Crushing Debt

When is bankruptcy an option?  What if someone makes good money, but they just can't make ends meet? What options are available other than bankruptcy? This week George had a conversation with someone (not in Florida) who was asking questions about bankruptcy - how does it work, when should someone file, what chapter, etc. This week George asks Shawn these questions and we discuss: the emotions beh...

Why Will Most People Never Be Rich? What Will Rich People Never Tell You? Why are the Rich, Rich? What are 8 Secrets From Very Rich People? What are Steve Jobs's 10 Rules for Success? What Books Will Teach You To Be Rich? What are the 5 Rules to Business? Today, Shawn and George dive into the world of Memes and Infographics!  We found these seven memes while researching other topics for the show....

Is there any benefit to a reverse mortgage, or are they a scam? Is it a problem that a reverse mortgage has to be repaid when the borrower no longer lives in the home?  Doesn't that eliminate the inheritance that would otherwise go to the kids? Will a reverse mortgage create a deficit to the borrower if it is not repaid? What can you do with a reverse mortgage?  What can you use it for? What is th...

This episode will be published on the first day of school for most schools in the Tampa Bay area.  Are your kids back to school yet?  Did you survive the summer? What about "Back To School Shopping?"  How did you navigate with your budget and manage back to school shopping for your kids? In this week's episode, George and Shawn talk about back to school shopping, sales tax holidays, school uniform...

What is your biggest fear? Heights? Bugs? Public Speaking? IRS Audit? How (or what) is the biggest and baddest collection agency in the country (at least by perception)? What if you owe money to the that collection agency (i.e. the IRS)? On this week's episode, Shawn & George talk to Claudia Moncarz, owner of Moncarz Law, helping people to negotiate and settle debts with the IRS and avoid or resol...

As the July No Spend Challenge comes to a close, how did you do?  How many points did you accumulate?  How much money did you save?  Were there any other goals you accomplished? Thank you to Tiffanie Kellog, who asked on the Facebook page: "I was pondering a question for the podcast based on the no-spend challenge... what about a discussion on how to classify a NEED versus a WANT when it comes to...

How much credit card debt do you have?  At what interest rate? What happens if you can't communicate with your significant other? How do you protect money you inherit from a partner who spends? This week Shawn & George tackle these topics on the show, giving their takes on questions and headlines such as: Americans are hiding their credit card debt: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4068846...

There's been a bit of news lately on President Biden's plan to cancel student loan debt, especially after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the President has no authority to cancel the debt without Congressional action. What are your thoughts?  Are you in favor of cancelling debt?  Against it? Recently, the New York Times came under fire for suggesting that "death" is a way to cancel stud...

The Fourth of July was a few days ago! How did you celebrate? How did you say "thank you" to those that protect us and our freedoms? This week's guest on the Crushing Debt Podcast is C. David Cain, CEO and Chief Hero Evangelist of Heroes Home Advantage. He has 24 years' experience as a top-producing Loan Officer, and is on a mission to create brand awareness for the largest hero rebate program in...

What is the difference between a "want" and a "need"? Can you go one day without spending money? How about one week? One Month? One Year? Shawn & George talk every week about tips and tricks and strategies to help you save money, reduce debt, and become debt free. Now, they're "putting their money where their mouth is" and taking action to help you do just that. In this episode, Shawn & George tal...

What age groups tend to owe the most debt?  Boomers? Millenials? Gen X? Would it surprise you to know that credit card debt, on average, has returned to or exceeds pre-pandemic levels?   Why has it increased, and what can you do about it? How do you break the credit card cycle? In this week's episode, Shawn and George talk about the reason that credit card debt has increased and some tactics for r...

What is the Freddie Mac Exclusionary List, and why should you care? We done many previous episodes on the Freddie Mac Exclusionary List: Episode 32 - Freddie Mac List Episode 83 - Freddie Mac List Updates Episode 132 - Coming Off the Freddie Mac List Episode 179 - Freddie Mac's Policy Episode 262 - The Secret to Coming Off the Freddie Mac List Episode 277 - Top 5 Myths of the Freddie Mac List Epis...

