Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Best Business Credit Cards of January 2024

Worried about your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/what-is-a-credit-score">credit score</a>? Maybe you weren't before, but now that I mention it you may be wondering when the last time you checked it was. Even if you're pretty sure it's fine, the topic is often enough to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-therapist-talk-about-anxiety-money-2023-3">cause a moment of panic</a>, a sinking feeling followed by an "Oh God, what if something's happened?"That little three-digit number is a big deal in our financial lives. It serves as a sort of grade for how you handle money. An A gets you approval for an apartment and a decent rate on your car loan; an F gets your rental application turned down and makes your car insurance more expensive. You might not have even realized it, but your credit report <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-cleaning-up-your-credit-can-help-you-land-a-job-2013-9">could even make a difference in whether you land your next job</a>.The anxiety around credit scores is palpable. It's also lucrative. Credit bureaus, startups, and even one-man operations can make a lot of money by playing into people's fears about their credit. They offer services that monitor credit scores and alert you when yours changes, or they say they can help you repair your damaged credit — for a price, of course. Many of these costly solutions do not work as well as promised or deliver much, if any, bang for your buck."The credit-scoring companies have figured out how to profit on the anxiety of consumers with credit watch and credit monitoring and all of these add-on programs," said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank. "When companies find a way to profit off of anxiety, they have an incentive to create anxiety."What these companies won't tell you is that the best things to help ease your credit-related worries are cheap, even free. You can check your credit regularly at no cost from a lot of sources — your credit-card company likely tells you your score, and you can access your report weekly free of charge too. Freezing your credit also doesn't run you anything. It's important to be aware of your credit score, but you don't need to obsess over it — or let marketers convince you to pay for a bunch of stuff you don't really need because you're panicked.Around the time of the Super Bowl, I noticed that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was appearing in ads for Experian, one of the big three bureaus responsible for keeping track of everyone's credit scores. I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kelce-experian-tv-commercials-nfl-taylor-swift-super-bowl-2024-2">decided to write about it</a> and, in the process, created an Experian account. The company has been hounding me ever since. I get near-daily emails that range from run-of-the-mill product offers and "credit alerts" to nerve-racking warnings that my information may have been part of a data breach. When I click for more information, lo and behold, I'm confronted with a paid service. For $25 a month, I can sign up for "Experian CreditWorks Premium," which includes quarterly credit reports, credit monitoring, and identity protection. Once I decline that offer, which is kind of tricky, I can also find an offer to "lock" my credit for $5 a month. It's similar to a credit freeze, which blocks creditors from accessing your credit file, but can also do things like notify you if someone tries to access your Experian credit report. Here's the thing, though: A lot of the services it's offering are already free."There's no reason ever to pay for credit monitoring," said Chi Chi Wu, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "There's no reason to pay for a credit score or pay for service for the credit score."In Wu's view, Experian is an especially bad offender — not just for its suite of likely unnecessary products but because, as part of its standard agreement, the company makes customers agree to mandatory arbitration, meaning you don't get to sue if Experian has a big screwup later. In an email, a spokesperson for Experian said that the company is "committed to financial inclusion" and that its free membership has tools to help consumers improve their financial health. "Millions of members find value in having Experian as their financial co-pilot helping them improve, manage, and protect their financial profile," the spokesperson said. They did not address the arbitration agreement. But Experian is hardly the only company out there selling credit-related services that drain consumer dollars. The credit-monitoring and identity-theft-protection industry, according to IBISWorld, is worth about $5.4 billion in annual revenue. The growth of the industry makes sense — in this day and age, data breaches are constant, and a fraudulent ding on your credit report or someone opening an account in your name can be an enormous headache. Guarding against that outcome seems like a small price to pay for a lot of people, except that paying any price above $0 may not actually be worth it.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IB_Credit_Monitoring_Arbitration.pdf">2022 brief</a> from the NCLC described credit-monitoring bundles as often "expensive and ineffective" and argued that they failed to meaningfully benefit consumers. It noted that most identity theft takes place in existing accounts, meaning monitoring services that alert consumers to newly opened accounts miss it. They also often fail to catch fraud related to medical services or tax refunds. And even when they do catch identity theft, they do so after the fact."Some people might be like, 'Well, I'd rather pay and not deal with the time,'" Wu said. "But the thing is those products aren't all that effective."A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-17-254.pdf">2017 report from the Government Accountability Office</a> was pretty negative on the whole monitoring and identity-theft-protection business, too, saying it's just not clear how helpful a lot of this stuff is. The report also looked at identity-theft insurance and noted that while it covered expenses related to dealing with the theft, it generally excluded actual financial losses. While credit monitoring falls into the waste-of-money category, other credit-related services can cross over into potentially predatory territory — for example, credit-repair operations. The idea behind these services is pretty simple: Credit reports often include some mistakes that can ding people's scores. So, for a fee, the companies will dispute a bunch of items in hopes of boosting the score. This may improve people's reports temporarily while the disputes are being investigated, but since the firms are basically disputing anything negative, when they lose, everything goes back to how it was, and the customer is just out more money."They're basically charging people with the false promise that they're going to be able to fix their credit reports and credit scores permanently when they can't," said Sarah Chenven, the CEO of Working Credit, a nonprofit that helps people build credit.Credit-repair