Latest news with #CourtneyAlev
Fast Company
7 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Would you skip dinner to buy a backpack? 54% of parents say yes
While back-to-school shopping is certainly an end of summer expense that many families dread, this year is shaping up to be even more financially straining. Binders, backpacks, calculators, and even laptops (which about 94% of high school students use), definitely don't come cheap. This year, the stress over having to purchase the items seems to be mounting higher than ever. According to a newly released Intuit Credit Karma report, which surveyed 1,022 parents with at least one school-aged child, more than a third (39%) said they can no longer afford the back-to-school shopping trip. Likewise, 44% say they'll have to take on debt to pay for the school supplies for the 2025/2026 school year. That figure has jumped by 10% (from 34%) in just one calendar year. The data around back-to-school shopping gets even more concerning, too. According to the report, more than half of parents (54%) say they will need to sacrifice on essentials like groceries in order to get their children the necessary school supplies. And a large portion of parents—45%—say they can no longer afford after-school programs, sports, or other extracurriculars. 32% even said they're considering leaving their jobs or trimming their working hours to care for their kids after school pickup. Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, spoke to the financial strain families are feeling this year in a press release. 'Back-to-school shopping can place a significant financial burden on families, often leaving them with little choice but to stretch their budgets,' Alev said. In particular, parents seem to be worried about how expensive items have gotten. 60% said that skyhigh prices on items is the reason they will struggle with shopping lists this year, with 38% revealing they expect to spend between $501 to $1,500. According to a new Deloitte report, they aren't far off. While prices on items have gone slightly down since last year, back-to-school spending for K–12 students is massively expensive, costing parents $570 per child on average, or around $30.8 billion total. Adding to parents' expenses are their kids' own list of 'must-haves,' or, nonessential items they see on social media and sometimes feel (because it appears online like everyone has them) are necessary commodities. JellyCats and Labubu Dolls are particularly huge this year. And 51% of parents say their kids are begging for trending items. More than half (54%) say they do feel pressured to get their kids the items their IRL friends or social media friends have, too. Alev urges parents to trim what they can, staying away from buying the nonessential trending items, saying, 'consider using it as an opportunity to have a thoughtful, age-appropriate conversation with your kids about money, teaching them the importance of budgeting and prioritizing needs over wants.'
Al Arabiya
18-06-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
How to Improve Your Credit Score If You've Missed Student Loan Payments
Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the US government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound. Courtney Alev, consumer advocate at Credit Karma, said it's understandable that people have missed payments because of the mixed messages around student loans. 'We're really at a moment of enormous empathy for the consumer,' she said. 'But now it's critical to make a plan.' The US Department of Education paused federal student loan payments in March 2020, offering borrowers relief during the economic chaos of the coronavirus pandemic. Though payments technically resumed in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year grace period that ended in October 2024. Last month, the Trump administration restarted the collection process for outstanding student loans, with plans to seize wages and tax refunds if the loans continue to go unpaid. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about one in four people with federal student loans were more than 90 days behind on payments at the end of March. Here's what you should keep in mind: How your credit score is calculated A credit score is a formula that helps lenders determine how likely you are to pay back a loan. Credit scores are based on your history of payments and your credit utilization and range from 300 to 850. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion–the three main credit bureaus–each have their own model to calculate credit scores. Factors frequently used to calculate your credit score are: – Bill payment history – Length of credit history – Current unpaid debt – How much of your available credit you're using (also known as credit utilization) – New credit requests – If you have had debt sent to collection, foreclosure, or a bankruptcy How to check your credit score Each of the three credit bureaus allows you to check your credit score for free at least once a year, and many banks offer this service as well. Other companies, such as NerdWallet, Credit Karma, and WalletHub, also offer the service. How to know if your score is good A score of 670 or higher is considered good. If your credit score is over 750, that's considered great. Fair credit scores are in the 580–669 range, and a score below 580 is considered poor. How to improve your credit score if it has dropped In the first three months of 2025, 2.2 million student loan recipients saw their scores drop by 100 points, and an additional 1 million had drops of 150 points or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study's authors attribute those changes to loans falling into delinquency, or 90 days or more of nonpayment, which is then reported to credit bureaus. To avoid those consequences or to improve your score, the simplest steps include paying at least the monthly minimum payment and setting up auto-pay to make sure payments are never late. Alev says that it's worthwhile to get into the habit of regularly checking your score so that you're never surprised by any changes and you can dispute any errors or negative dips. 