Struggling with Debt? Debt Gurus Can Help.

Blog

Managing Your Finances During the Coronavirus

Everyone knows it’s not a great idea to have a lot of debt. However, in unprecedented times like these, even the best ‘savers’ are having a hard time keeping their debt in check. The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the entire world. Nothing like this has ever happened in modern life. Businesses have shut down and workers have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs. On April 2, the Labor Department reported 6.6 million people filed for unemployment the week prior — bringing the total to 10 million in just two weeks. Total unemployment claims have now topped 30 million! If you are in a tough spot and find yourself accumulating debt, don’t beat yourself up right now. These are crazy times and no one can say they were truly prepared. In the short term, it may be OK to carry debt if you’re other options are limited. You can also take comfort in the fact that you aren’t alone. A recent survey found that 59% of credit card holders entered the coronavirus pandemic with credit card debt. Most of them had been carrying the debt for over a year. That said, you should try to manage your bills the best you can so that you can recover once the pandemic has passed. Cut costs now, so you can get out of debt faster down the road. Make a list. First, make a list of your current debt in order of the most important to least. Your mortgage may be at the top of the list, while credit cards and medical expenses may be a bit farther down. It’s important to get an accurate picture of what debt you have, the interest rate of each debt and then devise a game plan on how you are going to attack those different debts. Like anything else, if you stay on top of it now, you’ll be better off later. Hang in there!

How to Deal with Shady Debt Collectors

If you’ve ever had a debt that goes to collections, you know how it feels when debt collectors won’t stop harassing you until the debt is resolved.

Unfortunately, not enough people know about the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) which lays out strict rules that debt collectors must follow when contacting you about repayment. There are serious consequences if they don’t. What Debt Collectors Can and Cannot Do: 1. Call After Hours Think debt collectors can call you at all hours of the day? Think again. The FDCPA mandates that debt collectors can’t call you after 9:00 p.m. or before 8:00 a.m. unless you tell them that they can. You can give them permission to call after hours if you can’t speak with them during the work day. More

Do You Have Over $15,000 in Credit Card or Medical Debt? You May Be Eligible to Settle Those Debts for a Fraction of What You Owe

A shocking 2022 study revealed that over 54% of Americans have credit card and personal loan debt with an average balance over $6,000! With the current economic crisis and flat wages over the last 25 years, people have been forced to carry more credit card debt than ever before…and with inflation ramping up, it’s only getting worse. If you are one of the millions struggling with credit card or personal loan debt, it may feel like there’s no way out. You are not alone!
More

Good Debt vs Bad Debt

If you’re one of the millions of Americans in debt, you might be surprised to learn that not all debt is bad debt.

When you’re in debt, it can feel like an endless struggle. Especially when you’re dealing with multiple kinds of debt, like home mortgages, student loans, auto loans, medical bills and credit card debt. Making payments on all these different types of debt can be difficult if not impossible. Making matters worse, most people don’t know which debts to start paying off first (if you have extra money to make more than minimum payments). It’s an unfortunate fact that debt is a way of life in the U.S, with $137,063 average household debt in 2016. Almost every major purchase, financial milestone, or life event has a debt amount tacked onto it. And if you are not part of the 1%, you might spend years working to overcome your debt. More

The Connection Between Debt And Stress….It’s Real

Studies show that people struggling with debt have a higher stress level than people without debt.

Among life’s major stressors, the one that’s still taboo is debt. Yet it’s something that around four in five Americans grapple with, according to a report last year from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Debt stress can take its toll, physically and mentally. Shedding debt—and even the process of paying it down—is a net-positive on your body and mind, as well as your wallet. More

Debt Snowball Payment Plan Explained

You may have heard of the term “snowball” when a discussion about debt reduction comes up. In case you don’t know what it means, we’ll explain it here.

We’re going to use credit cards as an example, because that’s usually where this strategy is most effective. The “snowball” refers to what happens when you roll a snowball down a hill – it gets bigger and bigger as it picks up more snow. This general theory is applied to credit card debts, making larger and larger payments as you pick up momentum. Here’s how it works: More