5 Tips on How to Deal with Debt Collectors

The easiest way to avoid debt collectors is to be totally debt-free. But what is the point of creating an article about dealing with debt collectors if there is no debt to talk about in the first place?

You are probably familiar with harassing phone calls at work and at home. If you are financially in bad shape and trying hard to meet your financial obligations, then how stressful can your plight further get with a series of unwanted calls? Depressing, isn’t it? It’s good news therefore that federal laws and many states prohibit harassment of collection agencies. For example, the law includes a non-exhaustive list of harassing tactics, including prohibitions on threats of violence; obscene language; causing a telephone to ring repeatedly; and placing calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller’s identity. But how can you eliminate the stress altogether? Here are some tips. Read more

6 Most Common Credit Card Traps

To some extent, it is great news that President Obama has recently signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. Among the many stipulations accommodated by this law are the prohibitions of:

1) retroactive rate increases;
2) card charges for pay-by-phone payments unless it is 60 days overdue; and
3) double-cycle billing or the imposition of card charges for previous and current balances. Read more

Pet Insurance: How Far Will You Go For Your Pet?

From the moment you welcome a pet to the family, you automatically assume the role of its caretaker throughout its lifetime. You become responsible for their food and nourishment, grooming, shelter, and activity. But treating them when they get sick and keeping them in physically good shape are out of the scope of your responsibility – unless you are a veterinarian yourself. Read more

Rising from Debt

What do you think is the link between debt and recession? It is the people’s tendency to spend way more than what they earn until their debts roll out of control. In this world of rapid modernization, there’s a thinning line between necessity and mere want as everything becomes a necessity for an undiscerning consumer.

If you’re a person who’s neck-deep in debt, to tell you not to spend more than you earn is only half of the advice. There’s a stressful battle to address until you are totally debt-free. It will be a long battle that will require your utmost resolve and discipline. Read more

Coping with a Jobless Spouse

During these uncertain times, job loss can affect anyone at anytime. With the global economy in shambles, we must all be prepared if and when this happens to us or our significant other. When this happens, here are suggested specific steps that can help both of you weather the hard times, save your relationship, and overcome the situation. Read more

You and Your Healthcare: 5 Ways to Cut Your Medical Costs

According to Kaiser Health Foundation, a healthcare non-profit, an average employee currently pays $694 in annual healthcare premium for individual coverage and $3,281 for family coverage. This amount is expected to increase by 10 percent this year.

In the face of tough economic times, rising cost of medical care, as well as the ongoing threat of a global pandemic, paying close attention to your healthcare expenses has become urgent and very necessary. There’s no better time to sit down and carefully lay out your spending priorities than now. But the important fact one has to remember is that, while it is imperative that existing medical cost has to be cut down in order to accommodate other basic household necessities, nobody can afford to get sick, or worse, lose their jobs as a consequence. Read more

5 Most Common Credit Card Traps Unmasked

Applying for a credit card should not be taken lightly. Thoroughly researching the interest rates, terms, late fees and reward perks should all be done. Not going through these phases might trap you in debt for a very long time. Already, there about 1.2 billion credit cards in use in the United States. As 43 percent of American families spend more than they earn, 60 percent of the active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly, bringing up the average credit card debt among all American households to $8,400. Read more

Top 5 Home Seller Mistakes

At last, you’ve decided to sell your home. You’ve figured that waiting for the economic situation to get better is getting you nowhere. With the prices plunging and people going after the lowest buys, you’ve realized that things could get even worse. The uncertainty keeps looming ahead. But don’t go ahead and sell your home just out of fear. The biggest mistake you could ever make is to sell your property at an excessively low price, thus wasting away its good value. Read more