Finally found a link. Here’s a list of organizations that got grant money from the IRS.

www . irs . gov/pub/irs-tl/2010_vita_grants.pdf

Training classes might have ended by now, they usually hold classes in December – January I believe. Not sure, but this would probably be a good start by contacting some of these organizations.

(trying to get around the moderation because of the link)

It’s a meaningless gesture to the credit card company, but it’s a huge gesture to the person who does the cutting. It means that while I still have to pay off the current balance, I can’t go add more.

I find it admirable when people state that they’ve never carried a CC balance and never had a car payment and never this and never that. I have to think they’ve probably never owned a business and never taken many risks and “never” lots of other things, too.

My point? Aw, heck…I forgot.

“The average amount of credit card debt in households with more than one card is now more than $8,000″

Note the key phrase “with more than one card.” That’s not at all the same as “the average American family.” Lots of families only have 1 card, or none at all.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

That said, Trent’s main point stands – finance charges are a cancer on a household’s finances. The trend in recent years has been growing worse and worse. I suspect the trend has reversed (or at least slowed a little) due to the massive credit crunch of the past 2 years, but it’s too early to find supporting data. And even if I’m right, it will probably only be a temporary change, and given enough time, consumers will return to their borrowing ways in greater numbers than ever before.

But not the readers of Trent’s site. :)

On a debit card, you’ve got the same protection no matter which way you process the transaction, you are only liable for up to $50 if you report it within 2 days.

If a company chooses to, like Visa and Mastercard, they can offer the same protection as a credit card voluntarily, but are not required to do so by law.

On a credit card, you aren’t liable for any fraudulent charges if you report it. Also, payment of the fraudulent charges means you have accepted that the charges are legitimate.

@12 chacha1

There are volunteer organizations that are more than happy to train you in basic tax law for a few days of your time in return. They will teach you what you need to know so you are able to assist low income families fill out their taxes. Not only do you learn something, you help out other families that are clueless about the tax system, and will probably end up getting ripped off just to have a 1040EZ filled out for them.

If you can afford not to pay anything in finance charges and you still are, then you are either too stupid or lazy to do anything about it.

If you are paying them because of no other choice, it is time to get your finances in order, and NEVER pay them again.

They will kill you, absolutely kill you, and you will be fighting them forever, if you do not eliminate them from your life

If you run your debit card as a credit card, it’s treated as a credit transaction, and the governing law is the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Under the CCPA, you are only liable for a total of $50 worth of fraudulent charges.

If you run your debit card as a debit card using a PIN, the governing law is the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. In the event of unauthorized charges, you’re liable for either $50, $500, or ALL of the charges — your amount of liability depends on whether you know about the charges and how quickly you notify your bank.

Wikipedia has generally decent information on both of these if you’d like to research further!

You’d think “miscellaneous” would be the easiest to cut, until you look at everything it covers. That “average CC debt” figure has been kicking around for a long time now … I’ll bet it’s pretty inaccurate.

Since accounting and legal fees are in the “miscellaneous” category, I’d add a tip – for cutting those in the future – to use Nolo.com to research legal issues so you know what kind of legal services you need (if any); and take a basic accounting (or personal finance!) class at the local community college.

Apparently some people pay tax preparers to fill out a 1040-EZ, lots of people pay for help filling out a basic 1040, and these things are just not that hard to do once you stop being scared of the IRS publications.

Or of course, take a class to BECOME a certified tax preparer, and then you have another income possibility. :-)

I think your rebuttal is a bit misleading as well. The Study average assumes all households 18 years and older.

But for most households ages 25-65, which encompases most peoples working years, the average is likely closer to $8,000. About 40% of the population in this country is under 25 and older than 65.

And about 15% is between 18-25 or 65+.

This skewes your numbers. What is says is families during their working years are in debt. Lots of them. Yes, they may finally get out once they retire, but until then they are drowning.

Lucky there are so many folks who *don’t* carry a balance or the amount would be much higher than $808 for this category. Funerals and cemetery plots are really big ticket items that also affect the numbers here. How many folks out there have bought a plot and/or paid ahead of time for their funeral? It can be a huge shock to the family you left behind to have to make those decisions *and pay in full for them* before the funeral. It sounds bad, but I’m guessing that funeral directors know you’ll sign on the dotted line in the middle of your shock and grief but that their chances of getting paid probably decline significantly once the person is buried.

The detailed debt reduction plan is very good. I did that as part of my New Year’s resolutions, and I find it focuses me. Instead of me saying “was I going to make an extra payment this week?” I know exactly when I’m making extra payments, and I know when certain debts will be paid off. Keep up the good work!