'It's important to monitor for mistakes you need to dispute,' she said. 'If you've only missed one payment, or it's your first time missing a payment, you can often call and ask for forgiveness because of a history of solid payments.' Many borrowers reported that they never received notice from the Department of Education that their student loan payments were resuming, even though they were meant to have been notified at least three weeks in advance. Monitoring your credit score regularly means you can catch any changes before it's too late to correct significant hits. Other ways to improve your score Maintaining a steady, low credit usage, known as credit utilization, is another straightforward way to improve your score, Alev said. 'It's kind of a confusing term, but credit usage is key,' she said. 'It's essentially what percentage of your available credit you're currently using. If you have a $10,000 credit limit each month and you use $2,000, that's twenty percent credit utilization. An easy rule of thumb to remember is to keep your utilization below thirty percent. That's where you see the score impact accelerate.' Checking your credit score doesn't hurt, for the most part Checking your credit score doesn't lower it unless you're making a 'hard inquiry,' which is only done when requesting a line of credit. 'Soft inquiries,' which just let you know your current score, don't affect your score. When you do apply for a line of credit, such as for a mortgage or a car loan, lenders do make hard inquiries, which appear on your report and can affect your credit.
San Francisco Chronicle
18-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
How to improve your credit score if you've missed student loan payments
NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the U.S. government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound. Courtney Alev, consumer advocate at Credit Karma, said it's understandable that people have missed payments because of the mixed messages around student loans. 'We're really at a moment of enormous empathy for the consumer,' she said. 'But now it's critical to make a plan." The U.S. Department of Education paused federal student loan payments in March 2020, offering borrowers relief during the economic chaos of the coronavirus pandemic. Though payments technically resumed in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year grace period that ended in October 2024. Last month, the Trump administration restarted the collection process for outstanding student loans, with plans to seize wages and tax refunds if the loans continue to go unpaid. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about 1 in 4 people with federal student loans were more than 90 days behind on payments at the end of March. How your credit score is calculated A credit score is a formula that helps lenders determine how likely you are to pay back a loan. Credit scores are based on your history of payments and your credit utilization and range from 300 to 850. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three main credit bureaus, each have their own model to calculate credit scores. Factors frequently used to calculate your credit score are: — Bill payment history — Length of credit history — Current unpaid debt — How much of your available credit you're using (also known as credit utilization) — New credit requests — If you have had debt sent to collection, foreclosure, or a bankruptcy How to check your credit score Each of the three credit bureaus allow you to check your credit score for free at least once a year, and many banks offer this service as well. Other companies such as NerdWallet, Credit Karma and WalletHub also offer the service. How to know if your score is good A score of 670 or higher is considered 'good.' If your credit score is over 750, that's considered 'great.' 'Fair' credit scores are in the 580-669 range, and a score below 580 is considered 'poor.' How to improve your credit score if it has dropped In the first three months of 2025, 2.2 million student loan recipients saw their scores drop by 100 points, and an additional 1 million had drops of 150 points or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study's authors attribute those changes to loans falling into delinquency, or 90 days or more of nonpayment, which is then reported to credit bureaus. To avoid those consequences, or to improve your score, the simplest steps include paying at least the monthly minimum payment and setting up auto-pay to make sure payments are never late. Alev says that it's worthwhile to get into the habit of regularly checking your score, so that you're never surprised by any changes, and you can dispute any errors or negative dips. 