Facing a constant onslaught of debts does something to the way you think. Sometimes you agonize over small purchases, knowing that cash flow is so limited and that every purchase you make on credit will cost you much more than its face value. Therefore, if you get a blister on your foot, you avoid buying…

If you are old enough to qualify for a credit card, run up a big balance, and have so many other financial obligations that you can barely afford the minimum payments on your credit card, then you are old enough to know that there is no such thing as a free lunch. When people offer…

Young people have plenty of reasons to be in a bad mood about their finances. Buying a house is prohibitively expensive, but so is renting. Robots and chatbots are proving themselves to be increasingly competent at an increasing number of our jobs. Married people are better off financially than single people, and marriage rates are…

Losing money is a natural part of gambling, and if you are sure that there will be a chance to win the money back and then some, it can be part of the fun. If you have ever used the proceeds from gambling to pay your bills, you are not alone. So many people rely…

You have been trying for years to pay off your debts, and you are getting nowhere. It is only natural to feel demoralized. Even those lab rats that press the lever multiple times, but it gives them treats less and less often, eventually give up. Of course, you are not a lab rat, and you…

In a perfect world, no one would need to use credit cards, but a perfect world is so far away that you have already maxed out one credit card with grocery purchases and other expenses that no one would consider luxuries, and now you are running up the balance on at least one other card.…

Economists seem to inhabit a world that bears little resemblance to the one where we toil incessantly in pursuit of our bread and butter. Our ordeal is just points on a graph to them, and from their bird’s eye view, it looks like the economy is doing great.  Economists rejoice that the unemployment rate is…

In the corners of the Internet dedicated to the debt-free lifestyle, people will tell you that you should never borrow money under any circumstances. People who manage to do this are relying in part on good luck. Who can own a house without taking out a mortgage loan?  Only people who inherited houses from relatives…

Making your debts go away quickly comes at a cost. The best-case scenario is that you win the lottery, inherit money from a relative, or land your dream job; if that happens, you will gain money but lose friends, either because they are jealous of you or because your newfound fortune brings out your worst…