Book Review – The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman

The Recovering Spender by Lauren GreutmanLauren Greutman is everywoman. And her tale of coming back from a life of debt is inspiring. In her new book, The Recovering Spender, Lauren Greutman lays out her mistakes (like many of us), how she overcame them, and then how you can too.

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman is half memoir and half “how to” book on taking back control over your finances and control over your spending.

I’ve often been critical of my fellow personal finance bloggers. Most of them fall into two camps. They typically are: #1 – fall along as I chronicle my life getting out of the massive credit card and student loan debt that I’ve created. #2 – financial experts with the degrees and background to back up the actionable advice and tips they provide.

I personally like, and fall into, the second category. I often do think that readers would care about my personal life. But, often, I’m in the minority of the personal finance blogging scene.

Lauren’s story is a classic personal finance blogger’s tale of too much credit card debt and overspending. Bloggers love to share their stories of coming back, and Lauren’s book is no different. If you love reading personal finance blogs, you’ll love Lauren’s new book.

A lot of readers love to follow along with the underdog and witness the comeback story first hand. And, most personal finance blogs provide that coverage for readers.

That’s what’s made Lauren’s blog, IAmThatLady.com (later rebranded into LaurenGreutman.com) so popular. If you haven’t checked out her awesome blog that started it all, you definitely should.

I have to admit…I was sucked into her story about working her way up the chain at a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company and using her credit cards to get ahead. Like most readers, I’m fascinated by the story. And, the book didn’t disappoint…it has a great opening story of Lauren’s fall and then ultimate comeback.

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman

Lauren Greutman has been where many of you find yourself today. She’s been in debt and struggling. And, she’s clawed her way back. Her book, The Recovering Spender, shares her story, and it also provides readers with simple and successful strategies to overcome your debt.

The Recovering Spender Offers Hope

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman is a book that offers hope. It’s a book for the American spender, those who don’t necessarily have Roth IRAs and stock portfolios. But, it’s for those guys too (believe it or not).

The Recovering Spender is a book for people who hate talking about money, who hate to budget. It talks about getting out of debt in plain English, which is something that should resonate with the readers of Money Q&A too.

It’s a book for people who have struggled with debt, continue to struggle, and want to get out of debt.

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Zebit Levels Playing Field for Working Americans with CARD.com Partnership

Millions of hard working Americans experience financial hardship and stress—and poor credit options exacerbate the problem. By the numbers, the Center for Financial Service Innovation (CFSI) estimates that high-quality credit is not an option for 108 million Americans who lack access to credit cards or low-interest financing products.

What’s scarier is that many of the people who don’t have access to sound credit options are working full-time jobs and doing everything they can to make ends meet. If this is familiar to you, a family member, friend or colleague, Zebit is a new socially-responsible company that may help.

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Zebit, a company committed to offering no-cost, transparent credit to hardworking Americans, has just announced a new partnership with CARD.com— the largest online originator of Visa and MasterCard debit banking accounts—to provide a more complete suite of services, including access to $1,000 interest-free financing to select CARD.com members.

Zebit gives members the ability to pay for purchases over time in equal installments at 0% APR, without a credit check. With the offering, Zebit seeks to turn the tables on unfair lending practices and level the playing field for Americans that have been turned away or charged exorbitant fees by traditional lending and credit services. CARD.com members will also be able to leverage Zebit’s free financial wellness resources that feature budgeting tools, online education, and the Instant Budget mobile app.

How exactly does Zebit work? CARD.com customers who are at least 18 years old and have been using the direct deposit feature on their CARD.com debit card for at least 6 months are eligible to register for Zebit.

Upon registration, these members will be able to finance purchases up to $1,000 from the Zebit Market, a proprietary e-commerce site stocked with more than 20,000 name brand products at competitive retail prices—it has everything from electronics and furniture to appliances, luxury items, exercise equipment and more. Purchases can be financed and paid over six months, interest-free.