'It's important to monitor for mistakes you need to dispute,' she said. 'If you've only missed one payment, or it's your first time missing a payment, you can often call and ask for forgiveness because of a history of solid payments.' Many borrowers reported that they never received notice from the Department of Education that their student loan payments were resuming, even though they were meant to have been notified at least three weeks in advance. Monitoring your credit score regularly means you can catch any changes before it's too late to correct significant hits. Other ways to improve your score Maintaining a steady, low credit usage, known as credit utilization, is another straightforward way to improve your score, Alev said. 'It's kind of a confusing term, but credit usage is key,' she said. 'It's essentially what percentage of your available credit you're currently using. If you have a $10,000 credit limit each month, and you use $2,000, that's a 20% credit utilization. An easy rules of thumb to remember is to keep your utilization below 30%. That's where you see the score impact accelerate.' Checking your credit score doesn't hurt, for the most part Checking your credit score doesn't lower it unless you're making a ' hard inquiry,' which is only done when requesting a line of credit. Soft inquiries, which just let you know your current score, don't affect your score. When you do apply for a line of credit such as for a mortgage or a car loan, lenders do make 'hard inquiries,' which appear on your report and can affect your credit. The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
The Hill
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
How to improve your credit score if you've missed student loan payments
NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the U.S. government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound. Courtney Alev, consumer advocate at Credit Karma, said it's understandable that people have missed payments because of the mixed messages around student loans. 'We're really at a moment of enormous empathy for the consumer,' she said. 'But now it's critical to make a plan.' The U.S. Department of Education paused federal student loan payments in March 2020, offering borrowers relief during the economic chaos of the coronavirus pandemic. Though payments technically resumed in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year grace period that ended in October 2024. Last month, the Trump administration restarted the collection process for outstanding student loans, with plans to seize wages and tax refunds if the loans continue to go unpaid. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about 1 in 4 people with federal student loans were more than 90 days behind on payments at the end of March. Here's what you should keep in mind: A credit score is a formula that helps lenders determine how likely you are to pay back a loan. Credit scores are based on your history of payments and your credit utilization and range from 300 to 850. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three main credit bureaus, each have their own model to calculate credit scores. Factors frequently used to calculate your credit score are: — Bill payment history — Length of credit history — Current unpaid debt — How much of your available credit you're using (also known as credit utilization) — New credit requests — If you have had debt sent to collection, foreclosure, or a bankruptcy Each of the three credit bureaus allow you to check your credit score for free at least once a year, and many banks offer this service as well. Other companies such as NerdWallet, Credit Karma and WalletHub also offer the service. A score of 670 or higher is considered 'good.' If your credit score is over 750, that's considered 'great.' 'Fair' credit scores are in the 580-669 range, and a score below 580 is considered 'poor.' In the first three months of 2025, 2.2 million student loan recipients saw their scores drop by 100 points, and an additional 1 million had drops of 150 points or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study's authors attribute those changes to loans falling into delinquency, or 90 days or more of nonpayment, which is then reported to credit bureaus. To avoid those consequences, or to improve your score, the simplest steps include paying at least the monthly minimum payment and setting up auto-pay to make sure payments are never late. Alev says that it's worthwhile to get into the habit of regularly checking your score, so that you're never surprised by any changes, and you can dispute any errors or negative dips. 'It's important to monitor for mistakes you need to dispute,' she said. 'If you've only missed one payment, or it's your first time missing a payment, you can often call and ask for forgiveness because of a history of solid payments.' Many borrowers reported that they never received notice from the Department of Education that their student loan payments were resuming, even though they were meant to have been notified at least three weeks in advance. Monitoring your credit score regularly means you can catch any changes before it's too late to correct significant hits. Maintaining a steady, low credit usage, known as credit utilization, is another straightforward way to improve your score, Alev said. 