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4 Ways to Shrink Your Debt
Feeling overwhelmed? Make your debt payments more manageable.
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How to Settle Your Debts
Debt settlement is not an option to take lightly, but could be considered in certain situations.
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How to Invest in a CD
Even in times of interest rate uncertainty, a certificate of deposit (CD) can still be part of your cash strategy.
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Friday's Personal Finance Stories
MarketWatchDon’t miss these top stories:Google Wallet: Gen Y credit card?Early birds overpay for concerts, ballgamesDear Class of ’13: You’ve been scammed
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Huge rise in preapproved credit-card offers; Just for you! A so-so offer we may revoke anyway
MarketWatchOpening the mail to find a “preapproved” offer on a credit card can feel like being welcomed into an exclusive club with lots of benefits. In reality, you may not even make the membership list.
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How to haggle down your medical bills; Consumers are finding creative ways to avoid health-care debt
MarketWatchPatients come to Linda Adler when their medical bills start piling up and they can’t pay them. She’s not a doctor or a financial adviser, but an expert at negotiating for reduced bills, extended payment plans, and delayed bill due dates.
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Say 'Au Revoir' to Your Credit
WSJ.comWill your financial life get lost in translation?Culture shock isn't the only thing to contend with when you relocate to another country. There are also big financial challenges—and maybe surprises when you return home.
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New Options for Student-Loan Borrowers
WSJ.comTwo of the nation's largest providers of private student loans are taking steps to ease terms for some borrowers.SLM Corp., also known as Sallie Mae, this past week began accepting applications for loans that allow recent college graduates ...
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The world’s most generous countries
MarketWatchWhile the U.S. gave just over $30 billion in aid last year—more than double the second largest contributor on this list—the amount accounted for less than 0.2% of the country’s gross national income (GNI), far less than most contributing ...
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The Rent May Help Your Credit
WSJ.comUnpaid rent bills sent to some debt collectors will show up on credit reports. But now on-time payments can count, too.Two of the three major credit-reporting firms, Experian and TransUnion, now allow renters to include on-time rent ...
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Discover CEO Received $9.96 Million in 2012
WSJ.comDiscover Financial Services Chairman and Chief Executive David Nelms received $9.96 million in compensation in fiscal 2012, down 28% from the previous year due to lower stock awards.
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Appeal a Loan Rejection Despite Tighter Standards
WSJ.comThe credit criteria for getting a parent Plus loan was quietly tightened in recent years. But you still can appeal if you are turned down.Parents applying for a Plus loan have to undergo a credit check that looks for an "adverse credit ...
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Credit Scores: Why Aren't They Free?
WSJ.comIn one of the more frustrating headaches in financial disclosure, you generally must pay to see your credit score—the three-digit grade that predicts how risky you are as a borrower.
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Kansas City Chief
Barrons.comZack Shafran was a born shareholder. At birth, His godparents gave him 25 shares of Cole National, a key maker, which also owned the optical department in the local Montgomery Ward. Now 47, Shafran, manager of the Ivy Science & ...
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How to Fix a Credit-Report Error—Before It Bites Back
WSJ.comWhat you don't know might hurt you.That is a key conclusion that jumps out from a recent Federal Trade Commission study on errors in credit reports, those all-important records that determine whether we get credit, what interest rates we ...
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Financial advisers’ new conflict of interest? Credit cards, mortgages, and loans now a lucrative side business
MarketWatchWall Street’s army of financial advisers has long told clients which stocks, bonds and mutual funds to buy. Now many of those pros are adding mortgages to their pitch list.
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AmEx CEO got $28.5 Million in 2012
WSJ.comAmerican Express Co. said Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault received $28.5 million in 2012, an increase of 23.7% over the prior year.
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10 things credit bureaus won’t say; They’ve got your number. And they’re not afraid to use it
MarketWatch1. “We track a lot more than just your credit.”Credit bureaus are well known for tracking consumers’ credit history, including tabulating such details as whether they pay their bills on time and how much debt they carry. But the bureaus ...
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Should You Pay Your Mortgage With Plastic? Fixed-rate mortgage loans are low, but is no-interest credit card debt better?
WSJ.comQ. I realize mortgage interest rates are at historic lows, but I just got a come-on for a new credit card with 0% interest for more than a year on transferred balances. Should I transfer all or part of the balance of my mortgage ($22,500) ...
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Fixing your error-ridden credit report; The credit scores issued to millions of Americans are incorrect
MarketWatchThe first reaction many people have to getting their credit score is “this must be a mistake.” And according to a new report by the Federal Trade Commission, many of them are right.
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Online Tools to Help You Cut Debt
WSJ.comA growing percentage of Americans is heading into retirement with considerable debt.If you are among them, a new crop of largely free online tools and mobile apps can help you get into better financial shape—provided you are willing to ...