companies often target people with lower incomes and people desperate to improve their credit reports and scores. Gen Zers and millennials, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/state-of-debt-and-credit-report#average-credit-scores">tend to have lower credit scores</a> than older generations and may not have extensive credit files, may be more likely to find themselves looking at a credit-repair service to get negative items off their reports or at some sort of credit-building service to just help them develop a record. Credit-monitoring companies can really appeal to anyone worried about their credit and identity theft. Some of these businesses also make money by marketing various financial products to people — a well-off boomer might get one type of credit-card offer, a struggling student another.The companies also don't do anything people can't do on their own — if there's an error, you can and should dispute it yourself. In fact, credit-repair agencies can be less effective than the average person at getting mistakes wiped from their credit histories because, as Andrew Pizor, a senior attorney at the NCLC, explained, the law says that credit-reporting agencies have to respond only to dispute letters directly from consumers. Credit-repair businesses try really hard to make it seem like disputes are from consumers, and the agencies try just as hard to sniff out whether that's going on."Most of the letters that you're paying for are going into the garbage," Pizor said. He added that if your dispute letters are going unanswered, you don't need a repair service — you need a lawyer.Federal regulators have gone after several companies accused of playing it fast and loose with the way they approach consumers. In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled with TransUnion over charges related to how it was marketing its products, including credit monitoring, and ordered it to stop deceptive practices. In 2022, it sued TransUnion, accusing it of violating that order. In 2005, it dinged Experian for marketing free credit reports that weren't so free. Last year, the CFPB entered into a $2.7 billion settlement with a ring of credit-repair brands accused of illegally collecting fees for their services. Over a decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission and 35 states reached a $12 million settlement with LifeLock after alleging that it had made false claims about its identity-theft-protection services.These companies and credit-related services aren't necessarily evil. A significant part of the issue is that the ecosystem is a mess. Our credit-reporting and -scoring system is outdated and confusing, and so are a lot of the businesses that have sprung from it. Even the seemingly good products and services out there are a sign of the deep rot at the core of the whole system. Credit-building loans, which are loans designed to help people without much credit history build some, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/targeting-credit-builder-loans/">can help people get on better financial footing</a>, even if there is usually some cost involved. Immigrants and young people in particular can benefit.Companies such as Credit Karma that let you access a lot of your information easily and for free make it so your credit score isn't such a mystery. The downside there is that they make their money by giving your information to a bunch of third-party financial products and taking a cut if you sign up for one of them. For consumers, the whole thing feels like a maze. It's tough to separate the good actors from the bad and to understand the trade-offs at hand. It's not always clear what you're signing up for, whether you need it, or what you're going to wind up paying."The credit system and the financial system, and I hate to sound a little preachy, but it's a black box," said Ryan Steckler, a vice president of product and general manager at Credit Karma. "Given that situation, we're in the business of empowering our consumers by giving them access to the same data those financial institutions have."It would be neat to be able to say that some concrete help is on the way, but the truth is we're stuck with some not-so-fun realities around credit scores for the foreseeable future. As screwed up as the system is, it's probably not going anywhere anytime soon, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cash-flow-underwriting.asp">even though there are better alternatives out there</a>.There is this sense of existential dread around credit scores. A negative one can really drag people down. An impaired record makes loans more expensive, makes accessing certain financial products impossible, and may even put your next apartment or job out of reach. Klein, from the Brookings Institution, has recently been conducting focus groups with low-income consumers about their financial knowledge and concerns. He's been shocked at how much credit scores have come up."I was very surprised at the attention to detail folks of more modest income have on the impact of financial products and choices on their credit scores," he said. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized this focus is based on experience. At some point, their low credit score has negatively impacted their lives."Frederick Wherry, a Princeton sociologist who leads the Debt Collection Lab, an initiative focused on understanding debt collection, added: "As soon as we are asked about our credit scores, or in a moment when we can't get something we need or we get it at too high a price, that's when we realize that this thing has been hanging over our heads." It's unwise to bury your head in the sand, ignore your credit score, and hope for the best. But you don't need to obsess over it, let alone spend a bunch of money on it. If you're not in the market for a house or apartment or in need of a new loan, you can freeze your credit for free, meaning no fraudsters can take out a loan in your name. Under federal law, the bureaus have to give you one free credit report a year, and since the pandemic they've been letting people access their reports for free once a week. If you see something weird on your report, you can dispute it on your own. And you really do not need to be checking that much — once a month or once a quarter is fine, kind of like your 401(k)."If you have a credit score over 720 or 780, stop worrying. Don't be obsessed with getting an 800 or 820," Wu said. "This is not your SAT score."If you're in trouble, there are nonprofits out there that can help you figure out what to do, for little or no money."If you've got bad credit, if your credit score is low, where I'd start is with a nonprofit credit counselor," Pizor said.If you want to sign up for identity-theft protection or credit monitoring, fine. But those services aren't a fail-safe, so you'll want to walk in with your eyes wide open. The credit experts I spoke with were very wary about credit repair across the board. The next time you start to worry about your credit score, take a beat. Not to get too woo-woo here, but really, there's only so much you can control."I mean, the magic bullet is building a better system," Wu said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

