When I was 27, I finally took my head out of the sand and did what I had been dreading for months. I added up the balances of my credit cards and discovered that they had skyrocketed to over $15,000! By looking at the statements separately, I had tricked myself into believing my debt was much less. I was blindly writing checks each month, just enough to pay the minimum required. Every time I opened the mailbox, I felt a little queasy. Keep reading »
One Venti latte five mornings a week. You could probably pay for your caffeine addiction with cash, but who carries around stacks of green besides strippers and Lil Wayne? Plastic is so much more convenient.
A couple coffees probably won’t send you to the poorhouse, but are you swiping the plastic for groceries? Rent? Routine living expenses?
If so, you’re not alone, says Clarky Davis, The Debt Diva, author of The Debt Diva’s Financial Guide. Davis says most Gen Y-ers have more than three credit cards, and one-fifth of them owe more than $10,000. Of those households in the U.S. with credit card debt, the average debt is $16,007. So, when are you in over your head? If you are struggling to meet your minimum payment, your phone is blowing up with collections calls, or you cannot pay off your entire credit card balance in three months … the Debt Diva is talking to YOU. Keep reading »
Your stud may be stunning, but there’s nothing pretty about being in a relationship with someone who’s been laid off. While your heart may break for Mr. Unemployed, his perpetual presence on your sofa can get ugly – fast. When your partner gets downsized, how do you prevent a downsizing effect on your relationship? We consulted a dating expert for tips on navigating the turbulent waters of a layoff without crashing your (relation)ship on the rocks. Keep reading »
Hopefully, you’re proud of your credit score and shred the five credit card offers you get every day, knowing that you worked hard to earn a rating as high as Matthew McConaughey on any given Sunday afternoon. But what if your man’s score isn’t nearly as pretty as he is? Sure, he might be awfully talented with his hands, but when those hands just don’t know how to pay bills on time, it can make you wonder if he’s worth it in the long-term.
Handling this situation can be complicated, but relationship expert Susan J. Elliot and Stacy Johnson, creator and host of “Money Talks,” a nationally syndicated financial news series, offered these tips on how you can delicately deal with a guy who’s in need of some major credit rehab. Keep reading »
Are cutting credit cards up a new recession trend? The Atlantic thinks so:
“Cutting up credit cards is a classic solution to the temptations of easy credit, but as Americans have become more and more reliant on plastic, there’s been a resurgence of interest in swearing off credit entirely.”
I am not great with money. I think the problem is I don’t love money. Don’t get me wrong, I love material things, but money in and of itself doesn’t really interest me. Maybe the idea of having money isn’t as compelling because as a recent college grad, I don’t have any. Until very recently money didn’t feel real to me: I loved the things it bought me, but the dollars themselves didn’t have much value. When did my attitude towards money evolve? The very second I opened up my first paycheck. During my last semester of college I spent hours upon hours tutoring freshman on the finer points of writing and not using a hangover as a reason to ask for an extension on their term paper. I loved every almost every minute of explaining the beauty of the semicolon, but I wanted that paycheck. For every minute that I could have been doing something, anything else, I wanted compensation. At eight dollars an hour I was hardly raking it in, but I was so proud of each dollar. Keep reading »
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