If you’re looking to get a credit card or to take out a mortgage to purchase your first home, credit is an essential tool for helping people to meet their goals. When applying for a line of credit, the higher your credit score, the more likely you will be to qualify, the more options you will have available, and the better interest rate you will receive. Here are the 5 factors that influence your score and how to give your score a boost. Learn More
The latest scam is a phone call from someone posing to be the Fraud Department of a financial institution, such as PFCU. The fraudster will question the person on recent transactions and then ask for the last 8 digits of the person’s debit/credit card. This is a scam! Please note, PFCU/VISA or any other financial institution will never ask a member for their card number. Learn More
Think about what you want in the next 5 to 10 years and figure out what you need to get there. Decide where you want to be financially next year and the year after. Knowing what you want to do with your money will guide you as you figure out how to budget, and it will greatly increase the likelihood that you’ll stick to it. Learn More
To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate on May 4th by half a percentage point, its most aggressive step to fight a 40-year high in inflation. This is the second increase this year and there are five others planned for 2022. When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, banks, credit unions, and lenders respond. Here’s where you may notice higher rates. Learn More
Cybercriminals try to trick you into giving them personal information through an email, a phone call/voicemail, or a text message. Here is how you can spot a scammer. Learn More
Just when it seems like everything is under control, “life happens.” It’s those unexpected, unpredictable emergencies that come up that can put a strain on your finances if you’re not prepared. You may need a sudden house repair, have a loss of employment, need a major car repair, or need to buy a new furnace. The list goes on and on. Although you can’t avoid it, having an emergency fund can help you be prepared and take out some of the financial sting.
Amassing equity by paying down the mortgage on your property is a good thing. Equity refers to the amount of your home that you own, without a lien. If your home is valued at $200,000 and you owe $100,000 on your mortgage, that means you have $100,000 in equity. One of the benefits of equity is that you can borrow against it. The question is, should you?
By running a credit report on your child at an early age, you are basically taking the steps to electronically bind four pieces of information together that makes your child uniquely them so that it makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to hijack any of their personally identifying information.
Do you feel that the interest rate on your auto loan is too high? Refinancing a car loan could save you a significant amount of money. Auto loan refinancing is the process of a financial institution paying off your current loan and issuing you a new one with a different interest rate.
Minimum payments on credit cards are between 1% to 4% of the balance due. If you can afford higher payments each month, you’ll benefit over the long haul. If you can’t afford to pay this percentage of your balance, chances are you’re in over your head.
