Money Tips Network

Capital One is a Fortune 500 company and one of the 10 largest financial institutions in the United States based on deposit amounts. The bank services over 45 million customers across their banking and credit card verticals, and they’re well known for popular financial products like their Capital One 360 checking account.

While Capital One’s banking products and rewards credit cards probably come to mind first, the company also boasts a robust selection of auto loans for consumers who want to purchase a vehicle or refinance a car loan they already have. Capital One even lets you get pre-qualified for an auto loan without an impact to your credit score, and you can use your new auto loan at over 12,000 dealerships around the U.S.

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This week's topic: Having a Frugal Mother's Day! Learn about saving on gifts, activities, dining, and more!

In the United States, some 44 million borrowers currently owe more than $1.5 trillion on loans they took out to finance their education. So, if you’re sitting on a pile of student loan debt, it’s safe to say that you’re not alone.

To cut to the chase, the answer to whether consolidating student loans can improve your credit score is yes – at least for some people. If you’re looking for ways to improve your credit scores, a student loan consolidation could potentially help you out.

Of course, before you can understand how a student loan consolidation may impact your scores, it’s helpful to consider how the loans affected your credit scores in the first place.

When people first start digging into frugality, they often look at the simplest moves, the low hanging fruit that can save a little bit of money with little effort. Simple things like turning off the lights or keeping the thermostat a little higher or lower do save you money, but they don’t really provide a transformative effect to your finances.

Even big one-off moves like selling off a bunch of unused stuff from your closet can be useful, but they don’t make a lasting difference.

What really makes a difference are the changes that permanently and significantly reduce your monthly bills. If you have smaller bills coming in each month, then you have more breathing room to make better financial moves and start building some financial momentum in your life rather than just treading water.

There are plenty of reasons to consider applying for an auto loan before you head to the dealership. Applying early can help you determine the interest rate you can qualify for — and how much you can afford to spend on a car. Getting approved for a loan outside the dealership can also give you some bargaining power, since you don’t have to rely on the dealer for financing.

Bank of America is a lender that offers auto loans to consumers who want to get their financing squared away before they shop. You can fill out your auto loan application online, and they offer low starting rates. Also note that you can use a Bank of America auto loan to refinance a car loan you already have.

The following post is by ESI from ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing (ESI). It’s written by an early 50’s retiree who achieved financial independence, shares what’s worked for him, and details how others can implement those successes in their lives. He is also the author of a free ebook titled Three Steps to Financial Independence and spends a lot of his time interviewing millionaires.

Several months ago, a friend recommended I give Reddit a try. He said there was lots going on at the site and I would enjoy it.

"Enjoy" was not the first word I thought of when he mentioned it. I think I was more in the "fear" camp initially.

If your retirement plan is simply to keep working, you’re taking a very big risk.

You may think the solution to not having enough money to retire is to work beyond the traditional retirement age of age 65. Just remember that life is full of surprises, and not all of them are pleasant. Holding down a job as a senior citizen can be difficult. If you don’t save for your retirement, you may find yourself both out of work and short of money.

“It’s OK to plan to work past 65, but it’s reckless to not have a contingency plan in case you aren’t able to,” says retirement and wealth management planner Brandon Renfro. “You may not be the only one to pay the price for lack of planning either. You could significantly burden your loved ones who will be responsible for caring for you.”

Megan writes in with a great question:

Hi Trent! I am hoping your years of experience working at home can help out here.

My husband started a new job on January 1 where he works from home. We were excited for this change as we have a preschool aged child and the flexibility of his new position could really help out with child care. We were also excited about the big savings in commuting, food, clothing, and other work expenses.

It hasn’t quite worked out like we’d hoped, and we’re hoping you’ll have some good ideas with some of the problems we have run into.

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This week's topic: Saving on Pets!