Category Archives: Debt
3 Practical Strategies for Paying Down Credit Card Debt
Everyone knows that the best way to pay down credit card debt is to increase your income and reduce your spending, but if you had a feasible way to do either of those things, you would have already done them. As it stands, you spend all of your waking hours on income-generating activities. Whenever… Read More »
Anatomy of a Predatory Loan
In certain contexts, telling people not to engage with predatory lenders sounds less like helpful advice and more like blaming the victim. No one would choose to take out a loan with an interest rate in excess of 100 percent unless they reasonably believed that they had no other choice. People use payday loans,… Read More »
Small Businesses and Predatory Lending Are a Recipe for Unpayable Debt
Operating a small business requires you to shift your expectations constantly. Entrepreneurship is not for you unless you can live with uncertainty. Small businesses frequently take out business loans in much larger amounts than most individuals would feel comfortable taking out a personal loan. Business owners base their decisions about how much to borrow… Read More »
Homemade Pickles vs. Debt
Living within your means is easier said than done. It is easy enough to make a budget that shows you how little money you have for groceries and discretionary expenses, but all of those personal finance experts with their six-figure incomes scolding you about stopping at Starbucks on the way from your day job… Read More »
4 Strategies for Tackling Medical Debt
Medical debt is a huge financial burden, even for people with health insurance. A single visit to the doctor’s office can leave you with bills that it takes years to pay off. The No Surprises Act has reduced the cost of emergency healthcare, but there are plenty of loopholes about which services qualify as… Read More »
Peer-to-Peer Lending
Interpersonal networks are an excellent source of emotional support and can also contribute to your financial wellbeing. “Buy nothing” clubs are gaining popularity in South Florida; participants exchange gently used household items at no charge. With a few friends and enough strategy, you can save a lot of money on groceries if each friend… Read More »
Which Credit Card Debt Solution Works Best for You?
It is not just your imagination that your credit card debt problems, and everyone else’s, seem to be getting worse. Consumers in the United States owe a total of approximately one trillion dollars in credit card debt, and too much of it is yours. Like so many others in your situation, you spent the… Read More »
Debts Related to Fertility Treatments
Even in a place like South Florida, where every commercial break on local radio and TV stations is for a cosmetic surgery clinic, people are still plenty judgmental about patients who spend money on elective medical procedures. If you are struggling with infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss, though, you are probably dealing with criticism… Read More »
How Difficult Is It to Qualify for a Personal Loan?
An unsecured personal loan can be just what you need when you are experiencing a temporary gap in your income. It can also help you recover from a financial setback; if you use a personal loan to pay off medical debts or credit cards, you will pay less interest over time. This is known… Read More »
Hidden Financial Struggles of the Gig Economy
Last year, 59 million Americans earned at least some of their income through freelance work. This means that nearly a third of the country’s working age population participates in the gig economy in some form. For every YouTuber pontificating about how hustle culture is destroying our society (even though said YouTubers are probably making… Read More »