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Five Times To Use Your Student Loans For Living Expenses

Five Times To Use Your Student Loans For Living ExpensesThere are many student loan myths floating around out there, such as the idea that student loans should only be used to pay for your tuition. Unless you make a lot of money outside of school or your private university comes with a massive annual tuition bill, you’ll likely qualify for more student loan assistance than you need for tuition alone. Is it alright to use student loans for living expenses?

When is it alright to use student loans for living expenses? What expenses should you use your student loans for? You certainly do not have to take out the full amount offered in your financial aid package, but you also don’t have to restrict yourself to only using student loans to cover tuition.

When To Use Student Loans For Living Expenses

If you’re debating whether or not to use some of your student loans for non-tuition expenses during undergraduate or graduate studies, here are some dos and don’ts you should follow when using student loans for living expenses.

Should you use student loans for living expenses? Here are a five times when you might have to.Click To Tweet

Academic Expenses

There are multiple tax benefits for education offered by the IRS, including tuition payments (whether paid for with your own money or with the help of student loans) and other qualified academic expenses. For example, the tuition and fees deduction allows you to deduct up to $4,000 per year on your income taxes, which justifies the student loan expense.

You can also later deduct up to $2,500 per year in student loan interest payments if you borrowed them for qualified educational expenses (tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, equipment, and other necessary expenses for higher education, including graduate school). So, instead of avoiding student loans at all costs, you can embrace their assistance in short-term help with academic expenses and get some relief in the long-term payoff with student loan interest deductions.

Paying Rent with Student Loans

If you have access to another form of income during your studies, it’s best to pay for rent with that income instead of relying on student loans to cover your living expenses. Some folks may not have that option, however.

Unless you manage to live rent-free – with your parents or relatives, working as a residential advisor, etc. – paying rent is an unavoidable expense. If there are any ways you can minimize your living expenses while living on your own, then this will subsequently decrease the amount of student loans you need to take out for non-tuition expenses.  You should consider comparing rental prices in the area, commuting from a city with a lower cost of living, getting a studio instead of single bedroom, or other cost saving measures to help you from using student loans for living expenses.

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Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Paying with a Debit Card

Why You Should Avoid Paying with a Debit CardDebit cards are the most popular non-cash transaction method in the U.S., with about 5.1 billion debit cards in circulation and $1.4 trillion in debit card purchases each year. Despite this popularity factor, paying with a debit card is generally a bad idea for many purchases when compared to alternative payment methods.

Why You Should Avoid Paying with a Debit Card

If you currently rely on debit cards for most of your purchases and orders, then don’t miss these major reasons why you should avoid paying with a debit card:

Legal Protections Against Fraud 

According to Nasdaq, 31.8 million American consumers’ credit cards were breached in 2014 and the number of both credit and debit card breaches is supposed to rise 34% from 2014 to 2018. Globally, fraud losses on credit, debit, and prepaid cards hit $16.31 billion in 2014. That number is expected to fluctuate based on the increasing shift towards EMV cards (with chips imbedded in the card to prevent counterfeiting), and new technologies to prevent identity and financial theft.

For the time being, there are laws in place to protect consumers from fraud as much as possible. Most major credit card companies offer theft protection for their cardholders, which include both zero-responsibility policies for fraudulent purchases and email or text alerts when a large purchase is made far from the cardholder’s residence.

Under federal laws, credit cardholders are not liable for more than $50 of fraudulent transactions made on their card (again, many credit card companies don’t even hold you liable for a penny).

The story is somewhat different for debit cardholders, however. Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, debit cardholders have to notify their bank within 2 days of noticing a lost or missing debit card, just to qualify for the $50 loss liability limit.

If you notify your bank within a 2-60 day window, then you won’t be liable for more than $500 in fraudulent charges on your card. Waiting longer than 60 days to report the fraud may cost you the entire amount scammed from your account.

Worse still, even if you were to eventually receive a refund, you won’t have access to these funds until the claim investigation concludes.

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