Question: Dear Steve, I am 47 yrs old. I had an excellent 30-year credit report with the only ding a short sale of my home during the 2009 recession. My dad got cancer and I took time off work to help him. My debt to income ratio not working made me unlendable. I have around … Read more
Stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in business closures and millions of layoffs across the country. People are filing for unemployment in every state. The U.S. Department of Labor has been receiving more than 6 million weekly unemployment claims, and there could be more on the way. If you’re unemployed, you’re not … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged a year ago (April, 2019). Just got back on our feet. Minimal savings. Wife and I are both truck drivers. Early last year my wife and I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It was successfully discharged in April, 2019. We’re both truck drivers and it’s taken us a … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I filed chapter 13 bankruptcy June 2019. Had a meeting of the creditors and only one credit is not one included in the bankruptcy. The hearing dates have been Canceled and rescheduled since November 2019 three times they keep requesting delays Add rescheduling. Our next hearing is scheduled June 11. As if … Read more
Fake Job or Hiring Scams occur when criminal actors deceive victims into believing they have a job or a potential job. Criminals leverage their position as “employers” to persuade victims to provide them with personally identifiable information (PII) or to send them money. THREAT Fake Job Scams have existed for a long time but technology … Read more
It’s no secret: seniors are working at historic rates. Almost a quarter of seniors are now in the job market, up 18% from 10 years ago, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects this to increase over the next eight years. Relatedly, unemployment for seniors has dropped to an impressive 2.6%, below the national rate of 3.5%. At … Read more
“Dear Steve, I’m working full time and earning 46k annually. I got married this past spring and then my husband was laid off in June. His unemployment benefits are lower than his previous income and he is missing due dates every other month. We have barely been married long enough to merge bills but I’m … Read more
“Dear Steve, I owe $17,000 on my student loans. I have been able to make the payments each month, but I just learned that I will be soon losing my job. I don’t have an emergency fund and I will not collect enough on unemployment to make the payments with my other expenses. What is … Read more
“Dear Steve, I lost my job (no advance notice) in June 2007. I was unemployed for 75% of the next 5 years. I worked for 23 months (4-2012 to 3-2014) and again lost my job. I work as a consultant primarily for Caltrans as an Inspector (bridges). In the last 6 months I’ve worked less … Read more
“Dear Steve, Two Job losses,1 death of an unborn child, medical issues and one birth has left me in abandoned credit card accounts but I continued paying on my car from my unemployment payments which recent has also been exhausted. My husband also recently relocated from the UK and has not been able to find … Read more
“Dear Steve, My husband loses his job as of this year in a couple weeks. Due to family illness, I lost my job 2 years ago. He is in his late 60’s & I am 60. Due to all foreclosures in my area, unable to sell house for what we owe. We would have to … Read more
“Dear Steve, I have a first mortgage (about $210-220K) with PNC Mortgage and a second/line of credit with PNC Bank ($65K) on my apartment in Washington, DC. I lost my job in 2010 and moved to Illinois to help care for my elderly parents (I’m in my mid 50’s), I am behind on both payments … Read more
“Dear Steve, My husband got laid off from his job in November 2009 and has not found employment since and everything has fallen on me. We rent our apartment for the last 12 years and the monthly rent is $885.00. We have about $115,00.00 in debt. It is a mixture of Student Loans, Taxes, Credit … Read more
“Dear Steve, I owe over $31,000.00 in credit card debt and I don’t know what to do? I lost my job almost 2 months ago, my unemployment is finally coming through, but unemployment is only about 60% of what you was making at your job so its very hard to make ends meet, I’ve called … Read more
“Dear Steve, Consolidating debt to avoid high interest rates or deplete 401K. Have taken on about $50K in credit card debt and have secured mostly 0% interest rate cards that are coming due over the next several months. I have depleted my brokerage savings but still have an IRA and 401K that I could tap … Read more