Finance

We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our objective is to empower you to make confident financial decisions by giving you access to interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and unbiased content, and allowing you to conduct free research and information comparisons. Issuers that Bankrate has partnerships with include American Express, Bank of America, … Read more

Putting down 20% of the purchase price of a house can lower your monthly payment, waive private mortgage insurance, and possibly result in a lower interest rate. Nevertheless, first-time homebuyers may need to deplete their savings in order to accomplish this goal, and it might not be as advantageous during low interest rate periods. Making … Read more

You should determine whether you owe the debt, determine a reasonable payment schedule, and present the debt collector with a repayment proposal before engaging in negotiations. What is a fair debt settlement offer? An offer for debt settlement that benefits the debtor and the creditor equally is considered fair. Both the creditor and the debtor … Read more

Buying a home is a significant milestone, and one of the most important decisions you’ll make is how much to put down as a down payment. This decision can have a major impact on your monthly mortgage payments, interest costs and overall financial health. So, how much should you put down on a $250,000 house? … Read more

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and heres how we … Read more

While credit scores and FICO® ScoresTM can be the same thing, FICO® also produces other products, and credit scores are created by other businesses. A credit score can be thought of as the collective term for a computer model that evaluates consumer credit reports in order to produce a score. Many lenders utilize the FICO® … Read more

After someone dies, notify the government programs and businesses they used. Cancel benefits payments and close or transfer accounts. When someone passes away, it’s important to take several steps to protect their financial legacy and prevent identity theft. One of these crucial steps is notifying the credit bureaus of the death. This prevents fraudulent activity … Read more

You may be able to pay off your $50,000 in student loans more quickly by choosing to refinance or enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, among other options. Paying off $50,000 in student loans can feel like a heavy burden. But, there are options to the typical repayment schedule that could make it easier for … Read more

A poor credit score can make a lot of things harder. It can make borrowing difficult or more expensive. It can even cause your insurance premiums to rise or make it harder to rent an apartment. Although negative marks usually disappear from your credit reports after seven years, some may remain visible for as long … Read more

The question of whether or not to pay off your car loan early may seem obvious, but the answer is more complicated than it first appears. In some cases, paying off your car loan early can negatively affect your credit score. Early car loan payback can lower your credit since open, positive accounts affect your … Read more