While most people don’t like to put the words “risk” and “banking” together in the same sentence, one study shows that mobile banking users are risk-takers.

A new study from mobile advertising platform company Millennial Media shows that consumers who access mobile finance content tend to be young and wealthy and consider themselves risk-takers.

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Commissioned through comScore, the study looked at data within Millenial’s network of finance ads and content. Mobile banking was the finance category that consumers accessed most often, with 35 percent accessing mobile banking content once weekly and 22 percent interacting with the content daily.

Those consumers also tend to fall into a different profile than the overall mobile audience. Mobile finance users are more likely to be young, male, make more than $75,000 a year and consider themselves a “risk-taker.”

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Mobile finance users also gave themselves other labels that the general mobile audience did not. They were more likely to call themselves environmentally friendly, a tech geek, health conscious and influential.

The study also pointed to some general spending behaviors that mobile finance users tend to utilize—and not all of them are considered good money decisions. Mobile finance users are slightly more likely to buy on credit rather than not buy, but they are significantly less likely to consider themselves spenders rather than savers.

Many consumers may receive their credit card bills every month and simply write a check for whatever amount they can afford to pay, without even glancing at the summary of all their monthly purchases.

But this is a bad idea, and a report from TIME Magazine highlights why: Consumers who take the time to carefully go through their monthly credit card bills—and bank statements—will be far more likely to discover any erroneous or even fraudulent charges made to their account. And the problem with this type of entry on a monthly bill is that, if it is the result of fraud, rather than a simple error, it can be very difficult to spot.

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The days of thieves gaining access to a credit card or bank account number and maxing it out are largely over, as criminals have become smarter about ripping off their identity theft victims, the report said. Instead of stealing thousands of dollars at a time, many might simply try to get away with making smaller charges. Usually, these can be as small as $2 to $10, and benefit the thief because they likely have access to a number of compromised accounts and can draw small amounts from each, rather than large sums from one.

And in many cases, even when consumers do notice a transaction on their account they don’t recognize, they won’t bother to dispute it if it’s for a sum that small, the report said. But not doing so can really make the stolen amount add up quickly, meaning that borrowers might end up being victimized more than they would have if their card had simply been maxed out in one fraudulent purchase.

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Experts recommend that consumers dispute every purchase they don’t recognize on their monthly credit card bills and bank statements not only because it will save them money, but it can also protect their credit. A major portion of a consumer’s credit score is made up of the amount of debt being carried versus their total account maximums, meaning that every little bit added to their balances can end up being problematic if it’s not paid off. Obviously, fraudulent purchases can make it harder to pay down a credit card bill, particularly if they’re allowed to add up.

Nationwide, more consumers are growing aware of the considerable importance their credit rating carries, and the way it affects them in their everyday lives. As a consequence, many are now looking to improve their credit score, but may not be sure how to do it.

These days, the majority of consumers say that the area of personal finance in which they could use the most help is in improving their credit score, according to a new survey from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. In all, 56 percent said they want to build their score but don’t know how to do it. In fact, the majority also said that they hadn’t taken the time to order a copy of their credit report or credit score at any point in the past 12 months. (If you don’t understand how a credit score works, you’ll want to take the time to learn.)

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Experts note that this is the best way a consumer can get a handle on what areas of their finances need improvement, the report said. Without knowledge of where they’re lagging behind and where they’re doing well, they may be working toward indeterminate goals.

“What consumers continually fail to understand is that the credit score is based on information contained in the credit report,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC. “The process of improving the credit score starts with obtaining the credit report, fully understanding the contents, and acting upon that information. Nonetheless, only five percent of respondents indicated they needed help understanding their credit report.”

The poll also found that consumers want to get control of their spending in general, as 23 percent felt this was their biggest area of concern, the report said. Another 11 percent want to know how to get better at saving money, which can be important to helping avoid taking on large amounts of debt in the event of an emergency.

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Federal laws allow consumers to order three free copies of their credit report every calendar year—one from each of the three credit reporting bureaus—and experts advise that Americans take advantage of all of them to keep tabs on their credit standing every few months. Doing so will help consumers spot any potentially incorrect or unfair entries on their report, and give them the chance to clear up those mistakes.

Student loan debt has been a hot button issue in recent months as borrowers have seen loan balances and delinquencies increase considerably for this type of credit. As a means of mitigating these problems, one federal lawmaker has introduced a bill that could provide significant help to borrowers.

The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, and the bill has quickly gained a significant amount of public support since. An online petition in favor of the bill has nearly half a million signatures and many current students are rallying to the cause.

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The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.), would forgive student loan debt for borrowers who have paid 10% of their discretionary income for 10 years. It would cap interest on federally issued student loans at 3.4%. Further, consumers who go into teaching, public service and private medicine in areas considered “underserved” would have their debt forgiven in half the time. Five other lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors.

“This provides student loan borrowers with a second chance, those who have been struggling financially,” Clarke said on the floor of the House in introducing the bill. “And by cutting this debt, this frees up their money to invest on their own. That will create new jobs throughout this country. It’s time for Congress to stand up for the rights of student loan borrowers. It’s time to forgive these student loan debts.”

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In the past year or so, student loan debt hit the significant and worrying milestone of $1 trillion in outstanding balances, more than what Americans owe on their combined credit card accounts. Currently, the average former college student owes about $25,500 on their loans, and if current rules for federal education loans are allowed to expire in the coming months, interest rates on them would double to 6.8%. However, if the bill were to pass, up to $45,520 – the average cost of a four-year degree at a public university – could be forgiven.

Millions of college students in recent years have graduated with not only tens of thousands or more in student loan debt, but also significant amounts of credit card debt stretched across a number of accounts, exacerbating their financial constraints.

Image: Terren in Virginia, via Flickr

The credit reporting bureau Experian has put together a interesting infographic that mashes together a number of telling macro-economic trends, and correlates them to recent changes in the credit card market. Foreclosures are rising but home prices are still hurting. Meanwhile unemployment is still high. Nevertheless, people are spending more money — shopping, eating out and buying cars. And Experian is seeing some changes in the volume of credit being offered on credit cards (they call them bankcards), particularly at the margins — meaning people with really good credit and people with really bad credit are getting access to more money.

Source: Experian