One of the best things you can do to improve your financial situation right now is to join a community bank or credit union.

For the honor of providing you with your money a few days earlier tax refund companies will charge as much as 20%! Instead of thinking about it as getting a bonus, think about it as a repayment of a loan you already made- to the government. Be patient and get all your money back.

Your bills come every month. Know what day they are due and set aside money to pay bills before they are due. Think of ways that paying early, or in bulk, can reduce your rate. For example, paying your car insurance in one yearly lump sum is usually cheaper than paying every month. Save up ahead of time to pay the yearly rate and save money over the whole year.

Getting your credit score from all three credit reporting bureaus can be as easy as 1, 2, 3! You may even be able to get it for free. The government enacted a law (allowing each person to have access to their personal credit report for free once a year.

I am thinking about having my boyfriend move in with me and I have heard about different ways to pay the bills such as separate accounts and joint accounts. What do you think is the best way to approach paying bills?

The most common type of credit scoring system is the FICO score created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. You can get all three credit reports with FICO scores from www.MyFICO.com for $48.

I always thought that to be prerequisite to being “down with the struggle” was struggling. This included perpetually renting, living check-to-check, and not having any extra cash to save.

Savings falls into two general categories: short term (in the next five years) and long term (longer than ten years). We will all have emergencies come up, having just $500 available for emergencies may be the difference between paying bills and going into debt.