Survey Results: Debt Perception
by Scott Bilker
Good debt/bad debt, is there such a thing? I don't think so, but many experts do. What do you think? In this survey you're going to be asked to judge whether a debt is good or bad. How good is your Debt Perception?
Paying Your Bills On Time
by Terry Rigg
You've heard it before. "You always have to pay your bills on time or it will hurt your credit rating". The fact is that not paying your bills on time can also cost you a bunch of money. The last time I checked being late on a credit card payment can cost you as much as $29 each time. In some cases this is more than the payment.
Collection Company After a 23-Year Old Debt
by Scott Bilker
I received a letter telling me that I owed a debt of $535.73, but, "if I paid $214.00 immediately," they would cancel the debt. I cannot recall owing this debt. It was made, according to the company (I called this AM) in 1980, under my husband's name. I have checked through as many old papers as I have and can't find this debt. When I pay a card off, I always cut it up. I have no cards now, and pay everything by check. Can they collect on a debt this old?
Household Math™: Job Offers
by Scott Bilker
You have to choose between two different job offers for the same four-day period. The first job pays $5.00 each day for the four days. The second job pays $1.00 for the first day, and each day after the first, you will be paid twice the amount you received the previous day. Which job will pay you the greatest amount?
Unemployed Bill Crisis
by Gary Foreman
My husband has been out of work for 5 months and the income he did bring in when he was working was double what I currently bring in. Needless to say, my checks and the unemployment is not paying the bills. I am starting to panic because bill collectors are calling daily. I am making sure that my house payment is paid, utilities, car insurance, but everything else is getting severely behind. What do I do? Do we have any way of getting out of this mess? Any rights?
What Are You Tolerating In Your Life?
by Michael Angier
In order to be successful it's critical that we become clear about what we really want and why we want it. But the flip side to that is to also be clear about what we DON'T want. We all have things in our life that, at best, don't serve us. Many of these things actually detract from the quality and satisfaction of our lives. What we've found to be helpful is to...
DebtSmart Email Newsletter: 5/7/03
by DebtSmart Email Newsletter
In This Issue; Cool Quote; Letter from the Publisher; Excerpt from; "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt" Future Wealth; Household Math™: Cutting the Budget Your Social Security Statement What Are You Tolerating In Your Life?; DebtSmart Resources; Subscribe/Disclaimer Information
Household Math™: Cutting the budget
by Scott Bilker
Susan spends 30% of her income on housing expenses, 30% repaying her credit card debts, 20% on all taxes, 10% on groceries, 5% on clothing, and saves what's left over. She decides that she wants to pay back her debt more quickly and to do that she needs to do a few budget cuts. Susan cuts the grocery bill by 25%, the clothing spending in half, and dedicates all the money she used to save toward the credit card debts. How much, by percentage, of her income is now being used for repaying credit card debt?
Your Social Security Statement
by Doris Dobkins
This week, I received in the mail my Social Security Statement. These annual reports are always very interesting to me as I'm anxious to know what the government will send me for my monthly income when I retire. Here's an example of what a typical Social Security Statement might...
Future Wealth
by Damien DelRusso
Like many people, I am interested in retirement, and what my finances will look like when I retire. Or, put another way, when my finances will allow me to retire. I've done a fair bit of study on the subject, reading books such as "The Wealthy Barber," "The Millionaire Next Door," and "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," among other publications on debt, saving, and investing. One common theme, especially for those without huge incomes...
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