Author Archives: Jay Butchko
What is the Means Test in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Filing bankruptcy is a great option for people who are struggling with significant debt that they cannot repay. However, not everyone is eligible to have their debt discharged, or eliminated. As part of the massive bankruptcy reform that occurred in 2005, the means test was introduced as one of the main requirements for anyone… Read More »
Should You File for Bankruptcy or Divorce First?
Nearly half of the marriages in the United States end in divorce. There are many reasons why marriages end but one of the most common is money issues. Even when a couple has a very solid foundation and they love and respect each other, money issues are often too much to overcome and result… Read More »
Tips When Negotiating a Debt Settlement
While it may not seem like it, you have many options when you owe a significant amount of debt you cannot afford to repay. Of these, debt settlements are one of the most common. A debt settlement is an agreement between you and a creditor or debt collection company in which you repay a… Read More »
Debt-Proof Your Marriage
Saying that money problems are a leading cause of divorce is like saying that lung dysfunction is a leading cause of death. Lung dysfunction caused by infectious disease is not interchangeable with lung dysfunction caused by cancer, traumatic injury, or adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs. Likewise, one couple might separate because the wife is… Read More »
Structured Debt Management Plans
You have probably heard the news that the nation’s credit card debt burden is the highest it has been in five years. This news probably blends in with all the other recent news about record high prices and record high debt. There are plenty of ways to get out of credit card debt, but… Read More »
Maximizing Your Chances of Debt Settlement Success
Debt settlement is an agreement between a lender and a borrower who has fallen behind on payments. The borrower pays a lesser amount than the outstanding balance, and in return, the lender forgives the remaining amount. No one gets everything they originally wanted, but at least the debt goes away. Debt settlement can make… Read More »
Good News About Credit Card Debt?
Our brains are quickly conditioned to click on clickbait but slow to break the habit, even long after finding out that there will be no surprises, only anticlimaxes, if we click. Despite this, we keep clicking on headlines about credit card debt in its capacity as a nationwide problem, and to the surprise of… Read More »
A Medical Debt Relief Miracle?
If you are looking for good news, do not read anything that has “personal finance” as a keyword. Of all the terrible things happening these days, most of them are taking consumers’ financial circumstances from bad to worse. It seems like the only people who are doing well these days are the ones who… Read More »
About Those Unaffordable Groceries
Remember the summer of 2023, when everyone panicked about the price of groceries? That was when you started charging your last grocery haul of the month on buy now pay later (BNPL); you could no longer afford to charge it on your credit card, because your credit card was maxed out. Here we are… Read More »
Mortgage Rescue
It is always stressful to fall behind on bills, but if you own your house and owe a mortgage on it, then your mortgage payment is always the financial issue that looms the largest in your mind. People let all their other bills pile up before they will miss a payment on their mortgage. … Read More »