On Sunday, September 28, 2008, twenty floors up in a Boston apartment, Christian Mogensen logged on to his website, updated his web page, and then put a bullet into the head of his wife of many years. Not long later, Christian turned the gun on himself. The webpage update that Christian made was a death … Read more
We assume that it is wrong not to treat others with kindness in all corners of life. For example, in the U.S., we no longer have separate entrances based on your skin color. Buildings make allowances for physical limitations, and a recent news story said that more people had developed a tolerance for others’ religion. … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My husband has outlandish student debt. He has a clinical diagnosis of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. His doctor says it’s not “debilitating.” I have epilepsy. Everything online (at least for Missouri) says 120 payments required. I know that will never happen. He did not graduate. I don’t want to live the rest … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am bipolar and have PTSD social security disability. I signed up for several credit cards to get mileage to visit our 6 children, needless to say, I got my husband and myself in 30,000 dollars debt in 6 months. I am 60 years old and my husband is 65 years old. … Read more
Hill v. ECMC: A veteran seeks to discharge her student loans in bankruptcy Risa Rozella Hill enrolled at Wichita State University after getting out of the Army, and she obtained a bachelor’s degree in social work in 2002. She went on to pursue a master’s degree from Newman College but did not graduate. In 2008, … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Married with kids. A masters degree in Urban planning. Long story Since I have trust issues and self-worth issues that come from untreated and misdiagnosed CPTSD I attempted to bootstrap myself into a better situation by getting a lot of education. Now I have a lot of education and a ton of … Read more
I’ve been helping people with financial problems since 1994. My passion for assisting others with this struggle was because I lived through my own set of financial misery in 1989. After going through that process, I was very depressed and inquisitive why my self-esteem had been so shattered along with my ability to make complex … Read more
The quaint notion of being a farmer in America and living a carefree life off the land is a nice notion but not a reality for many. In the past three years, the average farm income has decreased 45 percent leaving farmers stuck with high operational debt but much lower incomes. There is no shortage … Read more
If you believe in social justice and basic human decency, you must read Matt Taibbi’s article on the student-loan crisis that appeared this month in Rolling Stone. Writing in the tradition of great American investigative journalism, Taibbi deconstructs “the great college loan swindle” that is destroying the lives of millions. Taibbi illustrates his theme by … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am physically and emotionally spent. I earn $9.85 and hour and have $75k in Federal loan debt. Depression sinks in when I think about the private loan amount. I have had deferments however, I thought I would be able to find some better paying work to be able to make the … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am a 46 yo FA for SWA. Great company. I’m in my 6th yr. I was doing well for myself. Credit wasn’t great, but it was good and getting better. I lived with my only sister who struggled with multiple myeloma. End of 2013, we found out she had been misdiagnosed. … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Previously full-time 26 y/o college student who dropped out of school because frankly, student debt and bleak job opportunities for my major outweighed its benefits. I work in nutritional meal prep now and it provides a pretty good income and is very enjoyable. My debt issue began both as a combination of … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My ex husband died, suicide. We have been divorced 7 years. We had no outstanding credit card debt when divorced. There is an attorney handling his estate and I was contacted and told that there are 2 credit cards that still have my name on them and there is now a balance … Read more
Death rates among white, middle-aged Americans have gone up significantly in recent years, according to a recent study by Anne Case and Angus Deaton, two Princeton economists. Case and Deaton found that death rates for people in the 45 to 54 age group began steadily going up beginning in 1999. For middle-aged white people with … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have a bank loan I failed at making small regular payments on, it’s at about $1000 and will be written off to collections end of next month. I have a lawsuit from another bank for credit card debt I racked up, so far it’s seemed to be in stasis (no letters … Read more