Category:
Financial Literacy

Senior woman with help of her daughter making bills at home, paying debt.

Can Creditors Garnish Social Security Benefits?

By Michael Knisley | November 1, 2024

If you’re way behind on your credit card or conventional mortgage or car loan payments … well, our sympathies. It’s a tough place to be. Debt collectors and creditors want…

Build Your Credit Concept tiles on a dark background

How to Build Credit at 18 & Why To Get Started Early

By Robert Shaw | October 30, 2024

Whether turning 18 years old brings back memories of a college experience, a backpacking trip in Europe or a first full-time job, it’s a milestone birthday that in many ways…

Stop Spending Money

How to Stop Spending Money – 6 Tips to Avoid Overspending

By Alan Schmadtke | April 11, 2024

Wanting more is an innate part of the human psyche. It inspires progress and innovation. But in an age of one-click purchases, targeted social media ads and same-day delivery, the…

Life insurance policy documents

When Should I Get Life Insurance?

By Bents Dulcio | January 26, 2024

For most young adults, life insurance sounds like a topic for another (much later) time. However purchasing life insurance at an early age comes with a lot of potential benefits.…

Man researching life insurance options at the dining table

Is Life Insurance Worth It?

By Robert Shaw | January 26, 2024

Life insurance has been called everything from a good defensive game plan to a love letter written to the people in your life you care the most about. But despite…

Couple discussing their retirement plan together

Retirement Checklist

By Michael Knisley | December 1, 2023

Ready or not, here it comes: Retirement. Doesn’t matter if you’re in your 30s and at an early stage of your working life, or in your 60s and winding down…

Senior researching life insurance options on computer

Life Insurance for Seniors

By Sarah Brady | November 3, 2023

As you get older, life insurance can start feeling less like a luxury and more of a necessity. If your loved ones depend on you for financial stability, you might…

Danger sign that warns of high risk loans

High-Risk Loans

By Michael Knisley | February 10, 2022

One question – maybe the first question – to answer before taking out a personal loan, is whether the math adds up in your favor. Personal loans can be a…

Sign for a pawn shop

What a Pawn Shop Is & How They Work

By Michael Knisley | February 9, 2022

There’s more than meets the eye in a pawn shop … unless you’re a regular viewer of the reality series “Pawn Stars,” in which case you’ve already seen what’s behind…

Car title loan written on keychain

Title Loans

By George Morris | February 8, 2022

Whoever said desperate times call for desperate measures could have been on their way to apply for a title loan. Few situations are desperate enough for title loans to make…

Sources:

  1. N.A. (2024, January 29) Can a debt collector take my federal benefits, like Social Security or VA payments? Retrieved from https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collector-take-my-social-security-or-va-benefits-en-1157/
  2. N.A. (ND) Levy and Garnishment of Benefits. Retrieved from https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/41/SSR79-04-oasi-41.html
  3. N.A. (ND) Social Security Benefits and Garnishment. Retrieved from https://www.garnishmentlaws.org/social-security-benefits-and-garnishment/
  4. N.A. (2023, February 10) Can my Social Security benefits be garnished or levied? Retrieved from https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-01873
  5. N.A. (2024, March 1) Federal Payment Levy Program. Retrieved from https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/federal-payment-levy-program
  6. N.A. (2024 August 14) How Student Debt Impedes Retirement and Financial Security for Older Workers – And How 2024 Elections May Impact Policy Reforms. Retrieved from https://www.economicpolicyresearch.org/jobs-report/how-student-debt-impedes-retirement-and-financial-security-for-older-workers-and-how-2024-elections-may-impact-policy-reforms
  7. N.A. (2024, April 18) Garnishment for court ordered victim restitution. Retrieved from https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0202410223
  8. N.A. (2023, April 14) What laws limit what debt collectors can say or do? Retrieved from https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-laws-limit-what-debt-collectors-can-say-or-do-en-329/
  9. N.A. (2023, April 14) What is harassment by a debt collector? Retrieved from https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-harassment-by-a-debt-collector-en-336/