OVLG Blog: Debt Relief, Bankruptcy and Personal Finance Advice

Articles · Page 6 of 129

Debt Relief

The Ripple Effect of Debt: Families in Financial Turmoil

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Jul 4, 2024

Household Debt Hits Record High, Impacting Millions of Americans The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports total U.S. household debt has reached $17.69 trillion. This marks a new record affecting millions of Americans. Credit Card and Mortgage Debt Trends Credit card debt decreased by $14 billion in the first quarter of 2024 settling at $1.12 trillion. However, mortgage debt rose to $12.44 trillion an increase of $190 billion.

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Personal Finance

How Compound Interest Works in Retirement Planning

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Jun 25, 2024

Imagine two friends, both age 25, who dream of retiring comfortably at 65. Sarah starts investing $300 a month while Tom waits until he's 35 to begin saving the same amount. By the time they retire, Sarah has over $1 million in her retirement account while Tom has just over $440,000. What made the difference? The power of compound interest.

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Personal Finance

14 Savvy Strategies to Reduce Child Care Costs

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Apr 11, 2024

Working parents who have small kids may spend a lot of money on different cost categories such as diapers, food, and clothing. But undoubtedly, child care cost is the most important and biggest expense that working parents need to manage. Depending on their neighborhood and the number of kids in early care, child care costs can exceed any household's average monthly mortgage payments.

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Debt Relief

Student Loan Repayment Tips: A Grad's Guide to Financial Freedom

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Apr 3, 2024

Are you finished with your studies and ready to join the workforce? Such a moment is indeed worth celebrating. Yet, for many freshly graduated students, the time is marred with financial stress due to pending student loan payments. Typically, student borrowers take around 20+ years to pay off their loan amount entirely. But that means that you have to spend a long time paying off student loan dues until you become completely debt-free.

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Personal Finance

Smart Tax Strategies: Save Big on Your 2024 Taxes

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Mar 19, 2024

An organized tax filer is always interested in saving more on tax bills than the previous year since it is probably the best way to reduce tax liability. So, it's always a clever initiative to learn some strategies to save money on tax bills. Make sure to formulate documentation of your capital gains in advance to handle your tax situation better. Once you manage every possible tax deduction opportunity, you can use the tax credit to pay off your other financial obligations as well.

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Personal Finance

11 Ultimate Signs You Should Switch Banks

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Mar 6, 2024

If you ever think about switching your bank, you should ask yourself a few questions first. How satisfied are you with your old bank account? Did you experience something that you didn’t expect? If yes, it might be the ideal time to switch your bank. But, you should consider many factors before switching banks. The factors include shifting, financial status, security preferences, banking habits, or vivid services, etc.

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Debt Relief

How to Deal with Rising DTI Ratio: Strategies for American Consumers

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Mar 4, 2024

With rising inflation and economic uncertainty, more Americans find managing their finances challenging. One crucial but often overlooked measure of financial health is the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. The DTI ratio compares how much you owe each month to how much you earn - specifically, and it divides your monthly debt payments by your monthly gross income.

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Debt Relief

Credit Rebuild Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

Written by

Lyle Solomon

Reviewed by

Loretta Kilday

Updated Feb 9, 2024

The current lending industry is based on credit scores. Therefore your credit report is the most important piece of document that gives a lot of financial information about you. When you dream of buying a house, you need to finance it legally and when the question comes to mortgage financing there is a real importance of a good credit score. Before you calculate a mortgage amount you can afford.

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