The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performs various crash tests on vehicles. Statistics show that you should be paying attention to these IIHS ratings when you choose your next vehicle.

Many of us know very little about our own credit. Knowing this, the three national credit bureaus set out to educate the public in a recent Twitter chat they dubbed What to Know About Credit.

Deer-vehicle collisions are the highest in November because deer mating season is in its peak. You need to be more wary of our furry friends when on the road at this time of year or you could injure your car, yourself, or worse.

Even something as routine as swiping a card at a gas station pump can lead to identity theft. In an act known as skimming, identity thieves will install hardware to a card reader (like at a gas pump or ATM) that captures all card and PIN information. Luckily, there are a few precautions you can take to prevent this from happening to you.

When you have a vehicle but want to purchase a newer model, most people choose to trade it in. Doing so is much more convenient than trying to sell a car privately. Here are some tips to help you get a better deal on your trade-in.

Should you sell your current car yourself, or trade it in? If you are in it for the money, the answer is probably selling it. If it's convenience you seek, trading it in to the dealership is your best bet. We can help lay out the steps to trading in a car, too.

If you owe more money on an auto loan than what the vehicle is worth, then you have negative equity. Having negative equity isn't exactly a problem. That is, until you need to trade in the vehicle.

When you have bad credit and need a vehicle, the car loan process becomes slightly more complicated. If you want to secure auto loan approval, you are going to have to meet the requirements of a subprime lender. Here are the basic qualifications they are looking for.

Not having a down payment can be a problem. In many cases, the lender will require a down payment in order to approve somebody with damaged credit. This may not be what you want to hear if your budget is tight, but it's the hard truth.

It's never too late - or too early - to build your credit. Regardless of how your credit situation got to where it is, it will be beneficial for you to improve your credit score.