Self-Help Articles

Boosting Your Emergency Fund

Here at American Credit Foundation, we're big proponents of "the emergency fund." Hopefully, if you're reading this, you already have (or have started, at the very least) a stash of cash in case of some unforeseen catastrophe. Be it a broken water heater, a hole...

Credit Utilization: What Is it, and Why Should You Care?

We talk a lot about your credit cards (those pesky pieces of plastic that are equal parts good and bad, depending on how you use them) and your credit score (that three-digit number predicting the likelihood that you'll pay your credit obligations on time). But let’s...

How to Manage Your Student Loan Debt

It’s no secret: College ain’t cheap – and it’s only getting more expensive. Over the past 30 years, the cost of an American university education has tripled. The College Board reports that the average tuition for a four-year school is $10,230 – compared to $3,360 in...

A Guide to Financially Irresponsible Family Members

It can be awkward to mix family and money issues, whether it's loaning money to a struggling relative or dealing with competitive or irresponsible spending. Feeling frustrated by family-related financial kerfuffles? We created this helpful guide for dealing with family members who seem chronically unable...

Earn More . . . Spend More? The Danger of Lifestyle Inflation

Maybe you finally got a "real" job - one that pays for more than your (very) basic living expenses. Or it could be that your boss decided to reward your decade-plus of hard work with a well-deserved and long overdue raise. Perhaps you just got...

Your Credit Card Is a Budgeting Tool

Budgets are great… for some people. Creating a spending plan by looking at all bills and regular payments can give you a complete picture of your spending and saving habits. And sticking to that plan can really help you keep your finances in check. But let's...

Debt Default: What Is it? How Can You Prevent it?

Your car note fell behind the refrigerator. You got busy with work and didn't remember to schedule your online student loan payment. You were down with the flu for a week and totally forgot to pay your credit card bill. We get it. These things happen....

How to Rebound from Missed Credit Card Payments

For whatever reason, you've missed your credit card payment… for the past four months. At first, maybe you just forgot to send in your monthly payment. Then you misplaced your next statement. You couldn't afford the minimum amount on your third bill. And by month...

10 Quick Tips for Shaping Up Financially

It’s March, and you’ve already given up on your New Year’s resolution to get in shape. Well, maybe you’ve sidestepped your goal of losing five pounds or making it to the gym three days a week or biking to work instead of driving… But that...

Are You Financially Stable? Let’s Check!

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. Those folks know a little something about financial stability. They talk about it in terms of an economic system that can absorb all the ups and downs in nation’s economy at any moment: “It...