Heather Ellis Banks's blog

One of the most common questions I get is "how do I improve my credit score?".  Megan Leonhardt has a recent article on CNBC.com offering tips on what affects a credit score and ways to improve a credit score.

In the past three weeks, I personally have encountered the confusing maze of prescriptions drug prices and discovered I don’t understand it and probably never will.  My family is healthy for the most part.  As a consumer, mom, and bankruptcy attorney, I became very disheartened by three things in the last three weeks.

Do you have minor children? Do you know if they have debt? They should not have debt. Unfortunately, our nation has seen a rise in identity theft of children. According to Kelli B. Grant's recent article on CNBC, more than a million children were victims of identity theft last year.

Money problems can put a strain on our lives.  Over the years, I have had many people confide in me that they had contemplated suicide because of their debt problems.  There are countless articles about debt problems being the cause of suicide.

A recent CNBC article discusses the ongoing issue of ballooning student loan debt.  The new Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, said this week that he believes the student loan debt could slow down economi

This week, I read an article on creditslips.org by Pamela Foohey who is a professor of law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  The article discusses an upcoming law review article in the Notre Dame Law Review,  Life in the Sweatbox, about the struggles consumers endure before

I don’t know about you, but as a student, I relished the day when my life was not judged by a number (i.e. grades).  Then at some point in my early adulthood, it hit me that my life will forever be judged by a number: my credit score.

One of the most common ways to pay off accumulated medical bills and credit card debt is to take a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, on your home. According to a recent CNBC article by Diana Olick, homeowners are sitting on trillions of dollars in cash.

If you are contemplating bankruptcy, you may have searched the topic on the internet and seen something called the "Means Test".  For in-depth information on the Means Test, you can visit The United States Department of Justice's website.

Are you facing difficult financial decisions?  Bills piling up?  Trying to figure out how to pay for Christmas gifts?  As fun and joyous as the holiday season is supposed to be, the money aspect of it can be very stressful.  No one really wants to think about their financial problem especially during this time of year.  This article is designed to help you prepare if you are