May 8th, 2012
4 Ways You Could Be Hurting Your Credit
If you’ve been a long-time reader of the Credit Karma Blog, you know which financial moves can do some serious credit score damage: late bill payments, tax liens, bankruptcies, foreclosures and federal judgments, to name a few. But did you know that there are some other actions that can cripple your credit?
Make sure to avoid the following no-no’s to keep your credit in tip-top shape:
Neglecting library fines and parking tickets.
What’s the librarian going to do? Come after you, wielding an encyclopedia as a cudgel? Well, no. But the city might sick a creditor on you. Cities like New York, Chicago and Miami have started sending small debts, like unpaid municipal fines, to private collections agencies. Since accounts in collections will show up on your credit report, it will damage your credit score. You can see how much your score could drop with the Credit Score Simulator. Why are municipalities being so persistent? Well, just like the rest of us, they’re in dire financial straits, and they want to collect on their debts. If you have any unpaid tickets or fines, go ahead and take care of them ASAP.
April 24th, 2012
3 More Things You Might Not Know About Credit Scores
April 10th, 2012
Taxes and Your Credit
April 17 is fast-approaching, and your 2011 tax return will be due before you know it. While you probably know that paying taxes late or not paying at all can cause you a lot of trouble down the road, you might not realize that it can also impact your credit.
January 13th, 2012
Facebook Question: What are your 2012 credit goals?
October 29th, 2011
Infographic: University of Michigan vs. Michigan State
You watched the game and cheered on your team. But when the game ended at 28-14, only Michigan State fans were left cheering. But have you ever wondered how the schools would fare in a different kind of battle? Say, average credit scores? Well, we crunched the numbers and came up with the surprising conclusion. Check it out for yourself:August 22nd, 2011
Credit Karma’s U.S. Credit Score Climate Report for July 2011
Each month at Credit Karma we take a look at the country's Credit Score Climate Report. For last month's numbers, Credit Advisor Justine hones in on student loan debt, credit card debt and credit scores. Check it out!
August 16th, 2011
Credit Karma Chat: What does the U.S. credit downgrade mean for you?
Bethy and Justine get specific about what the credit downgrade is and what it means for consumers
August 8th, 2011
Monday Roundup: What the Big Mac says about purchasing power
We like fast food — we've determined this before. But can fast food tell us a little something about our money and how it works in the global economy? For the past 25 years, The Economist has been releasing its annual Big Mac Index to help us understand purchasing-power parity, or the idea that exchange rates should balance out the prices of two identical goods or services. Bundle
July 20th, 2011
The Karma Count: The New Free Credit Scores In 3 Quick Facts
Starting July 21, lenders will be required to provide your free credit score if you are denied a loan or credit application, or if you are charged a higher interest rate because of your credit score.
What does this mean for you and me? In this first episode of “The Karma Count,” our credit advisor, Justine fills us in on the details in just two minutes.
May 9th, 2011
Credit Karma Q&A: Credit Over-Utilization and Tax Liens
Last week we hard credit inquiries and accounts in collections, and this week we’re discussing how negative actions with credit over-utilization and tax liens affect your credit score.
