Historically, I've taken a negative stance towards debt. For that, I do not apologize. I'm very conservative by nature. My own debt allergies started young. The negative math consequences of debt never made any sense to me. Debt does not seem like a good financial plan. Back a dozen or so years ago when my wife and I bought our first car, I went out and borrowed money for the car. We … [Read more...]
The Tragedy of Debt
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been convinced that I need to take a stronger stance against debt and offer more resources for people who are in debt. I feel like I need to point out both the seriousness and ludicrosity (yes, I made up that word) of debt. As I’ve been working on my call for simple living and generous giving (in the form of a book called Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps … [Read more...]
Credit Card Consolidation & 0% Balance Transfers | Does It Really Help?
On a recent post telling how to deal with credit card debt problems, I shared some advice and resources for getting out of debt. In that same post, Darren (from More Than Finances) asked what I thought about 0% credit card transfers. I gave a quick answer and thought I’d deal with it in more detail today. From a purely mathematical standpoint, there is no denying that taking advantage of 0% … [Read more...]
Credit Card Debt Problem? Essential Resources to Beat Credit Card Debt
Want to guess why Wal-mart is so popular? One stop shopping. People like going to one place to get everything. That’s how valuable our time is. When I started to put together an article on credit card debt problems that so many people face, I decided to put all of my best ideas and thoughts down on paper and then collect other articles related to credit card debt so that you could use this … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Avoid Debt
The following is a guest post from Jack Reed. He is a financial writer with Oak View Law Group. He offers advice on debt related issues. Subscribe to his RSS feeds and keep yourself out of debt. If you want to submit a guest post you can read the guidelines here. The most direful situation one can face today is being crushed under overwhelming debts. Modern life is expensive and being a … [Read more...]
Should Christians Negotiate A Credit Card Settlement
When I finished my lengthy series on what does the Bible say about … I was wondering what topics I should cover for my Wednesday post. Fortunately for me, when I was reflecting on that question, an relevant email arrived into my inbox. It was a comment on Debt Free in One Year: A True Story. The commenter said: “They made the charges so were fully liable for the payments and did (at some point … [Read more...]
What Happens to Credit Card Debt At Death?
Every Friday, I answer a reader's question. If you have a question, you can contact me. I received the following question via email: …questions about family members, their debt and what happens to that debt if they die. In the US, if parents die with a lot of debt (credit cards etc...) what happens to it? Are we as the kids going to be responsible for that? Any insight on this? First, … [Read more...]
Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball: Paying Off Debt Spreadsheet
The intention of this free debt snowball spreadsheet is to allow you to maintain two necessary ingredients of paying off debt. It is a tool to help you get organized. To help you get organized you'll want to have one of the best personal finance software. This could be a free money tracking program like Mint or another paid option. Throughout this process you might want to keep you eye on … [Read more...]