Author Archives: Jay Butchko
The No Surprises Act Gives Patients More Rights, But Medical Billing Hassles Remain
The No Surprises Act, which went into effect at the beginning of 2022, has offered consumers legal protections against unfairly high medical bills by closing several loopholes in the law. Before this year, patients could face bills for hundreds or thousands of dollars from out-of-network providers who treated them on an emergency basis. This… Read More »
What Would Happen If Buy Now Pay Later Counted Toward Your Credit Score?
If you are among the majority of working-aged Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, you already know that debt is a vicious cycle. You have very limited access to credit, so you only have the money currently in your bank account to pay more bills than you can afford, so you are always getting… Read More »
Court-Ordered Restitution For Young Defendants Is Yet Another Financial Burden For A Generation Drowning In Debt
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, including excessive financial burdens imposed by the criminal justice system. All states, including Pennsylvania, allow the courts to order convicted defendants to pay restitution, which is money that they pay to the court, and the court then pays to the crime… Read More »
Most Common Types Of Home Improvement Fraud In Pennsylvania
In today’s economy, complaining about home contractor fraud seems like a high class worry. If you can afford to own a house, you are among the lucky few, and if you can afford to make its necessary repairs, you are in an especially strong financial position. If home contractors are dishonest with you, however,… Read More »
Debt Collectors Sink To A New Low, Suing The Families Of Nursing Home Residents Over Unpaid Bills
More than half of American adults owe money on medical bills, so, chances are, you have heard it all about how expensive medical bills can be and about the lengths that debt collectors go to in the name of collecting debts. You might know people who have been sued by hospitals or doctors’ offices,… Read More »
Credit Card Debt Is A Widespread Problem, But Not An Insurmountable One
Credit cards used to be a status symbol, but now, when someone says that they haven’t used a credit card in months or years, it sounds like they are bragging. Most American adults have at least some credit card debt, and monthly credit card balances are on the rise, nationwide, along with the prices… Read More »
Pennsylvania Legislature Proposes Law That Would Prohibit Animal Breeders And Pet Stores From Issuing High Interest Loans To Buyers
Taking care of a pet costs money, but in many cases, the cost of Purina chow and vet visits is negligible compared to the happiness your furry friend brings into your life. It only takes a few minutes of Internet research to find organizations that will let you adopt an animal free of charge… Read More »
Beware Of Automatic Subscription Renewals
Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions to improve their physical fitness, and many of these resolutions fizzle out quickly. Depending on the first move you make toward your fitness goals, abandoning them may or may not cause you a long-lasting financial setback. For example, if you stick to your goal of… Read More »
Used Car Buyers, Beware Of The Five Finger Spread
Every time you pick up your phone in the morning and see the notifications you missed while you were asleep, your news feeds and social media accounts are full of frightening tales of new Internet scams. There are Tik Tok scams and buy now pay later (BNPL) scams, and that is not even counting… Read More »
Why Are Small Dollar Mortgages So Hard To Find?
Standup comedians and cynical teens can agree that fewer social events are more tiresome than the ones where middle-aged adults gather on the backyard deck or around the barbecue pit to admire the host’s new house or its newly installed amenities. The conversation inevitably features one of the most annoying phrases in the English… Read More »
