Finance Globe

Your credit score is a mighty number that’s influenced by many of your financial decisions. Fortunately, not everything plays a factor in your credit score. Some negative actions may cost some extra money, but they won’t hurt your credit rating. Bouncing a check or overdrafting your checking account could result in an expensive overdraft fee. But, this type of action isn’t reported to credit bureaus and it won’t hurt your credit score. You can avoid overdraft...

Credit card billing statements are handled electronically, but that doesn’t mean they’re error free. Billing errors - including uncredited payments or returns, finance charge calculations, and unauthorized charges - are more common than you might think. In a November 2011 report, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that credit card billing disputes were the top complaint received from consumers. So, if you’re dealing with a billing error, you’re not the only one. But, before you...

Recovering from a bad credit score is tough. It can take several years of hard work to bring your credit score out of the pits and back to a place that makes you an attractive borrower. While your credit score is still in pristine condition, you can take steps to make sure it stays that way. Here’s what you can do to prevent bad credit from happening to you.Pay all your bills on time. The most...

With credit cards, you have a certain amount of time that you can pay your balance in full and avoid paying interest on your credit card balance. That time period is known as the grace period. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 requires grace periods, on credit cards that have them, to be at least 21 days long which gives you have enough time to pay your balance in full and avoid interest. Grace periods vary...

Retail or store-branded credit cards are often the go-to credit card for people who are just starting out with credit or people trying to rebuild a bad credit score. Even if you’re not on the market for a new credit card, you’ll be asked to sign up for some retail card almost every time you go shopping. While sales clerks will try to entice you to apply with promises of 10% to 15% on-the-spot discount, be...

Banks and credit card issuers aren’t the only ones who use your credit to make a decision about you. Prospective employers also look at your credit report to decide whether to hire you for a job.You probably don’t want to hear that your credit history could be used against you in your employment search. But, if there’s a bright side it’s that you won’t be blindsided about an adverse credit decision. The Fair Credit Reporting Act...

The Internal Revenue Service put out a reminder that the agency is hanging on to $153.3 million in undeliverable tax refund checks - owed to just over 99,000 taxpayers.The undeliverable tax refunds averaging $1,547 could not be delivered to their recipients because of mailing address errors, the IRS said in a statement released on Wednesday.The IRS advises taxpayers who believe they missed their tax refund due to problems with their mailing address to use the “Where’s...

Thanks to the Credit CARD Act of 2009 credit card disclosures are much easier to understand. Credit card issuers mail these disclosures with every credit card offer and the document contains a wealth of information about the credit card pricing. If you’re deciding whether you should take a credit card offer, the credit card disclosure will include much of what you need to know to make a good decision.1. All the interest rates that apply to...

Amid better jobs reports and pre-holiday spending, consumers have a more positive outlook on the economy for the first time since summer.Consumers’ overall feelings about the economy surged in November, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. Consumer confidence - which measures - rose in November to 56 from 40.9 in October. The Present Situation index rose to 38.3 from 27.1, and the Expectations index rose to 67.8 from 50.Says Lynn Franco,...

The inventory of existing homes on the market fell in October and the pace of home sales increased to a level 13.5% above what they were a year ago, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday.October sales rose 1.4% from the previous month, to a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 4.97 million. At the current sales pace, there was an 8 month supply of homes on the market - down from...