The report included the views of a panel of experts who responded to a number of key questions, such as giving consumers advice on how to improve their financial safety, as well as offering suggestions on what states could do to reduce crime in their communities and provide a strategy for managing personal finances during the pandemic.
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Professor Roman Weil, from the University of Chicago, strongly advised consumers to pay off all credit card debts. “That is it. No one step will get you more financial safety than getting out of credit card debt—paying off your credit cards in full each month, carrying no balances.
“If you can get to the stage where you are out of credit card debt and can pay your credit card charges in full every month, then stop using debit cards. Using credit cards and paying off the balances each month increases your credit score. Using a debit card does nothing for your credit score,” he added.
On the same question, Kareem Tannous, assistant professor at Cabrini University, suggested spreading the risk and investing wisely. He said: “An investor should consider risk diversification in different financial assets, such as real estate, equities, bonds, and commodities.”