Filed under: Debt, Family Money
Death and debt: both can be uncomfortable subjects to discuss, but what happens to your financial obligations after you pass away is one uncomfortable conversation worth having with your loved ones. Survivors of the deceased can often fall prey to some common traps when it comes to “inheriting” debt and it’s imperative that they know their rights before it’s too late.
Carole Brody Fleet almost fell victim to a common heavy-handed tactic used by lenders against grieving families. Fleet, who later wrote a self-help book about her experience as a widow, tells WalletPop she was contacted roughly a month after her husband passed away in 2000 by a law office representing the couple’s long-time credit union.
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Filed under: Banks, Consumer Ally, Banking – Checking Account, 101 banking
If you feel like your bank really, really wants you to opt-in for overdraft protection, it isn’t your imagination.
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Filed under: Debt, Consumer Ally
TV ads promising extra money each month through an auto loan modification may be tempting, but be wary of scams, warns the Delaware chapter of the Better Business Bureau.
“Auto loan modification companies are following in the footsteps of unscrupulous mortgage modification companies which have long targeted struggling families who are just trying to stay above water,” Delaware chapter president Christine Sauers said. “Some companies may make it look like they are tossing out a life preserver, but they end up pulling many borrowers deeper underwater.”
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Filed under: Insurance, Career
As Charlotte Reed delved into the details of her seminar, Career Opportunities for Pet Lovers, Midnight Angel Drouet blurted out from the audience, “You’re scaring me.” Reed responded, “It’s all about being enlightened.”
Starting a pet-care business such as walking, sitting or grooming can be the cat’s pajamas, But it’s a dog-eat-dog world right now. The recession has encouraged newly unemployed animal lovers to try pursuits that allow them to work around furry and feathery friends, Reed said. Outlasting the growing competition requires more than just showing up at clients with a leash and a plastic bag.
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Filed under: Retire, Career, Recession, Investing, Retirement Advice
In Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would be King, a British soldier named Daniel Dravot schemes to become king of a remote area of Afghanistan. Today, a 63-year-old retired real estate developer calling himself Daniel Dravot also schemes to become king — of the blackjack table.
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Filed under: Budgets, Money College, Debt, Career
Young adults suffering through the Great Recession are having serious problems getting a handle on their spending, credit and debt woes, according to a new survey out from Western Union.
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Filed under: Debt, Real Estate, Bankruptcy, Mortgages, In the News
The housing crisis is getting worse and spreading to more places across the country.
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Filed under: Retire, Technology, Fraud, Identity Theft
How many times do companies use your Social Security number as the unique identifier for you? You doctor, bank, employer, all depend on the number for billing and recording transactions. A troubling new study by ID Analytics, Inc. found that, according to the wide-ranging company and government records it has access to, millions of Americans have more than one Social Security number, and millions of Social Security numbers are shared by more than one person.
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Filed under: Debt
If harassing calls from debt collectors are keeping you from answering the phone — or stressing you out — you’re not alone.
Amid the tough economy, debt collection activity has intensified, with some debt collectors engaging in unfair, abusive or illegal practices. The Federal Trade Commission says it gets more complaints about debt collectors than any other industry. In 2009, the agency received 88,190 consumer complaints about debt collectors, up 12% from the year before.
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Filed under: Debt, Technology
Want help paying off the credit cards, the loans, and other debt? Here are five women who are currently in the process of doing it — or have done it! — and their blogs will educate, entertain, and perhaps even inspire you to do the same.
Frugal Babe
Frugal Babe is the blog of a 31-year-old wife and mother of three small children who has paid off the debt ($38,000) she accumulated starting a home-based insurance brokerage business she founded with her husband several years ago. Through example, Frugal Babe, who drives a ‘91 Civic, BTW, is all about spending for value. Now she works toward paying off her mortgage and ultimately hopes to become more self-sufficient, while teaching followers how to have “A rich life without a lot of money.” (In fact, that’s her tagline.)
M$ Money $avvy
M$ Money Savvy is a 30-something woman who openly shares her personal finance experiences — from trying to do a re-fi (hopeless!) to reduce her expenses — as she works tirelessly to pay off her student loans (by 2014), restart her IRA contributions (now that she’s paid off her car loan), and ultimately retire in 17 years.
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