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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.…

How bad your finances are is, at least partially, a matter of perspective. Sure, you don’t have any money left at the end of the month to put into savings. If you are so optimistic that you transfer a percentage of your paycheck into savings every payday, then you end up transferring it back into…

After introductory quotes from texts in Latin, Classical Greek, and Italian, T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” begins, “April is the cruellest month.” It is true that April is not especially cuddly, but all of the months are cruel these days. It is as if the financial death toll of the Christmas holidays never ends. Chances…

When people meet with debt relief lawyers to discuss bankruptcy filings and other possible solutions to their debt problems, most of them tell a similar story of a debt problem that started gradually. Yes, there are people whose finances tanked suddenly after a personal disaster such as an injury or a divorce, but an even…

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…

Hats off to Amsterdam. It had legalized recreational cannabis long before California did. Maybe it is time for California to borrow another page from the Netherlands’ playbook. Like Amsterdam, California already has bike-friendly streets and a climate that welcomes tourists year-round, and we probably don’t need our own equivalent of Amsterdam’s red-light district. What we do need is affordable housing, and renting…

“Winding up a business that has become insolvent is as easy as ABC,” said no one ever. Closing a business because it has caused too many financial losses for its shareholders is stressful and, somehow, at least as time-consuming as maintaining the operations of a business that is currently viable. Deciding to cut your losses…

Compared to most other events in an average consumer’s year, receiving a tax refund feels like a cause for celebration. The saying that it is expensive to be poor is as painfully true today as it was decades ago. From unaffordable interest rates on loans to getting your paycheck on a debit card that charges…

the Benefit of the Doubt When you tell your family about your plans to file for bankruptcy protection, there is always that one family member who is convinced that you are so bad with money that, no matter how much debt relief you get from your bankruptcy case, you will just end up broke again.…

The less need you have for something, the more willing people are to give it to you. This is especially true of credit. If you have one million dollars in your bank account, banks will not think twice before lending you another million, but if you needed to buy and furnish a house for a…

Credit card debt is a major drain on your finances these days, and you are not the only one. As of early 2024, American consumers owe a total of more than a trillion dollars in credit card debt. Minimum payments on credit cards take up a big portion of your paycheck, so even as you…

Everyone has the right to file for bankruptcy protection, according to federal law. Regardless of your age, your marital status, and whether you are employed, you have the right to ask the bankruptcy court to discharge your eligible debts that you cannot pay.  People who file for bankruptcy come from all walks of life, but…

Yes, California is expensive, but it offers better financial protection for consumers than most other states do. California’s state minimum wage is one of the highest in the country; as of 2024, only Washington state and Washington, D.C. have higher minimum wages. In some cities in California, the minimum wage is even higher.  The paid…

Some personal finance experts who shall remain nameless have made a career out of telling young, working adults that they could get out of debt simply by brewing their own coffee at home instead of stopping at a coffee shop on the way to work. Yes, the price of coffee shop beverages is astronomical, especially…

Social Media Business finances are consistently more complicated than personal finances. You have experienced this if you have ever filed individual tax returns and business tax returns. Likewise, divorce and probate cases are more complex when the couple or the decedent has an ownership interest in a business. The value of business assets fluctuates all…