How Chime's Credit Builder Card Actually Works

No interest, no minimum, and it reports to all three bureaus. So where's the catch? We ran a full billing cycle to find the one assumption the app never spells out.

By Maren Whitfield · Consumer Finance

Latest Explainers

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Business · Explained

How Much Does It Cost to Get a Passport?

A U.S. passport isn't a single fee, it's a small stack of them, and skipping the wrong one is the fastest way to end up paying twice.

By Maren Whitfield

Money · Explained

How Does Rakuten Actually Pay You to Shop?

Rakuten's cash back isn't a discount the store gives you — it's a slice of a commission the store was already going to pay someone. Here's the chain, and why the check takes so long.

By Maren Whitfield

Business · Explained

How Much Does It Cost to Build a House?

Building a house isn't one price, it's a stack of them: land, permits, framing, finishes. Here's how those pieces typically add up, and where the range comes from.

By Daniel Alvarez

Money Face-Offs

Two options, one clear answer — settled in plain numbers.

All face-offs ▸

TermvsWhole Life Insurance

Whole life can cost ten times what term does for the same death benefit. That gap isn't a markup — it's you pre-funding a savings account inside the policy. Whether that's worth it depends on what you actually need the coverage to do.

Money · Explained

HSAvsFSA

Both let you pay for medical costs with pre-tax money. Only one of them is yours to keep if you don't spend it, and only one of them is still yours the day you leave your job.

Money · Explained

Roth IRAvs401(k)

One taxes you now and lets the growth out tax-free later. The other does the opposite. The right order to fund them has less to do with which account is 'better' and more to do with your employer match and your tax bracket today versus in retirement.

Money · Explained

KlarnavsAfterpay

Both apps split a purchase into four payments at 0% interest if you pay on time. The differences show up the moment you don't — in fees, in what gets reported, and in how far either company will let a balance run.

Money · Explained

From the Desks

Money 9

Cards, banking and the fine print.

Markets & Savings 2

Where returns actually come from.

Business 3

What things cost, and who gets paid.

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