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Top 15 Myths Of Bankruptcy (Unless You’re Counting) Part Three »

11.  THOSE DEBT MANAGEMENT PLANS ADVERTISED ON TV AND RADIO REALLY WORK!
FALSE – Most people are optimists about their finances.  Things don’t always get better. Check out this post about Debt Management Plans.
12.  YOU CAN KEEP ONE CREDIT CARD (JUST DON’T TELL YOUR BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY)
FALSE – You need to list all of your debts.  In [...]

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights »

Now that you’ve read the 11 Mistakes to make on a Credit Card (Parts One and Two), you should know that Congress has tried to rein in these practices.  With the crisis in credit, focus has fallen on the credit card companies and the abuse they perpetrate on the consumer.
The legislation prohibits or limit a number of [...]

Top 15 Myths Of Bankruptcy (Unless You’re Counting) Part Two »

6.  YOU WILL NEVER GET ANOTHER JOB OR BE ABLE TO RENT AN APARTMENT
FALSE – Employers do not want like having their employees distracted from the job by harassment at work or the extra accounting caused by wage executions.  Landlords want tenants who can use their salary to pay rent, not paying creditors instead.
7.  IF [...]

For Kids – Taking Control of Your Credit »

Kids don’t have credit, do they?  Studies have shown that 32% of high school seniors use a credit card and 3 out of 5 college freshmen max out their credit cards within the first year.  College students receive an average of 8 credit cards offers within their first week of school.  Universities lose more student [...]

11 Mistakes to make on a Credit Card, Part 2 »

More mistakes to make on your credit card accounts.  If you haven’t read Part One, go on back.

Foreign Charges

You’ve bought something on credit while on vacation in another country.  In addition to the exchange rate on the date that the cahrge hits your account, creditors can add 1% to 3% (of the purchase) fee on [...]

Top 15 Myths Of Bankruptcy (Unless You’re Counting) Part One »

TOP 15 MYTHS OF BANKRUPTCY (UNLESS YOU’RE COUNTING)
1.  YOU CAN’T FILE BANKRUPTCY UNDER THE NEW LAW
*FALSE – The “new” law (actually effective in 2005) put some hurdles in the way of filling for bankruptcy, but the effect is just to slow you down to give your creditors more time to pick at you before you [...]

11 Mistakes to make on a Credit Card, Part 1 »

Everyone has a credit card, but how good are you at avoiding the pitfalls that accompany nearly every credit card?  Follow these eleven traps that can hit any credit card holder:

0% Teaser rates

Yes, it’s 0% for six months.  But if you don’t pay the balance off in full by the end of the six months, [...]

Debt Relief Credit Counseling Services »

Now you are up to your eyeballs in debt.  Your cards are maxed out, the interest rates are high, and the only new credit you can get is tiny and expensive. It’s time to get scammed with sleazy “debt relief” or “credit counseling” services.  While there are some reputable companies in the debt relief industry, [...]

Twelve Personal Finance Mistakes – Retirement »

Yeah, it’s a long way away and every year, it seems to get further away as the federal government raises the age to collect social security.  But Social Security was never meant to be a substitute for a retirement plan or pension and advances in health care lead to living longer.  As they say now, 60 is [...]

Twelve Personal Finance Mistakes – Life and Disability »

A big mistake that we make is that we believe that we are indestructible.  Not Superman indestructible, but we don’t believe bad things happen to us.
We do know that uninsured medical bills are a major cause of bankruptcy.  Yet we fail to take advantage of the insurances available to us to save on the premium and we fail [...]