Financial News Features

“The reason Sam’s Club is the least expensive of the three is because of Walmart’s buying power,” says Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com. “That said, they don’t have the premium brands Costco typically has.”

Freezing your credit used to be a costly headache, said Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of Debt.com. Then, in 2018, Congress ordered the big three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to offer credit freezes free of charge. It became relatively simple to freeze and unfreeze your credit online. Of course, it’s not simple if you aren’t computer savvy, Dvorkin noted. “Credit freezes massively reduce the risk of identity theft, but nothing is totally effective,” Dvorkin said. “If you freeze your credit, you still need to review your credit card statements and check your credit reports annually.”

“Retirees need a good credit score because they’ve retired from their jobs, not their lives,” said Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of Debt.com.

It also may be — depending on the details of your situation — that you want to declare bankruptcy, says certified public accountant (CPA), Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com. “Bankruptcy was created just for these situations, when good people are stuck in a bad place. In this instance, it doesn’t matter how diligent you are and how hard you’re willing to work to get out of debt. The blunt truth is that your physical body and your financial situation cannot be overcome by sheer force of will. You need to speak with a bankruptcy attorney,” says Dvorkin.

“Repossession is bad for both the borrower and the co-signer because both credit scores will take a hit. Late payments, loan defaults, loans sent to collections and court judgments can all be noted on the primary borrower reports and the co-signer’s reports,” says Howard Dvorkin, CPA and personal finance expert at Debt.com.

"Medical debt doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's quite likely that doctor's visits have become harder to pay because Americans have many other debts they're juggling," said Debt.com founder and chairperson Howard Dvorkin.