In our last post, we addressed three of the most common myths about credit reporting. Today’s contribution will continue addressing the concerns that I have heard from students about their credit and shed light on the reality of what really takes place. Paying off a past due account will remove [...]

Your credit report contains information that has an impact on everything from where you live to what you drive and even where you work. During the last few months, I have fielded many questions about some of the information that may or may not actually be in the credit report, [...]

Saving money is not always an easy affair, especially when it comes to creating an emergency fund (either while still in school or once we have graduated).  It usually does not happen very quickly and figuring out the best process that is effective for each of us can be quite [...]

One of our larger expenses on a regular basis is food.  Whether it is going out to eat or shopping in the grocery store to prepare and cook on your own, it is still a sizeable expense to tackle.  (Of course growing some of your own food items will help, [...]

Contributed By: Geoff Stam, Director Default Management and Financial Literacy, Office of the Chancellor So, what is the credit score?  Your credit score is a three-digit number generated by a mathematical algorithm using information in your credit report (that we discussed earlier). The score is designed to predict risk, specifically, [...]

Contributed By: Geoff Stam, Director Default Management and Financial Literacy, Office of the Chancellor Do you ever ask yourself where did the money go each month?  Maybe you ask why you are falling short financially or struggling to get ahead.  What do you need to do financially to be at [...]

Contributed By: Geoff Stam, Director Default Management and Financial Literacy, Office of the Chancellor As previously discussed, your credit report contains a vast amount of information about your past and present credit transactions.  It's used primarily by potential lenders to evaluate your creditworthiness (ability to borrow).  But it can also [...]

Contributed By: Geoff Stam, Director Default Management and Financial Literacy, Office of the Chancellor Your credit report contains information about your past and present credit transactions.  Consider it a review of how you utilize loans and other credit and how you pay those debts back.  It's used primarily by potential [...]

Contributed by: Geoff Stam, Director Default Management and Financial Literacy, Office of the Chancellor Whether you have just graduated or have been in repayment, paying back your student loans can be challenging. The following tips can help make the process more manageable. Using these strategies can help avoid fees and [...]