How To Protect Your Finances

While U.S. consumers are getting better at keeping up with credit card and personal loan payments, mortgage and student loan delinquencies are climbing, and student loan delinquencies remain historically high, according to the Spring 2026 FICO Credit Score Insights report.

Delinquencies, or when borrowers fall behind on payments, can lead to lower credit scores and higher borrowing costs over time. CNBC Select breaks down what’s driving these delinquencies and highlights a few practical strategies to protect your finances.

In October 2025, the 30-day+ mortgage delinquency rate was 4.8%, the highest since April 2020. Sixty‑day+ and 90‑day+ delinquencies followed a similar pattern and sat at 2.4% and 1.6%, respectively. A 30-day delinquency means a payment is one month late, 60-day means two months and 90-day means three months or more, with longer delinquencies typically indicating more serious financial trouble.

On the other hand, severe student loan delinquencies (90 days or more) jumped from 0.8% in October 2024 to 10.9% by April 2025, after reporting of missed payments resumed. While the pace of increase has slowed, the rate remains high at 11% as of October 2025. Student loan borrowers with a newly reported delinquency also saw their credit scores drop an average of 62 points since January 2025.

If you bought your house when mortgage rates were upwards of 8% and are currently struggling, you could consider refinancing. Mortgage refinancing replaces your existing loan with a new one, and there are several types.

One common type, called rate-and-term refinancing, adjusts the rate, repayment term or both. If you’re looking to refinance quickly, Rocket Mortgage reports an average closing of roughly 20 days — about half the national average.

Refinancing your student loans is more individualized, as it depends on the type of loan you have. If you have federal loans, refinancing them into private loans could result in a much lower rate. But you lose certain protections you’d otherwise receive with federal loans, such as income-driven repayment plans.

It really comes down to your current rate, whether you can refinance to a lower one and whether refinancing is worth the trade-offs. Many lenders, like SoFi, will calculate your new potential rate based on your current financial standing without hurting your credit score. This can be a great way to get a preview of any potential savings.

One of the most important reasons to consider budgeting is that many don’t realize they’re running a deficit until it snowballs. While creating or finalizing your budget won’t magically put more money into your account, what it can do is help you better visualize where your money is going and establish a baseline for your non-negotiable spending.

Monarch is a solid option if you want a straightforward way to organize and track your debt payoff. The app lets you create multiple debt goals, prioritize them and track your progress in one place. While it requires a subscription ($14.99 per month or $99.99 per year), you can take advantage of a week-long free trial to test the app’s features.

Your credit score plays an important role in your financial future, even if changes in your score don’t have an immediate impact on your day-to-day finances. For example, if you try to refinance your mortgage or student loans, your credit score plays a big factor in the rate you’ll be offered, with higher scores often receiving more favorable rates.

If you’re struggling with your credit score as a result of falling behind on payments, you might consider reaching out to a credit repair company — especially if you find inaccurate or outdated negative marks on your report. While you can attempt to get inaccuracies removed yourself, the process can be fairly confusing and time-consuming.

The Credit People is a credit repair option that charges $19 per deletion or offers three service tiers: Standard ($99/month), Premium ($119/month) and Premium Flat Rate ($599 for six months). Even the most basic package includes unlimited disputes with the three major credit bureaus. The company estimates an average credit score increase of 50 to 100+ points for customers.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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