Credit Cards
« Previous EntriesSmart Money Needs Your Help!
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008I got the following email from Lisa over at Smart Money magazine:
Hi JLP,
I need your help again. I’m working on a story about credit card companies closing consumers’ inactive accounts (usually without warning). Can you post a message on your site like this:
Has anyone gotten a notice from their credit card company saying an inactive […]
What to do (and NOT to do) When Trying to Fix Your Credit Score
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008Today’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting
Advice For a Reader - What Would You Do In This Situation?
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008Last month I wrote How Much Will That 401(k) Loan Cost You?. The other day a reader named Mark left the following comment on that post:
But, I have a different scenario…
Status:
Company match is 100% up to 4% of pay, none thereafter.
Contribution is at 10%
401k return so far this year is -8%
I am over 50.
Large […]
Introducing JLP’s One-Year Credit Card Experiment
Friday, March 14th, 2008How many credit card solicitations (both phone calls and mail) do you get in one year?
I’m going to find out.
Starting today, I’m going to track all of the credit card offers my wife and I receive over the next year. I’ll keep a log in Excel and also mention them in a blog post […]
Question of the Day: When is Debt Real Debt?
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Sorry for the confusing title but I couldn’t think of another way to say it.
I was reading NCN’s plan for life after debt
and it got me to thinking about the following question:
Let’s say you have a sizeable savings account and have allotted $2,000 of your savings for a new TV. You go shopping […]
Is it Really That Tempting to Sign Up For New Credit Cards?
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008LivingAlmostLarge left a comment on my Stupidity post, alerting me to a blogger who pretty much blames everyone except the borrowers for the mortgage crisis. So, just for fun, I went over and checked out their blog. While I didn’t find too much about the subprime crisis, I did find this post on […]
Discover’s Holiday Shopping Survey: 17% of 18 - 24 year olds are stupid!
Thursday, December 6th, 2007I just received an email from a PR person for Discover Financial Services. Below is the press release to their 2007 Holiday Shopping Survey. One thing I found interesting from the press release below was this bullet point:
Seventeen percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 said that money was no object.
This is troubling […]
From U.S. News: Five Nasty Credit Card Surprises
Friday, August 31st, 2007It’s been a busy day for a Friday. I have had a ton of interesting stuff to blog about. I’m afraid if I don’t post it today, I’ll forget about it!
Anyhow, my contact at U.S. News & World Report sent me links to three interesting articles regarding credit cards that I thought I […]
A MUST READ Article on Credit Card Debt
Monday, July 30th, 2007We’re all familiar with the statistic that claims the average American has $9,000 in credit card debt. Well, according to this Liz Pulliam Weston column, it’s a lie. From the article:
The majority of U.S. households have no credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances. About a quarter […]
Reader Question: Student Loans and Credit Card Debt
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007I was cleaning up my email folders tonight when I came across an email I received back in June from a reader. Here’s the email:
JLP,
I love reading your blog, and you answered my rollover IRA question so well, I thought I’d ask you another question.
Some background first: I’m 27 and hope to do […]



