Don’t get “trapped” by offers that are too good to be true
Photo by: John Gardiner (Stock Exchange)

Debt settlement and debt consolidation are becoming popular options for hard-working people who are suffering from a debt burden they cannot shoulder.

Debt settlement involves negotiating with creditors for favorable terms in a good faith effort to pay down debts, leading (ideally) to reduced payment and principal amounts.

Unfortunately, hundreds or even thousands of scammers have hung a shingle claiming “debt settlement” services on the internet. These unscrupulous types not only give legitimate financial professionals a bad name, but provide none of the benefits they promise, leaving customers worse off than when they started.

In this post, we’ll provide some tools for spotting debt settlement scams. (more…)

Photo by: Dani Simmonds (Stock Exchange)

Owners of small and home-based businesses have a lot of issues to keep up with, and one of the ones that’s surrounded by confusion is the issue of keeping old financial records, especially receipts.

Some people swear by keeping each and every receipt.

Others consider the never-ending and always-expanding file of paperwork to be more a burden than a help when dealing with finances.

In this post, we’ll break down the basic facts for keeping your receipts and other major records. (more…)

Retirement money
Photo by: Billy Alexander (Stock Exchange)

Every time there’s a dip in the stock market or a big company falls into dire straits, you can hear people fretting about three things: debt, the mortgage, and the value of their 401(k). For many, a 401(k) is a critical part of retirement savings. For others, especially young folk entering the workforce or professionals for whom retirement is a long way away, the 401(k) is something else entirely: a mystery, off in the unforeseeable realm of the future.

But, as with any long-term savings goal, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the sooner you can plan to enjoy it. Since retirement can mean many years of your life – and there’s just no telling what kind of Social Security protections or other government programs will be healthy twenty, thirty, or forty years down the line – it’s important to start thinking about it now. So we begin with an introduction: just what is a 401(k)?

(more…)

Don't let your expired debts "rise from the grave!"
Photo by: dhollister (Flickr)

In a previous post, we focused on debt collectors and unfair collection practices.

Today, we’ll discuss “zombie debt”: debt that continues to linger “in collection” long after it is paid.

This is a recent phenomenon, owing to the huge proliferation of third-party debt collectors and debt buyers touched on earlier.

Because of low levels of communication between these middlemen, not to mention the possibility of unscrupulous practices, different companies may attempt to collect on the same debt multiple times as it passes from hand to hand.

Zombie debt can be the result of honest error, but requires even more vigilance and persistence to solve than other forms of debt collection abuse. (more…)