Bella Mertz

Consumers are impacted by pay reductions, furloughs, unforeseen personal financial emergencies, and unemployment; many of them rely on credit cards and credit lines to help them pay for necessities. Regretfully, some creditors and lenders are changing their lending practices and reducing credit limits, leaving borrowers to wonder how their credit scores will be impacted by … Read more

Rent payments seldom appear on credit reports, as few landlords report them to credit bureaus. Yours may appear on your credit report if you: Rent payment history is unlikely to show up on credit reports, but that doesn’t mean timely rent payments aren’t important. Most likely, this is just the result of your landlord failing … Read more

There are a number of mortgage loan types to consider when buying your home. Make the best choice for you and your home by being aware of the benefits and drawbacks of each home loan option. Knowing the various mortgage loan types and how they operate can be useful, whether you’re browsing the market or … Read more

Have you ever questioned whether equity release is the right decision for you? Find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of equity release by reading this article. It’s a simple fact of life: aging means things get more expensive. From our perspective, childhood is a time when life is free of worries and its … Read more

Figuring out how much of a down payment you need to buy a $300k house can be overwhelming. This guide will help you start your homebuying journey with confidence by breaking down your income requirements, down payment, and everything in between. Buying a home is a dream for many and the $300,000 price point is … Read more

Understanding Garnishment and Community Property Laws When a debt goes unpaid, creditors may resort to various collection methods including wage garnishment. This process allows creditors to collect a portion of a debtor’s wages directly from their employer. However a common question arises: can a spouse’s wages be garnished for a debt not in their name? … Read more

Have you ever applied for a credit card or loan and then discovered, on your credit report, an enigmatic inquiry that you may not even recall having authorized? These inquiries have the potential to lower your credit score and make it more difficult for you to be approved for loans and credit cards with advantageous … Read more

NerdWallet is an advertising partner for some or all of the mortgage lenders on our site; however, this has no bearing on our ratings, lender star ratings, or the order in which lenders appear on the page. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners. One of the biggest obstacles for … Read more

Yo, credit warriors! Let’s talk about a 642 credit score. It’s not the worst, but it’s not the best either. Think of it like a lukewarm cup of coffee – it’ll get you going, but you’ll be craving something stronger. Is 642 a good credit score? Nope, not really A 642 falls into the “fair” … Read more

While credit cards are a great convenience, is it possible to have too many of them? A common financial myth holds that having too much credit card debt will negatively impact your credit score. But just exactly, how many credit cards are “too many”?. The answer is not as simple as a yes or no … Read more