People in this country are in debt.  I get asked questions all the time about negotiating credit card debt.  Now I am getting questions about negotiating on a car loan.  For starters you can negotiate with credit card companies once your are behind on the bill.  Credit card debt is unsecured debt.  Car loans are different.  A car loan is secured by the asset, the car.  If you quit paying on your car loan, the repo man will come and get it.  My suspicions are that they are getting more car repossessions now more than ever. Continue Reading »

This Christmas season use cash to pay for your holiday gift purchases.  Using credit cards to buy your holiday gifts can be a trap.  There is a lot of social pressure to buy gifts for people.  My motto if you want to stay debt free over the holidays give up worrying about what people are thinking.  They are not going to help you pay your credit card bills when they come.  Buying gifts for people is not worth it if you cannot afford to.  Going into debt to buy gifts just because you think you should is not a good enough reason to do so.  Suffering over money is a terrible thing.  It is not worth it, so do not worry about what people are think.

If you do not have the money do not buy it.  Try using a debit card this holiday season or just carry cash with you.