Recent Blog Posts
Meet The Homeowners’ Freebie So Diabolical That It Can Turn Into A Multigenerational Curse
Imagine that a fire insurance company has set up a booth outside PetSmart on a sunny day. Whether or not you buy fire insurance, they are giving away free iguanas. Florida has plenty of iguanas already, but freebies are freebies, so you take one, even though you can neither afford fire insurance nor anything… Read More »
Short-Term Goal: Pay Your Medical Debt Down To $500 By March
No matter which strategy you use, putting as much money as you can toward debt repayment will help you make progress toward your financial goals. Some people swear by the snowball method, where you start with the smallest debt, while others prefer the avalanche method, where you start with the biggest debt; some even… Read More »
Fertility Treatments: Another Reason To Tackle Your Debt Problems
Tabloids news sites are full of stories about celebrities welcoming babies by surrogacy, and wannabe celebrities post images and videos on social media, depicting their fertility journeys, from the litany of clomiphene side effects to the now-cliched image of a woman looking askance at a needle as she prepares to give herself the first… Read More »
Can You Borrow Money While In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
If chapter 7 bankruptcy feels like getting a clean slate, chapter 13 bankruptcy feels more like running the gauntlet. You don’t get your debts discharged until after you complete your payment plan, which can range from three to five years. It is a lot like being obligated to make payments on your debts as… Read More »
Surprise, Surprise! Medical Debt Continues To Wreck Floridians’ Finances
The cost of healthcare is a major burden to Americans in all 50 states, but the situation is especially bad in Florida. The Sunshine State is one of only 12 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansions pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. It is almost impossible for adults to get Medicaid in Florida… Read More »
Are Pawn Shop Loans Even Worse Than Payday Loans?
One of the worst things about not having your own bank account is having to pay to use your own money. Cashing a paycheck costs a percentage of the amount of a check, and the cost of money orders adds up when you don’t have a checking account or debit card to pay bills… Read More »
Pet Store Loans Are Predatory Lending At Its Worst
In certain parts of South Florida, you are never fully dressed without a Labradoodle strutting by your side or a miniature schnauzer in your bicycle basket. Of all the expensive status symbols you see on display, the pedigreed dogs are the ones that it is hardest for frugal and status-unconscious curmudgeons to hold a… Read More »
When To Borrow A Personal Loan And When Not To Borrow One
If you are in debt, and almost everyone is, you probably open your mailbox every day to find it full of advertisements for personal loans. Don’t be so quick to fall for those loan offers that flood your mailbox, though. Some of them are outright scams, despite recent regulatory efforts to stop false advertising… Read More »
How Bad Is It That Credit Card Balances Are 15 Percent Higher Than Last Year?
“Pay off your credit card balance in full every month” ranks highly among the most naïve pieces of financial advice most of us have ever heard, right up there with, “If you bring coffee from home instead of stopping at Starbucks on the way to work, soon you will have saved enough money for… Read More »
Old Year’s Resolutions Can Help You Save Money On Taxes
The time to panic about being able to afford holiday celebrations comes and goes quickly; soon it will be Divorce Monday, the first business Monday of the year. Even if you are single or if you and your spouse are committed to honoring your vow to stay together for better or worse, the transition… Read More »