Editor's pick
CreditGuide
What Actually Moves Your Credit Score
Two of the five factors are worth 65% of the score. The other three get argued about far more than they are worth, and one of them you cannot change at all.
7 min read
Topic
Credit
See what actually moves your score, what never did, and how to use a card without it using you.
17 posts
Debt Payoff
Balance Transfers: When They Help and When They Hurt
A 0% transfer on $9,000 with a 3% fee saves $1,784.15 if you clear it in the window. Even doing it badly still saves money. There is only one way it actually costs you, and it is not the fee.
7 min read
Debt Payoff
How to Negotiate a Lower Credit Card Rate (With the Script)
It is one phone call, it takes about eleven minutes, and on a $9,000 balance a five-point cut is worth $824.69. Here are the three numbers to have ready and the words to say.
7 min read
Debt Payoff
The Minimum Payment Trap, in Numbers
A $6,000 balance at 24.99% paid at the minimum takes 254 months and costs $11,360.48 in interest, which is nearly twice what you borrowed. The formula is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
7 min read
Editor's pick
Debt PayoffGuide
Avalanche vs Snowball: What Each One Costs You
The avalanche saves more money. The snowball gets finished more often. On four real balances that difference is $552.79 and one month, and here is when $552.79 is worth paying.
10 min read
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