The best way to fix your credit score? Ignore it.

Indian Paralympic <keyword id="19929069" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Athletes" source="keywords">athletes</keyword> received a grand welcome at <keyword id="19900881" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi" source="keywords">Delhi</keyword>'s Indira Gandhi International Airport on their return home from Paris, after putting up a record-breaking show at the Paris <keyword id="20396851" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paralympics" source="keywords">Paralympics</keyword>. On Saturday morning, half of the Indian contingent made their return home after taking part in the Paris Paralympics. AvLekhara, Mona Agarwal, Pranav Soorma, Rakesh Kumar, and Manish Narwal are among others who touched down in Delhi. Fans outside the Delhi gathered in huge numbers and greeted the para-athletes by showering flower petals on them. Other athletes of the Indian contingent will return back after the conclusion of the para multi-sport event. Star <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> parashooter Avani Lekhara said that it was a great journey at the Paris Paralympics. "It has been a good journey, and we have won many good medals this time," Avani told ANI. Indian para shooter Mona Agarwal said that her Paralympic journey was very good. "I am feeling very good as I am receiving so much love...My Paralympic journey was very good, as it was my first Paralympic," Mona told ANI. Reigning Paralympic champion, Avani Lekhara maintained her streak and struck gold in the women's 10m air rifle final at the Paris Paralympics on Friday. She also became the first Indian woman to win two gold medals in the Games' history. Shooter Mona Agarwal bagged the bronze medal at the same event. Meanwhile, para-archer Rakesh Kumar gave all the credit for the victory to his coaches. "I am feeling very good...The credit for my victory goes to my coaches...We will work hard and perform better at the next Paralympics," Rakesh told ANI. The Indian archery pair of Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi clinched the bronze medal in the Mixed Team Compound event with a win over Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina of Italy at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. They defeated the Italian pair with a scoreline of 156-155 in the bronze medal match of the ongoing marquee event on Monday. With this win, they bagged a bronze medal for their country. The ongoing Paris Paralympics started on August 28 and will conclude on September 8. India's medal tally in the ongoing Paralympics has gone up to 27, with six gold medals, nine silver medals, and 12 bronze medals. This is the most gold India has ever won at a Paralympics Games event, outdoing the total of five golds in Tokyo 2020. Indian para-athletes in particular have made the country proud with three golds, six silvers, and six bronze medals, giving them a total of 15 medals. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/here-are-the-benefits-you-get-with-indias-most-expensive-credit-card-with-a-3-54-lakh-annual-fee/articleshow/113123752.cms">Here are the benefits you get with India’s most expensive credit card with a ₹3.54 lakh annual fee</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/fada-urges-banks-to-tighten-funding-to-dealers-as-rains-play-spoilsport-in-august/articleshow/113111945.cms">FADA urges banks to tighten funding to dealers as rains play spoilsport in August</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/bajaj-housing-finance-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/113131102.cms">Bajaj Housing Finance IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a>

India's history-making Paralympians touch down in Delhi to rousing welcome

A Delhi consumer forum has directed the <keyword id="13222" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sbi" source="Orion">SBI</keyword> Cards &amp; Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. to pay Rs 2 lakh to a person here for sending him bill even after his card's expiry and blacklisting him for non-payment of the charges. The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum comprising its president Monika A Srivastava and members Kiran Kausal and Umesh Kumar Tyagi directed the company to pay the amount to M J Anthony, a former journalist, for "deficiency in providing services". The forum noted that the company had blacklisted him in the CIBIL system of the wilful defaulters maintained by the RBI, which resulted in the rejection of his applications for credit cards from another bank where he had maintained regular account for nearly two decades. "This Commission is of the view that the SBI Cards &amp; Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. has been deficient in providing services to the complainant and though the damage/loss occasioned to the complainant in terms of credit rating cannot be measured in terms of money yet punitive damage ought to be awarded against OP (opposite party) therefore, OP is directed to compensate the complainant by paying a sum of Rs 2 lakh as compensation within two months from the date of this order failing which the sum payable would be Rs 3 lakh," the forum said. The forum passed the order on May 20 on Anthony's complaint seeking compensation, claiming that he had requested the company to cancel his card in April 2016 much before its expiry and not to renew it. He did not use the card for any transaction after April 9, 2016 and had destroyed the card according to rules, he said, adding that no payment was due at that time on the card. In September, the complainant received a letter from the company about the cancellation of his card, however, the company continued to send bills relating to the card ignoring his protest e-mails, he said. The bills were to the tune of Rs 2,946 by May 18, 2017 inclusive of late payment charges and penalty, he said. He stated that in the same letter, the company had warned him to pay the bill otherwise it would "have adverse impact on the credit history as maintained by the credit Bureau and may hamper future credit requirement". The company further blacklisted him in the CIBIL system of the wilful defaulters maintained by RBI and he had trouble in getting loans or credit card. During the argument, the company had denied the allegations. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/how-some-companies-are-helping-habitual-borrowers-consolidate-their-loans/articleshow/100494588.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/how-some-companies-are-helping-habitual-borrowers-consolidate-their-loans/articleshow/100494588.cms" target="_blank">Neck deep in debt? Here’s how some companies are helping habitual borrowers consolidate their loans</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indians-want-to-spend-the-2000-note-but-it-doesnt-look-easy/articleshow/100496839.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indians-want-to-spend-the-2000-note-but-it-doesnt-look-easy/articleshow/100496839.cms" target="_blank">Indians want to spend the ₹2,000 note but it doesn’t look easy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/highest-number-of-entry-level-jobs-and-salary-in-bengaluru-as-per-foundit-report/articleshow/100499355.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/highest-number-of-entry-level-jobs-and-salary-in-bengaluru-as-per-foundit-report/articleshow/100499355.cms" target="_blank">Maximum City: Highest number of entry level jobs In Bengaluru &amp; it pays freshers more than other metros</a>

