debt reduction

After a long spell in which one or both spouses were unemployed, a couple with three kids finds themselves $50,000 in debt. Now, with wife and husband back at work, they're aiming to get all their financial pins in a row and bowl a strike. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley offers a strategy for success.

An estimated two-thirds of baby boomer households will receive an inheritance at some point, with a median amount of $64,000, according to an AARP study. I recently received an email from a reader who has fallen deeply into debt in anticipation of her legacy -- and is now worried that her bailout may not be at hand.

There has been a pleasant lull in reporting about the debt ceiling and budget debate, but don't let the quiet fool you. Right now, 11 men and one woman are crafting a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. They are the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction -- aka, the Deficit Supercommittee.

An international robocall ring that allegedly fleeced almost 13,000 consumers out of $995 apiece with empty promises to reduce their credit card rates has been shut down by a federal court at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. The case is part of the FTC's continuing crackdown against...

Illinois' attorney general is suing a company for allegedly operating debt relief and mortgage rescue scams that targeted the Chicago area's sizable Polish community - allegedly bilking more than a dozen customers out of $300,000. Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the Omega Business Center...

Nearly 7,000 victims of a nationwide debt-relief scam that led many consumers into financial ruin and bankruptcy will be receiving refund checks from the Federal Trade Commission. The defendants, claiming they could reduce debt, rarely provided services promised and usually left customers in even...

Have you been looking for an added incentive to drop your debt and start living a better financial life? Well if the lack of credit card payments and money spent on interest isn't enough Mint.com's new Drop Your Debt Challenge is prepared to put Mint's money where your wallet is and give you a kick...

Beleaguered book retailer Borders (BGP) needs every drop of capital it can get in order to stay competitive with the likes of Barnes & Noble (BKS) and Amazon (AMZN). One way it's doing so is through a startling, but not surprising development: selling its London-based Paperchase stationery,...

The Florida Attorney General has sued a Florida company that made false claims on national radio and TV ads that it could cut consumers' car payments in half. Auto Relief Group, its subsidiaries and owners, John J. Boyle and John J. Boyle III, are accused of deceiving consumers and bilking them...

I've long been a fan of automating your finances. There's a bit of freedom and a sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing you'll never have to pay a late fee again. Unfortunately, if you don't pay attention this can come back to bite you in more ways than one. Starting several months ago...