Lorraine Roberte

Multiple credit cards can be useful tools for building credit, earning rewards, separating expenses, or handling recurring bills. But once several due dates, balances, rewards programs, and annual fees start piling up, managing everything can quickly feel... See more

For most cardholders, paying the credit card statement balance in full each month is the simplest way to avoid paying credit card interest and keep debt from growing over time. That said, paying in full every month is not always realistic. Large expenses,... See more

If you’ve ever looked at your mortgage due date and thought, “Okay…but how late is actually late?”—you’re not alone. The grace period for a mortgage payment is the window after your due date when you can still make your payment without getting hit with a ... See more

Debt rarely happens by accident. But it also rarely happens the way people assume. The story we hear is that people overspend. They buy things they can’t afford, and the bill catches up with them. That story may be real for many people, but for most peopl... See more

A debt-to-credit ratio shows how much open card credit you’re using. It compares your card balances with your total card limits. It’s often called a credit utilization ratio, and it can matter when you’re trying to make sense of score changes or growing c... See more