Among the many joys of being a parent is the opportunity to share your passions with your children. From exploring your favorite hobbies to diving into cherished family recipes, as your kids grow so do the memories you create together.

Going on vacation with your children is a great way to bond with them, but it can get costly. The good news is that getting out of town doesn’t have to break the bank. Plan for your next family adventure by exploring the tips in these family vacation FAQs.

Protecting your home with a security system and locking your doors when you leave for the day are measures you might take to protect your home from intruders. Credit and identity theft monitoring are a type of “security system” that protects you from intruders gaining access to your personal information. From credit fraud to identity theft, everyone is susceptible to these types of breaches — that’s why it’s so important to defend yourself against them.

Credit monitoring and identity theft protection are two different ways to proactively protect yourself if your personal information gets into the wrong hands. Let’s take a look at the differences and why it’s important to implement them both together.

After college, life moves fast. You get your first big job, move out of your parents’ house and start a whole new life on your own. For most people, this also means paying off student loan debt from your college tuition. Having this debt may make big milestones like buying a house seem far off, but there are ways to make the leap from renter to homeowner even if you have student loans. So can you get a mortgage while also paying off student debt? Or should you wait to pay it off before you buy a house?

Every situation is different, so it’s important to do the right research and choose the best option for you. Luckily, we’ve done some of the breakdown for you to help you decide whether to pay off your student loan entirely or buy a house.

Can Student Loans Affect Buying a House?

Typically, student loan debt doesn’t prevent you from getting a mortgage. The biggest thing to note is that student loan debt does influence your debt-to-income ratio, which is a factor lenders consider before giving you a loan. It can also affect the interest rate you pay on your mortgage.

Buying a house with defaulted student loans

If you’ve defaulted on your student loans, it’ll be more difficult — but not impossible — for you to get a mortgage. Because defaulting negatively affects your credit score, lenders will be less likely to want to give you a loan or will charge a much higher interest rate on a loan.

Getting a home loan with student loan deferment

If you’ve deferred your student loans, this usually won’t affect your chances of getting a mortgage. Just be sure to consider how the future estimated payments will factor your debt-to-income ratio. Some types of mortgages may reject applicants with deferred loans, so do your research on the different types of mortgages before shopping.

Should You Pay Off Student Loans Before Buying a House?

Buying a house is expensive, there’s no doubt about that. It can seem smart to hold off on house shopping while you still have student loan debt, and it can be even more difficult to save for a house if you’ve got a high debt-to-income ratio. But if you have enough income to handle the payments for both, you may want to consider investing in your first home.

Signs You Should Pay Off Student Loans

When considering whether to pay student loans or save for a house, there are a few factors that can help you decide if paying off your student loans should be a priority.

Your debt-to-income ratio is too high

If the amount of money you bring in monthly or yearly is almost the same as the amount of money you pay out in debts — like student and car loans or credit cards — it may be best to pay down your debt before buying a house.

You’ve defaulted on your loans

Defaulting on your loans has a severe negative impact on your credit score, which tells lenders that you’re a bigger risk to take on. Work on improving your credit score before shopping for a mortgage.

You’re struggling to make payments

If you feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck or struggling to make payments on your loan every month, it’s best to hold off on saving for a house. Need help keeping track of your student loan payments? Try our student loan payment tracker to get organized.

You haven’t saved for a down payment or emergency fund

Before you start picking out which houses you want to tour, you should take a look at your savings. If you don’t have enough for a 5 to 10 percent down payment or enough as an emergency fund for home expenses — like a broken dishwasher or damaged roof — take more time to put money away for your first home.

Identity (ID) theft is never a fun situation. By taking proactive measures to protect your personal information, you can limit your exposure to risks. Learn how to protect yourself and your data from identity theft with our best tips and resources. 

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity (ID) theft is when highly sensitive, personal information about you or someone else has been wrongfully obtained by someone — usually a cybercriminal or hacker — without that person’s consent. The data is then used for the purpose of fraud or deception, as the hacker can use the stolen personal information to create an identity, often mimicking the person from whom the data was acquired. This false persona can be used to drain your bank accounts, gain illegal entry into your work or home computers and even for the purpose of loan applications.

Is identity theft the same thing as identity fraud?

Technically, identity fraud is once the ID theft has occurred, and the data stolen is used for the purpose of impersonation. However, both identity theft and identity fraud are often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. For example, if you have suffered identity fraud, you have very likely fallen prey to an identity theft.

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How to Protect Your Data from Identity Theft

Below are our quick tips on how to protect your identity. It’s time to take control of your privacy by putting these 11 simple ID protection tips into practice represent some of the best ways to protect your identity.

1. Create strong passwords

Thieves love easy username and password combinations because they are the keys to your personal information. By being a little more data security savvy, however, you'll make things much less easy for them! Try to use various passwords for different accounts, and include a mix of numbers, letters and symbols. Check out our tips on how to create a strong password that’s super secure and easy to remember!