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7 really stupid investments; Commentary: Highlights from a decade of bad investment ideas
MarketWatchI get asked all the time about my very “favorite” Stupid Investments of the Week, the ones I consider the best in the nearly 10 years I have written the column.
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You'll Pay for Credit-Report Errors
WSJ.comAbout 5% of U.S. consumers may pay more for loans and other products because of errors on their credit reports, according to a new Federal Trade Commission study.
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Who’s been naughty in the fund industry? Commentary: Presenting the 17th annual Lump of Coal Awards
MarketWatchIn the best of years — and 2012 will go down as a pretty good one for the mutual fund industry — most investors are willing to overlook misbehavior and overt bumbling so long as it doesn’t directly show up in their account statement.
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Paying your taxes: Cash or credit? A major downside to paying with plastic
MarketWatchWorried about how you’re going to pay your tax bill? It might be tempting to slap it on plastic.After all, you can charge your 2012 federal income taxes on a Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card or American Express. What if you want a filing ...
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Credit Cards' New Gambit: Miss a Payment, No Penalty; Discover Is Latest to Jump on Trend; Credit-Score Damage
WSJ.comMissed a credit-card payment? Until recently, that would have led to extra fees on your monthly statement and higher interest rates—as much as 30%—on your balance.
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When Bill Collectors Knock
WSJ.comThe mountain of unpaid credit-card charges and other debts accumulated during the financial crisis hasn't disappeared. Often, it has just changed hands as debt buyers have stepped in.
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Getting a vacation-home loan: no day at the beach; Some buyers are choosing all cash because loans are harder to come by
MarketWatchIt’s still not easy getting a loan to buy a new vacation home.Tougher underwriting requirements and other obstacles related to a property’s location have created borrowing challenges for even wealthy home buyers.
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Eliminating holiday shoppers’ remorse; How bargain hunters can get a better price even after a purchase
MarketWatchHoliday shopping shouldn’t end at the checkout counter this year.So called price-adjustment policies — which offer a refund for the difference to customers who spot a better price at the retailer or a competitor after buying – have gotten a ...
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Discover: Student Loans a 'Train Wreck' for Taxpayers
WSJ.comRising federal student-loan debt and potential changes to how such loans are treated under bankruptcy could be a "train wreck" for U.S. taxpayers, Discover Financial Services President Roger Hochschild said Monday.
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By Karen Blumenthal; Scoring a High Credit Score
WSJ.comYou, too, can be a credit-score hotshot.You don't have to be rich or good looking. But with some attention to how you pay your monthly bills and some careful tweaks of your credit portfolio, you might be able to raise your score to a level ...
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Racking up rewards for a home renovation; More homeowners are using plastic for costly home improvements
MarketWatchWhat’s the hot new material in luxury renovations? Plastic.Home-remodeling companies say many wealthy clients have been putting renovation costs on their credit cards. And it’s not just for small jobs, but for renovations that run north of ...
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Accounts: Herd Is the Word
WSJ.comKeeping track of your finances in retirement can be a job in itself, and managing your investments is only a small part of it. Staying on top of basic tasks is tough, and if tax rules, technology, Medicare, Social Security and the markets ...
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How You Can Become a Credit-Score Superstar
WSJ.comYou, too, can be a credit-score hotshot.Fair Isaac, creator of the commonly used FICO credit score, used to be tight-lipped about what it took to earn its best scores. But this fall, it provided some insights into common traits of the more ...
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How to invest in mortgages
MarketWatchThe idea of taking out a high-dollar mortgage from a complete stranger conjures up images of loan sharks and broken kneecaps. But the practice is legal—and on the rise.
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American Express cuts signal end of era in travel
MarketWatchNEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The belt tightening in American corporations that made relics of pension plans, in-house cafeterias and even many holiday parties is squeezing another victim: American Express Co.’s travel business.
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Grads Skirt Student Loans
WSJ.comCrippled by student debt, Lori Kitchen quit her government job just months after graduating from American University in 2007, figuring she would lose her security clearance once she fell behind on her loan payments.
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The rising cost of travel-card rewards; Travel rewards are getting more generous — but with strings attached
MarketWatchAfter tinkering with their credit-card rewards programs for the past few years, banks are now placing renewed attention on travel cards.In their latest promotions, banks are offering more introductory points or miles to consumers who sign ...
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The year of the jumbo, jumbo mortgage; Surge in big loans last year fueled by falling interest rates
MarketWatchFor home buyers, 2012 was a year when loans dwarfed the definition of jumbo.Private jumbo loans start after $417,000 in most parts of the country—or exceed $625,500 in pricey metro areas like New York and San Francisco. But lenders say ...
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More students delay repaying loans; Half of student loans are now in deferment or forbearance
MarketWatchWhen their student loans come due, many borrowers have no choice but to postpone the inevitable. As of March, 51% of student loans were in deferment or forbearance — periods when, owing to financial hardship, borrowers are not required to ...
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