Applying for a loan? It’s important to have a good credit score if so. It determines your creditworthiness or your ability to repay the loan and impacts the interest rates offered or whether the loan is approved at all. While the credit score depends on a number of complex factors like credit and payment history, current employment status, and such, certain other things can also harm it. Some of the surprising things that hurt your credit score the most are: A single late payment It’s not necessary that you continuously default on payments for it to show up in the form of a bad credit score, a single missed payment is enough to do that. If you make payments later than 30 days after the due date, the credit card company will notify the credit-reporting agencies, which causes your score to drop. Also, payment history constitutes about 35 percent of your credit score, so it can harm your score significantly. Unemployment If you have been through periods of unemployment, it might affect your credit score as unemployment is likely to make you miss out on timely payments. Sometimes, even receiving unemployment benefits can lead to a slight drop in credit score.

If you’re a senior in high school or joining college, you should know the basics of personal finance. One of the major steps toward financial independence is opening your own bank account. In this article, we have compiled a list of the most popular banks for students of 2020. These banks offer low fees, user-friendly mobile apps, online banking services, ATM services, and other conveniences that are great for students: Chase Bank Chase is among the most popular banks for students of 2020 because of its student-friendly policies, including a bonus of $100 for opening a College Checking Account. Also, they don’t charge a monthly service fee for college students between the ages of 17-24. There’s also the Chase High School Checking account for students between the ages of 13-17 and Chase Freedom Student Card that allows cashback on purchases. The bank also has several ATMs and branches across the country and boasts of a user-friendly app and online banking system. US Bank The fifth-largest bank in the nation, the US bank offers lots of student-friendly features and seamless online banking experience. It gives college students the first set of paper checks for free, and its Student Checking Account comes with zero transaction fees for the first four non-American-bank ATM transactions.

If you’re stuck with credit card debt, you need to know what is going wrong and rectify certain habits that might be affecting your financial health. If you’re constantly facing debt, there may be habits and behaviors leading to this situation, even if you’re unaware of it. You need to spot them in time and avoid these habits to come out of credit card debt: Forgetting to build a safety net : When you do not have proper savings every month, you tend to fall back on your credit card limit in the case of an emergency, like paying for medical costs or even repairing the car. Building up savings is not an easy task, but it is the best way to take care of the sudden expenses that are likely to pop up from time to time. Not sticking to what you can actually afford : While swiping the credit card can be tempting, you have to learn to spot items that you may want to buy but cannot really afford. You may think that you will pay the amount over time, but putting your future earnings at stake is not worth the risk. Instead, you should try to save up to buy something that you really want instead of using your credit limit.

Thinking of buying a new smartphone? If so, you need to know what factors to consider when buying the best smartphone model. The numerous options make it difficult to choose. So, here are some guidelines on what factors to consider when buying the best smartphone: Build : This factor indicates a smartphone’s durability. The smartphone market is divided into two kinds of builds, namely plastic and metal. Some smartphones come with glass-coated panels, but if you tend to drop your phone often, it is best to choose one with a plastic or metal handset. Operating system : You need to decide on a smartphone depending on the operating system you are most comfortable working with. You should also check out the different versions of your preferred OS, like the differences between models like Android 10 or Android 9 Pie. Not every device has the latest Android 10 version. Design : An important factor to consider when buying the best smartphone is the overall look. While some users like a sinuous design with rounded lines, others prefer a robust appearance with sharp metal edges. Design is also based upon functionalities. While a smartphone with a metal body may be trendy and stylish to look at, it may stop you from using features like a headphone jack or a micro SD card.

Weekends are times to just sit with your favorite shows or movies and a tub of popcorn, and we’re all for it. HBO Max is offering a huge collection of movies and original series for all kinds of audiences. Here are some of the most popular binge-worthy shows on HBO Max that you can catch on television even if you have watched them earlier: Friends : Friends continues to be one of the most popular binge-worthy shows on HBO Max that has captivated television audiences and remains one of the most iconic TV shows ever. This popular sitcom is known for its hilarious one-liners and plots involving the lives of six friends living in New York City. You can binge-watch this show time and again and still not get tired of it! Veep : This critically-acclaimed HBO Max series spans across seven seasons and got Julia Louis-Dreyfus 6 consecutive Emmy awards. This political satire ended in 2019, and the character of Selina Meyer, who played the role of the President, won a huge number of fans. Game of Thrones : Chances are that you’ve already watched this show, but this fantasy series continues to be ranked among the most popular binge-worthy shows on HBO Max.