From the category archives:

debt

How to Get Out of Debt After a Long Layoff

There’s much in the financial news and written on personal finance blogs about how to get out of debt. Cut this expense…lower that cost…clip coupons…and in X number of years you’ll be debt free! For many, this type of trimming at the edges may be all that’s needed to reach debt freedom. But what if [...]

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Can Cash-On-The-Barrel Get You Out Of Debt?

Debt settlement services are all over radio, TV, the internet. They seem like a shot at redemption for many people, but often the solution to our biggest problems can be found in the little things we do every day. Overspending is a classic cause of debt problems, but how we pay for products and services [...]

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The Fallacy of OPM – Other People’s Money

Can a phrase influence a person or even an entire society into destructive behavior? The analysis of debt woes is often presented as if it’s a math problem, as though people got too far in debt merely as a result of spending too much money over an extended period of time, and all that’s needed [...]

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Why Debt Counseling Services Don’t Work for Most People

Debt Consolidation

It’s hard to watch TV for an hour these days without seeing at least one commercial for a debt consolidation service. The ads are convincing; just one call starts you on your way to debt freedom. “Just call us and we’ll take care of it all.” How comforting that sounds to people drowning in debt! [...]

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Is There Such a Thing as “Good Debt”?

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This post is from a new FiscalGeek staff writer: Kevin Mercadante. I’m very excited to have him contributing to the site. You can find out more about him at his own blog OutOfYourRut.com. In the world of personal finance we often hear the term “good debt” thrown around in discussions of debt or of debt [...]

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Bank Stops Consumers from Buying Things Without Money – Shoppers Outraged

In a surprise move Bank of America has gone out on a limb and decided to stop their overdraft program which would allow you to happily debit away racking up hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. You might have to deal with the embarrassment of being declined at the cash register of your local mini [...]

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We’re Debt Free!

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That’s right, this is the post I’ve been waiting to write since before I started FiscalGeek. We just sent off our final payoff to Wachovia Dealer Services on our VW Sportwagen. In just over 11 months we have managed to pay off $63,535.65 of credit cards, credit lines and two vehicle loans. Yes we still [...]

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Should you Invest or Save for Retirement While in Debt?

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I know this is a question that a lot of people have wrangled with in their own lives. When I was struggling to find a plan for my own personal finances I took the shotgun approach. Yes I contributed some money to my 401k, some went to the kids college, a little extra went towards [...]

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45 Days to Debt Freedom How We’ll Raise $8572.91

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My wife and I sat down this week and decided rather than hoping we could end our debt snowball sometime in February that we should just bust it and complete it by the end of January. The problem is after this months extra payments and what not we need to come up with $8572.91 to [...]

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Layaway: a Formal Delayed Gratification Program?

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More and more layaway plans from retailers like Sears and Kmart are making a comeback largely because of the recent economic downturn and credit worries.  So that begs the question is layaway a good alternative to just putting the purchase on your credit card?  Let’s dig into the details of the layaway program (we’ll use [...]

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