Author: Meredith Olmstead

Americans average about four credit cards per person with an average balance of about $8,000. Add in a car payment and an outstanding medical bill, remembering to make all those monthly payments or struggling to meet the minimum payment are the main reasons people look at debt consolidation. Instead...

Although over 40% of Americans’ financial resolution is to find ways to save more money, less than half of Americans use budgeting as a way to save. Making a personal budget not only helps people save but can also help them achieve financial stability. Knowing how much money is needed to cover...

According the American Psychological Association‘s survey, which measures causes of stress, money consistently lands near the top with 61% of Americans reporting money-related anxiety. The biggest factor in this stress is overspending. We worry when total expenses (amount spent monthly) exc...

Are you looking to make your home more energy efficient? Here are 20 steps you can take that will help you start saving today! 1. Start a Compost Pile A compost pile gives you a place to transform your organic waste into fertilizer for your garden. By tossing fruit and vegetable waste into the compo...

In a perfect world, we’d all enjoy the holidays free of drama and fraud, and financial predators would take a long overdue vacation. We don’t live in a perfect world, and digital scammers are more likely to target honest people during the holidays. According to reports, hackers ramp up their eff...

What Is A Good Credit Score? That can depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. Most people want to know more about credit scores because they’re trying to borrow money, usually in the form of a mortgage, vehicle loan, or other significant loan. The majority of credit scores opera...

The holidays are a time of joy, light, and celebrations when families and friends gather from near and far to spend time together. The season is certainly a special time of year. Yet all the celebrations, the travel, the entertaining, the gift giving, and the food and drink that is associated with t...

When a borrower wants to refinance car loan terms and payments, the process involves applying for a new car loan to pay off the existing one. Most automobile loans are secured with the vehicle serving as collateral and the borrower making fixed payments over several years. According to the online au...

Americans today exist in precarious financial situations. CNBC Money reports that 49% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, meaning they spend every dime of their monthly income with little left for saving. In fact, Americans save so little that 61% of us have not saved enough ...

It’s disheartening to come to terms with the fact that everyday people must self-exercise identity theft protection from nefarious characters. The days of only remaining vigilant about not losing your checkbook, wallet, purse, or credit cards are just the tip of the iceberg. Today, we all carry th...