Jean Chatzky Quotes

We all think we're going to get out of debt.

If you put a purchase on a charge card, you're paying it off forever. You have to know how to pay it off before you go deeply in debt.

The evergreen story of people in debt becomes even sexier in an economic downturn, when debts inevitably get harder to pay.

At my lowest point, I was nearly $700,000 in debt.

I'm the king of debt.

The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 made it harder for individuals to file bankruptcy, which is always the last resort. Unfortunately, simultaneously consumers racked up so much debt that counseling companies - which are higher up on my list if you need help managing your debt - are sometimes unable to help. So if you fall into this camp, debt settlement may be something to consider.

If you have credit card debt and credit card companies continue to close down the cards, what are you going to do? What are you going to do if they raise your interest rates to 32 percent? That's five times higher than what your kid is going to pay in interest on a student loan. Get rid of your credit card debt.

If you're filing bankruptcy, you will likely want to hire an attorney. But for debt settlement, a company is sufficient, or as I said, you can often do the legwork on your own.

A man in debt is so far a slave.

When debts are not paid because they cannot be paid, the best thing to do is not talk about them, and shuffle the cards again.

Even if you feel like your debt is just never going to go away, think long and hard before declaring bankruptcy. Declaring bankruptcy means that getting a loan for anything will be next to impossible for the next 10 years.

There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt.

You'll get the biggest bang for each buck by paying off the highest interest rate debt in your portfolio first, while making minimum payments on the remainder. It's called the avalanche method, and it gets you out of debt cheapest and fastest.

You never cash out a 401(k) or IRA to pay off debt, unless it's to avoid a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy laws allow companies to smoothly reorganize, but not college graduates burdened by student loans.

There's no advice for when you're out of money, and there's none coming in, and nobody's going to give you any.

Remember this: debt is a form of bondage. It is a financial termite.

The most troubling loan we had was actually to the 'Octomom'. That was a terrible situation, and we worked very, very hard to move her to another home that they could afford.

I have too many debts with the wrong people.

Let's say I go completely broke, I'm about to star in the next '30 for 30: Broke.'

But credit card debt is unsecured debt, which means if you get in trouble and cannot pay off your credit card, you can discharge it in bankruptcy. What are they going do to you? If you're in a financial position to just methodically pay off both credit card and student loans, pay them all.

Once you get into debt, it’s hell to get out. Don’t let credit card debt carry over. You can’t get ahead paying eighteen percent.

A lower interest rate doesn't make a debt go away.

Once the settlement is completed, the credit card company will report it to the credit bureaus, which will then make a notation on your credit report that that account was paid by settlement. That's going to signal to future lenders that you left the last guy hanging. That's why, as with bankruptcy, debt settlement is an extreme option, one you shouldn't take lightly. It's not just an easy, cheap way to eliminate debt.

If you'd asked me a few years ago about debt settlement companies, I probably would have told you to avoid them.