Credit card debt in America has reached $905 billion dollars, according to a recent NerdWallet survey. Kimberly Palmer, Personal Finance Expert at the company, joins Cheddar to explore some of the reasons behind the increase.
Two categories have outpaced income growth over the past decade: medical expenses and food. Healthcare costs, in fact, have increased by 34% while income has only grown by 20%. She gives some alternatives for how to pay off those expenses without whipping out the credit card.
Plus, people always say you're throwing out money when you rent a home, but how much money are homeowners throwing away in credit card interest? Palmer says that a house may be a great asset, but owners tend to ring up double the amount of credit card interest versus renters when spending on things like upkeep.
Irrigation might have saved Jackson's hay, but she and her husband rejected the idea about 10 years ago over the cost: as much as $75,000 for a new well and all the equipment. But now — with an extended drought and another U.S. heat wave this week that will broil her land about an hour northwest of Dallas for days in 100-degree-plus temperatures — Jackson said she is “kind of rethinking.”
Children’s advocacy groups including Fairplay and Common Sense Media are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google, saying the tech giant serves personalized ads to kids on YouTube despite federal law prohibiting the practice.
U.S. regulators on Wednesday announced a settlement with the company that runs Dollar Tree and Family Dollar aimed at improving worker safety at thousands of the bargain stores across the country.
