5 years ago I was swimming in debt, two car payments, multiple credit cards, 401K loans.... It took 2 years of squeezing every penny, but Today I am debt free but the house. I have 10 months of expenses sitting in the bank. I am making double payments on the house and heavily funding retirement. I am putting away m...more

I have been dumping my credit cards over the last two years as they have been playing games with the interest rates. What will they do to make money when all the people who pay their bills dont use credit cards anymore and all they are left with are those that cant?   At first I was concerned about my credit score b...more

JaneRoe   Everyones situation isnt the same. In some cases getting rid of the car isnt the answer but for some it is an option.  As far as being high and mighty.. nothing could be further from the truth. Ive been so credit crunched that I would watch for the payment on one credit card to apply to my balance, then go ...more

Great article! The first step to getting out of a hole is to quit digging. For those that want to get out of debt, take those credit cards and cut them up and quit spending on things you dont 'need'. Then make a plan to pay them off. You wont make progress unless you have a plan.  Dont get discouraged when you take tha...more

Credit card companies are going up on everyones rates for seemingly no reason but there is a reason. Its not how you manage your credit or what your credit score is, and its not really just because they can. They are doing it in response to the new credit card rules that are ready to be signed in congress that doesnt a...more

the problem with "scrambling for access to any funds as a result of job loss or pay cuts" is that its exactly backwards from what you need to do in that situation. If your income has declined, the very worst thing to do is to put yourself into more debt. The answer is to scale back your standard of living until you can...more