With holiday shopping on the horizon again, many banks have shifted their marketing toward interest-free purchases and away from fee-free balance transfers.

Being maxed out isn't ideal but when it comes to your credit score, timeliness of your payments is more important to get current. That is, paying on time to not have a new late charge appear on your report is improvement! So getting current is a priority.

here's something so inspiring and invigorating about a spring cleaning -- as if we're getting a fresh start on the year. It's also a good time to remember to do a spring cleaning for your credit score. Just like our homes, our credit reports can start to get a little dusty from winter hibernation.