Personal Finance and Money Management

Hey there summer boys and girls! The heat is in full swing up here in Boston so if you are looking for something to do inside, consider checking your credit for free.

Did you know that every private student loan requires a good credit score and stable history? Even things like renting an apartment, buying a car or getting a cellphone can require credit to be approved. Therefore, it’s really important to keep on top of your score and make sure you are free of fraud and delinquency on your accounts.

So pull up a chair, bask in that amazing air conditioning (you know it feels good!) and head over to FreeCreditScore.com. M

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Retail credit cards are not known for their advantages over traditional credit cards. They often come with low limits, excessive fees or high interest rates. However, some retail credit cards stand out among the rest for their notable perks and features.

It’s never advisable to open a retail card account just to enjoy a one-time discount at the register because of the long-term effects that card could have on your credit. That said, if you’re a frequent shopper at one of the following stores that makes our top three, the corresponding card may be a good option for you.

Sears MasterCard

One of the biggest advantages of this retail credit card is the co-branding.

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MasterCard is making available a unique spin on its usual credit card offers. MasterCard MoneySend(TM) is offering a way for customers to send money to others through their iPhones and iPads as a free app download.

By working with a participating bank or opening a virtual prepaid account, customers could “send,” “pay” or “request funds” for a wide variety of reasons to everyone from friends to business clients. The customer must have an existing MasterCard payment card or checking account to use. (Market Watch)

Cardratings.com recently conducted a survey to determine how many students carry student loan debt on their credit cards and discovered that a much lower number than expected actually do.

According to the survey, a total of 36 percent carry some or all student loan debt on their cards. While this number may seem big, the company determined that the 64 percent that don’t is very encouraging.

One of the numbers in the study that was a bit more discouraging, however, was that 17 percent of consumers carry $10,000 or more in student loan debt on their cards. The hope is that these numbers are able to reduce in time (PR Web).