The term credit can mean many things. For most people, it is the ability to borrow today and pay later. The idea of “credit-worthiness” defines our personal finances, and reaches out to all parts of our financial lives. Credit can be an accounting term. You can talk about credit cards, your credit history, your credit score, or the three credits you got in college for taking Bowling. This page is the credit nerve center of ThinkGlink.com. From this page you can learn more about what credit means and how having good, bad, or mediocre credit affects your personal finances.
Should I Pay More Toward My Student Loan Debt or Add to My Retirement Savings?
Saving for retirement during your lifetime is one of the smartest financial investment decisions you can make. In fact, the sooner you start, the further those hard-earned dollars go, thanks to the power of compound interest. However, many young people are more concerned about student loan debt than they are about retirement planning. According to [...]
Mobile Payment Apps Add Rewards, But Will Consumers Follow?
Mobile payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and PayPal give consumers the ability to make purchases from their devices both in stores and online, but the demand hasn’t caught up to the wealth of options. As more companies take aim at mobile payments, Apple may hope that its recent addition of reward cards and [...]
Can Creditors Go After My Retirement Accounts?
If you owe money or have filed for bankruptcy, you may be worried about creditors going after your retirement funds. Regardless of your financial situation, here is some essential information to know about both ERISA-qualified retirement accounts and non-ERISA accounts: ERISA-qualified retirement accounts Retirement accounts set up under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) [...]
Phantom Income, the Ghost of Your Forgiven Debts
When your debt is cancelled or “forgiven” by a creditor, you may owe taxes on that debt. This debt is called phantom income, named so because despite the fact that the IRS considers it income, it never appears in your bank account. Imagine losing the home of your dreams, either through a short sale or [...]
Should I Use a HELOC to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?
If you own a house and have credit card debt, you may be considering using a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to pay off your credit card debt, and with a lower interest rate. When you take out a HELOC, you open up a revolving line of credit from your mortgage lender where your [...]
How a Tax Lien Can Impact Your Credit Score
If you owe money to the IRS, the agency could file a tax lien against you. A tax lien is a legal claim to all of a taxpayer’s property for the amount that taxpayer owes the IRS. It establishes priority rights against other creditors that might also have liens against the taxpayer’s assets. In addition [...]
Getting a Mortgage with Student Loan Debt
Millions of American Millennials are dealing with significant student loan debt, but they are also eager to buy homes and start their adult lives. According to the Project on Student Loan Debt, about seven in 10 college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2015 had student loan debt, averaging $30,100. In [...]
5 Tips to Pay Back Debt: The Ilyce Glink Show on January 4, 2015
Here are a few of the topics covered on this week’s WSB radio show. The economy at the end of 2014 [1:50] In the third quarter of 2014, GDP increased to an unbelievable 5 percent due in a large part to the lower gas prices that are freeing up funds for consumers. We are also [...]
The 5 Components of Your Credit Score
Your credit score is probably one of the most important scores you’ll ever receive. It can save you thousands or cost you thousands when taking our loans, and can even determine what kind of car you get or whether or not you can buy a home. While people often hem and haw over their credit [...]
How Pulling Your Credit Report Impacts Your Credit Score, and Other Credit Score Facts
Accessing or “pulling” your credit report allows you to review your credit behavior. You can see what lenders are reporting about you while you monitor your payment history. Checking your credit report should be a regular part of your routine financial behavior, similarly to reviewing your bank statements or creating a budget. Some consumers are [...]