Financial News Features

People are subsidizing their normal costs, their normal living expenses, using the credit cards. So maybe things were great three years ago. But now with the inflated expenses for groceries and fuel, and all the other expenses – and travel I have to say because the airports are very busy – they’re using credit cards to pay for it.

"You can't get out of debt if you don't understand what's keeping you there," Debt.com's chairman Howard Dvorkin said. "And you certainly can't get out of debt if you don't even know the options you have."

"A lot of times, medical providers' prices are wacky," Howard Dvorkin, a certified public accountant and chairman of Debt.com, told CBS MoneyWatch. Dvorkin recalls receiving a bill for a medical incident that required his daughter to be airlifted for treatment. The initial total? $18,000. He asked the treatment provider what rate they would have billed his insurance company and said: "That's the rate I'll pay."

“Think of a credit repair company like you’d think of a tax preparer. Sure, you can do your own income taxes, but sometimes it’s worth the money to hire a professional,” says Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of Debt.com.

But before signing up for an Amazon credit card, think carefully about how often you'll actually use it, and whether you'll be able to pay off the entire balance every month, said Howard Dvorkin, a financial advisor and chairman of Debt.com. "On paper, getting an Amazon credit card for Prime Day makes dollars and sense. In practice, it's dangerous unless you're super-disciplined," he told MarketWatch in an email. "You need to be honest with yourself before making this decision," he added.

"I'm always amazed at what embarrasses people," said Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of Debt.com. I've counseled rational adults who feel ashamed that they've been laid off from their job — even though they had nothing to do with the decision. It was market forces or business priorities. Yet these same people weren't embarrassed running up five-figure credit card bills when they were employed, then paying huge interest charges and other fees because they couldn't pay them off."