Category: Credit Score & Credit Repair
5 Credit Cards for New Homeowners
As any homeowner will attest, buying a house is one of those purchases that only comes with more expenses. Maintaining a budget and shopping around for the best deals on big expenses like furniture and home-repair services will help you save money as a homeowner, but taking advantage of good credit card offers can be another way to accomplish the same goal. You may be surprised to learn about all the different credit cards out there that meet the money-saving needs of homeowners — there are a lot of options, but you generally need a good or excellent credit score to take advantage of the offers. Before applying for any new credit, take a look at your credit scores to see if you have a
Most Consumers Overspend on Vacation: Here’s How to Stay on Track
While many consumers say they design their vacation plans in such a way to save money, 60{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} of consumers said they exceed their summer travel budgets every year, according to a nationally representative survey conducted on behalf of Citi ThankYou Premier card. Nearly a third (30{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca}) said they avoid holiday weekends when scheduling their vacations because of the high costs associated with them — only 11{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} said Memorial Day is the best time to arrange summer travel. For those who plan to take a vacation this summer, most (74{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca}) say they’re going to do so by car. On average, gas prices are about $1 per gallon cheaper this year than last year, according to AAA’s data on national fuel costs, though the average
Retiring Soon? Don’t Make These 8 Mistakes
There is plenty you can do to avoid running out of money in retirement. Planning is the key. Some retirees just plunge in. More often than not, that gets them into trouble. Following are eight money mistakes people nearing retirement make, and how to avoid such foibles so they don’t crack your nest egg. Mistake 1: Not Planning for Medical Expenses Medicare kicks in at age 65, but that’s not the end of your medical expenses. Fidelity Benefits Consulting estimates a 65-year-old couple who retired in 2014 will need $220,000 of their own money for medical expenses over the course of retirement. Such costs include deductibles for Medicare Part A and Part B (inpatient and outpatient insurance) and premiums and out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D prescription
Why is ProOpinion Good for Individuals Starting A Business
Has there been a time where you have to do such extensive research for your business that it ended up being exhausted and jaded? Don’t you wish that everything that you need for your business were grouped under one umbrella so you will be able to find it at a click of a button? There are many knowledge-based website hosted by leading business schools or high profile companies, but it still mean you have to go to several websites to look for the right thing that you want. And not mention the cross-checking and cross-referencing that you have to do to make sure that your information is legitimate and usable. is an online community with people with the same goal – driven by
Use Moats to Protect Your Investment Castle
Just as a physical moat protects a castle and keeps it thriving, an economic moat protects long-term returns, along with a company’s earnings. For example, Visa and MasterCard have a huge network of connected merchants. New competitors would have to invest a significant amount of time and money to build a similar network. In this case, the size and scope of the network is the moat. The size then makes merchants stay with Visa and MasterCard, as their scale gives them pricing power. Visa and MasterCard’s economic moat limits competition, making their earnings more consistent and predictable. Not only Visa and MasterCard, but all other moats produce returns and help protect earnings. As earnings grow over the long-term, so will the value of your investment.
How You Can Help The Environment
Arguably, world is right now experiencing it;s latest extinction level event, which is human induced. Since last thousands of years human beings caused extinction of large species of animals and plants. Now we are in self-distracting mode. In a way we are about to wipe out every living being on this planet. If we don’t stop what we are doing now. That is damage we are causing to our environment. Unless every one of us start playing our part, we are in irreversible path of self-annihilation. This is not my theory. Read about Holocene extinction event on Wiki. How can you help? Let’s talk about how we can do our bit. Earth will still be around after thousands of years after our
51 Reasons Why I Love Personal Capital Tool, A Review
I have been using Personal Capital to manage my finances for over a year now. For last few years I did use Yodlee Money Center for the same purpose, but since I got accustomed to Personal Capital, which took a couple of visits, I have completely stopped using Yodlee. In the past I had used Mint.com as well, but they have some serious limitations and I don’t use it anymore. I have become a huge fan of Personal Capital features. You can’t ask for more in a free tool. So, in this post I will go gaga over the new tool I am using. Personal Capital money management tool really changed the way I was managing my finances in general and investments in particular.
Nerds Behind Credit Karma: Zack
Hey folks! It’s time for another edition of Nerds Behind Credit Karma. Last month, we introduced you to Craig, one of our awesome Senior Software Engineers. Today, you get to meet another Senior Software Engineer on the team: Zack! Zack loves spending time outdoors and recently went on a backpacking trip scaling coastal mountains along the Pacific coast in Big Sur, where he was briefly trapped in a dead tree. Find out more about Zack below! The Interview What’s your title at Credit Karma? Senior Software Engineer Describe in 25 words or less what you do. I work on the offer serving system and the framework to validate and send events to our data storage and processing pipeline. How long have you worked at CK? I started August
How To Select Your Credit Card From Thousand Cards In the Market
There are thousands credit cards available in the market. Whereas, an Individual carries, on average, 2 credit cards. So, how to shortlist? How you’d zero in on a few credit cards from seeming infinite number of options? Choosing a right credit card has become one of the most important topics of personal finance. But, I haven’t written up on this earlier. Let me cover every steps that one must take to pick the best credit card fitting to the need. While doing research on my next card, I couldn’t find a single article that addresses the need for consumer to find the best card in the market, fitting to his need. All I could find is the card comparison sites. There’s no systematic and
3 Unexpected Windfalls You May Receive in Your Lifetime
Once I bought a lotto ticket for Florida Lottery, when jackpot went up astronomically. I don’t really recall the exact amount of the jackpot. But that’s it I never played lotto again. But, like every one else I sometimes day dream about getting a windfall of money. Some weird thoughts do cross mind sometimes, like a suitcase full of money coming down from the air crafts above or finding a sack full of currency notes. But realistically, we may receive a financial windfall at some point of time. Most of us learn to live with a steady amount of money. It usually comes in the form of a paycheck from employer. We are accustomed to it. We can manage our income, budget it, plan for
A Note from Nikhyl Singhal, Credit Karma’s New Chief Product Officer
In January, I met Ken Lin, Credit Karma’s CEO. I had left Google after four exciting years where I helped build and lead the product teams for Hangouts and Photos. I was looking for a new opportunity, but it had to be special. I wanted to innovate, after founding two startups (Cast Iron Systems acquired by IBM and SayNow acquired by Google). I wanted a company with a powerful, disruptive vision. A product that truly helps its users. A team of ambitious yet humble professionals. And a business model that ensured a sustainable and enjoyable adventure. In short, I found it. Ken founded Credit Karma in 2007 and launched the platform a year later, after the financial meltdown. I remember seeing the world heading towards the cliff and
