The Credit Crunch, Vol. 1: Five Useful Links

• “Prepaid, but Not Prepared for Debit Card Fees”: The New York Times

• “Credit Cardholder’s Bill Of Rights: Sooner Would Be Better”: The Wall Street Journal
• “Investigating Old or Inaccurate Addresses on Your Credit Report and Why You Should”: MasterYourCard.com
• “How to Improve Your Credit Score When Paying Down Debt”: NoDebtPlan.net
• “Gen Y Faces Credit Hurdles”: The Sydney Morning Herald

Get Out of Debt the Casey Serin Way

Casey Serin, an infamous online entrepreneur we previously profiled at Walletpop, has come a long way on the dark road of how to get out of debt — and he still owes $190,000. That’s the amount left over after his crazy year of failing to “flip” houses in Sacramento, succumbing to foreclosures and divorce.

New Measures to Protect Kids From Debt

Signing up for a credit card is about to become a lot harder on campus.

Underclassmen once bombarded by offers of easy credit and free T-shirts may find themselves a little less popular among credit-card marketers, as a new law designed to curb the fees and penalties that credit-card companies charge consumers goes into effect.

Meet ‘The World’s Most Hated Blogger’

A young Uzbekistan expat who grew up in Sacramento eyeing the American dream, Casey Serin observed as a mighty wave of real-estate speculation swept over the state and the country. But when he tried to hang 10, he wiped out. Big time.

Meet "The World’s Most Hated Blogger"

A young Uzbekistan expat who grew up in Sacramento eyeing the American dream, Casey Serin observed as a mighty wave of real-estate speculation swept over the state and the country. But when he tried to hang 10, he wiped out. Big time.

We’re Losing Sleep Over Credit-Card Bills

More than two thirds of Americans are literally tossing and turning at night, worrying about high credit-card bills, mortgages, retirement, education and other costs, a new study shows. And insomnia only compounds their problems. Here, we explore some of the common causes — and what even someone with high bills can do to get better rest.

8 Credit Talks Couples Must Have

In any healthy relationship these days, it’s necessary to have a difficult talk about credit. Before you and your significant other find yourself in conflict over money, there are eight issues about credit everyone needs to talk about. Read on to learn more.

Credit Card Balances Fall for 8th Month

Credit card balances continued their downward spiral in May, as recession-battered consumers chipped away at existing debt and refrained from charging purchases with the same gusto from a year earlier. It’s the longest pullback on credit-card debt in more than 40 years. Read on for more about the news.

Google Knows Your Credit Score

The search giant has found yet another new and potentially lucrative way of segmenting customers for its advertisers. It’s targeting users by their FICO scores.

The Best Credit Card Perks Left Today

Here’s the scoop: the airline industry and credit card companies have promised more perks to help consumers save money. However, when our fellow WalletPoppers Andrea Chalupa and Todd Pruzan talked with Mr. Credit Card of AskMrCreditCard.com for Walletpop Radio, another strategy came to light.

AmEx Sues Courtney Love

American Express has sued Curt Cobain widow-turned-rocker-turned-actress Courtney Love for $352,059.67 in unpaid charges and fees on her Amex Gold, Centurion and Platinum Cards.

A Newsman and His Housing Crisis

Edmund Andrews wasn’t just reporting on the unfolding subprime-mortgage crisis — he was also living it. The New York Times’s economics writer and the author of the forthcoming Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown talks to us about how and why he got tripped up by a deal that was too good to be true.

“I have no one to blame but myself for my woes,” Andrews tells us. “But it is too easy to snarl in contempt at homeowners who got in over their heads in the housing bubble. I’ve seen too many people who really were duped by the system, and I’ve learned too much about how corrupt the system itself had become.”

Read on for more of our exclusive interview.

What the Cardholder Law Means to You

President Obama may sign Congress’s new bills protecting credit cardholders, making them federal law, as early as this week. But what does that mean to you? Read on to learn what’s in the fine print.

Spring Cleaning for Your Credit Score

At age 27, Audrey Seiberling (left) was nearly $19,000 in credit-card debt. Today, at 29, she’s debt-free. How (and why) she got herself out of debt should motivate us all. Read on for eight great (and surprisingly simple) steps to help you free yourself from debt.