9 - To Your Credit: Understanding How Credit Scores Work

2 years ago

9 – To Your Credit: Understanding How Credit Scores Work

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Liz Weston - Personal Financial Columnist for NerdWallet

Good credit is important. Bad credit can make it difficult—or more expensive—to get a loan or credit card, rent an apartment, or get cell phone service. Surveys show few people truly understand how the system works: What makes their credit scores go up, and what causes them to plunge. In this episode we’ll demystify the process, and separate credit facts from credit myths.

Special Guest: Liz Weston, a personal financial columnist for NerdWallet, and author of the best-selling book “Your Credit Score.”

Additional resources:

Credit Myths Persist, Even After Pandemic Forces a Closer Look at Finances

New Government Report: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion Rarely Act on Complaints About Credit File Errors

How to Spot a Credit Repair Scam and What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit Scores

Buy Now, Pay Later Spending Traps

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47 – Guide to Buying New Windows

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Kevin Brasler - Checkbook's Executive Editor

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Additional Resources:

Buying & Installing New Windows

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Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

3 weeks ago

46 – Health Apps & Websites Often Share Your Data

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Pam Dixon - Executive Director, World Privacy Forum; Jen Caltrider - a privacy researcher at the Mozilla Foundation

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Additional Resource:

Health Tracking Apps and Other Tech Might Be Invading Your Privacy

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

2 months ago

45 – Even ‘Good’ Companies Often Treat Their Customers Poorly

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Adam Levin - Consumer advocate, digital privacy expert, and host of the ⁠“What the Hack?” podcast⁠

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Additional Resources:

⁠FTC Accuses Amazon of Tricking Millions into Joining Prime⁠

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⁠FTC Rule Would Make it Easier to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions⁠

⁠30 Tricks Sellers Use to Make You Pay Up⁠

⁠Consumerpedia, Episode 43: How the CFPB Protects You⁠

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

2 months ago

44 – Should You Repair or Replace a Broken Appliance?

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Kevin Brasler - Checkbook's Executive Editor

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Read Checkbook’s full reports on ⁠appliance repair services⁠ and ⁠appliance stores⁠.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

3 months ago

43 – The CFPB: Protecting Consumers in the Financial Marketplace

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Brian Shearer - Senior Advisor to the CFPB Director

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Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

3 months ago

42 – An Electric Vehicle Update

Host: Herb Weisbaum /

Guest(s): Paul Eisenstein - Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The DetroitBureau.com; Alex Knizek - Manager, Auto Testing & Insights, Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center; Ronald Montoya - Senior Consumer Advice Editor, Edmunds

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Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support