Category Archives: Debt
To Pay Down Credit Card Debt, Focus On Persistence, Not Gimmicks
You have made it to the end of January with your New Year’s resolution to pay down as much debt as possible in 2023 still intact. Improving your credit score to qualify for bigger loans and lower interest rates is a long, slow process, however. You read personal finance advice to stay motivated, plus… Read More »
Credit Reporting Agency Predicts An Increase In Credit Card Delinquency In 2023
The economic hardships that have characterized the past three years do not seem to be letting up any time soon, but predicting what will happen next in the economy is an inexact science. Too many unexpected events could cause obstacles or opportunities that neither consumers nor professional economists could have guessed. The credit reporting… Read More »
4 Ways To Reduce Your Debt In 2023
You might be young enough that you can still stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve and almost every night except the ones when you have to get up early for work the next morning, but you have been an adult long enough that setting overly ambitious New Year’s resolutions is a recipe… Read More »
Learning From Your Mistakes With Buy Now Pay Later In 2023
Another year has started, and many consumers are taking an honest look at their debt situations. 2023 is shaping up to be the year in which we give up the bad habits we picked up during the pandemic. Those who vow to improve their mental health in 2023 are giving up doom scrolling, or… 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 »
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 »