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What huge event is celebrating its 137th anniversary today?

That’s right, it’s the Kentucky Derby! Lots of well-dressed fans will be donning big hats and sipping mint juleps this weekend to celebrate a race that lasts two minutes, but takes hours upon hours of preparation.

I’m no horse jockey, but I’ve spent some time running races of my own. With lots of 5k’s, several half marathons, and two marathons under my belt, I’ve learned a thing or two about preparing and training for races, and the methods I use can be applied to saving money, too.

Here are the steps I take to get ready for a race, and how they can each be applied to your own “financial race.”

1. Choose a race.

When it comes to choosing my next race, I decide what kind of a race to run. Do I want an easy but fun 5k, or a lengthy and hilly marathon? The same goes f

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A fraud alert is a message placed on your credit reports alerting any lenders or parties that access your credit file the beware that the application they’re processing might be fraudulent.  You can place a fraud alert on your credit report, if you suspect that you are a victim of identification (ID) theft. ID theft is when someone uses your name, Social Security number, date or birth and/or other information without your permission to open a credit card account, loan, or bank account.  This could be the result of lost or stolen credit cards or wallet or through the internet, etc.  This alert is to letpanies accessing your credit report they need to take certain precautions.

If you are a victim if ID theft, you should immediately contact your creditors and also contact one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. Place

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A credit card that has a good bonus offer is much more appealing than those that dont have an offer. Thats why we picked out 5 travel rewards cards that have pretty sweet bonus offers for new card members. If you are a big traveler and are considering a travel rewards card, be sure to check out the 5 cards below. Earning bonus points up front can be a great way to get you a free flight, free hotel stay, and more. Here are 5 travel rewards cards with bonus offers:

Bonus: 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® Bonus Miles The Citi® Gold/AAdvantage® World MasterCard® is for those who are seeking a travel rewards card and those that fly American Airlines. When you spend $750 on your card within the first 4 months you will earn 30,000 bonus miles. This is more than enough points to earn a round trip domestic flight. Thi

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Some people have not taken their student loan obligations seriously and are now paying the price for NOT paying the price. Under most conditions student loans are not forgiven and can’t be included in a bankruptcy.  They can also hang out on credit reports much longer than normal defaulted debt.

How are student loans considered in my credit score?

Student loans are considered an installment loan, which is the same category that includes mortgages and auto loans.  If the loan is deferred, it is still reported on your credit report and is classified as “deferred student loan”, which is considered in your credit scores.  There is no credit limit reported on a student loan. If you d

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This week is Credit Karma Spring Cleaning week! We’ll be blogging all week about spring cleaning tips related to your finances and the rest of your life.

To me, spring cleaning means reevaluating the way you do things and asking yourself how you can “clean up” your habits. It also means finding ways to save money in the process; and I’m always looking for ways to live more frugally.

I’m sharing some of my frugal findings when it comes to spring cleaning habits to work into your everyday routine.

Reevaluate Your Personal Hygiene

Let’s start with something personal: your hygiene. There are ways you can “clean up” your hygiene that make good financial sense.

First off, I’ve taken the “no-poo” (or “less-poo”) challenge. I read about it over on LearnVest and I was intrigued. Now, I wash my ha

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