By Lauren Young, Digital Special Projects Editor
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Have you ever missed a credit card payment? Fun fact: Your payment history makes up 35% of your credit score.
After your payment history, the other thing that can really ding your financial health is credit utilization — if all of your cards are maxed out, it can hurt your overall credit profile.
Credit scores matter a lot because they are a gauge lenders, credit card companies and landlords use to measure how you manage debt and how likely you are to pay back money you borrow.
“Your payment history is the single most important factor in credit scoring, and a single payment made 30 or more days late can knock 60 or more points off your credit score,” says Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree.
I racked up some credit card debt years ago. It wasn’t crushing, and I don’t recall missing any payments, but just knowing I had a balance made me nervous. I paid it off as soon as I could.
Yet even a single missed payment can cost you and derail major life goals. Here is how one middle school teacher I spoke to got his credit back on track.
If you’ve fixed your credit score — or want expert advice on the best way to do it — I want to hear from you. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.
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Should you charge your recent grad rent? (I'd be happy if mine made his bed!) REUTERS/Chip East
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🎓 The best ways to support a new grad — without ruining your finances |
The Class of 2026 is officially entering the workforce, leaving many parents — including this one — wondering how to launch recent graduates financially.
What is the best way to give your kids a strong start without sabotaging your own future? Should you keep them on the family health insurance plan? Is it okay to offset rent costs in expensive cities? How long should you pay a child’s monthly cell phone bill?
According to Intuit’s Life-ing Report, 85% of recent graduates say they wish the financial struggles they will face in their 20s were discussed more openly. And more than half the Class of 2026 also say they are the most overwhelmed they’ve ever felt in their lives, with top financial stressors including covering necessities like housing and groceries (27%), becoming financially independent (22%) and paying down debt (22%).
To map out how parents can responsibly support new graduates while establishing healthy guardrails for independence, I sat down with Tara Popernik, head of wealth planning at LPL Financial in New York.
Popernik breaks down the rules of family gifting, the danger of taking financial advice from TikTok and why the path to financial freedom always starts with a parent's own budget.
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🏝️ Is it time to take a mini-retirement?
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Ali Rosli, 33, is not waiting decades to enjoy the benefits of retirement. Courtesy Ali Rosli/Handout via REUTERS
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I try not to envy other people, but I’m jealous of Ali Rosli.
The 33-year-old has taken two “mini-retirements” over the past seven years — in 2019 for two months, and again in November 2025 for four. The first followed a demanding career as an assistant audit manager in Malaysia, including 80-hour weeks that Rosli says led to burnout.
A 2025 HSBC Quality of Life report found that Gen Z and millennials are leading a shift among affluent investors — defined as those with at least $100,000 in assets — towards treating retirement not as a single moment at the end of working life, but as a series of planned career breaks.
Are you contemplating a mini-retirement? If you’ve figured out the financial part of taking an extended break from work, I want to hear from you. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.
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👶 Trump Accounts are coming! Are you ready? |
Got a baby? The U.S. government wants to give you money to save for the future. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Have you signed up for a Trump Account yet? The U.S. is about to roll out Trump Accounts with $1,000 in seed money for children born between 2025 and 2028 who have a valid Social Security number.
If eligible, be sure to download the app ahead of the official launch in July.
If you’ve enrolled in the program, I’d love to hear what motivates you and whether you are saving for your kids in other ways, such as a 529 College Savings Plan?
Please write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. I read (and try to respond) to every message.
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I have lots of personal finance ideas, but the very best stories come from readers! What personal finance questions do you have about saving, spending, healthcare, credit and more? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. While you’re at it, be sure to follow our On the Money coverage. And connect with me on LinkedIn, where I’m always posting the latest Reuters news.
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⚽ New World Cup newsletter alert! |
Calling all World Cup fans! Aadi Nair, a sports correspondent at Reuters, will be guiding you through the tournament — and helping you keep tabs on what matters with Inside Track, our sports newsletter. Over the next month, the newsletter will focus solely on the World Cup, and you can sign up here to stay on top of all game results and unmissable stories.
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This newsletter was edited by Mark Porter.
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