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Can Holiday Spending Hurt Your Credit Score?

January 6, 2022 Shawn Lane Consumer Credit Expert   The holidays are not a time to pinch pennies. There’s nothing wrong with loosening the purse strings, giving generously, and using this time to focus on friends and family instead of money. But you at least want to make it through to the end of the year with your finances intact, …

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How does a credit card limit increase work?

November 18, 2021 Shawn Lane Consumer Credit Expert When you take on any form of debt, there are limits to how much money you can borrow. For a loan, that limit is represented as the total sum offered to the borrower. For a credit card, it’s represented as the credit limit.If you want the ability to spend more money with …

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What Consumers Don’t Know about Free Credit Score Companies

November 2, 2021 Shawn Lane Consumer Credit Expert If you’re trying to actively monitor your credit, paying for a copy of your credit score can be a frustrating expense. In this situation, companies offering a free copy of your credit score probably seem like a godsend. But while these services can show you a free credit score, it might not …

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FICO vs Vantage – Which score will my lender use?

June 10, 2021 Shawn Lane Consumer Credit Expert You’re probably aware that a high credit score is the single most important factor in securing a loan. But did you know that you have more than one credit score? FICO and VantageScore are the two main credit scoring models used by lenders. They each take a similar, but slightly different approach …

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Using Your Tax Refund to Improve Your Credit

March 11, 2021 Shawn Lane Consumer Credit Expert It’s easy to treat a tax refund like free money – and many people do. When a check for hundreds or even thousands of dollars show up in the mail, who wouldn’t feel like they’ve just won the lottery? But a tax refund is just that – a refund – and because …

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Credit and Couples

February 9, 2021Shawn LaneConsumer Credit Expert With Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s natural to start thinking about all the factors that go into a successful relationship – trust, commitment, passion and a compatible approach to managing your credit.OK, that last one might be a stretch.But while talking about your credit score might seem decidedly unromantic, financial compatibility is a very real factor …

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How to Maintain Good Credit if You’ve Been Laid Off

November 5, 2020Shawn LaneConsumer Credit Expert 2020 has put a lot of people in financial positions they never imagined being in. Entire industries have dried up as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and even the most reliable jobs now carry the risk of being laid off or furloughed.Those who have never been in this situation might be worried about …

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Best Alternative to Payday Loans

June 11, 2020Shawn LaneConsumer Credit Expert Payday loans get a lot of flack – and rightfully so. They have outrageous interest rates and often use predatory practices to lure in financially vulnerable borrowers.  But if you think avoiding payday loans is easy, you’ve probably never been in a situation where you need money immediately. When you live paycheck to paycheck, …

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Credit for Kids

May 21, 2020Shawn LaneConsumer Credit Expert If you take an informal survey of people struggling to manage their finances as adults, they’ll probably have one thing in common. Disregarding any socioeconomic factors, there’s a good chance they had very little personal finance education as children.It’s not surprising that 36% of college students have managed to rack up some amount of credit …