Updated Credit Card Statistics…gulp!

Americans’ total credit card balance is $1.031 trillion in the second quarter of 2023, according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  This figure is double what it was in early 2000, roughly 23 years. As of December 2022, the national average balance outstanding was $7,279 and in Illinois …

Financial Coach or Financial Advisor?

64% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck (Lending Club survey 2022) 73% of Americans rank finances as their highest stress (CapitalOne survey 2021) 75% of Americans are managing their money on their own (CNBC survey 2019) It seems that most of us could use some professional financial help.  So why are only 1 in …

Credit Scores – all you need to know

What is a credit score? Your credit score is a 3-digit number that represents your creditworthiness.  It helps others better understand how financially risky it may be to do business with you.  While there can be different scores companies use, the scoring model most will use when available to them is the FICO Score originally …