SBI penalised for sending bills to man despite credit card's expiry

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The average credit card interest rate rose to a record high late last year. </li><li>It comes as more Americans are taking on credit card debt and making late payments.</li></ul>Americans are taking on more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-could-hurt-gen-z-finances-getting-worse-debt-inflation-2022-11">credit card debt</a> at the fastest pace in decades, and those left with balances at the end of this month could be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-issue-rates-will-soar-2023-1">forced to pay a higher interest rate than ever before</a>. The average interest rate on bank-issued credit cards reached 19.1% late in 2022, according to a <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/">Federal Reserve consumer credit report</a> released Monday, marking the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/11/credit-card-interest-rates-hit-record-high">highest rate</a> since the government began tracking this data in the 1970s. It surpassed the previous high of 18.9% in 1985 and could soon shoot even higher, with some experts predicting a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-issue-rates-will-soar-2023-1">20% average rate this year</a> as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/did-fed-hike-interest-rates-december-increases-slow-inflation-cools-2022-12">Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates</a> to bring down inflation. While some credit cards have a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-credit-card-interest-rate">standard interest rate</a> for all customers, most offer a range that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-credit-card-interest-rate#:~:text=Lenders%20use%20them%20to%20evaluate,with%200%25%20introductory%20interest%20rates.">largely depends on an individual's credit score</a>. "Credit card rates reached record highs in 2022, and there is still more to come in 2023," Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, <a href="https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/credit-card-rates-forecast/#:~:text=The%20year%20closed%20with%20the,household%20budgets%2C%E2%80%9D%20McBride%20says.">said in a blog post</a>. "An active Fed means cardholders with balances will continue to see interest costs rising."During the height of the pandemic, households accumulated roughly $2.5 trillion in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-households-could-burn-through-savings-within-months-2022-6">excess savings</a> as stimulus checks rolled in and lockdowns gave Americans fewer opportunities to spend their money. Over the past year, however, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-cooling-cpi-report-october-price-growth-2022-11">inflation</a> has caused Americans to spend more and save less, and their <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT">personal savings rate</a> has plummeted to near-record lows as a result. While both <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-could-hurt-gen-z-finances-getting-worse-debt-inflation-2022-11">credit card debt and late payments</a> remain below pre-pandemic levels, there's been a rise in recent months. US credit card debt rose $38 billion between July and September of this year, per the <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2022/20221115">New York Fed</a>, the largest percentage increase in over 20 years. The percentage of credit card payments 90 days or more past due rose to 3.7% in the third quarter, up from 3.2% the year prior. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-could-hurt-gen-z-finances-getting-worse-debt-inflation-2022-11">largest increase in missed payments</a> came from 18 to 29-year-olds, whose 90-plus day delinquency rate rose to over 6%. "Is this simply a reversion to earlier levels," the New York Fed researchers wrote in a <a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2022/11/balances-are-on-the-rise-so-who-is-taking-on-more-credit-card-debt/">November blog post</a> regarding the rise in missed payments, "with forbearances ending and stimulus savings drying up, or is this a sign of trouble ahead?"For those that can't find a way to cut down their credit card debt, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-balance-transfer-credit-cards">0% balance transfer credit card</a> could be one option, Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman <a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/credit-card-interest-rates-hit-record-high-in-2022#:~:text=According%20to%20Bankrate.com%2C%20the,increasing%203.12%25%20since%20January%201.">told ABC Action News</a>."All of those have 0% interest terms for up to 21 months," he said. "So you take your existing high cost credit card debt, move it over to this new card. By avoiding interest for almost two years, you could save hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars depending on how much you owe and how you use the card."For now, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/december-jobs-report-labor-market-payrolls-unemployment-rate-2023-1">US unemployment rate</a> remains near the lowest level in decades. But if the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/recession-warning-economic-outlook-inverted-yield-curve-fed-rate-hike-2023-1">economy enters a recession</a> and jobless claims spike, many Americans could have an even harder time avoiding high interest payments on their credit card debt.

The interest rate on your credit card balance could be the highest in history right now

