Finances Center
What borrowing costs once fees are counted, how to pay your finances off faster, and what to do if you fall behind.
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Snowball vs. avalanche
Run your own numbers through both payoff orders and compare the interest.
Consolidation loan or balance transfer?
Two ways to pay off the same card, and the number that decides which saves more.
If you miss a loan payment
What happens in the first 30 days, what happens after, and how recovery works.
Guides by topic
Paying it off
- Are balance transfer cards worth it?
- Negotiating a lower credit card APR
- Good debt vs. bad debt
- Paying off a loan early
- Improving your debt-to-income ratio
What borrowing costs
- How origination fees raise your cost
- Personal loan vs. credit card
- Buy now, pay later vs. personal loans
- Reading a loan agreement
- Prequalification
- Pre-approval letters
- Qualifying for a low-interest loan
- Refinancing a personal loan
- Why we say yes to debt
Payday and high-risk loans
- The real cost of a payday loan
- Getting out of a payday loan cycle
- Spotting predatory lenders
- Subprime auto loans
- Balloon loans
- Peer-to-peer lending
Falling behind
- Defaulting on a loan
- Recovering after a default
- When a cosigned loan defaults
- Forbearance vs. deferment
- What a cosigner takes on
Student, auto, and home loans
Calculators
Finances payoff calculator
Compare snowball and avalanche: your finances-free date and total interest for each.
Loan cost calculator
Find the real APR and total cost when a lender charges an origination fee.