Prepaid MasterCard is the easiest way to pay — just load one with funds and use it for all the things you use cash for such as shopping, bill payments, or everyday purchases. You can use MasterCard Prepaid cards wherever Debit MasterCard is accepted and get the added convenience that cash doesn’t offer.

Wells Fargo customers will have free access to one of their credit scores and credit reports until November 16, 2014 in conjunction with the American Bankers Association’s annual campaign “Get Smart About Credit.” It’s the third year of this promotion, according to a news release from Wells Fargo and it requires customers to visit a local bank branch to obtain their personal access codes for the data.

In an effort to clean your cluttered finances, you close three zero balance credit card accounts. Lightening your wallet feels good now, but the potential hit to your FICO Score could weigh you down later.

CoreLogic and FICO partnered last year to offer lenders an alternative credit score for more predictive scoring, which includes data previously not used in credit scoring, from a borrowers cell phone bill, utilities, payday loan activity, to child support judgments, evictions, property tax liens, the status of homeowner’s association dues, whether or not a borrower is underwater on their current home, or whether a borrower owns other properties that credit agencies typically miss.

The future of your mortgage loan and the ownership of the home you have in mind depends on your three-digit credit score. Keep in mind that the minimum FICO credit score you need to get a mortgage loan is ultimately the decision of your individual lender.