Putting You in Control of Your Financial Life Managing money is a critical life skill that many of us have never really mastered. Good money management skills help you get ahead financially and help prevent others from taking advantage of you. That's where The Money Express comes in. It's Connection's way to provide useful financial information in understandable terms. You see, although some of the concepts can be a little tricky, we have written it to be understandable by all age  More...

Terms of Use: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established in 1965 to develop national policies and programs to address housing needs in the U.S. One of HUD's primary missions is to create a suitable living environment for all Americans by developing and improving the country's communities and enforcing fair housing laws. HUD helps people by administering a variety of programs that develop and support affordable housing. Specifically, HUD plays a large role in h  More...

Terms of Use With credit card interest rates averaging nearly 20%, managing your debt is more important than ever. While closing an unused card might seem like a good way to clean up your finances or prevent identity theft, it can often backfire on your credit score. The Impact on Your Utilization Ratio Your credit utilization is the percentage of your total available credit that you are currently using. In 2026, many lenders have moved to FICO 10T , a scoring model that places even more e  More...

Terms of Use /* Scoped container to ensure full width and no font conflicts */ .pension-article-container { width: 100%; margin: 0; padding: 20px; box-sizing: border-box; /* Inherits your website's default font and color */ } .pension-article-container h1 { border-bottom: 2px solid #000; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0; /* Underline removed */ text-decoration: none; } .pension-article-container h2 { margin-top: 30px; border-left: none; padding-left: 0; /* Underline removed */ text-decoration  More...

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Terms of Use: This knowledge article is part of a series of knowledge articles aimed to help you define your roadmap to savings and investing. To review the previous knowledge article in this series, click here . To review the table of contents for the articles, click here How To Pick A Financial Professional Are you the kind of person who can go solo on the journey of saving and investing? Do you have a firm command of your investment choices and how to go about making them? Maybe you&#  More...

Terms of Use Determine Your Risk Tolerance This knowledge article is part of a series of knowledge articles aimed to help you define your roadmap to savings and investing. To review the previous knowledge article in this series, click here . To review the table of contents for the articles, click here . You are approaching the half-way point in your journey to saving and investing. This is a good point to make sure that you understand some key concepts: Savings Your savings are usually put i  More...

Terms of Use: Chex Systems, Inc. is a consumer-reporting agency governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other laws. The Federal Trade Commission enforces the FCRA. When you apply for a checking account at a financial institution, there's a good chance that your name will be run through ChexSystems to see whether you are a check bouncer (writing checks on your account when there is not enough money in it to cover the amount of those checks) or have cheated the financial institution i  More...

Terms of Use Getting a great deal on a car is only half the battle; the other half is securing the right financing. To find the most cost-effective loan, you must look beyond the monthly payment and evaluate the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and the loan term . Step 1: Know Your Credit Standing Before visiting a dealership, pull your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com . Your credit score dictates your interest rate. Knowing your standing prevents rate markup, where a dealer may offer you a  More...

Terms of Use The IRS uses MAGI to determine if any or all of your IRA contribution is deductible and if you are eligible for premium tax credits. The higher your MAGI, the fewer deductions you can take on IRA contributions. There is a maximum MAGI when if met, IRA deductions aren't allowed. While you can still contribute to an IRA, but you won't be able to deduct any of the contributions on your tax return. Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) AGI represents your taxable income. AGI is defined as  More...