While applying for and receiving student loans is easier than in years past, many students sign up for heavy debt burdens without familiarizing themselves with important loan terms. Without knowing basic terminology, students are unable to competitively shop for loans, and choose the one that works best for them. Here are a few key terms to know: Principal – The ... Read More »

Money, Credit and Debt Advice – Get Out of Debt Guy Question: My Student Loans Leave Me Hopeless Dear Steve, I can’t believe how much student loan debt I have. It feels like I can barely get by each month and there is no way for me to ever get out from under these loans. I have both federal and ... Read More »

For debt relief companies who have been suffering from a lack of consumer demand, there is news out today that indicates demand might be increasing in the near-term. TransUnion says “total outstanding credit card balances increased 5% on a yearly basis. The increase indicates record growth, the highest yearly growth observed since 2008.” If this trend continues then in a ... Read More »

WASHINGTON, DC – Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); Benjamin B. Wagner, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California; and Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General for the State of California today announced that Ray Jan Kornfeld, 59, of Las Vegas, Nev., was sentenced on February 19, 2015, to five years in federal ... Read More »

McCarthy Law, an Arizona based law firm, announced that it has expanded the firm geographically. McCarthy Law helps families find debt relief who have found their financial world turned upside down in a still challenging economy. (Newswire.net — February 20, 2015) Scottsdale, AZ –McCarthy Law, an Arizona based law firm, announced that it has expanded the firm geographically. McCarthy Law ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I have about $18,000 in student loan debt. I recently was contacted by the Student Loan Education Center that said they were a third party company that was setting up consolidations for the US Dept of Education to consolidate my loans for a fee of $599. They said I qualified for an income based plan and then got ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I signed for 16,000 bank school loan, when a payment was late I received the bill stating the total was 21,000 two different loans, one for the 16,000 and another for 8,000. I told the bank 16,00 was mine. The story goes, the school told the loaner they only received 8,000 he called the bank and the said ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I have a question about my student loans. When I first graduated from graduate school, I was eligible for pay as you earn. This is because while I was in school, I had very little income, and I didn’t start working right away and so only had a partial year of income. I signed up for the pay ... Read More »

What Student Loan Assistance Companies Are Not Telling You With the surge in companies that are selling student loan assistance programs it seems their product is most commonly just filling out paperwork to enroll people in income driven repayment programs for federal student loans. It’s an easy sale, “We Can Lower Your Payment,” is a powerful message that resonates with ... Read More »

The State of Connecticut Department of Banking has just announced a new enforcement action against The Purewal Law Group, Legal Network of America, and Settlement Corporation of America. According to the information provided, the parties named “shall immediately cease and desist from engaging or offering to engage in debt negotiation in Connecticut without a license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) ... Read More »

On February 18, 2015 the Federal Trade Commission filed suit against PSC Administrative, Coastal Acquisitions, Infinity Client Solutions, Infinity Collect, Jared Irby, and Richard Hughes for violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The FTC alleges the Defendants solicited consumers with debt relief services, who owed payday loans. “Defendants have induced consumers to enroll in their program by claiming that they ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I was injured at work really bad. (Neck/Back/Shoulder) I missed 2 years of work. I lost everything I owned: House, my business. my boat,motorcycle, work trucks, and property. Everything was gone.It all went to pay bills and just to eat as I had a family of 4. At almost 40 years old i had to retrain, the injuries ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, At the age of 40 I got a AA degree with Federal Student Loans. I do not work in my field of study. I am now 55 and I did miss a few payments after wife got sick and lost job and that chewed up our savings. I have been paying steady for the last 4 years and ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I have a federal student loan that I haven’t been paying on. My 2014 tax refund has been garnished. Is there any way to get this reversed. If I set up a payment schedule with the US Department of Education C/o Great Lakes Higher Education Guarantee Corp? Thanks, Roger” The Answer Dear Roger, If your tax refund was ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, My fiancée has over $60k in private student loans. The original amount borrowed was $35k she is a teacher and always thought the student loan forgiveness program would apply and we discovered it doesn’t We have calculated that she cant afford to pay the minimum payments and reduce the balance. Her last payment was May 2014, I read ... Read More »