There is a commonly held belief that lenders -- college financial aid offices, credit card companies, banks, furniture stores, mattress companies, you name it -- have some kind of superpower that gives them the ability to know what we can afford. And many people believe lenders communicate their findings to us in the form of loan approvals.

I hear from many readers who are simply flabbergasted that they were lent more money in home equity loans, student loans, car loans -- even credit card l ...

( Back to Article )