All the negative talk about the American economy has me wondering about the average credit score of Americans. As you may be aware, the U.S. government has faced its own credit downgrade. Did we deserve to be downgraded? Well,...
Read MoreWhen economic times are good, statistics like the average household credit card debt aren’t as interesting. People are employed and they’re able to get loans for just about anything they want. When the economy goes...
Read MoreI have more credit cards than the average person. Sometimes when I whip out on that’s cool looking, like my American Express Blue Cash Everyday card, I’ll get the question: What’s the best credit card? My...
Read MoreIt’s clear that the depressed housing marketing is going to continue to place a drag on the economic recovery. Recognizing this, President Obama recently proposed a new mortgage refinancing program that would provide...
Read MoreAlthough I’ve never personally had any debt sent to a real collector, I know there are many people who have. When dealing with any type of collections, it’s very important to know your rights. Companies attempting to...
Read MoreEvery year, thousands of investors eagerly await Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Shareholder Letter to gleam new insight from Warren Buffett himself. Buffett is the wealthiest investor alive and tends to be surprising candid....
Read MoreWhen you purchase a home, taking out a 30-year mortgage and paying on it for the next 30 years is easy. But, surprising, so is taking out a 30-year mortgage and paying it off in fewer years. There are a number of tricks you can...
Read MoreThis is Dave Ramsey. I call him the debt crusher. You may have heard your co-workers or friends talk about it. Or you may have heard about him at your church. He’s a financial guru, with a nationally syndicated radio show,...
Read MoreOkay, I did it! As Ninja would say, I just punched Sallie Mae in the face. I sold some of my investments and paid off the nearly $10k I personally owed to Sallie Mae. Now she’s officially out of my life. Now, while I may...
Read MoreWhen it comes to paying off debt, there are generally a variety of ways in which you can do so. The one that, unfortunately, too many people opt for, is to simply pay the minimum payments that the lender asks for. If...
Read MorePaying interest works against you in the same way the earning interest works for you. Of this, I am certain. However, as you can see in my October 2010 Balance Sheet, I have $10k in my investment account that could be used to...
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I’m Will, the creator of HackingTheBank. No, this site isn’t about actually hacking banks. This blog is all about maximizing personal finance decisions so that we win instead of the banks.
I started this blog in 2010 when I graduated college with $43k of student loans and a negative net worth. Since then I’ve achieved milestones like getting married, buying a house, and tripling my income. During this time my wife and I managed to earn over 12,000,000 miles and points and used those points to travel to over 50 countries. And all of these points came from banks; neither of us travel for work.