Author Archives: Jay Butchko
How Risky Is It to Hire a One-Person Home Contracting Operation?
If you have the talent and the patience for a routine task that most people find unpleasant or perplexing, a lucrative career awaits you. Can you spend eight consecutive hours with a toddler, or with several toddlers, and not run out of things to do or get frazzled by their tantrums, whining, or rambunctious… Read More »
Car Dealership Owner Faces More Than 100 Charges for Illegal Business Practices
Buying a used car is an inexact science. There are so many stories out there about cars that disintegrated almost as soon as the buyer drove them out of the dealership parking lot that you cannot be sure that this will not happen to you until you have been driving your car without incident… Read More »
Beware of Fake Contractor Businesses
A few of the neologisms that became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic have become permanent parts of our vocabulary. Half a decade later, we still speak of doomscrolling and of hybrid work. Many of the other neologisms of that era are terms we would be just as happy to forget. No one wants to… Read More »
War Is Bad for Your Wallet
If you are of the generation that has the attention span for such things, you can watch the talking heads on the news debate about whether what is going on between the United States and Iran in 2026 qualifies as a war. There are even some corners of Philadelphia to which the Washington, D.C…. Read More »
Don’t Lose Your Passport Over Unpaid Debt
Traveling internationally with your children is a dream for many families. Even if you can only afford to take them on one international trip during their childhood, it creates a lifetime of memories; they might text you about these memories later, while doing a study abroad semester in college, for example. Preparing for the… Read More »
Can Simple Interest Mortgages Save You Money on Interest?
When you hear the phrase “simple interest” in the context of something that you must repay, it is natural to think that you are getting the best of all possible worlds. You remember learning about simple interest and compound interest in school. With simple interest, you only pay interest on the amount you originally… Read More »
Should You Let ChatGPT Access Your Bank Account?
We have all heard the horror stories about people who trusted chatbots with their deepest secrets, and the chatbots’ responses had devastating consequences for the emotions, physical health, or financial situation of the humans who confided in the chatbots. This is because, while chatbots can produce natural sounding language, and sometimes even speak in… Read More »
Coping With the Financial Fallout From the 2026 Middle East Conflict
Reading the news has never been more stressful. Just when we thought that uncertainty was the new normal, a new war in the Middle East is making its effects felt all the way in Pennsylvania, even if we have never thought much about the places where it is happening. You might not be able… Read More »
Beware of Checking Your Credit Score Too Many Times
Curiosity can be a wonderful thing when it leads you to spend hours exploring subjects about which you know little on Wikipedia, while others are engaging in more expensive and less wholesome hobbies. While your peers are losing money on sports betting, buying overpriced nutritional supplements based on the recommendations of social media influencers,… Read More »
Credit Insurance Is a Junk Fee Unless You Make an Informed Decision to Buy It
Junk fees are one of the many ways that businesses nickel and dime consumers into paying more than necessary for products and services. They can come in the form of hefty charges that you must pay at the beginning and end of a subscription contract, whether you stop paying for the service when the… Read More »