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Karen Osman moved from Dubai to New York City when her husband received a promotion in the US.</li><li>Osman, a writer, had a golden visa in the UAE but sought stability in the US.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Karen Osman, a 45-year-old author based in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.My family didn't plan to leave <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-mom-expat-raising-kids-dubai-better-mother-relocation-uae-2024-8">Dubai</a>. We'd just renovated our apartment near Dubai Marina, and the UAE government had awarded me a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/golden-visas-greece-portugal-spain-boosted-economy-housing-crisis-2024-5">golden visa</a> as a writer, meaning I could live in the country for 10 years as an expat.But in May 2022, my husband, who works for a tech company, was offered a promotion to a role based in the New York office.While I was thrilled to be awarded the golden visa in the UAE, relying on a visa that covers a certain period can be a precarious way to live. We knew we'd have more stability if we moved to New York City.It was a big decision but also a no-brainer. I wondered, Will we regret not going? Three months later, we were living in New York City.<h2 id="92f155bd-b1b8-428e-9ef4-5a1153a9ec70">When I moved to Dubai from the UK 18 years earlier, I was a single woman who almost moved there on a whim</h2>I initially moved to Dubai to work in sales and marketing for a hotel chain. Now, as a mother of two, there was much more to consider.I did a lot of research, but one of the most useful sites I came across was the "British Mums NYC" Facebook group. One mom recently moved from Dubai and shared many useful tips, including school information.<h2 id="1783f799-afb2-47c2-afe8-12f1ea358f63">During our first year in the US, there was a lot of paperwork</h2>I had to sort out many things, from getting a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/can-you-change-social-security-number">Social Security number</a> to finding a doctor. My husband's company managed the applications to obtain the correct family visa and residency.What surprised me most about New York was how friendly the people were. I didn't expect it to have such a sense of community. I thought it'd be a bit like London, where nobody talks to each other.I quickly made friends with other mothers at school pick-up and drop-off, in the PTA, at a writing conference in New York City, and through book clubs.<h2 id="f0b9f937-b9d6-4af9-92b2-54bf68aa88af">As we didn't pay income tax in Dubai, we also needed to understand the US tax system</h2>It was certainly an adjustment after living in Dubai for so long. We also needed to create a plan to build up our credit score, which included getting credit cards and opening bank accounts.Apartments in New York City are more expensive than in Dubai. We had an apartment in Dubai, which we sold before we moved. We paid triple in New York for a fraction of the space we had in Dubai. As we didn't have a credit score in the US, some landlords wouldn't rent to us.We also had to ensure we lived in the school zone for the school we wanted to send our kids to. Yet, while housing was more expensive, schooling was free. As expats, we had to pay for schooling in Dubai.When we first arrived, we moved to an apartment in the Upper West Side as the area has really good schools, but then we decided to move out of the city to get more space. We now have a four-bedroom house with a backyard for the boys to play in 30 minutes outside the city. They saw snow for the first time in New York and loved building snowmen in the backyard.<h2 id="8d70a8ab-fa35-4fa9-a3cd-b6a8e79018d2">One of the nicest things about living in the city is its walkability</h2>On a weekday, I walk the kids to school. When I get home, I start writing. New York City is a writer's paradise. There's always something bookish going on in the city, whereas in Dubai, I never really felt like part of this community.Our weekends are focused on the kids. When we lived in the city, we had a membership to the American Museum of Natural History and regularly visited <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-how-the-ultrarich-live-nyc-central-park-tower-photos-2023-6'">Central Park</a>. We were like tourists. When we lived in Dubai, we spent our weekends at the beach. I had a Privilee membership, which is like a ClassPass for beach clubs in the city.<h2 id="bde97041-69bf-47e6-8a34-ffe8a07ff944">Dubai is super safe, so the first year we lived in New York, I was hyper-vigilant with my kids</h2>You'll see kids as young as 11 walking to school alone. My sons are 10 and 7, and I want my children to be this independent. I do have a concern about guns, but we've tried to reduce the danger as much as possible by choosing the safest neighborhoods in which to live.I found the food confusing in the US, from huge portions to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-vs-walmart-grocery-shopping-which-is-better-review-2024-8">grocery shopping</a>. The supermarkets here are massive and have so many options. The ingredients, which are more expensive than in Dubai, are also quite different. Some of the food additives they contain are not allowed to be sold for human consumption in Europe.I spent a lot of time reading the ingredients and finding the right brands. For the first three months we lived in the US, I ordered <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/kitchen/hellofresh-review">HelloFresh</a> meal kits so I didn't have to think about what to serve the family every night.<h2 id="9cad8cf1-e1a2-45e3-a459-1b653720fe4e">I've finished writing my fourth book and am now job-hunting</h2>I've never worked in the US before, and when you move to a new country, work is such a community builder. Writing novels is great, but it's quite isolating, particularly in a new country. As I have a background in marketing and writing, I'm looking for editorial and marketing positions.I miss a lot about Dubai, but it was my home for 18 years. I miss our family and friends who live there. When I see all the trash on NYC's streets, I miss the cleanliness of Dubai, but we don't have any plans to move anytime soon.

I moved from Dubai to the US as a British expat. It's been tough to adjust to credit scores, groceries, and guns the American way.

