Archive for 'Debt Reduction' Category
Should You Save Your Money Or Pay Off Your Student Loans?
6 September 2006Millionaire Artist has a post ruminating on a personal dilemma at the moment: whether she should pay off her student loans or invest that money in a 401(k) to have a cushion available if there are any problems in the future. I think this is an easy call myself - saving money is virtually always better with student loans, [...]
The “Latte Factor” - Cutting Debt By Cutting Out the Little Expenses
3 September 2006This MSNBC article has a name for the little expenses that tend to balloon into bigger ones over long periods of time - the “latte factor,” after people who spend $3 a day on coffee, only to realize on examination that they’re spending a thousand bucks a year on that daily indulgence. The article only [...]
Reducing Interest Rates on Credit Cards
16 August 2006You’d be suprised, but it can be as simple as calling your credit card company. That’s what Blogging Away Debt says she did. It didn’t work at first - but then she started paying more than the monthly minimum, gradually increasing her credit score, and she kept calling - and at some point she met [...]
Should I pay off my debts and loans or invest the money?
8 August 2006This is a common question - many people who are just starting out in life tend to have debts to pay off - student loans, maybe some credit card loans, a car loan, or whatever. They also know that they need to be investing money in the long run if they ever want to be [...]
Have trouble with your credit card bills? Try paying weekly…
31 July 2006Browsing through blog carnivals often yields some good advice, and there is a good post here at the Good Human that makes a point about the psychological problems of credit card debts: it’s often much scarier to make monthly payments than weekly ones. If you go online, you can easily pay weekly even though they [...]
Ulysses and the Sirens - Precommitment and Credit Cards
27 July 2006There is an academic theory called “precommitment” that describes behaviors that are designed to forcibly restrain yourself from acting in ways that are counter to your interest. It’s based on the story of Ulysses and his encounter with the Sirens, a group of attractive, female cannibals who sang an irresistable song. Any sailor who heard [...]
Maxed Out: A New Documentary on the Credit Industry
17 July 2006This one won’t be available for awhile, as it’s just starting to hit the documentary circuit, but it’s won a number of awards as an expose of some of the darker sides of the credit industry. You can read the synopsis here. The movie is called “Maxed Out,” and it covers a number of the [...]
How do I know when I have too much debt?
16 July 2006Many financially-savvy readers will be saying to themselves that you have too much debt when you have ANY debt. Technically, however, this just isn’t true. While you can certainly be financially healthy if you’re debt-free, it’s an unrealistic goal for most Americans and would actually hinder their financial health in many cases. There are two [...]