I cover debt a lot here, and have spoken about some illegal debt collection practices before, but this video really struck a nerve with me. I feature a new helpful video on this site to the right every week, and this was a featured video from the 25th, but I thought that it was important to put this video into a new post to make sure that you saw it.
(more…)
Month: February 2011
-
Video: Beware of Illegal Debt Collection Practices
-
Where Does Your Cash Go?
The Credit Loan blog had a very interesting infographic chronicling how the average consumer spend their paycheck. The infographic was compiled from a survey conducted by the Department of Labor.
We like to cry broke, but according to the information, the average family has an income of $62,857 before taxes but spends about $49,067. Not surprisingly, housing costs account for almost 35% of the total amount that the average family spends. Considering that about 66% of households are homeowners, if you sell your home and begin renting, you might realize some savings in this area. (more…)
-
I Grew Up Poor And Survived
Last week Fabulously Broke had a blog post entitled, “Can you survive on an extreme budget and make tough choices?” She linked to a game called Spent, which was created by the Urban Ministries of Durham to show how many people end up turning to charities for help. In answer to her question I said yes, I could because I grew up poor. I’d like to tell you a little about it.
I’ve mentioned a few times that I was not born in this country. I came to this country at age 6 with my 5 year old brother and one suitcase each. I’m sure most of the things in those suitcases were not even ours. My mother had immigrated to this country almost two years earlier without us, leaving us with strangers in our home country. At the time she did not know that she could have brought her young children with her when she immigrated, but she didn’t know what situation she would find herself in, so perhaps it was for the best. (more…)
-
Retail Forex Trading Versus Institutional Trading
The following is a guest post by writers at ForexTraders.com.
Retail Trading Versus Institutional Trading
Just over 10 years ago, the retail forex market did not even exist. Today, however, the retail fx market stands as the largest financial marketplace in the world. The Bank of International Settlements estimates that average daily turnover in the forex market is about $4 trillion per day. Of that $4 trillion, about $250 billion is estimated to be retail forex transactions. (more…) -
Beware: TSA Workers Steal Money From Travelers
[I guess feeling us up wasn’t enough]…You’d think your personal possessions and money would be safe around security workers, but apparently they’re not. A TSA employee at Newark Liberty International Airport confessed on Monday that he actually stole money from passengers who went through his security checkpoint, and he accepted bribes and kickbacks for looking the other way while a co-worker did the same thing. (more…)
-
I Added $20K To My Debt On Purpose
This is a blog about debt and my efforts to reduce it. For the past two years I have diligently worked on reducing my debt, but this month, I purposely added over $20K of unsecured debt to my credit card on purpose all on one day. I know that some of you are cringing now, but here is why. (more…)
-
Home Depot and Lowes Adds Thousands of Jobs
Are you looking for a job? Well Home Depot and Lowes is looking for you and you’d better go see them right now. The new jobs may be seasonal, part time and temporary, but the 60,000 jobs Home Depot is offering right now total more than all new jobs created in the entire nation last month (36,000). Savvy and engaged employees will be able to convert those part time jobs into full time work — with benefits. (more…)
-
Credit Card Comes With 79.9% APR
Toni Riss had a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate.
The 58-year-old woman from Texas thought she struck gold when she found the First Premier card, which is aimed specifically at consumers with poor credit.
“I had an accident on a motorcycle, went through bankruptcy to pay for medical expenses and my credit went to hell in a hand basket, so I was looking for credit cards for people with bad credit” Riss said. (more…)
-
I Make Money Online: Selling eBooks
You may not know her name, but Amanda Hocking and others like her are riding the comet of digital publishing.
Fed up with attempts to find a traditional publisher for her young-adult paranormal novels, Hocking self-published last March and began selling her novels on online bookstores like Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com. (more…)
-
Don’t Let Debt Depression Get You Down
Back in 2007 I had a business which failed. I had invested quite a bit of money into the business, but the recession and a municipal building project killed my business. I was left with a 6 figure debt and while I was paying it every month, I felt as if I was getting nowhere. It took a long time for me to admit that I was depressed. Sure, my business failed and I had tons of debt, but the worst thing was that I felt as if I was adrift at sea alone. (more…)
-
For Profit Student Loan Default Rate Hits 25%
About one-quarter of students who took out federal loans to attend for-profit colleges defaulted within three years of starting repayment, according to a new federal analysis.
The 25 percent default rate in the for-profit sector, part of an Education Department report to be published Friday, was up from a 21 percent rate estimated in December 2009. (more…)