The Fair Isaac Corporation Lending money is a risky business for moneylenders. But risk is also the cost of doing business. To hedge bets in deciding whether to issue a loan, the FICO Credit Score was adopted nationwide in 1989 as the standard gauge for a potential debtor’s creditworthiness. In the days before credit scoring, […]
When you know your income and track your expenses, it helps you understand how to invest, save and pay off debt. But just tracking your expenses doesn’t change how much money you can spend every month; it only ever tells you where that money is going. The path to personal financial wisdom is enlightened by […]
Birth. School. Work. Debt. America’s enduring promise rests in self-betterment through education. Whole industries are built upon this idea, including the student loan industry. In fact, data from the US Federal Reserve shows record levels of self-betterment in 2020, with 42 million US student loan borrowers owing $1.67 TRILLION in collective debt. DECU is here […]
Home renovation plans are hot right now, with plenty of homeowners itching to do something around the house. At the same time, a new sense of workplace flexibility is freeing up another set of homeowners previously bound by their commuter distance to the office. Add in this season’s tax returns, recent federal stimulus checks, economic side-hustles, […]
Nationwide home buying statistics for 2020 are not going to look like the rest of the century, because of the economic disruptions caused by Covid-19, but in 2019 the average median down payment for first-time homebuyers was 6 percent of the purchase price. Likewise, in 2019 the average cost of a brand new home in […]
Scams happen on the internet every day. In fact, with instant communications and nearly universal computer access, scams are more present than ever, and the Federal Trade Commission registered more than 2.2 million fraud reports in 2020. A third of all victims reported losing money to the schemes. What can you do to protect yourself […]
February is the right month to start preparing your 2020 taxes, and the DECU Daily blog has tips that can help get you ready to file. But before you do, let’s take a look at some deadlines. Taxes are due April 15, and you can request an extension until October 15. If you know that […]
Financial goals can help you save money, buy needed things, and put you on track to a better and brighter tomorrow. If you followed our most recent blog to set up and make your 2021 financial resolutions, it’s likely you have already thought long and hard about what it takes to make financial goals and […]
2020 has been a year of wild extremes. Your year-end financial resolutions might have taken a beating, or they might have found extremely radical success. Resolved in 2020 to spend less? Quarantine and lockdown may have made your shopping and impulsive purchases harder to accomplish, and savings may have come naturally, just not the way […]
If you put all the gifts on the list from the 12 Days of Christmas in one room, it gets noisy! Cackling geese, rude swans, busy hens and all kinds of dancing and drumming. What a racket! But over here at the DECU Daily we make our holiday lists quietly, and because it’s the end […]