Rod Griffin

Rod Griffin is Senior Director of Consumer Education and Advocacy for Experian, responsible for the company's national consumer education programs and outreach.

Articles & Books From Rod Griffin

Article / Updated 03-24-2021
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 focuses on your protections from credit card industry practices that have been deemed to be either unfair or just plain tricky. Among the key protections are easier-to-understand terms, fewer retroactive interest rate increases on existing card balances, more time to pay your monthly bills, more notice of changes to your credit card terms, and the right to opt out of many changes in terms on your accounts.
Article / Updated 04-17-2023
It has been said that a person can’t be too good-looking or have too many friends. This has never been truer than in the world of credit — at least the part about friends.The world of credit can be complex, unforgiving, and very expensive! The credit-granting, credit-reporting, and credit-scoring industries have become increasingly complex and powerful to the point where they are used for everything from issuing credit cards to getting jobs.
Article / Updated 03-24-2021
Every time you use or abuse your credit, it has an effect on your credit score. The impact varies with the type of action. Positive actions, like paying bills on time, raise your score and lower your risk in the eyes of a lender, insurer, or landlord. Negative actions do the opposite and, depending on what the damaging action was, could be a big deal or a minor and temporary inconvenience.
Article / Updated 03-24-2021
For most people, a house is more than just a building you live in. It’s a place you worked hard to earn, plan a life, grow a family, and make memories. It’s a home. Sometimes those dreams don’t come true, and that mortgage can become unsustainable. But misinformation, stress, and denial can make it hard to accept the writing on the wall when you’re in trouble with your mortgage.
Article / Updated 03-24-2021
Looking at credit as a renewable resource changes your perspective: You want to better understand how it works so you don’t unknowingly harm it. It also makes you responsible for not overusing or abusing this important resource to the point of endangerment, or even extinction. To be a good steward of your credit, you need to understand how credit coexists with all the other parts of your financial ecosystem and how it fits into the rest of your life.
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies
Sensible ways to manage and repair your credit  Need a credit makeover? You’re not alone: in the U.S., outstanding credit card and other types of revolving debt have jumped over 20% in the past decade, and millions of Americans are struggling with one or more credit-related issues. Whether you’re just working on improving your score or need some sound advice on how to make debt a thing of the past, the latest edition of Credit Repair Kit for Dummies is packed with reliable information for escaping the quicksand and taking the concrete steps needed to build up a solid score.