According to latest data from the New York Federal Reserve, total household debt in the United States has reached $17.94 trillion. This highlights the growing financial pressures faced by many Americans, where rising costs and unexpected expenses often derail even the most diligent financial plans. In 2025, learning how to avoid new debt is more critical than ever for achieving lasting financial stability. This article discusses practical strategies to navigate your finances wisely, reduce stress, and take meaningful steps toward financial freedom. Analyze Your Current Financial Situation Gaining a clear understanding of your financial standing is the first step toward…

Approvals for student loan forgiveness under a popular program for public servants reached new heights last week, after the Biden administration announced a new wave of relief. “Four years ago, the Biden-Harris Administration made a pledge to America’s teachers, service members, nurses, first responders, and other public servants that we would fix the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and I’m proud to say that we delivered,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement last week. Cardona and President Joe Biden announced that an additional $4 billion in student loan forgiveness under the PSLF program had been…

Optimization means getting something as good as it can get. When a company like an apartment landlord looks to optimize rent rates, it probably means maximizing the money they get. This may sound synonymous with increasing rents. It may be but isn’t necessarily. For example, if a landlord might increase the amount of money by slightly decreasing the amount they collected from tenants. Sound crazy? Stay with the argument for a moment. When tenants leave, there’s typically a significant turnaround time to fix and repair the unit to ready it for the next renter. The necessary amount of time can…

The Older Americans Act, the umbrella federal law that includes programs such as Meals on Wheels, senior transportation, information services, adult day, and caregiver support was hours from being expanded and winning congressional approval for another five years. Now, its fate has become far more uncertain. Its all because the OAA, despite broad bipartisan congressional support, got caught up in a squabble over an emergency end-of-year spending bill between President-elect Trump and Elon Musk on one hand, and Capitol Hill Republican leaders on the other. The result: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dropped the OAA from the big budget measure.…

We last visited the pending January 1, 2025, deadline to file the new Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) report in my article, With Deadline Looming, FINCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Is A Hot Mess (Dec. 9, 2024). At that time, a U.S. District Court had issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting FINCEN from enforcing the BOI filing requirement. The article warned that the Treasury Department would be taking an appeal and that it was entirely possible that the preliminary injunction would be lifted. And that is exactly what happened. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas Top Cop Shop,…

With the average price of a new vehicle having skyrocketed by around $10,000 over the last five years, car shoppers are justifiably suffering from sticker shock, with the affordability problem being exacerbated by financing rates that have nearly doubled since 2022. They’re slowly heading in the other direction of late, but it still costs a bundle to borrow money on a new car. According to the Experian credit bureau, those having stellar credit ratings are paying an average 10.37% to finance a new car, truck or SUV. However, savvy – and credit-worthy – shoppers can take advantage of what is…

In one of our recent studies, we analyzed all ZIP codes in the state of Michigan and determined which ones are the most expensive in terms of home values. What Michigan revealed as how strong the allure of lake country homes is, not surprisingly considering Michigan and, the state we’re covering here — Wisconsin — are both Great Lakes states. Read on to find out the most expensive ZIP codes in Wisconsin in 2024, relying on data from Zillow’s home value index and the Census Bureau. The Most Expensive ZIP Codes in Wisconsin Using data from Zillow’s home value index,…

Learn how to avoid holiday shopping pitfalls and quickly improve your credit, with ideas for restoring your credit.How can you avoid overspending during the holidays? How can you can help your credit score recover after missed payments? Can rental payments be reflected on your credit reports? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss optimizing your financial habits during the holiday season and overcoming credit mishaps that could show up on your credit report. They begin with a discussion of impulsive holiday shopping, providing tips for intentional spending, minimizing waste, and prioritizing experiential gifts over material items. Then, NerdWallet credit writer…

Ascension, a healthcare company that operates 140 hospitals and 40 senior care facilities throughout the country, disclosed on December 19 that it had suffered a data breach going back to May of 2024 affecting 5,599,699 of its patients and employees. Ascension was hacked through a social engineering email from a ransomware gang that lured an employee of Ascension to download malware that enabled the hacker to steal Ascension’s data. According to Ascension, “Although the data involved varies and cannot be confirmed for each individual, it may include medical information (such as medical record number, date of service, types of lab…

The Biden administration walked away from two mass student loan forgiveness plans on Friday, marking an anticlimactic end to the efforts to enact broad student debt relief. Officials withdrew proposed regulations that would have allowed the initiatives to be implemented. The two loan forgiveness plans would have created pathways to student debt relief for broad swaths of student loan borrowers, including those who have experienced runaway balance growth due to interest accrual, and people who are dealing with significant personal or financial hardships. Had the programs been enacted, they could have benefited more than 30 million borrowers. But given ongoing…