Kelly Dilworth

A federal law is supposed to guarantee that credit report errors get fixed. So why do some people wind up spending months or even years trying to remove legitimate errors that are ruining their credit?

Take the case of Rahul Sharma of College Station, Texas. With the Fair Credit Reporting Act in place, it should not have taken Sharma six years and a meeting with a lawyer to get errors ranging from bad Social Security numbers to accounts that weren't his erased from his credit report. But desp...

The amount you pay for car insurance could hinge on much more than just your accident record or citation history. Depending on where you live and the insurance company you choose, an insurer may use key details about your personal and financial life to help price your car insurance rate.

For many people, organizing finances is equivalent to having their teeth pulled or scrubbing a greasy oven. But if you let it get out of hand, chronic financial clutter can have steep financial and emotional consequences.

“If you’re not organized, then I guarantee you’re spending way too much time and energy chasing around random pieces of information that you misplaced,” says Jean Chatzky, financial editor of NBC’s “Today Show” and host of the new “Her Money” podcast.

If you’re one of the tens of millions of people who must start making federal student loan payments again this fall, it could be a struggle to make room for them in your budget, let alone set aside any savings.

Between inflation, other debts (now with higher interest rates) and the ripple effects of an uncertain economy, will you be so stretched after the three-year break that you’ll forgo contributing to your retirement to free up the cash?

By next year, you may not have to choose.

With federal rates stalled at a 22-year-high, APRs on most new credit card offers already tower well above the 10-year historical average of 16.43 percent. But with three more Federal Reserve meetings scheduled before 2024, it could still be awhile before card APRs peak.

There's a reason why financial advisors routinely recommend sticking your long-term savings into one or more tax-advantaged accounts to help optimize your earnings: it works.

When you route a chunk of your pre-tax income into a tax-deferred retirement plan, such as a traditional IRA or a 401(k), you help relieve pressure from your budget by lowering your taxable income. But you also give your savings more time to grow tax-free until you're ready to retire.

A new FICO mortgage credit score unveiled Tuesday casts a wider net to capture consumer behavior not previously considered in whether to grant a home loan. The agency says it will make more people eligible for a mortgage, but critics say that wider net may pull in new inaccuracies and create additional privacy concerns.

If you’ve ever felt so moved by your financial situation that you cried over it, you’re far from alone. According to a recent survey by CompareCards.com, nearly 70% of Americans admit to becoming emotional over their finances.

While some say they’ve been moved to tears by joyful events, such as a financial windfall or treasured gift, many m...

Calculating the value of a rewards point can help you figure out which cards aren’t really as lucrative as they seem. It can also help you pick out the rewards purchases that are worth spending points or miles on — and which ones you’re better off purchasing with cash.

Americans have been debating the wisdom of free college for decades, and more than 20 states now offer some type of free college program. But it wasn't until 2021 that a nationwide free college program came close to becoming reality, re-energizing a longstanding debate over whether or not free college is a good idea.

As this year’s Pride month draws to a close, nearly every major card issuer has signaled support for their LGBTQ customers and employees by posting Pride-themed content to their social media pages or by redesigning their brand logos with a rainbow.

However, some credit card companies are doing more than just advertise their support: They are also investing substantial resources into LGBTQ employee recruitment and retention efforts, donating millions to LGBTQ causes, signaling support for civil rights legislation and, more recently, debuting new tools and initiatives ...

Imagine being branded as a possible drug trafficker, arms dealer or even terrorist, but nobody bothers to tell you. If you do find out and try to clear your name, you're told you can't.

That's what happened to Sergio Ramirez of Fremont, Calif. When Ramirez went to buy a car in nearby Dublin, he was rejected for a loan after a notation on his TransUnion credit report indicated he may be a drug trafficker.

That rush you feel when proffering your card to finance a good splurge is so common that researchers have a name for it: “buy high.” That giddy buzz people describe feeling after they’ve indulged can be surprisingly effective in boosting your mood – at least until your bill arrives.

“There’s a rewards system in the brain that’s activated as soon as you buy things,” says Ryan Howell, a professor of psychology at …

Rejected for a loan because your credit history was shut down? It could be because the credit bureaus think you're dead. About 1,000 people per month get mistakenly declared dead by the Social Security Administration every year, according to government estimates. Many more get falsely reported as deceased by their bank, credit card issuer or by one of the big three credit bureaus -- Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.