Throughout their marriage, John and Jessica had maintained separate credit cards and apparently didn’t talk about how they were each using their cards. After 12 years of marriage, Jessica was shocked to discover that John had racked up $68,000 of credit card debt. Instead of asking for forgiveness, John asked Jessica to co-sign for a […]
People often think of a budget as a ball & chain. In truth, it’s the exact opposite – a tool that leads to great financial freedom. But there is such a thing as a financial ball & chain. It’s called debt. Debt is a drag. It creates stress, keeps us from achieving our financial goals, […]
Some people seem surprised to learn that I use credit cards. After all, I once had $20,000 of credit card debt. However, I’ve learned from my mistakes and now follow four rules for the wise use of credit cards. Anyone who follows those rules will find that credit cards can work in their favor. Some […]
There are some personal finance teachers who believe no one should have a credit card. They seem to think that carrying credit cards is like carrying little sticks of dynamite that could blow your finances to smithereens at any time. While there are definitely some people who would be better off not using credit cards, […]
For many couples, money is a tough topic. That’s why, for the past couple of months, I’ve been using the first post of the month to focus on ideas for making money work in marriage. It’s also why I created a financial workshop to help engaged and newly married couples get their relationship started in […]
It’s my pleasure to serve as host of this week’s Best of Money Carnival, a weekly listing of the top ten personal finance blog posts. As always, there were many great submissions. Here are my picks for this week’s top ten in countdown order. 10. The New Frugality posted at Reasonably Rich: Lauren writes about […]
Credit card companies are now under new rules that, in most cases, put a $25 limit on how much they can charge customers who pay their bills late. The Wall Street Journal reported that the restrictions could wipe out billions of dollars in annual fee revenue. That has left credit card issuers doing what they […]
Americans are paying down their debt, but that hasn’t eased their stress. Some 46 percent of American adults say they are stressed about their debts, according to a new Associated Press-GfK survey. That’s about the same as last year. Those feeling the most stress are women, married couples, people age 30-44, and the poor. Key […]
A common question I get in workshops is, “Will it hurt my credit score if I close one of my credit card accounts?” The answer is “maybe.” But the reasons why or why not may surprise you. It is commonly thought that, especially when it comes to a card you’ve had for a long time, […]
The personal finance press is filled with articles on getting out of debt. Here’s the latest example. The article has some helpful advice. However, like most I’ve read on the topic, it misses the single easiest step toward ditching the debt, which is to fix your payments. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you have […]
