After all the bills are paid and necessities purchased, it can be hard to find extra money for anything else. But paying down debt is an essential part of achieving financial freedom.

Knowing your credit card's available credit can help you stay within your credit limit and be responsible for your spending.

You use passwords every day to access your email, your computer, even your online banking accounts.

Knowing how your account's billing cycle works can help you avoid missing payments and incurring unnecessary fees.

If you’ve ever had a loan or a credit card, you also have a credit report. But many people have no idea what’s on their credit report, either because they don’t know how to access it or they’re unsure how checking it can help them financially.

You've seen the chips on your credit cards, but what are they? And how do they affect you?

Even though cybercrimes are becoming more common, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself and your money. Here are four smart ways to monitor your account.

Use the snowball method of debt reduction to pay off small loans first as you get the ball rolling toward larger debt elimination goals.