Author Archives: Jay Butchko
How to Cope If the Bank Unexpectedly Closes Down Your Account
If you have a bank account, even if it is mostly empty most of the time, count your blessings. Working people without bank accounts face an uphill battle when trying to do the things that those with bank accounts take for granted, such as paying bills on auto pay, renting an apartment, or applying… Read More »
Can a Rotating Savings and Credit Association Help You Get Out of Debt?
These days, you can buy almost anything on a buy now pay later (BNPL) basis. Not only can you use BNPL to buy consumer electronics or furniture, but you can also buy groceries and personal care items that, before economic long COVID hit, used to be affordable on your income. Making a $50 monthly… Read More »
3 Practical Strategies for Paying Down Credit Card Debt
Everyone knows that the best way to pay down credit card debt is to increase your income and reduce your spending, but if you had a feasible way to do either of those things, you would have already done them. As it stands, you spend all of your waking hours on income-generating activities. Whenever… Read More »
Anatomy of a Predatory Loan
In certain contexts, telling people not to engage with predatory lenders sounds less like helpful advice and more like blaming the victim. No one would choose to take out a loan with an interest rate in excess of 100 percent unless they reasonably believed that they had no other choice. People use payday loans,… Read More »
4 Bummers About Bankruptcy
No one goes to bankruptcy court expecting that filing for bankruptcy will feel like taking a victory lap, but many applicants go into the bankruptcy process with an excess of optimism. Bankruptcy will take away some of your debts, but only if you hold up your end of the bargain, and even then, you… Read More »
Should You Pay Someone to Repair Your Credit or Settle Your Debt?
Advertisements for credit repair services and debt settlement companies know that you are in financial distress, and they know where to find you. You wouldn’t be watching television or listening to the radio unless you were so broke that you had no authority to choose your own background noise at work, or unless you… Read More »
Small Businesses and Predatory Lending Are a Recipe for Unpayable Debt
Operating a small business requires you to shift your expectations constantly. Entrepreneurship is not for you unless you can live with uncertainty. Small businesses frequently take out business loans in much larger amounts than most individuals would feel comfortable taking out a personal loan. Business owners base their decisions about how much to borrow… Read More »
Homemade Pickles vs. Debt
Living within your means is easier said than done. It is easy enough to make a budget that shows you how little money you have for groceries and discretionary expenses, but all of those personal finance experts with their six-figure incomes scolding you about stopping at Starbucks on the way from your day job… Read More »
Filing for Bankruptcy Is Less Scary Than Defaulting on a Debt
What do you do when you cannot afford to repay a debt? All of your options fall into one of two categories, namely running away from the debt or confronting it. It is not possible to wish a debt out of existence. You cannot retcon your financial history to where you never promised to… Read More »
Should Retirees Declare Bankruptcy?
Retirement is supposed to be a time when you can walk away from the rat race and stop worrying about money. Federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare are designed to protect seniors from poverty. In practice, though, the law gives companies a lot of leeway to impose heavy financial burdens on consumers;… Read More »