Why Are America’s Seniors Renting?
Sipping lemonade on the front porch of a paid-off home has long been an American dream. This is doubly true for retired folks. Lately, though, homeownership patterns have changed. The homeownership rate among seniors has been slowly declining over the past decade as these folks increasingly opt to rent. This trend seems to fly in […]
Survey Results: How Well Do You Know Credit?
Credit is a powerful tool for achieving financial goals, such as buying a car or owning a home but for many consumers, it’s a mysterious concept. Young adults, in particular, tend to view credit with a certain degree of wariness. Thus, they often misunderstand basics of how credit works and why it’s important. Consider this. […]
Survey: A Low Credit Score is Keeping 1 in 5 Americans from Buying a Home
Buying a home is a major financial milestone and it doesn’t happen by magic. To get a mortgage, the consumer must do some necessary financial legwork well in advance. Lenders look at the borrower’s complete financial picture to determine whether he or she qualifies for a loan, and at what terms. The complete picture includes […]
The Woman’s Guide to Buying a Home
Some may choose to rent rather than purchase a home, but others don’t have the choice. In a recent Credit Sesame survey of 1,000 renters, 51 percent of respondents said they rent because they cannot afford to buy a home where they live or work. Even more shocking? Women are more affected by rent prices […]
How Much Home Can I Afford On My Low Income?
Raise your hand if you’re not earning a high salary. Me too. I deliberately chose a low-paying career track when I graduated from college. As much as I hate to admit it, wildlife biologists just aren’t paid the same as software engineers—even when I do have a job. Right now I’m self-employed. What’s worse, I […]
How this ‘Credit Elite’ Takes Advantage of Credit Sesame’s Free Tools
When Eric Rosenberg first signed up to be a Credit Sesame member in October 2011, he already had a solid credit score of 720. He had just started getting into credit card travel hacking, which is maximizing reward points to use toward travel. Plus, he and his wife had bought their first condo together that […]
‘I Will Probably Rent Forever’: Is the High Cost of Home Prices Killing the American Dream?
In a recent Credit Sesame survey, we asked 1,000 consumers about home affordability, and nearly half of respondents age 18 to 34 said they rent because cannot afford to buy where they live or work. This led us to question whether homeownership, which is part of the American dream, is no longer realistic, especially for Millennials […]
Mother of 6 Erases $45k of Debt and Improves Credit Score Almost 300 Points in a Year
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. The prospect of having to sell her home and become a renter again was enough motivation for Megan Hammon to improve her credit […]
Robots Want to Do Your Taxes. Should You Let Them?
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Credit Sesame may receive compensation. This offer is available exclusively to Credit Sesame members. If you’ve ever watched TV game show “Jeopardy,” you’re probably familiar with the episode in 2011 that featured a robot named Watson, that was paired up in a match […]
How this Credit Sesame Member Bounced Back from $140,000 in Debt at Age 21
When 26-year-old Kayla Sloan first signed up for a free Credit Sesame account in 2013, she was drowning in $142,000 of debt – about $10,000 in credit card balances, $8,000 in student loans, a $4,000 personal loan from her parents, and a $120,000 mortgage. When Sloan’s student loan payments began, she realized she would have […]
How to Get Your Credit Ready to Buy a Car
You’ve made the decision that you need to buy a car but have no idea how to make sure you get the best deal. We can’t look under the hood, but we can help you get off to a good start. Lenders will use your credit score to determine your creditworthiness, your employment status, and […]
Got Collections? You Need to Know if Pay-for-Delete is Legal
Collections accounts can legally stay on your credit report for 7 years after the date of delinquency. Many consumers are eager to find a way to clear the record sooner. In one strategy, often called pay-for-removal or pay-for-delete, the consumer makes a deal with the collection agency. The consumer pays the debt (either the full […]
The One Thing I’ll Do If I’m Strapped for Cash the Next Time My Cat Gets Sick
What would you do if you found out your beloved pet needed an emergency $3,500 trip to the vet to ensure a long life ahead? That actually happened to me and my cat, Beeker (yes, my husband named her after his favorite Muppets character). Luckily, I was prepared. I had enough money in savings to […]
Secrets from a Credit Elite Family of 15
Rob and Sam Fatzinger have 13 kids. They live on one income. They paid off their mortgage early. Sam has a stunning 809 credit score and Rob clocks in at 804. How do they do it? How to Manage Money and Credit The unglamorous but effective truth of healthy credit is that your biggest payoff […]
Do You Crave Perfect Credit? 5 Best Ways to Get Into the ‘Elite Credit Score Club’
The biggest benefit to having perfect credit is that you’ll qualify for the best possible terms. The better your credit score is, the better the interest rates on what you borrow. If you want to finance a car, for example, perfect credit makes it much easier to qualify for a 0% APR deal. Lower interest […]
