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Michelle Black

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About

Michelle Lambright Black, Founder of CreditWriter.com and HerCreditMatters.com, is a leading credit expert and personal finance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the credit industry. She’s an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, identity theft, and the intersection of credit and financing. You can connect with Michelle on Twitter (@MichelleLBlack) and Instagram (@CreditWriter).

  • What Is The Average Credit Limit For Business Credit Cards?

    Business credit cards tend to feature higher credit limits than personal credit cards. The average consumer credit card limit (across all of their revolving accounts) was $29,855 in 2023, according to Experian data. Meanwhile, the most recent data available from...
    What Is The Average Credit Limit For Business Credit Cards?

  • What Happens To Your Balance And Credit Score When You Pay Only The Minimum On Your Credit Card?

    When money is tight, making just the minimum payments on your credit cards can be tempting. Unfortunately, many people fail to realize just how expensive this can be. According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Americans spent over $130 billion...
    What Happens To Your Balance And Credit Score When You Pay Only The Minimum On Your Credit Card?

  • Loan Comparison Calculator: Find The Best Loan For You

    Taking out a loan can help you accomplish a wide range of financial goals. However, it’s important to compare your loan options before you apply so you can find the most affordable loan with terms that fit your needs. Use...
    Loan Comparison Calculator: Find The Best Loan For You

  • Does Requesting A Credit Increase Hurt Your Credit?

    There are several reasons you might want to ask your credit card company for a higher credit limit. But before you give your card issuer a call or submit a request for a credit limit increase online, it’s important to...
    Does Requesting A Credit Increase Hurt Your Credit?

  • Top 13 Amex Green Card Benefits

    The earns . And although there's a annual fee, you can offset this cost in the first year by earning the card’s welcome bonus and each year thereafter by taking full advantage of the card’s available statement credits. In addition...
    Top 13 Amex Green Card Benefits

  • How To Build Credit With A Credit Card

    To build credit, you need to obtain credit—and opening a credit card account can be a way to accomplish that goal. You might be under the impression that qualifying for a credit card when you have no credit history is...
    How To Build Credit With A Credit Card

  • Debt Consolidation Calculator: Estimate Your Savings

    Being in debt can be a challenging experience. If you are also worried about your outstanding loans, debt consolidation is one potential approach to consider. Consolidating debts can simplify repayment and help you save money, get out of debt faster...
    Debt Consolidation Calculator: Estimate Your Savings

  • How To Get A $40,000 Personal Loan

    Personal loans can provide cash to cover a variety of expenses. They’re often flexible enough to work for debt consolidation, home repairs, medical bills, unexpected expenses and many other financing needs. If you’re considering a $40,000 loan, however, it’s important...
    How To Get A $40,000 Personal Loan

  • How To Use A Credit Card To Increase Your Credit Score

    Millions of Americans have at least one open credit card account. And on average, people carry three different credit cards in their wallets. Credit cards are convenient ways to pay for purchases. These little plastic (and sometimes metal) payment methods...
    How To Use A Credit Card To Increase Your Credit Score

  • Can You Use Personal Loans For Business?

    Accessing the capital your business needs isn’t always an easy task. In 2021, just 31% of small businesses received all of the funding they applied for, down from 51% in 2019, according to a report by the Federal Reserve. Some...
    Can You Use Personal Loans For Business?

  • How To Get A $50,000 Personal Loan

    A personal loan is a financing option you can use to cover a variety of different expenses. Whether you need a loan for debt consolidation, home improvement projects or something else, a personal loan might make your goals more manageable....
    How To Get A $50,000 Personal Loan

  • How To Get A $5,000 Personal Loan

    A personal loan is a flexible financing option you can use to cover a variety of expenses. Whether you need cash to cover a medical expense, home improvement project, auto repair or other unexpected bills, a personal loan might help...
    How To Get A $5,000 Personal Loan

  • Best Business Loans With No Credit Check Of 2025

    Securing financing for your business can be a struggle, especially if you have limited credit. Small business owners with poor personal credit may be left wondering whether it’s possible to get a business loan with no credit check.While most business...
    Best Business Loans With No Credit Check Of 2025

  • Free EIN Lookup: How Do I Find My EIN Online?

    When you open a new business, applying for an employer identification number (EIN) may need to be near the top of your priority list. While not every business needs an EIN, many do. Nearly 5.4 million businesses applied for new...
    Free EIN Lookup: How Do I Find My EIN Online?

