Category Archives: Debt
The Consumer Debt Crisis Lingers On
Living paycheck to paycheck does not get easier the longer you do it. With each passing pay period, you only become more tired, even as the outstanding balances on your debts do not budge. Before you know it, you are engaging in revenge bedtime procrastination, reading fascinating and intellectually challenging books when you should… Read More »
Is Auto Pay a Debt Trap?
Almost anything that promises to make your financial situation better can also make it worse if you let it. Consider buy now pay later (BNPL). It does not charge interest, and the monthly installment payments are low, but the BNPL debts can quickly add up if you make too many new BNPL purchases before… Read More »
Will Downsizing Your House Improve Your Finances?
Consumers figured out that giving up their daily McDonald’s breakfast on their way to work barely made a dent in their monthly budget. Eventually the “brew your coffee at home and watch your credit card debt disappear” content stopped getting clicks, so personal finance experts stopped producing it and started saying what cash-strapped consumers… Read More »
Credit Card Debt After Retirement
The list of outdated personal finance axioms keeps growing. For example, by now everyone knows that going without your morning coffee shop run will not make much of a dent in your debts, and when was the last time you saw someone who could afford to pay their credit card down to zero every… Read More »
Loan Origination Fees
Everyone knows that, the wealthier you are, the less it costs to borrow money. Some people focus on getting lower interest rates on loans as an incentive to improve their credit scores, but this is not the only difference in the cost of a loan. Lenders can charge origination fees, equal to a percentage… Read More »
Maxed Out Credit Card Blues
Credit card debt is one of the most popular targets for paying more than the minimum payment each month, if you have any money in your budget to add a few dollars to the debt repayment category. If you can manage to keep this up for a few months, you can see your balances… Read More »
Closing Costs Are a Garbage Heap of Junk Fees
Time marches quickly, and the youngest members of the workforce, most of whom live paycheck to paycheck even if they have a salaried position, hardly remember the housing market crisis of 2008 and the response that followed. The Occupy Wall Street movement of 2012 left two important effects, namely the formation of the Consumer… Read More »
Unfair Denials of Insurance Claims Could Be Making Your Medical Debt Worse
If you still live in Florida after so many hurricanes, you must be a relentless optimist. Therefore, the relentless optimist in you will look at the cost of your health insurance premiums and the amount you still have to pay after your insurance covers its portion and be glad that you have health insurance. … Read More »
Can Artificial Intelligence Help You With Personal Finance?
People depend on devices for almost everything these days. Artificial intelligence algorithms predict which news stories you would be most interested in reading, until you can’t imagine reading anywhere else. When you get into your car, your smartphone guesses where you plan to drive and how long it will take to get there, and… Read More »
FTC Orders Brigit App to Pay Refunds to Customers It Defrauded
Brigit is a personal finance app designed for working people who live paycheck to paycheck. Its “Plus” subscription service promises customers that they can access cash advances of up to $250 anytime they choose. It turned out not to be so simple, and enough customers eventually complained that the FTC issued refunds to customers… Read More »