Author Archives: Jay Butchko
What’s This About 50-Year Mortgages?
Anyone who makes their debts disappear does so at substantial risk to themselves. When you file for bankruptcy protection, it means that you publicly declare, under penalty of perjury, that you have exhibited a consistent pattern of borrowing money and not repaying it. When you do this, the court discharges your eligible debts, but… Read More »
What’s New With Florida Debt Collection Laws?
Debt is a nearly constant presence in human societies across time. Whoever said that nothing in life is certain except death and taxes could have also added debts owed to parties other than the government as one of the inevitable things in life. Meanwhile, communications media change quickly. Depending on your age, you might… Read More »
Only Chumps Buy Used Cars From Dealerships?
If everyone else is as broke as you are, why do you feel so alone? It could be because, when you try to talk to other people about your financial struggles, all they do is gloat about how you could have avoided your predicament if you had only followed their example by engaging in… Read More »
Borrowing Money in a Pinch
No one resorts to borrowing money from predatory lenders because they want to. Instead, the people lined up at neighborhood convenience stores to sign for payday loans and the ones scrolling through “rent a bank” loan listings on their outdated phones with cracked screens they cannot afford to fix are doing it because bill… Read More »
A Farewell to Online Shopping?
Making New Year’s resolutions is for the old generation. The idea that next year could be better than this one seems old-fashioned. Today’s young adults have grown up with year after year of crushing financial stress. Furthermore, holiday creep has made it so that you are ready for the holidays to be over before… Read More »
How Risky Are Adjustable-Rate Mortgages?
First-time homebuyers have heard the stories of the 2008 housing market crisis in the context that these stories belong to the before times; they depict a world that no longer exists. The phrase “adjustable-rate mortgages” appears frequently in this narrative. The young generation of homebuyers think of this phrase as the name of a… Read More »
Can a Frugal Retirement Help You Stay Out of Debt?
The piece of advice that the way to get out of debt is to reduce your expenses outlives its usefulness quickly. If you are working, you can counter the argument with another proverb, namely that you have to spend money to make money. For example, you can only use your car for rideshare rides… Read More »
The Snowball Method of Debt Repayment Can Bring Holiday Cheer to Cash-Strapped Floridians
No one runs up piles of debt with the intention of filing for bankruptcy when it gets out of hand. Almost everyone makes multiple serious attempts to pay down their debt before pursuing bigger interventions. The two most popular methods for paying down debt are the snowball method and the avalanche method, and each… Read More »
Finding Holiday Cheer Amid Financial Stress
The winter holidays are the most stressful time of year for a lot of people. The manufactured atmosphere of joy throws your most bothersome problems into stark relief. Whether your favorite seasonal treat is mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, eggnog, or even the humble candy cane, the fact that there is so… Read More »
Debt Collection Lawsuits Against Retirees
If business to consumer lawsuits remind you of a lion attacking a mouse, your mental image is an accurate metaphor. They are a case of the strong preying on the weak just because they can. Anyone has the right to file a debt collection lawsuit in civil court if someone who owes them money… Read More »