We shared hundreds of stories with you in 2014, filled with great lessons for building your credit, getting out of debt, protecting your identity and improving your financial health, despite the many challenges that inevitably pop up along the way. Amid all the other news and events you absorbed last year, we don't expect you to remember everything we covered, so we'll make this easy for you: From the aftermath of the Target breach to the bizarre fallout of the Sony hack, we went through the Credit.com archives and rounded up some of the most important things we learned in 2014.
1. It's Smart to Prepare for a Breach
How many data breaches from 2014 can you name? The freshest one in your mind is probably the Sony hack, but there were also attacks on Home Depot, Staples, Dairy Queen, P.F. Chang's — the list goes on. Credit.com Co-Founder and Chairman Adam Levin recently wrote about the most important lessons you can learn from the Sony hack, encouraging consumers and companies to prioritize data security and behave with the knowledge that your personal information and correspondence could be exposed at any time.
Prepare for the possibility of fraud by monitoring your credit, regularly reviewing account activity and knowing what to do if your personal information has been stolen. Do what you can to strengthen your data security, but know that so much of it is beyond your control, so the best thing you can do is know how to react to a breach.
2. Communication Is Crucial to Getting Debt-Free as a Couple
We published several success stories about getting out of debt, but some of the most memorable involved couples working together to conquer their finances. The stories had similar themes: Ellie Kay married her husband without knowing about his $40,000 of consumer debt, and Ja'Net Adams was unaware her husband took out student loans to pay for college. Both families eventually hit breaking points where they realized debt was holding them back, and they needed to make drastic changes to get rid of it.
Getting out of debt is never easy, and the more people who are involved, the more complicated it can be. At the same time, having someone to work through the challenges with you can be extremely helpful. Adams' and Kay's stories highlight two crucial elements of getting debt free: staying committed to a plan and remaining open and honest about the process' progress and challenges. Those lessons apply to any personal finance goal, whether you're planning with a family or on your own.
3. Staying Up to Date on Your Credit Is Easier Than Ever
There's really no excuse these days for not knowing what's going on with your credit. You can get two of your credit scores for free every 30 days on Credit.com, and you probably have access to other free credit score tools, too. FICO rolled out a program called FICO Open Access, which allows consumers with certain financial products (including Discover credit cards and some Sallie Mae student loans) to review their FICO scores for free. In the past year, many more of these programs have become available to consumers, free of charge, because there's a strong belief that an informed consumer makes better financial decisions.