Blonch

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. You are also entitled to a free credit report under certain circumstances, such as when you are denied credit because of something in your credit report. You can order three free credit reports each year, but you don’t have to order all three at the same time. If you order one from each of the three credit bureaus every four months, you can stay more current on what’s in your credit accounts, without having to buy a service. If you are married, you can double up by ordering a report for you and for your spouse - that’s six free credit reports per year - enough to order one every other month.

Limiting Your Financial Loss
People find it convenient to use credit and debit cards. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) offer procedures for you to use if your cards are lost or stolen, and limit your loss if you follow them.
Report the loss or theft of your credit cards [...]

Just Say No!
Telemarketers call and say I need credit card loss protection insurance. They just need my approval and they will send out the free trial - no risk kit. Sometimes they offer the first year free, but the renewal payment is automatic. The “free kit” for credit card loss protection is a place for [...]

If you have high interest debt, have quit using charge cards irresponsibly and have started working the debt snowball, but want to see even faster results toward being debt free, here are some less common suggestions for ways to deal with the high interest debt. Some of these just exchange one kind of debt for [...]

Many people need to reduce their credit card debt. If you are ready to take control now and reduce or eliminate credit card debt before it threatens your financial health, you are to be commended. Here are some tips and steps you may find helpful in reaching your goals of reducing and then eliminating credit [...]

There are a lot of credit cards with rewards programs. The reward plans I like offer cash back. It is very tempting to use these cards for your purchases in order to maximize those rewards, whether you can pay it off right away or not. That is how you can get into trouble.

If you are having trouble managing your credit card debt, you may need to start with knowing what you have available to make payments with. Balancing your checkbook helps you know exactly how much money you have in the bank.