The best debt consolidation loans right now

<keyword id="9070397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="personal-finance-insider">Personal Finance Insider</keyword> writes about products, strategies, and tips to help you make smart decisions with your money. We may receive a small commission from our partners, like American Express, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Building good <keyword id="6354680" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="credit">credit</keyword> with a credit card requires spending less than your credit limit allows and promptly paying off the bill each month.</li><li>If you've never had a credit card or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-loan">taken out a loan</a> before, consider becoming an authorized user on a friend or family member's credit card or applying for a secured credit card.</li><li>Your credit card payment activity and credit utilization will be reported to the credit bureaus, which will each create a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-free-credit-report-check-credit">credit report</a> in your name. </li><li>Your credit report documents your entire <keyword id="88181" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="credit-history">credit history</keyword> and will determine your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/credit-score">credit score</a>, the three-digit number lenders use to evaluate your ability to pay back a loan.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-build-credit">Building good credit</a> from scratch can seem intimidating, but all it really takes is time and smart habits.There are a few ways to build credit, but you can start small by using a credit card. Here's how it works:<h2><keyword id="9789096" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="how-to-build-credit-with-a-credit-card">How to build credit with a credit card</keyword></h2><h3>1. Become an authorized user</h3>One of the easiest ways to establish credit from nothing is to become an authorized user on your parents' or partner's credit card. An authorized user is basically an extension of the primary cardholder, but isn't responsible for paying the bill and doesn't have to undergo a credit check.But as an authorized user, your credit report will track the credit card's payment and utilization history, so it's important to choose someone who is financially responsible.<h3>2. Try a secured credit card</h3>You may try a secured credit card to start building credit on your own. With a secured credit card, you make a cash deposit to a bank or financial institution to establish a line of credit and then use the card to make purchases up to that limit. When you pay the bill each month, the bank will report your payment activity to the three credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, which will each establish a credit report in your name.If the bill ever goes unpaid, the bank can keep your deposit. If you pay on time consistently, you should eventually qualify for a non-secured card and may even be upgraded by your bank.<h3>3. Apply for a credit card with good rewards</h3>Once you've established some credit history, you're probably ready to apply for your own credit card. Any credit card worth having these days will come with a suite of benefits and rewards, whether it's bonus points, cash back on qualified purchases, or travel perks. Some of the top tier <keyword id="6387037" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="credit-cards">credit cards</keyword> levy an annual fee as high as $450, but there are many great, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-no-fee-credit-card">no-fee credit cards</a> to choose from.You can apply for a credit card online and the bank will perform a hard inquiry on your credit report. It usually only takes a few minutes to get approved, unless the bank needs to verify your income.<h3>4. Check your credit limit</h3>When the bank approves you for a credit card, it will set a credit limit based on your income and other factors in your credit report. The amount of your total available credit limit that you spend each month becomes your credit utilization rate.You want to aim for a credit utilization rate of 10% or less to maintain a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-good-credit-score">good credit score</a>. The more lines of credit you have, the easier it gets. If you consistently keep your spending below the limit and make on-time payments, the bank may automatically increase your limit. You can also call and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-increase-credit-limit-credit-card">request a credit limit increase</a>.<h3>5. Know your payment due date</h3>Before you start swiping your credit card, you should know when your monthly payment is due. This will be listed on your online account and is the date that your full outstanding balance is due every month to avoid late fees.<h3>6. Know your annual percentage rate (APR) </h3>Every credit card has an APR, or annual percentage rate, which is the percentage of your outstanding balance you'll be charged for keeping a balance on the card past the payment due date.The APR on a credit card depends in part on your credit history and can range from 17% to 26%, though some cards offer introductory APRs as low as 0% that last for a few months after opening the card. Some banks raise your APR if your payments are late.Ideally, you shouldn't be concerned with the APR if you plan to make full and on-time payments on your credit card. But it's still smart to choose a credit card with a low APR in case you do end up carrying a balance at some point; high interest rates can quickly snowball your debt.<h3>7. Use the card to make purchases</h3>If you opened a rewards credit card, start using the card to make purchases that will earn you points, miles, or cash back. <h3>8. Make a habit of checking your transaction history</h3>When you're swiping a card rather than handing over cash, it can be easy to lose track of how much you've spent. Get in the habit of checking your transaction history once or twice a week to make sure you're not creeping too close to the credit limit.<h3>9. Pay off the balance in full every month</h3>Every month, you're responsible for paying off the full current balance on your account. If you don't pay your full balance on or before the due date, it will start accruing interest until it's paid, you'll get a late fee, and the credit bureaus will be notified of your missed payment.If you only pay the "minimum payment" listed on your account by the due date, you will avoid the late fee, but the remaining balance will still start accruing interest. <h3>10. Set up auto pay</h3>If you're afraid you may forget to manually make your monthly payment, connect your credit card account with a checking account that will automatically pay your bill on the same date every month — just make sure there's enough money in the account to cover it.<h3>11. Don't apply for more credit too soon</h3>New credit inquiries show up on your credit report each time you apply for a new loan or credit card and temporarily bring down your score by a few points.If you have too many inquiries in a short period of time, lenders may consider that a high risk and deny your application or give you a less-than-ideal interest rate. If you're new to establishing credit, it's best practice to space out your credit applications by at least six months.Related Content Module: More Credit Card Coverage