'It's kind of a confusing term, but credit usage is key,' she said. 'It's essentially what percentage of your available credit you're currently using. If you have a $10,000 credit limit each month, and you use $2,000, that's a 20% credit utilization. An easy rules of thumb to remember is to keep your utilization below 30%. That's where you see the score impact accelerate.' Checking your credit score doesn't lower it unless you're making a ' hard inquiry,' which is only done when requesting a line of credit. Soft inquiries, which just let you know your current score, don't affect your score. When you do apply for a line of credit such as for a mortgage or a car loan, lenders do make 'hard inquiries,' which appear on your report and can affect your credit. ___ The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
18-06-2025
- Business
How to improve your credit score if you've missed student loan payments
NEW YORK -- Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the U.S. government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound. Courtney Alev, consumer advocate at Credit Karma, said it's understandable that people have missed payments because of the mixed messages around student loans. 'We're really at a moment of enormous empathy for the consumer,' she said. 'But now it's critical to make a plan." The U.S. Department of Education paused federal student loan payments in March 2020, offering borrowers relief during the economic chaos of the coronavirus pandemic. Though payments technically resumed in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year grace period that ended in October 2024. Last month, the Trump administration restarted the collection process for outstanding student loans, with plans to seize wages and tax refunds if the loans continue to go unpaid. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about 1 in 4 people with federal student loans were more than 90 days behind on payments at the end of March. Here's what you should keep in mind: A credit score is a formula that helps lenders determine how likely you are to pay back a loan. Credit scores are based on your history of payments and your credit utilization and range from 300 to 850. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three main credit bureaus, each have their own model to calculate credit scores. Factors frequently used to calculate your credit score are: — Bill payment history — Length of credit history — Current unpaid debt — How much of your available credit you're using (also known as credit utilization) — New credit requests — If you have had debt sent to collection, foreclosure, or a bankruptcy Each of the three credit bureaus allow you to check your credit score for free at least once a year, and many banks offer this service as well. Other companies such as NerdWallet, Credit Karma and WalletHub also offer the service. A score of 670 or higher is considered 'good.' If your credit score is over 750, that's considered 'great.' 'Fair' credit scores are in the 580-669 range, and a score below 580 is considered 'poor.' In the first three months of 2025, 2.2 million student loan recipients saw their scores drop by 100 points, and an additional 1 million had drops of 150 points or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study's authors attribute those changes to loans falling into delinquency, or 90 days or more of nonpayment, which is then reported to credit bureaus. To avoid those consequences, or to improve your score, the simplest steps include paying at least the monthly minimum payment and setting up auto-pay to make sure payments are never late. Alev says that it's worthwhile to get into the habit of regularly checking your score, so that you're never surprised by any changes, and you can dispute any errors or negative dips. 'It's important to monitor for mistakes you need to dispute,' she said. 'If you've only missed one payment, or it's your first time missing a payment, you can often call and ask for forgiveness because of a history of solid payments.' Many borrowers reported that they never received notice from the Department of Education that their student loan payments were resuming, even though they were meant to have been notified at least three weeks in advance. Monitoring your credit score regularly means you can catch any changes before it's too late to correct significant hits. Maintaining a steady, low credit usage, known as credit utilization, is another straightforward way to improve your score, Alev said. 'It's kind of a confusing term, but credit usage is key,' she said. 'It's essentially what percentage of your available credit you're currently using. If you have a $10,000 credit limit each month, and you use $2,000, that's a 20% credit utilization. An easy rules of thumb to remember is to keep your utilization below 30%. That's where you see the score impact accelerate.' Checking your credit score doesn't lower it unless you're making a ' hard inquiry,' which is only done when requesting a line of credit. Soft inquiries, which just let you know your current score, don't affect your score. When you do apply for a line of credit such as for a mortgage or a car loan, lenders do make 'hard inquiries,' which appear on your report and can affect your credit. ___ The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
