For many consumers the thought of having to file bankruptcy can cause quite a bit of anxiety. The fact is however that, even though here at this blog we believe that everyone has a moral obligation to repay their debts, in some cases bankruptcy might be the only course of action that’s available. If that’s […]
Don’t Get Taken to School! Student Loan Repayment Fraud on the Rise
You’ve undoubtedly heard all about the student debt crisis in the United States as it’s all over the news. What you might not have heard about however is the fact that there’s a growing student loan repayment fraud problem as well, with companies regularly emerging that offer student loan repayment assistance at high fees, assistance […]
Is Data Mining a fair way to set Insurance Rates?
With computer technology advancing by leaps and bounds, it’s no surprise that insurance companies have started using sophisticated software to help them determine what rates to charge their customers. While the insurance industry calls the process “price optimization”, consumer advocates call it biased and believe that they are using it to avoid insuring high risk […]
Better Late Than Never: How to Avoid Late Fees at All Costs
There’s nothing like kicking a person while they’re down. Late fees are fun for no one but they’re also very easily avoided. Keeping careful track of your bills is one way to avoid accruing late fees but sometimes they’re downright unavoidable. When you hit a snag and don’t want the fees piling up on you, […]
Tips on How Long to Keep your Tax Records
There is an old saying that goes “nothing lasts forever” but, if you look at the tax record-keeping system that some consumers have, you might believe just the opposite. Many people keep every single scrap of tax evidence that they’ve ever gotten “just in case” but the fact is that, in most cases, this simply […]
Tax Fraud due to Identity Theft on the Rise – How to Protect Yourself
It was recently reported that billions of dollars are being stolen every year by identity thieves filing fraudulent tax returns. Indeed, 43 states that collect taxes are reporting that their offices are being flooded with bogus tax returns, which shows that the IRS certainly isn’t the only target of these thieves. A recent report from […]
Check your state income taxes before you convert to a Roth IRA
There are a lot of articles being written about people converting to Roth IRAs because they’re going to be in a higher tax bracket when they retire. One thing these articles almost always fail to mention is the impact, usually negative, that state income taxes could have once this is done. In fact, converting to […]