What are the 14 steps to financial freedom? What is your financial personality? Your financial health? The TTCI Method? Today's guest on the Crushing Debt Podcast is a CPA, speaker, course creator, and passionate about helping people become financially free.  Bruce Scott is the territory leader of (senior partner) at PricewaterhouseCoopers Jamaica. He has an MBA, FCA, FCCA, CPA (Colorado), charter...

It's that time of year again!  Shawn's neighborhood holds garage sales twice per year, in May and October.  At each garage sale, Shawn practices some sales technique - what better low pressure enviornment to practice sales and negotiation skills? What sales technique did we practice at this year's May garage sale? Delegation! How? Shawn delegated the negotiations to his sons and allowed them to ke...

How does your fitness impact your finances? What is the connection between the two? I'm reminded of the meme: "I'm into Fitness. Fitness this pizza into my mouth!" People who are more healthy, typically have larger incomes and savings. Conversely financial stress can negatively impact your health. People who are more fit are more likely to get hired, have lower health care costs, more energy at wo...

How do you overcome a negative mindset? What does it mean to win? To win in life? To win in relationships? To win in finances? To win in other areas of your life? Our guest on this week's show is Brad DeMint. Brad is an account executive with Greenleaf Title, LLC ( www.greenleaftitle.com ) and host of the podcast How to Win with Brad Demint ( www. BradDeMint.com ), a podcast about life, sales, and...

What are the money hacks that you use every day? What are some that you would never do? Today George and Shawn talk about money hacks - simple things you can do to save a few dollars here or there that, when added up, amount to significant savings! For example: Unplugging Vampire Devices Making Coffee at Home Bulk Buying AC Maintenance Toilet Water Hacks Zip Up Your Pants Before Washing Extended W...

Are you able to leave the office for a week on vacation and leave your work behind? What do you need to do prior to leaving, to make sure that your vacation is a vacation, and not just working remote from some other place?  This past week, Shawn & his family took a trip to Arizona. They were gone for a week, but Shawn left behind his iPad and laptop (he did bring  his phone, but he needed a phone,...

What happens to finances in a time of loss? Loss of job, loss of family or friends, loss due to illness, loss because of a divorce?  Losses can happen to any of us at any time, but how you deal with the loss will also impact how the loss affects your finances. In this week's episode Shawn and George talk to Bobby Clark, a personal finance coach and content writer for the Clark on Money Blog. Bobby...

What can you do to make more money quick? Does quick money mean dishonest money? Last week George and Shawn talked about Money Scams. This week, it's get rich quick schemes, but which ones are legitimate and which ones can get you into deeper debt? Ponzi or Pyramid Schemes Online Courses Coaching (sorry George) Multi-Level Marketing (MLMs) What other "schemes" have you tried? Which have worked and...

Do you have a rich relative who died left you with a bunch of money? Are you being romanced by someone who will come see you, but only if you buy them a plane ticket? Do you get random requests to buy gift cards for someone in trouble? Beware of money scams!  The fraudsters are out there and getting smarter.  Some popular scams are: Deed Copies Romance Scams Phishing Scams Probate Scams Timeshare...

Are you looking to make your business grow? Do you want referrals to help you grow your business? Do you understand each prospect's behavioral style? Would you like to be able to define a unique selling position that separates you from your competitors? This week is a rebroadcast going all the way back to (when we were the Yesner Law Podcast) Episode 7 - Constructing Success with Jason Avery! Cons...

What is lifestyle creep? Do you feel the need to keep up with the Joneses? Do your expenses increase as your income increases? Years ago, Shawn's father taught him that your expenses do not have to grow proportionately to your income.  In other words, just because you make more money doesn't mean you have to spend less money. Unfortunately, it seems like some people spend more as they make more. ...

How does ADHD effect money? Budgeting? What are some tips or tricks to work with money while dealing with ADHD? In this week's episode, Shawn & George interview Tamika Howell.   Tamika is a Financial Educator who teaches busy and easily distracted Black women how to align their money with their values through one to one coaching and educational content on various social media platforms. Her primar...

Should you lease or buy? In this week's episode, Shawn and George discuss that age-old question, is it better to lease or buy a car?  George bought his cars. Shawn bought one (his wife's) and leases another (his). But which one is the better choice for you? Some of the Pros of leasing a car: lower monthly payments, drive a better car for less money, get a new car every three years or so, lower mai...