Recent Blog Posts
Don’t Panic If You Can’t Afford To Pay Your Taxes
Another year in the gig economy has gotten far enough that the deadline for filing income tax returns is approaching. Without your income from gigs, you wouldn’t even be able to survive paycheck to paycheck; your debt situation would just be in free fall. Your gig income enables you to keep up with your… Read More »
Credit Reports Show Fewer Debts In Collections, Helping Consumers Improve Their Creditworthiness
The three years since the COVID-19 pandemic have brought an onslaught of fear, not only existential dread about our own mortality and about the fragility of the natural ecosystem and of political institutions, but also more mundane worries about whether we can pay our bills this month while keeping up with the minimum payments… Read More »
How Much Does Drunk Shopping Contribute To Americans’ Debt Problems?
What is the worst thing you do with your smartphone, the worst app you can open, when you know that you have had enough to drink for one night, but alcohol is no match for revenge bedtime procrastination? Is it scrolling down through your text messages until you find the last message you received… Read More »
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Takes Legal Action Against Debt Collection Company That Engaged In Illegal Debt Collection Practices
The law protects consumers against unfair and abusive debt collection practices by creditors and collection agencies, but despite this, debt collectors still often try to get away with being pushier and less honest than the law requires them to be. Every year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) receives many thousands of complaints from… Read More »
Treat Timeshares Like Just Another Debt To Get Out Of As Safely As Possible
A disproportionate number of timeshare properties are located in Florida, even though not everyone who has bought vacation time in them has ever laid eyes on these properties. People who have recently moved to Florida, or have recently come of age in Florida, are especially vulnerable to the deceptive tactics used to sell interest… Read More »
Are “Buy Now Refinance Free Later” Mortgages Too Good To Be True?
It is easy to fixate on how much easier your life would be if you could remove just one financial obstacle. If you are renting your home, you daydream about how much less stressed you would feel about your finances if you could put the same amount of money toward a mortgage payment every… Read More »
Lenders Routinely Overcharge Military Personnel More Interest On Loans Than They Owe
If you read enough personal finance advice, a trend emerges. If you call your utility providers, you can often lower your monthly bills just by asking politely and persistently. Hospitals are often willing to negotiate directly with uninsured patients and charge them an amount that, while still financially burdensome, is a lot less than… Read More »
Will A Cash Diet Help You Repay Your Debts?
Once again, we are at the time of year where everyone makes New Year’s resolutions in the hopes of improving their financial circumstances in the new year. This year, most people’s financial circumstances are so bad that they do not even know where to begin setting goals; a six-figure income is not enough to… Read More »
How Severe Are Young People’s Debt Problems?
These days, financial struggles affect everyone, regardless of age, but certain financial problems are more prevalent in certain age groups. First, there are the seniors who are still struggling to make payments on Parent PLUS loans long after they have become eligible to draw Social Security. Members of the sandwich generation work night and… Read More »
Legislators Propose Bills To Protect Struggling Floridians From Harassment By Creditors
The constant need to hustle for money has become so widespread in our society that many of us hardly notice it anymore and could not imagine what life would be like without it. What we do notice is the incessant barrage of bills. Every time we blink, we find that, by the time we… Read More »