Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Unfair Denials of Insurance Claims Could Be Making Your Medical Debt Worse
If you still live in Florida after so many hurricanes, you must be a relentless optimist. Therefore, the relentless optimist in you will look at the cost of your health insurance premiums and the amount you still have to pay after your insurance covers its portion and be glad that you have health insurance. … Read More »
Can Artificial Intelligence Help You With Personal Finance?
People depend on devices for almost everything these days. Artificial intelligence algorithms predict which news stories you would be most interested in reading, until you can’t imagine reading anywhere else. When you get into your car, your smartphone guesses where you plan to drive and how long it will take to get there, and… Read More »
Retirement Accounts and Your Bankruptcy Case
In one of life’s many injustices, you can be too poor to file for bankruptcy, but you cannot be too rich. Even though Tax Day is still nearly half a year away, numerous people are anticipating the arrival of their income tax refunds so they can spend them on a chapter 7 or chapter… Read More »
FTC Orders Brigit App to Pay Refunds to Customers It Defrauded
Brigit is a personal finance app designed for working people who live paycheck to paycheck. Its “Plus” subscription service promises customers that they can access cash advances of up to $250 anytime they choose. It turned out not to be so simple, and enough customers eventually complained that the FTC issued refunds to customers… Read More »
Are Home Equity Loans Good Debt or Bad Debt?
At this point, any complaint related to homeownership sounds like a humblebrag. Your mortgage payment might be painfully expensive, but at least every payment boosts your credit score and your home equity. You are in a better position than people who pay an equal amount in rent, but the money only enriches the landlord,… Read More »
Avoiding Foreclosure When You Can’t Afford to Keep Your House
When you look for advice about avoiding foreclosure, it becomes obvious that the best way to stop the bank from trying to get its paws on your house is not to borrow a mortgage loan that you cannot afford. To someone who has fallen behind on mortgage payments, this is as unhelpful as saying,… Read More »
Can Your Screen Time Habit Be Beneficial to Your Finances?
People who are old enough to remember a time before the Internet became part of everyone’s everyday life will tell you that your device addiction is as bad for your finances as it is for your physical and mental health. Of course, even though you are young enough to be a digital native, you… Read More »
Debt Repayment Can Wait?
Despite what the Internet says, people under 50 aren’t spoiled or entitled. We are just pushed to the limit with stress. The only way we can survive is by focusing on the things that matter at the expense of everything else. We scrambled day and night until we realized that life is too short… Read More »
Fear Is Your Worst Enemy in Mortgage Foreclosure Cases
What could be a worse end to your dream of homeownership than foreclosure? You place a down payment for the purchase of your house, and then you make payments on your mortgage every month until one financial catastrophe after another strikes, only for the bank to swoop down and take everything you worked for,… Read More »
Is Bankruptcy the Best Solution to Medical Debt?
In more than half of all bankruptcy filings by individuals, the applicants cite medical debt as the main type of debt they are seeking to discharge and the biggest contributor to their financial hardships. Medical debt can strike almost anyone; only the wealthiest people can afford to pay a hospital bill in full when… Read More »