21 Credit Card Secrets Companies Don’t Want You To Know
Credit cards are everywhere, so ubiquitous that it’s easy to forget there’s a dark side to this industry.
27 min read
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The 10 Biggest Mistakes First-Time Credit Card Users Make
Why do some people swear off credit cards? It’s not having a credit card that’s a problem, but making mistakes with your card.
21 min read
Why Choose a Credit Union Over a National Bank?
Credit unions can be a great alternative to traditional banking. In many ways, a credit union works exactly like a traditional bank, but its emphasis is on improving the financial well-being of its account holders rather than creating a profit on behalf of its investors. But what is a credit union, how does it work, and is it right for you? Read on to find out.
7 min read
Should I Get a Debt Consolidation Loan?
A debt consolidation loan can be a great option if you have multiple credit cards, a heavy debt burden, and decent credit. But it may not be right for everybody. So how do you know if debt consolidation is right for you? And how should you go about finding the right debt consolidation loan for your situation? Read on to see if a debt consolidation loan is right for you.
8 min read
Ten Email Phishing Scam Warning Signs
Here, we take a closer look at one of the most commonly employed strategies for perpetrating identity theft–phishing, which refers to efforts by bad actors to trick you into sharing personal information or downloading harmful malware that might ultimately be used to access your accounts, review your sensitive information, and open new credit cards and spending accounts in your name. While phishing scams have grown more sophisticated, below are the major red flags that should tip you off.
8 min read
Ten Tips For How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft
We have an amazing amount of technology, information and convenience right at our fingertips. Of course, so do hackers, identity thieves, and credit scammers. Just as it’s never been easier to work, shop, and socialize online, it’s never been easier for bad actors to use these activities against you. Identity theft is a real danger, and it’s more commonplace than you know. Read on for tips on how to protect yourself against identity theft while making transactions through traditional methods of commerce.
9 min read
Five Ways We’re Still Feeling the Effects of the Great Recession Today
The Great Recession was a financial crisis that gripped the world in late 2007 and held tight until roughly the summer of 2009. While this period of economic stagnation and decline was a global phenomenon, its impact was especially concentrated in the United States. Over a period of 18 months, one in every five American workers was laid off. This was a catastrophic period in the lives of many Americans. For the nation as a whole this period qualified as the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression some 80 years prior. As we face down a growing threat of inflation, Congressional grappling over infrastructural needs, and a political landscape that is both sharply divided and marked by a far-reaching sense of economic discontent, this feels like a uniquely appropriate time to reflect on the Great Recession.
11 min read
How to Buy a House With Bad Credit
Bad credit can seriously derail your dreams of home ownership. Your credit rating will be a key figure used by mortgage lenders as they evaluate your ability to repay a home loan. Your credit rating will play an important role in determining both the total sum of the loan banks are willing to provide you for a new home and the interest rate that you’ll pay each month on top of your original loan. For those with poor credit, buying a home may even feel like an impossibility. But there are actually home loans designed to assist prospective buyers with bad credit.
9 min read
Capital One Loans Review
Among American bank holding companies, Capital One is perhaps the most notable, offering credit cards, auto loans, banking, and even savings accounts, with a heavy media presence popularized by the slogan, “Capital One: What’s in your wallet?” As personal loans become more and more popular, though — which are typically unsecured loans that those with […]
6 min read
A Complete Guide to Personal Loans
A personal loan is an unsecured loan that you promise to pay back within a certain amount of time with monthly installments. In return, the lender gives you a fixed rate of interest along with a set time period for repayment. Personal loans come with a higher rate of interest than other sources of funding, but […]
12 min read
Tax Havens Made Clear: A Comprehensive Guide
The Problem of Taxation Taxes. They’re the bane of the existence of honest and hard-working people everywhere. We’d much rather preserve our capital for the benefit of our families and for important charities than pay the bill for all manner of government waste and inefficiency—often in the service of projects we would rather not support. […]
3 min read
Life in the Caymans: Not So Taxing
When the words “tax haven” are uttered, the Cayman Islands are one of the first locations that come to mind. The Caymans are one of the most well-known tax havens on the planet. [NOTE: This article is a chapter in ourComprehensive Guide to Tax Havens.] Contents The Tax-Free Caymanian Life Tax Laws in the Cayman […]
7 min read
Breaking Out of the Payday Loan Cycle: An Interview with the Founder of BetterFi
At Expensivity, as our name implies, we’re concerned with the gravity of how expensive things are. This isn’t just at the top end of the scale, but at the bottom end too. One of the most grievously expensive monstrosities at the bottom end of the financial scale is the “payday loan.” It is the province […]
12 min read
The Top 11 European Tax Havens
Extending from western Europe into the Caucasus, countries as diverse as Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia host a variety of tax havens. These countries provide a refuge from income taxes, capital gains taxes, and corporate taxes. In consequence, they have attracted a variety of tax refugees, including large companies and private investors, seeking to […]
24 min read
Tax Havens: A Short Introduction
Tax havens are jurisdictions around the world where the tax laws are lenient or non-existent. The oldest tax havens in the contemporary world are places like Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Panama, which have each had this status for about a hundred years. GAO: International Taxation and Tax Havens OECD: List of Uncooperative Tax Havens Let’s get […]
8 min read
5 Best Index Funds
Index funds offer non-investors the opportunity to put money into the stock market with a lower level of risk over time. They’re affordable and stable while providing a return on investment that’s higher than a certificate of deposit (CD) or savings account. An index fund does the stock diversification for you and prevents you from being […]
6 min read
The FIRE Movement Explained: How to Retire Early
The FIRE movement is an acronym for Financial Independence, Early Retirement. The goal of the FIRE movement is to allow younger individuals to retire early with financial freedom by: This movement of retirement planning has been around since the early 2010s. It has been embraced by many people today who want to harness all in […]
13 min read