You might think your phone is a convenient place to keep track of your passwords, but in the event your phone is stolen, it’s best to keep your passwords elsewhere to avoid being a victim of identity theft. Instead, write them on a piece of paper and tuck them safely away.

Alternatively, you can use a password management software or device that encrypts and safely stores your passwords. Although there can be a monthly fee, password management software are excellent tools to both protect your identity and keep track of your passwords. Some of the most popular password managers include LastPass, NordPass and RoboForm.

2. Be smart about updating passwords

You’ve probably heard you should update your passwords as frequently as you should change your toothbrush: about every three months. Lately, though, experts aren’t sure if that’s guaranteed to protect your identity since hackers are pretty savvy about clever password tricks. Pair that with their advanced hardware and software, and you may find that simply updating your password might not be enough.

If you're trying to think of the best course of action, see tip number one and create a random password. Experts agree that if you have the slightest suspicion your identity and data might have been hacked, you definitely should change those passwords ASAP.

3. Check your credit report

Monitoring your credit report allows you to get a detailed look at your credit history. Once you get a copy of your credit report, which you’re entitled to a free copy of once a year from each of the three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), go over it thoroughly to see if any fraudulent transactions or accounts are listed. Getting a free copy once a year means you can get a free credit report every four months from one of the credit bureaus; just make sure you use a different bureau each time.

If you do notice any debts that aren’t yours or accounts you didn’t open, follow these steps to report identity theft.

4. Review your bank and credit card accounts

Get in the habit of carefully looking over your bank and credit card accounts every month. If you notice any funny business, call your bank or credit card company right away.

You can also set up fraud alerts to notify you when a suspicious purchase is made on your accounts. If you plan on going on vacation, call your bank to let them know where you’ll be — especially if traveling internationally — to avoid erroneous fraud alerts while you’re having fun.

Keep an eye on the news for data breaches of banks, retailers, credit agencies and other companies that store customers’ personal information so you can act before a thief has a chance to use your data.

5. Don’t over share on social media

Feel free to post that picture of your fermented soybean sushi roll, but steer clear of posting any personal identifying information. Thieves are hunting social media for easy prey, and unassuming info like your email address, birth date and even your children’s names are used for scamming and identity theft.

A lot of social media and email accounts also offer two-step verification, which requires the site to check with you if you log in from a new place. Sign up for this to further safeguard your accounts and personal information from identity theft.

6. Shield your computer

Keep personal and financial information secure on your computer with firewall, virus and spyware protection software. Just make sure you’re downloading these tools from a trusted source.

To take personal data protection even further, you can install a virtual private network, or VPN, to further protect your information as it travels the internet. It can also hide your IP address, preventing scammers from tracking your data back to your personal network.

7. Don’t take the bait

Scam artists love to “phish,” which means they catch victims by pretending to be trustworthy sources like banks, stores, government agencies and so on. Most commonly, people phish others over the phone and through emails, but they’ll try to get you through regular mail, too.

Legitimate companies don’t typically request information in this way, so don’t be afraid to ask questions when a business calls, and never give out your personal information over the phone or email.

If you would like more tips on how to avoid phishing, we've collected a few to share.

8. Safeguard your Social Security card

Never give out your entire Social Security number (SSN) over the phone or online. Usually, a company will only ask for the last four digits of your SSN, so if someone asks for your full number, you should be wary.

If you're a person who routinely carries your Social Security card in your wallet or purse, consider taking it out and storing it in a secure place for added safeguards and to protect yourself from identity theft if it falls into the wrong hands.

9. Don’t leave a paper trail

Identity thieves have no problem dumpster-diving for your personal info. Although this sounds like a silly way to collect personal information in the digital age, it happens more than you’d think! So, this begs the question: What can I do to protect my identity from dumpster-diving criminals? Here are a few ways you can keep your bank statements and other sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands:

• Enroll in “paperless” billing with your bank. Most major banks offer the paperless option which is more secure and protects your data by eliminating the paper trail. No paper, no trail!
• Invest in a paper shredder. If you want to ensure your sensitive printed documents are useless to dumpster divers, we recommend a micro-cut shredder. These shredders are just like older shredders, but rather than cutting documents into long strips, they shred them into much smaller “micro” bits.
• Don’t write down passwords by hand. This is especially important if you work in a large office setting. It’s just too easy for anyone to snap a quick pic of your login credentials.

10. Be aware of credit card skimming

A “skimmer” is essentially a card reader that grabs the data off a card’s magnetic stripe, making it easy for a thief to create cloned cards or break into your bank account to steal money. These skimmers are designed to be small and inconspicuous, typically appearing like an ordinary piece of equipment. Always inspect the device you’re using your card with and pay close attention to catch any irregularities.

In short, always keep an eye on your card or pay with cash when you can.

11. Consider identity theft insurance

Identity theft protection coverage helps you quickly and conveniently get back on track if you’re victimized by identity scammers. It’s a smart, simple and affordable way to financially recover and get support when you need it most, especially when it comes to contacting credit reporting companies, law enforcement, etc.

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