Advice To Homebuyers: Boost Your Credit Score

Another bit of advice Green offers is to note how close you are to the credit limit on any of your cards. If you’re near the limit, that is a black mark against you in a lender’s eyes – the ideal is to have a balance of less than 30 percent of your credit limit. If you can’t pay down the limit, Green suggests asking the credit card issuer to up your card’s limit to get it below that 30 percent threshold. Paying close to attention to credit scoring details, insists Green, can up your score by 100 points in no time.

Turning Student Debt Into Good Credit

There are times when even the most well-meaning and responsible graduate just can’t make those loan repayments. When that is the case, Raghavan writes that the best approach is to defer the loans. Defaulting on the debt will do lasting harm to your credit score. “As a good rule of thumb, remember that it’s OK to defer, but not to default,” she writes.

IRS Rule Change Targets Identity Thieves

The new procedures will go into effect in January of 2015 and are meant to make it more difficult for criminals to steal taxpayer identities and hijack their deposits. Currently, an identity thief or unscrupulous accountant could set up an account or obtain a prepaid debit card into which they could funnel multiple tax refunds.

A Wave of Debit Card Fraud

It’s the sort of call that is becoming unnervingly common these days. Police in the city of Gilbert, Arizona near Phoenix, recently warned that criminals impersonating law enforcement officers were phoning residents and threatening them with arrest unless they pay outstanding traffic tickets. The way to pay the fictitious tickets? By handing over credit card… Continue reading A Wave of Debit Card Fraud

Suze Orman Prepaid Card Discontinued June 30

That’s because Orman’s Approved Card, a partnership with Bancorp Bank that was released in early 2012, is suspending operations on July 1. According to a story in The New York Times, holders of the Approved Card recently received a letter from Bancorp Bank urging them to spend whatever money remained in their accounts – anything not spent would be refunded to them.

Prepaid Debit Card Reviews, Complaints, Etc