Financial Tips

CFPB: Tips for Student Loan Borrowers

We frequently hear from borrowers and cosigners, including veterans and servicemembers, who are working hard to stay on track and pay off their student loans but are struggling to get the information and the help they need from their student loan servicer. With this in mind, we put together these tips to help consumers tackle…

ABA: 8 Was to Protect Your Data Online

WASHINGTON — In recognition of National Data Privacy Day, Jan. 28, the American Bankers Association is highlighting eight tips to help online users protect their data and guard against online threats. “Cyber thieves are using social media profiles to gather personal information and use it to commit fraud,” said Doug Johnson, ABA’s senior vice president…

FDIC: Answers to Common Questions on How to Avoid Financial Mistakes and Protect Your Money

Each year, thousands of consumers contact the FDIC with questions about financial services and products such as mortgages, checking accounts and credit cards. The Winter 2017 FDIC Consumer News focuses on common concerns we hear from consumers and offers tips for solving and avoiding problems. Some topics include: What to do if a credit card bill shows…

CFPB: Easy-to-Remember Guidelines Help People Reduce Credit Card Debt

Take a short guideline like “don’t swipe the small stuff” and make it your own. You might just find that you’re better able to control your own credit card debt. Have you ever looked at your credit card bill and wondered where all those charges came from? Or found yourself swiping your credit card for…

CFPB: Understand the Overdraft “Opt-In” Choice

If you have a checking account, you might have to deal with an overdraft fee. An overdraft occurs when you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, and the bank or credit union pays for it anyway. Transactions include ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases as well as checks and ACH…

CFPB: What To Do If You’re Wrongfully Billed for Medicare Costs

If you’re among the 7 million Americans enrolled in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program , doctors, suppliers, and other providers aren’t allowed to bill you for Medicare costs when you receive covered medical services, equipment, and supplies. Your Medicare premiums, as well as costs like deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments, are all covered by Medicaid. The Centers…

CFPB: Buy a Home? The First Step is to Check your Credit

Buying a home is exciting. It’s also one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make. Choosing a mortgage to pay for your new home is just as important as choosing the right home. You have the right to control the process. Check out our other blogs on homebuying topics, and join the conversation on Facebook…

CFPB: Four Tips to Help Older Student Loan Borrowers Navigate Common Problems with their Student Loans

Today, we released a report that shows that older Americans now carry an unprecedented amount of student loan debt into retirement. The report shows that over the last decade, the number of older student loan borrowers has quadrupled in the United States. The amount that these borrowers owe has also dramatically increased. Between 2005 and 2015, consumers…

CFPB: Student Loan Servicing Problems Can Jeopardize Long-Term Financial Security for Older Borrowers

Growing Concerns as Number of Older Student Loan Borrowers Quadruples, Amount of Debt Per Senior Borrower Doubles in Last Decade WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report that examines complaints from older student loan borrowers about servicing practices that can jeopardize their long-term financial security. In the last decade, the…

CFPB: Understanding Why Offers For “Your” Credit Score Are Not All The Same

Today, TransUnion and Equifax have agreed to change practices that the Bureau found misled consumers about the value of the credit scores they marketed and sold. In their advertising, TransUnion and Equifax misrepresented that the credit scores they marketed and provided to consumers were the same scores that lenders typically use to make credit decisions…