Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Brace Yourself for the Housing Assistance Cuts
You might not have noticed it amidst all the other cuts to federal programs that we took for granted, but the White House has proposed eliminating the Section 8 housing voucher program. In response, many cities have stopped accepting new applications for Section 8 housing vouchers. Eliminating Section 8 would not single handedly create… Read More »
How to Land on Your Feet After One Late Payment
This seems to happen every year. You start out the summer with big plans for being productive and frugal, but then a major expense comes out of nowhere and leaves you wondering how you will ever be able to make ends meet until the end of August, when there are five days per week… Read More »
How Bad Is It If You Only Make Minimum Payments on Your Credit Cards?
These days, you have to take good news where you can find it. If you have paid all of your bills this month, you should celebrate, even if your celebration cannot be anything that costs money, because by the time you have paid all your bills, your bank account balance is in the single… Read More »
Philadelphia Is Not Doing So Badly When It Comes to Consumer Debt
If you had any money, you might gather your friends for a weekend of fun in a city where the weather is warmer at this time of year than it is in Philadelphia. You might sip sweet tea in Atlanta or watch the restaurant staff in San Antonio mash the avocados and squeeze oranges… Read More »
Financial Stress Turns Up the Heat in the Summer
Now that we are years into financial long COVID, financial stress is a year-round ordeal, but certain one time per year expenses only make things worse. You have long since given up on buying holiday gifts, traveling during your children’s spring break, and preparing a feast for Thanksgiving. You have been supplementing your income… Read More »
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Overdraft Fees
It is a common plot point in movies with everyman protagonists and in motivational stories by personal finance influencers. Just when the protagonist thinks his day cannot get worse, he goes to withdraw money from an ATM or check his bank account balance online and finds out that his bank account is overdrawn, meaning… Read More »
When Does Delayed Vehicle Ownership Paperwork Become Used Car Fraud?
Buying a car is a marathon, not a sprint, even if it is not your first vehicle purchase. You spend hours going back and forth with chatty salespeople at the dealership about minute features of the car that might increase or decrease the sale price by a few dollars, until the financial department finally… Read More »
Pennsylvania Personal Finance Classes Get Enthusiastic Response From Students
Some high school students tie themselves in knots to get good grades in multiple challenging classes so that they can get acceptance to colleges where admissions are competitive or, even better, get scholarships to their dream colleges. The students who are just ready for high school to be over so that they can get… Read More »
This Summer Is Not the Time for a Debt Repayment Avalanche
Even if your work is not subject to seasonal fluctuations, it seems like the most financially stressful time of the year. The heat seems to make the drag, so those minutes you spend sitting in your car after arriving home from your second job, too tired to go upstairs to your apartment, seem even… Read More »
Freelancers vs. Credit Card Debt
When people make impulse purchases, it is not because they aren’t aware that the money in their bank accounts would be better spent on other things. They know perfectly well how many hours of gig work it would take to cover the cost of those shoes or that Grubhub meal for the family. Most… Read More »
