Credit Report Experts

More and more consumers use their credit cards to buy necessities like gas and food, according to a recent report. Americans are using plastic to make up the difference between stagnant wages and rising prices, which could soon put them deeper in the hole.

“People are dealing with higher prices by charging. Yes, it’s that simple,” says Silvio Tavares, an analyst at FirstData, the largest credit card processing company in the country.

Spending is up, which is usually good news. Credit card purchases in June 2011 were 8% higher than they were a year ago, FirstData finds.

But that’s not because consumers are feeling flush. The increase in credit card spending has more to do with the increasing cost of necessary items. Gasoline alone is 30% more expensive on average in June than it was the same time last year, Tavares points out.

And it’s not as though people are buying with plastic and then paying off their balances at the end of the month, making their credit card purchases basically the same as paying with cash. No, the large increase in spending corresponds to higher balances that carry over month-to-month.

Yes, that means many more people are paying 13% or 14% interest on basics like eggs and milk. Revolving

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The Debt Diet is an online behavioral change program to help users get out of debt by putting aside $10 a day.  It was developed by Pro-Change Behavior Systems and Jean Chatzky, author of the best-selling Pay It Down and a coach on The Debt Diet series on the Oprah show.

Jean Chatzky read the applications solicited by Credit.com and chose 5 participants.  She got them started on The Debt Diet and is now speaking to them once a week, answering their questions and helping them to get off to a good start.  For their part, our participants are doing The Debt Diet exercises which include tracking their spending, negotiating monthly bills (using The Debt Diet scripts) and trying to modify their heavy-spending ways.  You can find The Debt Diet ($49.95) at jeanchatzky.com. The participants will blog regularly on Credit.com about their experiences with The Debt Diet.

Debt Dieting, it seems, is good for your waistline as well as your wallet.

I first noticed this phenomenon when I coached the Debt Diet for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Some of the participants not only seemed to be getting their financial acts together, they seemed to be getting their physical ones together, too. I’m

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Data breaches are an everyday occurrence affecting millions of Americans each year.

Just ask crafters who shop at Michael’s Stores, Sony PlayStation Network gamers and investors at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

They’re all vulnerable to identity theft and other fraud because their personally identifiable information (PII), such as a birth date or Social Security number, for example, was exposed. That information could be used to commit financial fraud.

If this happens to you, follow these 6 steps:

1. Review the breached account. Identify what information it contained and what was compromised. Look for unauthorized activity, such as a change in address or telephone number.
2. Change all user access credentials. If you use the same passwords for other financial institutions, change them. Watch financial statements—on paper and online—for unauthorized transactions. Be aware of potential email, phone and snail mail scams. Enable text and email alerts when possible.
3. Notify existing creditors of the breach. Consider canceling your cards and getting new ones. Take ad

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Question by Sean R: How long do late credit card payments impact your credit report?
I checked my wife’s credit report and she has 3 accounts with late payments from several years ago prior to us being married. One was past due 60 days, one was past due 30 days a few times, and one was past due 120 days. How long will her credit rating be impacted by these accounts? Is it 7 years from the time the account is closed?

After 12 months, their impact is diminished.

After 24 months, their impact will be negligible…so long as she has good credit everywhere else.

A year after the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 were signed into law and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is finally open for business—albiet without a director at the helm.

To say that it’s been a tumultuous year for the new consumer agency—and its creator, Elizabeth Warren—would be an understatement. The fact is, the CFPB has been caught up in a political battle over who will lead the new agency from day one. And despite Elizabeth Warren being the clear first choice, President Obama’s nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray just three days ago was a disappointment to many consumer advocates and Elizabeth Warren supporters –including Credit.com’s chairman and founder, Adam Levin. Take a look:

Is Richard Cordray right for the job of director of CFPB?

Levin on Richard Cordray, Elizabeth Warren and his hopes for the new consumer bureau with Harris Faulkner with Fox News.com.    

Levin speaks out: The CFPB’s Pro-Consumer Stance Isn’t Anti-Business

Adam Levin and Aaron Task from The Daily Ticker debate the CFPB’s mission and how it will help level the playing field for American consumers.