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Going Into Debt to Have Kids


By Maggie Ellis
It is widely taught in financial education that there are only two kinds of debt that can be considered “good debt”: A mortgage and student loans (as long as they aren’t beyond your ability to repay comfortably). We’re always taught that it’s okay to go into debt to buy a house or another [...]

Start Cutting Immediately to Save a Sinking Ship


An acquaintance came to me the other day and told me a sad story. She has been unemployed since December and unable to find work. Her husband also lost his job around the same time and although he has since found another, they went four months with no income and his new job pays considerably [...]

A Life Without Debt: You Can Be Debt Free and Still Use Credit Cards


Several financial experts (most notably Dave Ramsey) preach that, if you want to become and remain debt free, you must not use credit cards. Ever. Their reasoning is that, a) it is too easy to get into the debt trap when using cards and, b) that you spend more money (around 25% more) when you [...]

A Life Without Debt: Building Wealth


If you are at all interested in finance, you’ve probably heard that it is necessary to be debt free in order to build substantial wealth. While a few gifted investors manage to build wealth while having a lot of real estate debt (think Trump) or debt that finances a business venture (think the people who [...]

Dave Ramsey Falters in a Crummy Economy


By Maggie Ellis, guest writer
I know many people who are followers of Dave Ramsey’s financial advice. Since the economy has tanked, it seems like I’m seeing even more people joining the Dave bandwagon, looking for a way out of the financial messes that they have gotten themselves into. His “Total Money Makeover” and the associated [...]