Credit card debt is on the rise. Americans now owe more than $1.1 trillion on their credit cards. Late payments are on the rise, as well. How can you deal with credit card debt that only continues to grow? Cut up the plastic. Avoid using credit cards for now. Put up, or cut up, the plastic to help avoid charging more debt. Focus on the highest interest rate card. If you can, pay extra on your highest interest rate credit card, because that is the debt that is costing you the most money. Increase emergency savings. Reduce or cut some expenses from your budget and focus on padding your savings ..read more

Spring! It’s a time for flowers blooming, allergies attacking, and cleaning. Consider spring cleaning your finances, too. Now is a good time to take a look at your expenses and see what you can reduce or eliminate. Saving $10 a month on five expenses, for example, would total $50 a month, or $600 a year.  Do you have a budget? If not, get started creating one. If you already have one, review it to make sure your numbers are current and still accurate. Spring cleaning your finances won’t take very long; perhaps just an hour or two, but it could yield big benefits to you and your family. Ad ..read more

Did you know you can contact us on Google? We’ve set up messaging on our Google Business Profiles to allow you even more convenient access to the caring financial professionals at Credit Counseling of Arkansas. You can get an appointment scheduled or ask for a call back from your CCOA counselor. Here’s how to reach us. On your mobile device: Type “CCOA” or “Credit Counseling of Arkansas” in your Google search bar to pull up the Business Profile for one of our three locations. Touch the chat button where you’ll see a welcome message from us and a chat field for your message. Some of our ..read more

Credit card debt is on the rise, and so are late payments. “Americans are missing credit card payments at the highest rate in a decade” (Business Insider). That’s 3.2% of card balances that were at least 30 days past due. Costs have skyrocketed for Americans on numerous things, while paycheck increases have been fairly meager, lagging far behind all of the increased living expense costs. More Americans are struggling with debt right now, but CCOA can help with free financial budgeting and analysis, and a Debt Management Program to get out of debt. Visit www.CCOAcares.com or call (479) 521-8877 ..read more

Credit Counseling of Arkansas (CCOA) may have “Arkansas” in its name, but CCOA offers financial counseling for not only Arkansans, but Oklahomans, too (as well as other states). Some Oklahomans go to our Fort Smith, Arkansas office for an in-person appointment, while others will have a CCOA appointment over the phone or online. To get started on a brighter financial future for 2024, just call CCOA at (479) 521-8877 or 1-800-889-8916, or visit  https://www.ccoacares.com/fort-smith-ar/ for more information. The post Credit Counseling of Arkansas (CCOA) Serves Oklahoma, Too first appeared on ..read more

Do you have any financial goals for the new year? Now is a great time to start brainstorming what financial goals you would like to achieve in 2024.  Many people have hopes and dreams, but turning those into reality involves having goals written or typed so you can regularly see them and commit them to action. Studies have proven we will be much more likely to achieve those goals and enjoy the financial freedom that will come with it, if we have those typed up or written down to serve as a constant reminder.  A couple more tips: Be specific. A goal to “save more money” is a good star ..read more

Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, is a big day for holiday sales. However, it’s recently turned into more like Black November, as retailers try to get a headstart over other retailers. So maybe you’ve already begun your holiday shopping, but here are a few tips that can help: If you have a large family, draw names so you only have to buy for one person instead of, perhaps, six. Avoid overspending on items to show your love for someone. Get a special, sentimental, but affordable gift instead. Overspending would just make it harder to make ends meet with your monthly obligations ..read more

If you’re wanting to get a loan to buy, or refinance, your home or a new car, you will want to optimize your credit score to ensure that you will qualify for the loan as well as get the best interest rate possible. Here are a few vital credit scoring tips you will want to know: Don’t close out that paid off credit card. If you have a problem with impulsive credit card spending, then perhaps close your card account. Otherwise, you will want to keep that credit card account open, because the FICO credit scoring company — the one most used by lenders — states that closing a credit card account wi ..read more

One question we often hear is, “If I close a credit card, will that help improve my credit score?” This can be good credit management, if you don’t want to have as many credit cards. Closing an account can also help people who are impulsive spenders, so they don’t charge up more debt. However, what FICO credit scoring company says is that whenever you close a credit card account, it will never help your score, and it will usually hurt your score. So if you’re trying to optimize your credit score, you will want to leave that card open and occasionally make a small charge on it to keep it active ..read more

One of our clients was named the national recipient of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) Brighter Financial Future award recently in Washington, D.C.! Our Executive Director, Mary Catherine Harcourt, was there to introduce and congratulate Jennifer Bryant on the honor. Jennifer discussed her journey of becoming debt free and overcoming challenges along the way, including the passing of her husband from cancer. She said her financial counselor, Kathee, was tremendously helpful to her and an ongoing big encourager. Non-profit CCOA can help you financially navigate life and bec ..read more