Getting a mortgage will probably be the largest transaction of your life — no doubt, it will have an impact on your finances for the next 30 years. With that in mind, when it comes to how much you can borrow for that big transaction, any debts you have now will reduce that amount. And if someone else – a ... Read More »

Here is a great research paper worth reading. It certainly helps to focus the robo-signing issues we’ve all heard about with mortgages to a problem that debt relief providers will need to deal with. For a while we’ve talked about the issue of a debt relief provider that either sets up a payment plan or assists a consumer to settle ... Read More »

“Dear Lewis, Made many not so smart mistakes which put me into serious credit card debt over the past 8 years or so. Followed by some dental work (multiple root canals) that had to be paid with credit card. Last year, had an emergency appendectomy that ended up in an medical insurance mess up. Ended up with 15K bill on ... Read More »

I have just over $20,000 in student loans, $8000 car loan, $700 credit card, I’m working on paying off a charged off credit card of about $3500, and I have a hospital bill of around $1400. I currently make $23712/yr. I’m making minimum or Income Based payments on All of them and now my IBR for my student loan has ... Read More »

photo © 2008 Mike Baird | more info (via: Wylio)When Amanda and her husband gave birth to their third child her paycheck was greatly reduced during maternity leave. After an increase in interest and payments on their credit cards, they could no longer afford their minimum monthly payments owed. At one point in time there was no problem paying these ... Read More »

Jeanette “Dear Steve, I have used my home as an ATM machine to put 2 kids and myself through college. We have a primary mortgage at 6% and a home equity loan at 8% both at a fixed rate (total loan amount $250,000.00). January 2008 our home appraised at $310,000.00. Problem, we have one hundred thousand dollars in credit card ... Read More »

Kam “Dear Steve, Over $70,000 in credit card debt has been charged off from the original creditors and now reside with multiple collection agencies. One of the charges is approximately $30,000, which I pay $200 per month (to Creditor’s Interchange). I have ignored the various other collection letters/calls because they want money from me that I just don’t have. I’ve ... Read More »

Recently I was over on the Finance Your Life blog and asked Doctor S, the blogger there for his opinion on the following question: “Do you become a financial failure when you break the budget just trying to get a bit of fun in your life when everything else around is stressful at home, at school, and with the finances?” ... Read More »

Keith “I have $30,000 in credit card debt plus $160,000 in home loans and business loans. Should I consider debt consolidation from a company that charges me a fee each month?” Keith, Excellent question and my answer may surprise you, Yes! Nonprofit credit counseling programs brag that many of them are free or at a low cost, but that comes ... Read More »

Daniel says, “I’ve been buried in credit card debt and it feels like I make payments each month and instead of things going down, things go up. My interest rates recently went up even though I have not missed a payment or paid late. Another one of my MasterCard’s just lowered my limit a lot. Is there any hope. Thanks” ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, My husband and I own our own business but have been struggling lately. I work a 9-5 job while he stays at home to run the business. We owe a lot of debt in credit cards from working to get the business up and going – and we’re just a few hundred dollars a month from breaking even. ... Read More »

Judy “Dear Steve, Should I save the amount after paying off a credit card debt or pay down another. Help please. Judy” The Answer   Dear Judy, You asked a great question and one that seems easy but has different valid and possible answers. If you are digging yourself out of a debt hole the initial knee jerk reaction is ... Read More »

Richard wrote to me at GetOutOfDebt.org and asked me the question below. If you have a question you’d like to ask, just visit GetOutOfDebt.org to contact me. “Dear Steve, I keep hearing about free money from the government to pay off my debt. How can I get some of that money so I can get ride of my credit card ... Read More »

David wrote me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site to ask his question below. You can too! “Dear Steve, I have about $20,000 in credit card debt. 4 cards that I’ve transferred balances to, each with a rate of 2.99 to 3.99% interest for life of the loan. Each monthly minimum is about $110.00. I have no more to give, and we ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, We owe about $70,000 on our mortgage (we pay $100 extra each month), we have a $110,000 equity line and about $20,000 in credit card debt. We pay extra on each but don’t seem to be getting anywhere very fast. We want to be debt free. What is the best way to become debt free the fastest. Donna” ... Read More »