Recent Blog Posts
Do Utility Bills Affect Your Credit Score?
The optimist appreciates the fact that your bank account balance at the end of each month is a positive number instead of a negative one, but in some cases all you have to show for your hard work and disciplined spending habits is the motivation to work just as hard next month as you… Read More »
Is Another Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis On The Horizon For Pennsylvania?
Being stressed out about money is the rule rather than the exception for working Americans. Most households are surviving paycheck to paycheck, even if more than one member of the household works full time; some people with annual income in the six figures still find themselves with bank account balances in the double digits… Read More »
FTC Proposes Stricter Rules To Prevent Deceptive Sales Practices At Car Dealerships
If you ever have a free afternoon, read that series of articles in which a man who worked at used car dealerships in the 1990s describes all the shady practices that his colleagues employed to sell cars at prices much higher than their value. In the last installment in the series, he said that… Read More »
Why Do Insurance Claims Get Denied?
Buying an insurance policy and paying the premiums every month or every year is simple, but when it comes to getting your insurance company to pay you the money it promised to pay, things get much more complicated. After you file an insurance claim, you might get an unpleasant surprise in the form of… Read More »
FTC Issues Refunds To Consumers Who Lost Money In Debt Collection Scam
The debt collection industry exists on a spectrum from legal and transparent but still exploitatively expensive to downright scammy. Most of the time, consumers find themselves screaming into the void about how unfair their debts are; at best they are met with customer service representatives who empathize with them but who cannot change the… Read More »
Is It A Good Idea To Use Commercial Debt Settlement Services?
If you have a steady income and are trying to pay off large debts you incurred long ago, in addition to a few smaller ones that arose along the way due to unexpected financial hardships, your choices are the snowball method and the avalanche method. In other words, you have money in your budget… Read More »
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 »
