Fico scores

The return of warmer weather is an cue for many of us to clear out the debris that has gathered over the winter. But it's not just the house and the yard that could benefit. Here's a step-by-step guide to spring cleaning your finances.

Most people understand that a bankruptcy or foreclosure will tank their credit score, but there are plenty of small mistakes you can make that will turn a good score into a mediocre one. Here are seven of the more common errors, plus tips on how to avoid them.

It's a can't-win situation: The very process of shopping around for a low interest rate on a mortgage can adversely impact your credit score and cost you the cheaper loan you're seeking. That's because each time a lender pulls your credit report, it shaves a few points off your score.

If you're looking for clues about what impacts your car insurance rates, check in the mirror -- it's mostly about you. And while there are some parts of your personal profile that you can't change, for many of the items that affect your premiums, you're in the drivers seat.

Members of the Class of 2011, you're about to be tossed head first into the real world, and -- surprise -- you probably need a little more education about how to handle your personal finances. Here's a Cliffs Notes crash course in Money 101.

Although there are a lot of ways you can seriously harm your credit score, not every financial misstep comes back to haunt you. Although a single missed payment can drop your score by 100 points, read on to discover several slip-ups that will have little, if any, impact. Mind you, we don't advise...

Right before and after the holidays you'll probably get a lot of bank offers to transfer credit-card balances from one account to another. If you see balance transfers as an opportunity to go on a shopping spree, chances are you haven't quite learned how to manage credit and debt wisely, and that...

Bank of America and Wells Fargo were among banks that tightened credit standards for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration in a move that may put a crimp in the U.S. housing recovery by effectively eliminating 6.3 million people from the potential home buying pool.

It's an experience nearly all shoppers encounter: You pile your purchases up at the register and the cashier asks if you'll be paying with that store's credit card. If the answer is no, they'll ask in nearly the same breath if you'd like to open up an account. They might even offer you 15% off that...

Banks are experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the foreclosure crisis -- big time. They are painfully aware that loose lending kicked off the nasty economic domino effect that ended in millions of foreclosures, and billions of dollars in lost real estate wealth as a result. We're all...