How to build credit with a credit card

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed regulations that would reduce credit card late fees.</li><li>The bank lobby says these regulations would hurt community banks and credit unions and reduce credit access. </li></ul>Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote a <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/download/combinepdf-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the ten largest credit card companies asking how much money they make collecting late fees from cash-strapped consumers.For years credit card companies have profited off collecting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-avoid-late-credit-card-payment-fees">late fees</a>, costing American families about <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-proposes-rule-to-rein-in-excessive-credit-card-late-fees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$12 billion</a> each year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In February, the federal consumer watchdog proposed closing regulatory loopholes that would save Americans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-could-save-billions-slash-credit-card-late-fees-cfpb-2023-2">$9 billion</a> a year — without harming credit card companies. With the bank lobby fighting the new regulations, Warren wants credit card companies to explain themselves."American families have an opportunity to save billions in excessive credit card late fees and will benefit greatly from the CFPB's efforts to curb these practices," the Massachusetts Democrat and former CFPB chair wrote to PNC, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Citigroup, Discover, Bank of America, American Express, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, and USAA.She wanted to know if credit card companies are playing a role "in an ongoing effort by the county's most powerful banks to quash that rule" that would "limit exorbitant credit card late fees and save American consumers billions of dollars."Currently, credit card companies are permitted to fine consumers up to <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-proposes-rule-to-rein-in-excessive-credit-card-late-fees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$41</a> for each missed credit card payment — no questions asked. Finding the income generated from late fees is five times greater than the costs companies incur for collecting late payments, the CFPB proposed regulations that would require companies to justify late fees above $8, which the agency estimates would cover collection costs. The regulations would also end automatic annual inflation adjustment and ban late fee amounts above 25% of the consumer's required payment. Altogether, the regulations would shift some of the burden of paying late fees off consumers and onto banks.The bank lobby has argued these regulations would harm the very people the CFPB hopes to help. "Late fees incentivize consumers to overcome or moderate behavioral biases that are potentially harmful to their financial health," the <a href="https://bpi.com/the-role-of-credit-card-late-fees-in-encouraging-timely-repayment-is-essential-to-efficient-functioning-of-the-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bank Policy Institute</a> said, thereby "encouraging timely repayment" which "is essential to efficient functioning of the market."A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson pointed to a <a href="https://timmons.house.gov/uploadedfiles/01.05.2022_senator_tim_scott_and_congressman_william_timmons_letter_on_small_business_data_collection_rule.docx.pdf">letter</a> from several Republican senators calling CFPB Chair Rohit Chopra's proposed regulations "misguided" efforts "to demonize commonsense incentives that promote financial responsibility."The lawmakers argued "these fees are used for a variety of legitimate purposes," including encouraging consumers to balance their checkbooks and discouraging consumers "from paying their bills late or otherwise violating the terms of financial agreements."They argued these regulations "will unnecessarily cause financial harm to American consumers — particularly low- and middle-income consumers with a limited credit history" because late fees "enable companies to offset the costs of late payments and their associated risks" for providing credit to cash-strapped Americans.The lawmakers said these regulations "will raise the cost of credit for all American consumers" as "shifting costs from a small subset of borrowers to the entire pool of borrowers raises the cost of borrowing for all, including those who made sacrifices to pay their bills on time."Wells Fargo declined to comment. The other eight credit card companies Warren sent the letter to did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Warren argued that consumers already "suffer under excessive late fees," citing <a href="https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CFPB_2022_0039_group_comment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thousands of late fee complaints</a> made to the CFPB.The bank lobby further argued that the regulations would force banks and credit card companies to reduce access to credit.According to the American Bankers Association, <a href="https://www.aba.com/about-us/press-room/press-releases/cfpb-late-fee-proposal-would-harm-consumers-and-reduce-access-to-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">any reduction in late fees</a> that credit card companies are allowed to collect "would have a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of community banks and credit unions with assets below $850 million, many of which would be forced to exit the credit card market altogether," forcing credit card companies to offset new risks by "reducing credit lines, tightening standards for new accounts and raising APRs for all consumers."In her letter, Warren asked if credit card companies agreed with the bank lobby. She said that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/no-overdraft-fee-banks#:~:text=Financial%20institutions%20that%20have%20eliminated%20overdraft%20fees,-A%20financial%20institution&amp;text=The%20following%20is%20a%20list,all%20checking%20and%20savings%20accounts.">many banks</a>, including Citi, Capital One, and Discover, "have reduced or eliminated overdraft fees, another harmful junk fee, without raising costs for consumers." She wanted to know why reducing credit card late fees would be any different.Warren also asked each credit card company to answer how much money they collect in credit card fees each year — and the proportion from low-income earners — and the actual cost of collecting those fees.

Credit card companies need to explain the 'exorbitant' late fees they're charging customers, says Elizabeth Warren

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Prosecutors say Rep. George Santos tricked supporters into sending him tens of thousands of dollars.</li><li>After he got the money, prosecutors say he spent thousands on designer clothes and credit payments.</li></ul>Rep. George Santos duped supporters into giving him money and spent thousands of it on designer clothes and credit-card payments, federal prosecutors allege.The embattled New York congressman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-in-custody-faces-20-years-prison-charges-2023-5">surrendered Wednesday to law enforcement at a federal court</a> on Long Island, New York. He was criminally charged with several counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds.Prosecutors allege in the indictment that before Santos was elected to Congress, he "executed a scheme to defraud supporters of his candidacy for the House and to obtain money from them by fraudulently inducing them to contribute funds" to an LLC he ran under the false pretense that the cash would be used to support his candidacy. Instead, Santos spent "thousands of dollars of the solicited funds on personal expenses, including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments," prosecutors say in the indictment.<h2>A history of lies</h2>Shortly after Santos took office this year, news reports surfaced saying that he had lied about several key aspects of his background while on the campaign trail. Santos, a Catholic, repeatedly claimed to be Jewish while he was campaigning. He later walked that back, claiming he said he was "Jew-ish." He also lied about the circumstances of his mother's death while campaigning, said he went to two universities that denied his attendance, and lied about his employment history. He has since apologized for the plethora of lies, which he called simply an "embellishment.""If I disappointed anyone by my résumé embellishment, I'm sorry," Santos said on 77 WABC radio.<h2>Santos 2024</h2>In April, before he was charged in New York, Santos announced his plan to run for a second term in office."I am proudly announcing my bid for re-election for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NY03?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648042407907192863%7Ctwgr%5E90f8fc60fe491f77cda5bc766ed8fa3387e0cfd9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fgeorge-santos-beth-van-duyne-joint-fundraising-committee-2023-4&amp;src=hashtag_click" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#NY03</a>. This is about TAKING BACK our country and restoring greatness back to New York," Santos tweeted.Running again may be tricky. Santos' recent financial filings showed his campaign in dire straits: The campaign's filings in the first quarter of 2023 disclosed it had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-reelection-run-2024-cash-low-campaign-2023-4">refunded more contributions</a> than it brought in.

