While achieving your financial goals won’t always correspond to precise dates on a calendar, it’s common to use the beginning of each new year as an opportunity to plan major actions relating to your finances and your budget. One big financial step that many people will be taking in 2012 is borrowing money. You might be considering borrowing money in 2012 for any number of reasons; perhaps to purchase a new home (or refinance your mortgage), to buy a new car, for significant home improvement expenses or perhaps to finance or expand your businesses. Below are some borrowing advice...

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Credit is a good thing – if you ask the experts in the credit industry. Credit card companies begin luring in new customers with the promise that building a credit history will help their financial future. It may be beneficial to have some credit, but there comes a point when the amount of credit hurts more than it helps. Consumers that have a large amount of credit available become a risk to potential lenders. It is important for you to know just how much credit is enough so you avoid reaching the point where you have too much credit. Credit...

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Credit can be a wonderful thing. But when it gets out of hand, it can wreak havoc on your finances. This is especially true when it comes to credit cards. Charging up a large balance is bad enough, and by the time you add in fees and high interest rates, the debt can be overwhelming. In a perfect world, everyone would use credit wisely and pay off balances within a month or two. But in reality, cardholders often build up a mountain of debt and fail to realize it until it’s unmanageable. That’s when it’s time to put the plastic...

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