  • Building Credit As A New Immigrant: How Credit Cards Can Help You

    There are nearly 49.5 million immigrants living in the United States as of the 2023 census. If you’re among that number and have recently relocated to the country, you might be surprised to learn how much credit impacts your life...
    Building Credit As A New Immigrant: How Credit Cards Can Help You

  • Top Semi-Truck Financing Options Of 2025

    Reliable vehicles can make or break your profit margin in the commercial trucking industry. However, with new semi trucks ranging from around $100,000 to over $200,000, most trucking businesses need to borrow money to cover equipment costs. You may need...
    Top Semi-Truck Financing Options Of 2025

  • How Credit Card Issuers Set Your Credit Limit

    A credit limit describes the amount of money you can borrow from your credit card issuer at a given time. Understanding how credit issuers determine the maximum amount they’re comfortable loaning you can help you better understand finances and potentially...
    How Credit Card Issuers Set Your Credit Limit

  • Best Personal Loans With A Co-signer Of 2025

    Adding a well-qualified co-signer to your loan reduces your risk as a borrower and may help you secure a personal loan even with damaged credit.A co-signer isn’t the same thing as a co-borrower or joint borrower, who is equally responsible...
    Best Personal Loans With A Co-signer Of 2025

  • What Happens When You Pay Off Your Credit Card Bill?

    Carrying a credit card balance isn’t unusual. More than half of credit card holders (57%) don’t pay their full credit card balance monthly, according to a Forbes Advisor survey conducted in October 2023. Yet, even though revolving a balance from...
    What Happens When You Pay Off Your Credit Card Bill?

  • Zip (Previously Quadpay) Review 2025

    Zip, formerly known as Quadpay, is a buy now, pay later platform for consumers. Buyers can use the Zip mobile app to break a purchase up into four equal payments over six weeks. However, there are fees involved with this...
    Zip (Previously Quadpay) Review 2025

  • Best Debt Consolidation Loans For Bad Credit Of 2025

    A debt consolidation loan can be a smart way to streamline your monthly debt obligations and get out of debt faster. However, if you have bad credit, qualifying for a debt consolidation loan with an attractive interest rate could be...
    Best Debt Consolidation Loans For Bad Credit Of 2025

  • Small Business Grants For Veterans

    Veterans make up around 7% of the adult population (18 million Americans) in the U.S. At the same time, veterans own around 6% of U.S. businesses and employ around 4 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re...
    Small Business Grants For Veterans

  • Equity Crowdfunding: What Is It & How Does It Work?

    As a small business owner, attracting traditional investors to help fund your startup can be challenging. For instance, less than 1% of startups receive funding from angel investors and only .05% of startups benefit from venture capital, according to the...
    Equity Crowdfunding: What Is It & How Does It Work?

  • 14 Small Business Grants, Loans And Resources For Felons

    As many as 100 million people in the U.S. (one in three Americans) have a criminal record, according to The Sentencing Project. Since the majority of employers use background checks in their hiring processes, many of these people—especially those with...
    14 Small Business Grants, Loans And Resources For Felons

  • OnDeck Business Loans Review 2025

    OnDeck is an online lending platform that has been helping small businesses gain access to financing since 2006. It offers two borrowing solutions that may work well for companies needing fast access to cash. Business owners who struggle to qualify...
    OnDeck Business Loans Review 2025

  • 13 Business Grants For Women: Receive Free Money

    Raising capital is critical to the success of many companies. However, women-owned businesses face unequal challenges when it comes to securing business financing and investments. Despite the fact that women owned more than 40% of businesses in the U.S. by...
    13 Business Grants For Women: Receive Free Money

  • 11 Small Business Grants For Minorities

    Less than 20% of U.S. employer businesses are minority-owned, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet the owners of these 1.1 million minority-owned businesses often face heightened challenges when it comes to securing business funding. In fact, Black entrepreneurs were...
    11 Small Business Grants For Minorities

  • How Much Collateral Is Needed For A Business Loan?

    When you research how to get a business loan, you’re sure to come across a common term—collateral. Collateral is a frequent business loan requirement, but it’s not necessary with every type of business financing. Some lenders want you to supply...
    How Much Collateral Is Needed For A Business Loan?

  • 8 Small Business Financing Options: Get The Funding You Need

    Business funding can give your small business the boost it needs to thrive (and sometimes survive). Yet there are many business funding options, and some business owners might feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. Finding the best business funding...
    8 Small Business Financing Options: Get The Funding You Need

  • Business Startup Costs: How To Calculate And Budget

    Starting a business comes with a variety of costs, which may require you to seek external business financing. In fact, entrepreneurs file millions of business applications every year in the U.S. The number of new business applications surged to a...
    Business Startup Costs: How To Calculate And Budget

About

Michelle Lambright Black, Founder of CreditWriter.com and HerCreditMatters.com, is a leading credit expert and personal finance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the credit industry. She’s an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, identity theft, and the intersection of credit and financing. You can connect with Michelle on Twitter (@MichelleLBlack) and Instagram (@CreditWriter).