Category Archives: Debt
Predatory Lending Is Not Just About High Interest Rates
The first thing that comes to mind when most consumers think of predatory lending is payday loans, since those loans have astronomically high interest rates, and they typically advertise to consumers who have no other access to credit; many borrowers of payday loans do not even have bank accounts, and qualifying for a credit… Read More »
How To Stay Out Of Trouble With Buy Now Pay Later
Buy now pay later (BNPL) entered the popular lexicon at around the same time as social distancing and Zoom fatigue, but it is not a new concept. If you are old enough that you ever had to watch episodes of a comedy or drama series on television instead of bingeing it on Netflix or… Read More »
When Is It Worthwhile To Spend Money To Get Out Of A Debt Trap?
Most people’s debt problems are simply the result of life not being fair. Prices are high for almost all consumer goods, so full-time work barely yields enough to cover necessities for a household where all members are employed, much less one that includes children who are too young for paid employment. Most people who… Read More »
How To Stay Out Of Trouble With Buy Now Pay Later
The COVID-19 pandemic may have dealt the death blow to the indoor shopping mall and the table service restaurant chain, but, like all eras of financial hardship, it also saw the rise of businesses offering new, affordable services. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services have expanded greatly since early 2020. A BNPL arrangement is… Read More »
Yes, It’s Worth It To Take On Additional Debt To Ditch A Timeshare
You might wonder what you were thinking by buying a timeshare, but it probably made sense at the time. Maybe you planned to stay in it for certain weeks out of the year while planning your eventual permanent move to Florida, even though it now seems obvious that Airbnb would have been a lot… Read More »
Being Judgment Proof Is The World’s Lousiest Superpower
Florida Man has superpowers that leave the inhabitants of the other 49 states awestruck, clicking on Floridian news sites to see what he will do next. Only in Florida does a guy jump into a crocodile pond at a zoo just to say he did it, come out unscathed, and then jump back in… Read More »
Most Common Types Of Debt Among Retired People
Florida has been a popular destination for retirees for decades. That will never change, as long as icy driveways, hills, and staircases are scarier to seniors than the alligators and hurricane force winds you find in Florida are. Retirees are a constant, but their financial situation has changed since restaurants in Aventura started offering… Read More »
How Risky Is It To Sign Up For A Patient Financing Plan?
The cost of healthcare is unaffordable for everyone except the wealthiest Americans, and while the currently available protections prevent some health situations from becoming financially disastrous, the fact remains that almost everyone is just one serious illness or injury away from poverty. The Affordable Care Act has made health insurance affordable to some patients… Read More »
Being Strategic About Medical Debt
It is for good reason that medical debt is the scariest form of debt. It is a leading reason why people file for bankruptcy and why they struggle to afford necessities. Perhaps the scariest thing about medical debt is that you can couch surf if you can’t afford rent and walk or ride the… Read More »
How To Avoid Trouble With Store Credit Cards
Store credit cards, also known as retail credit cards, are neither the safest nor the riskiest option when it comes to making purchases on credit, and they are neither the easiest nor the hardest to qualify for. They are also not new; they roamed the Earth at the same time as Diner’s Club. Perhaps… Read More »