Carrying excessive consumer debt is not only a burden in the figurative sense, it weighs on many aspects of daily living. Ask yourself the following questions, and you can better understand how debt can damage more than your budget:

• Do your know how much you owe? Credit card debt increases quickly if you’re making minimum or late payments. Make a list of your creditors, your balances, and the annual percentage rate (APR) you’re paying for each account to help you prioritize repayment and make a debt management plan.
• Do you argue over money? If you and your significant other can’t agree on household finances, and are accusing each other of overspending, you may be headed up “debt creek” without oars.
• Do you hide or avoid opening credit card bills? This indicates two problems–you don’t want to face what you owe and/or are concealing the truth from yourself and your partner. Aside from for

Read all post…

There are some interesting facts about the hospital emergency room which have a direct impact on the price of your treatment. If you want to have some hope to lower your medical bill, then you first have to try to understand how the emergency room bill works.

A recent article in the New York Times covers just that topic, and the savings may help you avoid Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The first thing that you probably know, but might not have thought about is who the emergency room has to treat. The short answer is, pretty much everyone. Most hospitals are required to treat everyone that requests treatment, regardless of if he or she has insurance.

The result is that many people who receive treatment either cannot or will not pay, which causes the hospitals to set its gross charges very high.

One of the surprises that the ER can hit you with is the fee corresponding to the complexity of the treatment that your injury required.

Read all post…

In a recent acquisition, has combined our love for the Mets with our desire to educate others about the importance of knowing all 3 credit scores.   will be advertising our new “Three Credit Score Guys” campaign at Citi field with the New York Mets as well as on SportsNet N.Y. and digital advertising on Mets and SNY online properties. This is ’s first baseball pact- make sure to “like” us on Facebook  to find out what’s next for our company!

When President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill last week, one thing was conspicuously missing: any sort of regulation of the mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This is apparently because they are too big to touch and require their own legislation. The bill did, however, include a one-page (out of 2,323 pages) acknowledgment of the Freddie and Fannie problem and a request for an investigation by the Department of the Treasury, reports Cincinnati.com.

So how does this oversight affect you?

• How it works. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are GSE’s, or Government Sponsored Enterprises. Fannie Mae was created in 1938, and Freddie Mac in 1970. They are financial institutions that are supposed to help free up private institutions. Freddie and Fannie buy mortgages from primary lending agencies, so that the primary lending agencies have more money, enabling them to give more loans. I

Read all post…

Telling Americans they need to save money right now is a bit like preaching to the choir – most of us are already scrimping and saving because we have no choice. But the truth is, even the most frugal among us are probably missing out on some good savings opportunities, say Chicago bankruptcy attorneys.

Sure, canceling big costs like cable or an unused gym membership is a no brainer, as is cutting out luxury goods like new clothes. But if you’re still struggling to pay off your credit cards and lower debt, consider taking a look at the smaller expenses hidden right under your nose.

Speaking of those bills, are you still buying stamps and making trips to the post office? You might be able to save $20 or more by paying your bills for free online instead of paying for postage and the gas it takes to get to the post office.

Here’s another one. It’s hot out, and everywhere I go I see folks chugging water out of store-bought plastic water bottles.

Read all post…

A lot of people are dealing with financial crisis and if you happen to be one of them; do not be ashamed to face your problem. You are not alone and your case is not always isolated. You can go for debt counseling if you are finding it hard to deal with your problem alone. Debt counselors can facilitate you in settling your debts and in making workable arrangements with your creditors. The heavy load can be lifted from your shoulders through debt counseling since there is no denying the fact that when you are in a state of financial crisis; everything seems to fall apart – your relationships, career, health and your disposition. Other factors can also become affected and you start to feel all stressed out.

By consulting a debt counselor, you will become aware of your options. You will be guided as to how you can get out of your debts. Also, the firm will work with your creditors in order to determine possible solutions to your debt problem. S

Read all post…

According to a report by actuaries LCP, an entire generation of workers may be left with little money to retire on because companies haven`t reduced their pension debts, lv.com reports.

17.5bn was paid into employee pension pots by large firms during 2009 – which helped slash the top 100 firms` overall pension debt by around 50%, to 51bn.

However, as the Accounting for Pensions report points out, the increase in bosses` contributions could put the brakes on any recovery from the recession and might `discourage investors`.

Bob Scott, LCP partner, said that the growing number of cheaper pension schemes being taken on by companies – which have closed down final salary pension schemes – don`t take into account the fact that many workers will be left with very little to retire on. Read all post…