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Guide to Holiday Gift Giving for (Broke) College Students

The holiday season can be a challenging and intimidating time of the year for cash-strapped college students. In the season of giving, college students are balancing holiday expenses with the usual. Tuition. Study materials. Food. Textbooks. Fortunately for college students, the Internet is literally an endless source of creativity when...

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Spend Less and Save More this Holiday Season

Last year, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) foundthat 12 percent of people said they were planning to spend more during the holidays than in the previous year. That number was up from 2011 where only 8 percent planned on spending more than in the previous...

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Saving for Retirement at Each Stage of Life

No matter how old you are, saving for retirement should be a top priority. While knowing how much you will need to live a comfortable retirement and saving to reach that goal is the key, here are some quick tips for saving for retirement during each stage of life.If You...

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Credit Mistakes Won’t Haunt You For Life

We all make financial mistakes at some point in our lives. Maybe you forget to pay a bill due to some stressful life circumstances, or maybe you have to let a credit card payment slide because you simply don’t have the money to pay it. Of course, many of us...

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VA Home Loan Program Training

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs – St. Paul Regional Loan Center recently partnered with the AFCPE to provide training on the VA home loan program.  The four session webinar series was a great success!  The sessions provided information on the entire VA home loan process including benefits of the program,...

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5 Saving for College Basics

It’s no secret that today’s college graduates are drowning in student debt. And even though the government recently voted to keep student loan interest rates relatively low, there’s no guarantee that they’ll stay low in the future. With graduates (and many who went to school without ever getting a degree)...

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How Much is Credit Card Debt Costing You?

Credit card debt – it’s something that hangs over many Americans. According to the Federal Reserve, in April 2013 the average credit card debt equaled $3,364 per U.S. adult. This assumes that EVERY adult has a credit card and that those cards carry debt. But not all adults own a credit...

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Practical Steps for Coping with and Getting Out of Debt

At some point, you’ll realize that the debt you’re carrying has gotten way out of hand. You may have a bit of a panic attack when that moment comes. You may feel a bit trapped.Take a breath. You can get through this. It’s going to take some time and a bit...

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Should You Pay to Monitor Your Credit Score?

Back in 2006, The New York Times reported that the credit monitoring business was making nearly a billion dollars a year selling their services to individuals. These services purport to notify you of fraud, and usually allow you to keep close tabs on your actual credit score. But are they really worth your...

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5 Tips for Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

In 2012, the American Bankruptcy Institute reports that Americans filed 1,181,016 non-business bankruptcies. Even though bankruptcies have dropped significantly from the previous three years, many American families and individuals are still taking some serious financial hits. If you’re among the millions of Americans who have recently filed for bankruptcy, it’s never too...

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5 Ways to Teach Kids Financial Responsibility

Talking to kids about money can be difficult, and teaching them first-hand about money matters is even more so. But many of today’s adults are struggling to manage money properly, and that’s not a problem we want to pass on to the next generation. Luckily, there are plenty of hands...

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Why Correcting Errors on Your Credit Report is Essential

Fixing an error on your credit report can be time consuming, and not a little frustrating. But with a recent FTC study showing that 26% of consumers could have potentially problematic errors on their credit reports, checking for and reporting errors is more important than ever. Why Are Credit Report Errors So...

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