We’re up to round four in our “Leave it to the Pros” series, where we take our pressing financial questions to the experts. This week, we’re chatting with Erica Sandberg, editor at large for Bankrate.com’s money and credit management website, Credit Card Guide.
Posts Tagged ‘bankrate’
Leave It to the Pros: Q&A with Financial Editor Erica Sandberg
December 27, 2011How Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score?
June 5, 2008It’s a common misconception that all credit inquiries — or any time your credit report is pulled — hurt your credit score. This isn’t true, however. Only “hard inquiries” will take a toll on your score. Hard inquiries are occasions when your credit report is pulled for the purposes of extending you credit or a [...]
Frugal Living Is In, Big Spending Is Out
May 6, 2008The times, they are a’changing. In the midst of a rough economy, credit crunch and disappointing home values, spending trends have moved away from “spend, spend, spend,” and are now going into belt-tightening mode. Real people can get real creative when times are tough. Take these examples of how to pinch pennies from The Digerati Life blog: [...]
Spring Cleaning for Your Finances
March 24, 2008It’s Spring – finally! – and the perfect time to size up your financial situation. Bankrate has some sound advice on what pieces of your financial life you should look at, how to evaluate, estimated time involved and how much it will cost.
What’s Your Savings IQ?
March 10, 2008It probably comes as no surprise that Americans aren’t saving much, according to a new survey. We’re trying apparently, as the survey reports that three quarters of people say they’re stocking away something, but unfortunately, that “something” only amounts to 5 percent (or less) of income for half of the respondents. Most of us know in a general [...]
Beware of Credit Card High Balances
February 14, 2008A complete home and money know-how includes a solid understanding of a variety of topics – some you may not think go hand in hand, including your credit, home appreciation, mortgage options, budgeting and rainy day fund. To help you stay ahead of the curve, I’m starting a Home and Money Tip series that will [...]
Ten Tax Laws That Could Save You Money
February 12, 2008Tax season is upon us and while procrastination seems to be the season’s theme, why not let getting money back from Uncle Sam be a motivator to git’r’done?! I know, not everyone gets a refund, but many of us do and for me, that’s the single biggest reason I already have my 2007 taxes finished [...]
Is the Rate on Your Credit Card Dropping?
February 6, 2008Do you know where the interest rate on your credit card currently stands? With the recent drops in the Fed Funds Rate, the Prime Rate — or the interest rate that many credit card companies use as a base to establish how much to charge you in interest — has plummeted as well. In fact, [...]
How I Got Out of Debt
January 24, 2008After many years of looking at overwhelming balances on my credit card statements, it was one heck of a feeling when I saw all of those balances finally at zero. That’s right — I got myself out of debt! Well, okay, I still have a bit of low-interest student loan debt, but the kind of debt I’m [...]
Your Money Matters in 2008
December 28, 2007With the new year upon us, it’s time to reflect back on 2007 — all of our money successes and mistakes — and consider how to apply the things we’ve learned to 2008. Bankrate does just this in its 2008 Financial Forecast. From the best and worst of 2007, to the money experts’ crystal ball predictions for 2008, this guide provides a “wealth” of knowledge about your money.
So the Fed Cut Rates… What Does This Mean?
December 11, 2007The Federal Reserve — aka “the Fed” — lowered the Fed funds rate today by 1/4 point to 4.25 percent. Great, but what does that really mean?
