Greg McBride Quotations

The prime rate moves in concert with the Fed's interest rate moves. The average rate for a home equity line of credit has increased from 4.7 percent in June 2004 to 5.9 percent as of last week.

The prime rate moves in concert with the Fed's interest rate moves, ... The average rate for a home equity line of credit has increased from 4.7 percent in June 2004 to 5.9 percent as of last week.

Make sure you're in your home long enough to recoup those costs.

For the rest of the card-carrying public, they can expect another quarter-point increase to follow this.

Go armed to the dealership with your own financing lined up at a bank or credit union,

Pay your bills on time, and pay your debt down over time. Together, those factors account for 65 percent of your credit score.

That could really crimp consumer spending and hold back economic growth.

The prospect of future rate hikes will push yields on CDs even higher, making them even more attractive.

When you are looking to trim your debt portfolio in a falling rate environment, you keep your maturities shorter.

Conspicuous in their absence from the Best Deals are the largest institutions, with large branch and ATM networks and extensive regional footprints. Not so among the 20 Worst Deals. Better-than-average yields and low minimum balance requirements on accounts offered by smaller local or regional thrifts are common trademarks of those making the Best Deals list.

There's a game of one-upmanship in terms of who's offering the best yields. Every household needs a liquid savings account in a place where you can keep up with inflation and the Internet is certainly a powerful platform to market to customers in a cost-effective way.

There's a game of one-upmanship in terms of who's offering the best yields, ... Every household needs a liquid savings account in a place where you can keep up with inflation and the Internet is certainly a powerful platform to market to customers in a cost-effective way.

Stringing a car loan out is not healthy. Four years on an auto loan is normal. Seven years is not. Your loan shouldn't last longer than the car.

Think of all the demands on each of your paychecks. There are bills that have to be paid, you have to manage your debts, hopefully pad your savings a bit and still save for retirement.

A budget can help you accomplish all of that.

It's the price of not doing business with a particular institution. Just as non-account holders bear the costs associated with an ATM network, banks are now assessing non-account holders for in-branch check cashing.

That's quite the opposite of what it was six or 12 months ago when we were in a rising interest rate environment, ... At that time everyone was going with the shorter term so they could reinvest at a higher yield going forward.

Eighty-six percent of institutions will charge you for using a different bank's ATM.

The beginning of the year is an opportune time to look at all aspects of your finances. Part of that is getting better organized for 2006.

The average homebuyer moves every seven to 10 years.

Not knowing where your money is going is a huge obstacle in achieving financial independence. The first step toward saving is to set some limits on your spending.

It's really a wise strategy to do that -- to throw whatever you can at the balance.

It's ratcheting up a quarter point -- every time the Fed raises rates.