Recent Blog Posts
Short Refinances
In the Netherlands, the interest rates of home mortgage loans gradually decrease over the term of the loan, such that the mortgage refinances itself. If American consumers had that option, they would likely choose it whenever it was available, but we are unlikely to see Dutch style mortgages here anytime soon, because the mortgage… Read More »
Why Is It So Hard to Open a Bank Account?
The signs that life isn’t fair are everywhere, but never are they more obvious than when you go to a bank and ask to open a bank account. You show the teller your photo I.D. You bring pieces of mail showing that your bills have been getting mailed to the same address for at… Read More »
Can Your Debt Problems Prevent You From Opening a Bank Account?
You may have seen personal finance vloggers field questions from consumers who are stressed out about how their low credit score is stopping them from getting car loans and is making their credit cards more expensive. To you, this sounds like high class worries. These people who are worrying about what they can and… Read More »
Filing for Bankruptcy Can Bring Seniors Relief From Medical Debt
While you are in the workforce, it is easy to imagine that retirees are free from many of the expenses that keep you stuck living from paycheck to paycheck. Retirees don’t have to pay to park in the garage at work every day or buy gas from their commute. Senior discounts are easy to… Read More »
Credit Mix
Is it better to owe money to just one creditor or many? Should you take on more debt because it is good debt? Paying off your debts is hard enough, but trying to rationalize why certain debts are good or bad is downright confusing. It makes sense to take out a home mortgage, because… Read More »
Is There Such a Thing As Good Debt?
No one likes to be in debt. In fact, there are entire corners of the Internet where people share their journeys toward zero debt with much the same zeal as, in other corners of the Internet, people count their days of sobriety out loud. Imagine, though, that you managed to pay off all of… Read More »
How to Get Through the Summer When Your Credit Card Is Maxed Out
Your credit card balance is already at 90 percent of your credit limit. It is of little consolation to find out that millions of other credit card users are in a similar situation to yours. You still have to worry about how you are going to get through the next three months, when you… Read More »
Yes, You Can Be Personally Liable for an LLC’s Business Debts
Starting a new business is risky, and you do not have much of a financial cushion, but you do have a plan for protecting yourself from financial ruin in the event that your business has to close because it cannot pay its debts. You have discovered a little-known hack in the entrepreneurship system; it… Read More »
You Can Help Create Generational Financial Literacy
Knowledge may be power, but it isn’t money. When you read think pieces about how the millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck despite working at least 40 hours per week are struggling financially because they are ignorant, your first instinct is to tell those journalists to tell you to your face that… Read More »
We Are All ALICE
Economists say that the economy is doing fine, but you are flat broke, and so is everyone you know. Finally, there is a name for people in our situation. We are ALICE, which stands for asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. In other words, we work day and night, but we have little to show for… Read More »