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1 month ago | 
money.usnews.com | Richard Barrington |Gina Freeman |Ray Frager
Key Takeaways Economic uncertainty has caused many Americans to hold off on buying a home. History shows that if you're holding out for substantially lower home prices or mortgage rates, you may have a long wait. The more secure you can be about your own finances, the less you need to rely on trying to guess what the economy will do. Every day seems to bring discouraging news for would-be homebuyers. New tariffs could bring higher inflation and slower growth.
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1 month ago | 
money.usnews.com | Richard Barrington |Gina Freeman |Ray Frager
Getty ImagesThe New York Fed discovered that banks with higher operating expenses generally charge higher interest rates on credit cards. Key Takeaways A new study found that credit card advertising can contribute significantly to the rates cards charge. Choosing a credit card simply because you remember its commercials can cost you. You can avoid paying for credit card ads by comparison shopping and keeping your balance down. Why are credit card rates so high?
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2 months ago | 
cardratings.com | Richard Barrington |Jennifer Doss
Americans have a conflicted relationship with credit-builder/secured credit cards. A CardRatings.com survey found that people with these cards are less satisfied than customers of other types of credit cards. And yet, people with credit-builder/secured credit cards are less likely to feel they could do better with another credit card. In effect, these customers feel trapped in a bad relationship. To some extent, that’s the kind of trap that comes with having bad credit.
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Mar 28, 2025 | 
cardratings.com | Richard Barrington |Jennifer Doss
Overall, Americans give their credit cards pretty solid grades on what their cards provide. What they think less highly of is the value they receive. The two views are not inconsistent. If you have a comfortable car that performs well and gets good gas mileage, you may consider yourself happy with it. However, you’d feel differently about the same car if the sticker price was $40,000 than if it was $120,000. In each case, it would be the same nice car.
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Mar 27, 2025 | 
cardratings.com | Richard Barrington |Jennifer Doss
Money can’t buy happiness – but can good credit? According to a credit card satisfaction survey by CardRatings.com, people with good credit tend to be happier with their credit cards. There are good reasons for this. Having a good credit score can make you eligible for more favorable credit card terms. Those better terms can make your credit card usage more affordable. It can also enable you to choose credit cards that are better suited to your needs.
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Mar 4, 2025 | 
money.usnews.com | Richard Barrington |Whitney Blair Wyckoff |Gina Freeman
Key Takeaways Poor credit, limited income and no equity don't usually prevent you from refinancing with an FHA streamline refinance. You can refinance without an appraisal. Lower your interest rate, change your loan term or switch from an adjustable- to a fixed-rate mortgage. Refinancing your mortgage can be a valuable financial move. It can make it easier to afford your monthly payments and/or lower the long-term cost of your mortgage. Too often, though, people face obstacles to refinancing.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
cardratings.com | Richard Barrington |Jennifer Doss
Americans are generally happy with their credit cards. The one group that is something of an outlier is adults aged 18 to 24. A CardRatings.com credit card satisfaction survey found that this age group had a clearly lower level of satisfaction with credit cards than any other group. The answer may be partly a matter of what credit cards have to offer young adults, and partly a function of young adult financial behavior. The survey asked over 1,600 adults about their experiences with credit cards.
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Feb 7, 2025 | 
cardratings.com | Richard Barrington |Jennifer Doss
Any experienced gambler knows the house usually wins. The trick is to use your knowledge and skill to try to turn the odds in your favor. A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may cause you to recalculate those odds when gambling with credit cards. If you pay with a credit card at a casino or online, you might be surprised by how much credit card gambling can stack the odds against you.
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Jan 28, 2025 | 
money.usnews.com | Richard Barrington |Ray Frager |Emily Roth
Key Takeaways Balance transfer credit cards can be a useful tool for getting out of debt, but they're not without drawbacks. You should weigh the benefits against the drawbacks, like interest savings vs. fees. Knowing the pros and cons of 0% balance transfer credit cards is the first step toward using them carefully. A 0% balance transfer credit card can be a valuable debt reduction tool. However, it can also be a trap. That's not a contradiction.
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Jan 18, 2025 | 
creditsesame.com | Richard Barrington
Credit Sesame’s personal finance news roundup January 18, 2025. Stories, news, politics and events impacting personal finance during the past week. 30-year mortgage rates rose by 11 basis points last week to 7.04%. This marks the first time they’ve been above 7% since May 2024. Both 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates have now risen for five consecutive weeks. Rates have been rising generally since the end of September 2024 due to growing inflation concerns.
