At the beginning of this year, I had several thousand dollars in credit card debt and I was ready to pay it off. But I knew that I needed to cut down on my spending in order to have enough money left over to start paying down my credit card balance.

So I did some research and started finding ways to cut expenses. One of the things I realized is that your fixed expenses – the ones that seem to be locked in – like your auto insurance and rent, often have some flexibility after all.

Below are some tips I’ve found for reducing those fixed expenses:

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When I speak to people about credit reports and credit scores one of the things I always do is ask the audience members to raise their hands if they’ve requested their free annual credit report.

Sadly, on a good night only about half the people in the audience raise their hands. A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirmed my simple surveys. Far too few people request their reports each year.

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Do you love saving money?

Do you ever use apps or online tools to help you cuts costs and stay on budget?

In our continuing quest to promote financial literacy and help consumers live credit smart, we asked some of our favorite personal finance writers to share a favorite app that helps them stay on budget and save money.

Check out these frugal-living apps:

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In our busy lives, it is easy to miss paying a bill.

However, your lenders won’t accept excuses for why they you didn’t pay them as you agreed to do. For example, your bankcard company cannot make excuses for being late in paying the merchants where you made your purchases. When you don’t pay, they still have to pay on your behalf.

Missed payments can have a severe impact on your credit scores. And lower credit scores will often penalize you with higher interest rates – which can end up costing you tens-of-thousands of dollars throughout your life.

So here are five strategies to help you build the best credit scores . . .

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Everyone seems to be keeping a closer eye on their finances these days and more people are becoming aware of how important it is to know what your credit report looks like.

In the recently released Experian 2012 State of Credit report, we found that the national average credit score is currently 750, which is up one point from 2011.

We also crunched some numbers in more than 100 cities throughout the country and ranked the top 10 and bottom 10 cities according to credit score.

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Do you love saving money?

And are you looking for even more ways to keep more money in the bank?

Experian knows the importance of this in every person’s financial health.

So, as part of our overall commitment to financial literacy and in conjunction with our just released annual State of Credit report, we contacted some of our favorite personal finance writers and asked them to share one of their favorite ways to save money.

Check out these frugal-living tips:

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A credit report is like a report card that provides lenders insight into how you use credit.

If you’re paying debts on time and keeping debts low on credit accounts, you’re building a great credit history that will help you earn lower interest rates on loans and will help you in a variety of other ways, too.

There are many myths going around about what hurts or improves your credit scores.

Here is a list of seven popular myths about credit scores and credit reports you should know about:

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Unfortunately, many people have received poor credit advice and been taken advantage from credit repair companies. Many people don’t realize that there isn’t anything that a credit repair service is able to legally do for you that you can’t do yourself for little or no expense.

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I talk with consumers almost every day, and one of the most common questions I get is how to dispute information you believe is being reported inaccurately. The process is very straightforward and simple as long as you follow this step-by-step process. I find that most people who are having difficulty skipped step number 1.

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What did you do with that envelope that used to arrive once a year with estimates of your future Social Security benefits? You might have reviewed the information. You may have even filed the statement away as a reference. Now, this powerful financial planning tool is as close as the nearest computer.

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I opened a few of my daily newspapers this morning (yes, the print kind!), and pondered some seemingly conflicting messages. In the Wall Street Journal, I saw the headline “Economic Reports Fan Fears.” In the New York Times, the top business story read “In a Shift, Debt Levels are Falling,” noting that American consumers are reducing their debt.

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Many consumers simply do not understand what a credit report, credit score or id theft is until they have either been denied a loan or fallen victim to fraud. As part of Experian’s Live Credit Smart program, the company offers consumers information on the specific areas that they need to live credit smart.

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