Looking for ways to save money so you can focus on getting out of credit card debt? Trying to figure out what retailers you should and shouldn’t trust with your credit card information online? Whether you’re looking for advice on where to buy or just a great deal, social media may be your answer to becoming a smarter consumer.

Here are things that make social media sites indispensable tools for today’s consumers. read more..

Like any complex financial product credit cards are a minefield of jargon and trying to understand it can sometimes leave you scratching your head.

But understanding key terms can help you effectively manage your credit card debt and keep the cost of credit down, so here are a few key terms explained. read more..

In the past, we’ve talked about the benefits of both credit cards and debit cards and the fact that each can have its place in the purchases you make. For example, credit cards are ideal if you want better fraud protection while debit cards are always the better option if you want to withdraw cash at an ATM.

Each of these options has risks too. And those are worth considering when you decide which kind of card to use when you shop. Let’s look at the biggest risk of both types of cards. read more..

You have a pretty good relationship with your credit card company. You use your card on a regular basis. You pay more than the minimum due each month. And your payments are always made on time. But then something happens. Maybe an emergency left you short on cash. Or perhaps you just forgot to send a payment and now it won’t arrive before your due date.

Sometimes things happen. Payments might be late, no matter how good of a customer you usually are. If this happens to you, what should you do? Consider the following steps. read more..

One of the biggest benefits of credit cards is the fact that you can dispute purchases — something you cannot do easily with cash transactions. In the past, we talked about how to dispute credit card transactions with your credit card company. But when is that the appropriate course of action?

Let’s look at two situations when you might want to consider disputing a credit card transaction. read more..