of their Social Security numbers. We use the past tense because the free service expired at the end of January. Any lock that Equifax applied as part of the service is now removed. Unfortunately, while the service has expired, the threat has not. Identity thieves can strike years after the original br... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2GsmRkD

MoneyTips Are credit scores a mystery to you? Do they seem like random numbers generated by bureaucrats armed with dartboards and Ouija boards? A new survey by CompareCards.com finds that 37% of Americans have no idea how their credit score is calculated. Worse yet, another 14% wouldn't indicate whether they knew how their credit score worked – meaning that just less than half of Americans have confidence that they properly understand credit scores. If you don't know how a credit score works, how can you tell whether you're doing the right things to improve your credit standing? You can always try a tool that Americans used before the invention of the credit score – common sense. A different survey question suggests that most Americans still grasp good credit principles, even if they don't fully understand credit scores. When asked what the biggest factor was in determining a credit score, nearly half of respondents correctly chose how often you from MoneyTips

MoneyTips The news seems to be filled with stories about hackers and identity theft these days, and rightly so. According to the 2018 Identity Fraud Study released by Javelin Strategy & Research, there were 16.7 million victims of identity theft in 2017, racking up a total of $17 billion in damages. Identity fraudsters successfully netted 1.3 million more victims as compared to the previous year. So, why haven't you joined MoneyTips to protect yourself yet? As a victim of identity theft , you can feel completely helpless and violated — not to mention aggravated at the hassles involved in restoring your identity and challenging fraudulent charges. You were already busy before the... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2SlnItM

MoneyTips First-time homebuyers face many challenges, but the biggest task may be coming up with a suitable down payment. Consumers in the early stages of their careers often face a fresh set of bills – and in some cases, mountains of student loan debt. A National Association of Realtors survey found that over half of recent homebuyers age 37 and younger cited student loan debt as the main down payment obstacle. How can young Americans save up for a conventional 20% down payment, or even the 3.5% minimum down payment for FHA loans ? Many have concluded that they can't – and are asking for help from their parents. The recent annual report from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) shows that over one-quarter (26%) of homebuyers with FHA-insured loans received some payment a... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2FZnX8h