Credit & Debt

Tis the Season To Boost Your Credit Report Score

Naomi M — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:04:42 -0600

Now is not only the time to shop for the holidays, it's also the best time of the year to remove derogatory accounts on your credit report and boost your credit score, according to author and credit restoration expert, Terry Price.

If you've got derogatory accounts on your credit report that you want to dispute with the credit bureaus, or your creditors, do it after Thanksgiving and before New Year’s Day.

Credit and debit cards desperately in need of updating to prevent fraud

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:24:30 -0500

In this age of technological advances, the technology used for encoding our credit card information goes back to the 1960s.

The systems we have in place for collecting credit card information are more than 40 years old. And yet — here's the really scary part — the technology that can help reduce fraud also has existed for a long time.

Europe is way ahead of the US

The buy now, pay later generation

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:14:59 -0500

Young women have turned shopping into the number-one leisure activity.

Many young, professional women are working their way up the career ladder and don't have a problem with spending beyond their means. They think, "One day I'll have the money to pay off that overdraft or credit card bill."

Young, professional and tie-free women who want more than a slice of cake as a little treat have turned shopping into the country's number-one leisure activity.

Credit card companies taking advantage of students

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:05:04 -0500

Students are racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt being lured by deals too good to be true.

Sneaky tactics

This was the case with one student who thought he could use his credit card for 18 months with no interest, only later to find out the credit card company was charging him an interest rate if he wasn’t shopping at stores that were approved.

Another tactic used by credit card companies is to offer free gifts to open accounts.

Easy credit spending has no boundaries

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:49:04 -0500

Conditions in world credit markets have been grabbing headlines as the subprime mortgage crisis began this summer in the United States. The crisis has brought stagnation to the interbank market that oils the wheels of the global lending machine. That, in turn, is starting to squeeze consumers worldwide, and there is concern this autumn that consumer spending is slackening.

Canadians on a spending spree and going deeper into debt

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:33:35 -0500

Americans, don’t feel alone. Canadians are racking up "troubling" amounts of debt, mostly because of reckless spending and irresponsible use of credit cards.

A recent survey by Credit Canada, a non-profit credit counseling service and credit-card provider Capital One Canada reveals Canadians' heedless spending habits, with 55 per cent of respondents admitting their expenses outpace their incomes for at least one month per year.