George Santos tricked supporters into giving him money that he spent on designer clothes and credit-card payments, feds allege

<ul class="summary-list"><li>50-year-old Clark appeared on Caleb Hammer's "Financial Audit" show, seeking help with his finances.</li><li>He said he was earning $12,000 as a shop assistant, and also brought in money as his mom's carer.</li></ul>A man appeared on YouTuber Caleb Hammer's budgeting podcast for help with his finances, providing a clear example of how poor financial literacy is harming many in the US.Clark, who is 50 and from San Antonio, Texas, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQf62SaZhxc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told host of "Financial Audit" Caleb Hammer</a> that he was a stocker at a convenience store, and earned $12,000 a year at $9 per hour."How are you surviving on $12,000?" Hammer asked him. Clark said he was living with his 83-year-old mom, and was also bringing in some money as her caregiver, which brought his total income to $22,000 per year.Overall, he owed around $9,800 on cards he hadn't been making payments towards for over a year, and so many had been passed onto debt collection agencies.Hammer didn't go through them all in detail in the episode, but the ones he did bring up were all maxed out.<ul><li>$959 on a First Direct bank card, which was $259 over the credit limit.</li><li>$585 on Credit One card, including overdue payments.</li><li>$457 on another unspecified card.</li><li>Around $2,000 on an Aspire card.</li><li>$5,209 on another Capital One card, was $209 over the limit.</li></ul>Those figures total around $9,200.Hammer didn't give interest rates for any of the cards, and later said that Clark hadn't kept great records, making it hard to pin down the specifics of his debt.The minimum monthly payment Clark owed was in excess of $2,100, more than he was bringing in. Hammer said the total he owed could easily be over $10,000 now because of the interest and late fees accruing.Clark said he started getting into credit-card debt in 2021, and considered it "money to burn."Hammer asked Clark what his "mindset on money" was, and Clark said he was initially paying the cards off, but he stopped."Just not enough funds, not enough money in the bank," he said.Hammer asked him why he didn't have a job with more hours or a higher salary to pay it off."I just haven't planned that far ahead yet," he said."That's not a plan if you have no plan," Hammer responded. "Do you just not care?"Clark said "I do care and I don't care," explaining that he didn't see the point in having a better credit history. Hammer asked him if he cared about the morality of paying back money he owed."That's a conundrum right there," Clark said. "To tell you the truth, I don't have any faces to look at and say, I'm sorry.""Are you an excuse maker?" Hammer asked."Yeah, pretty much," Clark said.Hammer told him if he didn't want to be working for the rest of his life, the "excuses need to stop." Clark said he had been living with his mom basically his whole life, who owned the home, and to whom he paid $400 per month in rent. Hammer asked whether he would be left the house when she died, and Clark said he probably would be, though he had siblings.He said he had nothing saved for retirement (joking that he had $25), and only $13 in his checking account.Hammer asked Clark what got him to this place, to which he replied that he lost some jobs because of his Type 1 diabetes. He said in one position as a cashier, he blacked out due to low blood sugar, and was then fired.But he did say he had been auditioning for acting parts, and had a job offer as a cook in a restaurant, which would bring his salary to $19 per hour.<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CalebHammer/comments/153xn54/50yearold_is_choosing_to_die_in_extreme_poverty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On Hammer's subreddit</a>, where fans of the show discuss recent episodes, many people expressed frustration at Clark, saying he reminded them of family members they considered "a failure to launch.""A string of minimum wage jobs, quitting when they get annoyed and just no fire to do anything different because they live with mom and rent is covered," one person wrote, describing a sibling who was likely going to be left their parent's house. "It's really really hard to not feel resentful of that decision."Hammer also responded to one comment which asked why he hadn't recommended that Clark negotiate a settlement with his debtors."The hard part is we just don't know what's exactly in collections right now. It's a mess," Hammer said, explaining Clark couldn't even download any credit tracking apps because a lot of his debts were in his mom's name."His document tracking is veryyyy bad," he said. "I didn't want to go down that rabbit hole until I knew it would be beneficial."Hammer, who uploads two interviews a week to his channel with over 600,000 subscribers with people who need help with their finances, <a href="https://www.insider.com/caleb-hammer-uses-own-past-money-problems-help-people-debt-2023-4">previously told Insider</a> financial literacy is one of the biggest problems affecting Americans right now.There's "a complete lack of understanding" of what people can really afford, Hammer told Insider. He blamed that partly on schools not teaching finances, partly on parents, and partly because of the widespread normalization in the US of large, long-term debts."The average American holds holds a few thousand in credit card debt and the average monthly payment for cars is getting close to a thousand dollars a month," Hammer told Insider. "So relying on that to be taught in the home, which Americans are obsessed with, is hard because they're being taught by people who aren't financially educated themselves.""We do kind of feel like we deserve everything as well," he said. "It's like, I worked a hard, seven-hour day, I deserve to go have a $20 meal at a restaurant. Well, if you're doing that every day and you're already in debt, I mean OK, I want you to have that, but let's make sure we're in a good spot first."

You Searched For "credit card history" and got 11 results

Best Business Credit Cards of January 2024

Jasmin Baron,Katherine Fan,An…

The best way to fix your credit score? Ignore it.

Emily Stewart

India's history-making Paralympians touch down in Delhi to rousing welcome

ANI

SBI penalised for sending bills to man despite credit card's expiry

PTI

The interest rate on your credit card balance could be the highest in history right now

Jacob Zinkula

I moved from Dubai to the US as a British expat. It's been tough to adjust to credit scores, groceries, and guns the American way.

Claire Turrell

The best debt consolidation loans right now

Liz Knueven,Ryan Wangman, CEPF

How to build credit with a credit card

Tanza Loudenback

Credit card companies need to explain the 'exorbitant' late fees they're charging customers, says Elizabeth Warren

Ethan Dodd

George Santos tricked supporters into giving him money that he spent on designer clothes and credit-card payments, feds allege

Natalie Musumeci,Madison Hall

A 50-year-old earning $12K and ignoring huge credit-card debts asked Caleb Hammer for help — and exposed a nationwide problem

Lindsay Dodgson

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides