Financial News Features

New numbers from online advisor Personal Finance show U.S. adults — especially young adults — are willing to spend more for convenience, often increasing simple costs of day-to-day living. This is despite the fact that 60% say they haven’t taken any precautionary steps for a potential economic downturn.

The term was coined by Howard Dvorkin, a CPA and chairman of Debt.com. Dvorkin says he was looking for a way to explain a troubling statistic; 1 in 10 families earning $100,000 or more have no savings, according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts study.

As a solopreneur myself, I always enjoy talking with fellow entrepreneurs about what sparked them to take the plunge and start their own business and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Recently, I spoke with personal finance expert and consumer advocate Howard Dvorkin.

On Jan. 25, Discover debuted its Discover it Secured Credit Card, offering consumers the chance to establish or reestablish credit. While many banks offer secured credit card options, the Discover it card is a rare find owed to its rewards program and no annual fee.

The world of finance is not one I am normally prone to play in, if you will. But being the uber-curious person that I am, I was intrigued by the possibility of speaking with Howard Dvorkin, a personal finance expert and consumer advocate. He has established himself and his personal brand over the past 15+ years. I recently had the chance to ask him a few questions as I was curious as to how he got started, what he did to build his brand and so on.