Your credit score goes up when you show that you’re financially trustworthy. One day you pay off a loan and notice that your score drops. Shouldn’t your credit score have jumped up, instead? To understand what’s happening, take a look at how credit scores are calculated: Credit Reports and Scores The three credit reporting agencies,

  Wayne Westland Federal Credit Union now offers its members two ways to use Apple Pay. We announced a few weeks ago that we had Apple Pay for our MasterCard Debit Card. As of today, you can now use Apple Pay with your WWFCU Visa Credit Card as well! Here are the perks of Apple

Most people aspire to become financially independent, but few actually think about or take the actions necessary to reach independence. Financial independence means having sufficient financial resources to comfortably choose whether to work or not work, or perhaps work in a highly desirable job that otherwise couldn’t support your standard of living. It means being

Have you ever heard of dollar-cost averaging or value averaging? It’s a strategy to avoid being exposed to price risk when making a large purchase in an actively traded security. Because if you make the investment all in one fell swoop, you might get lucky and see the price swing higher a few months after

Tracking personal expenses is an important habit to cultivate for any independent adult. By tracking your expenses, you can build a budget and find ways to make sure you don’t live outside your means. However, as anyone who’s attempted to track their expenses knows, it can be overwhelming at first. Here’s a process to make

When leaving home for a vacation, most people experience a slight nervousness. “What if something goes wrong?” they ask themselves. Usually, it’s a concern that’s quickly forgotten when they reach their final destination. However, for an unlucky few, sometimes vacations do go “south”. Here are some situations you may run into while abroad, and how

A will isn’t the only way to transfer your assets upon your death. Trusts are a useful tool that can be used to achieve a maximum amount of control over how your assets will be distributed among your loved ones and other beneficiaries. Trusts may also reduce the amounts spent on probate court and estate

Keeping your personal budget and accounting organized is necessary to ensure any kind of financial security. Managing such accounts and budgets down to the individual transaction is, at best, a tedious task if handled the traditional pen-and-paper way. Fortunately, help is available. The option you choose will depend on whether you’re an excel monkey —

Need to boost your credit score? Unfortunately, a credit score isn’t like a race car, where you can rev the engine and almost instantly feel the result. Credit scores are more like your driving record: They take into account years of past behavior, not just your present actions. In addition to making the right moves,

Setting up a budget If you want to get on top of your finances, a budget is a really good way to start. It’s just a record of money you have coming in (from things like your salary or wages, pensions or benefits) andpayments that you make (such as your rent or mortgage, insurance and Council