debt

Why I’m going back into debt (or why I was never really debt-free)

  I’ve long railed against debt. Debt slows you down from achieving what you want, and forces you to pay companies that don’t have your best interests in mind. I paid off my last debts four years ago, and I … Read MoreRead More

An introduction to negative money

  WARNING: This post contains a discussion of math. In these enlightened times, negative numbers aren’t a big deal. Whether it’s your favorite golfer winning the tournament with a score of -12, or even the solution to “x = 3 … Read MoreRead More

The Debt Math Throwdown (or testing the debt snowball)

  In my discussion about how to pay off your debt, I mentioned how there were primarily two schools of thought: pay off the highest interest rate first, or pay off the smallest debt first (a.k.a. “the debt snowball”). The … Read MoreRead More

How to figure out which debt to pay off first

  If you’re like most people, you have a few credit cards here and there, maybe a student loan payment, and perhaps a car payment. In addition, maybe you own a house and have a mortgage payment. That’s a lot … Read MoreRead More

A conversation about debt

(My friend Saul of Hearts recently posted an article about his experiences with leveraging debt. As I thought it was an interesting take on a subject that I have some strong feelings about, we talked about me writing a response … Read MoreRead More

Is there such a thing as good debt?

  I said it for years: “…but it’s good debt.” More specifically: “I have [a stupid amount] in student loan debt, but it’s okay, because it’s good debt. I mean, at least it’s not credit card debt.” One day, though, … Read MoreRead More

How credit cards are like alcohol

  Alcohol is dangerous; would anyone disagree? For me, while it’s something I’ve used from time to time, it’s never been something that I’ve felt like I had a problem with. I don’t have to keep going when I start. … Read MoreRead More

Your credit card company thanks you for your generous donation

  Dearest cardholder, On behalf of everyone here, we want to thank you for your support and donations this year. While the recession has produced a drop in giving over the past few years after its peak in 2007, your … Read MoreRead More