Category: budgeting

Payday Loans Often Come With a Higher Price Than You Want to Pay

One of the easiest ways to get money when you need it right away is to get a payday loan. These loans are available in most places—and online—and they usually advertise how easy it would be to get one. A huge problem with these loans is that they often become debt traps for borrowers. Payday…


When Holiday Debt Lingers Long After the Gifts Are Forgotten

Got debt? I could be wrong, but if you’re revolving a big credit card balance, I’m guessing at least some of it is holiday related. Sadly, holiday debt can hang on long after the gifts are forgotten. So, what’s the problem here? Procrastination. When it comes to Christmas, the longer you wait to shop, the…


Freedom of Money—How Will You Spend Your Freedom

How would you love to celebrate your financial freedom when you have finally achieved it? Well, we all dream of cherishing this privilege, but few achieve it. So, your efforts to maintain financial discipline and cultivate healthy saving habits have paid off. What’s next? Of course, you would love to consolidate your wealth as you…


What’s Concierge Medicine? Is It Worth It?

My primary care doctor recently left her practice and invited me to join her at her new gig—a concierge medicine group. There, for a membership fee, I’d have better and more personal access to her services: same-day appointments and long conversations! Concierge medicine—a model in which patients pay a membership fee for a more direct…


The US Has Approved $42 Billion in Loan Forgiveness for Public Service Workers. Here’s What to Know

The United States has approved more than $42 billion in federal student loan debt forgiveness for more than 615,000 borrowers in the past 18 months as part of a program aimed at getting more people to work in public service jobs, the U.S. Department of Education said this week. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program…


How to Make Summer Camp More Affordable

To create a fun but affordable summer for her daughters, ages 11 and 13, Flossie McCowald plans out camps well in advance. The Pennsylvania resident snags early bird discounts, takes advantage of a church-based sleepaway camp that offers scholarships and leverages sibling discounts. “Every little bit helps,” says McCowald, who is the founder of SuperMomHacks.com,…


What Is Rent Payment Fraud and How Can Landlords Prevent It?

By Dave Spooner Rent payment fraud is a common concern among new landlords—and not without good reason. No one wants to be taken advantage of, and being outsmarted by a fraudster can make you feel helpless toward any future issues you may encounter with rent collection. However, fraud is a problem every modern business must…


Can You Afford to Age in Place?

Most older adults ages 50 to 80 say it’s important to stay in their homes for as long as they can, according to the 2022 National Poll on Healthy Aging from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan. But only 1 in 3 said their home “definitely” has the features…


Seven Retailers Facing Fiscal Challenges

In 2022, retail sales were hammered by persistent high inflation and weak consumer demand—and 2023 isn’t much better. Economists from S&P Global Market anticipate only 0.5 percent sales growth, but that equals a 0.1 percent decline when accounting for inflation. Some retailers feel the pinch more than others and have begun closing stores. Even worse,…


How to Move from Overspending to Spending Less

Even the mention of words like “frugality” and “thrift” send some people over the edge because for them, those words conjure up thoughts of poverty and deprivation. They assume that cutting costs is tantamount to diving into dumpsters to find one’s next meal. No wonder so many people prefer a life of debilitating debt to…