Part of developing financial literacy and achieving financial security is understanding debt -- and its partner in crime, credit. They are two sides to the same coin. We use credit to buy homes, pay for education, and other larger important expenses, so we want to have a good credit score to enable us to do so manageably. The irony is that our credit scores are, in part, a reflection of how much debt we have had and been able to manage well over time (you actually have to have some history of debt in order to demonstrate your ability to handle it and thus give you a good credit score). However, we have been counseled to get out of debt and stay out of debt, and we know that consumer debt is especially dangerous. So how do we manage it? Knowledge is power, so let's learn about it!
I'll be honest with you: there's no way to effectively summarize some of this without leaving out important information, so I'm going to direct you to some great resources instead. Choose the topics you are most interested in or needful of, click, and read on!
How Credit Reports Work and What Changes Your Score
How to Get Your Free Annual Credit Report (please DO read this one!)
New Rules for Credit Card Companies
Provident Living's Discussion of Debt
Provident Living Debt-Elimination Calculator
Amortization Schedules (how much interest you're paying on your mortage and when)
A collection of calculators for debt, home equity/mortgage, school loans, etc. (*Disclaimer for this link: this is a respectable site, but it is commercial, so please use their useful calculators, but don't feel you have to look around!)
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Here's a trivia question for the week: When we talk about credit ratings, we hear "FICO" spoken of a lot. What does FICO stand for?
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