Durham Bankruptcy Law Blog

When times are tough and must decide whether to feed your family or make your car payment, you’re probably going to choose your family. You’re not alone. A new report published in February 2019 revealed as many as 7 million Americans were more than 90 days overdue on their car payments. Late payments typically incur late fees which increase the amount you owe

The New York Federal Reserve believes there are several possible explanations for this trend:

The results of a study released recently by the Health Care Cost Institute suggests that about one in seven hospital patients receives a bill for out-of-network treatment despite obtaining their care at an in-service medical facility. The nonprofit health research group arrived at this figure after assessing almost 620,000 hospital admissions in 37 states. North Carolina was one of 15 states where between 10 and 15 percent of in-service patients were sent bills for out-of-network treatment.

In many cases, these bills surprised patients who took steps to ensure that all of their treatment options were covered by their health insurance policies. This happens because hospitals often use independent laboratories for medical testing and out-of-network doctors. Experts say the problem is getting worse because insurance providers are offering policies with more restrictions and are becoming stricter about reimbursement. In addition to determining how many hospital patients receive out-of-network bills, the IIHS study also examined the most common causes of uncovered treatment.

If you are among the many people out there struggling with debt, you are not alone. Unfortunately, it is highly common to slip into financial problems early on and at any point of crisis. Money management is not often taught in school or by parents. And that is exactly the kind of ignorance that many credit card companies count on when seeking new customers.

Debt is a slippery slope that can lead many people down a path of greater problems down the road when the issues are left unsettled. What leads to the constraints of money problems? Insufficient funds. Not having a savings in place is the one single thing that leads many people down a destructive path of financial trouble.

Many people in North Carolina are struggling with insurmountable amounts of credit card debt. This is especially true if they have paid for some significant expenses on credit or their income has declined after signing up for new credit cards. Across the country, people are accumulating increasing amounts of debt; the average individual debt reached $5,331 in 2019 on credit cards alone. Most people are unable to pay off their full balance each month; only 45 percent pay in full when they receive their monthly statements.

A number of factors may influence how much credit card debt a person has. People between 45 and 54 have the highest amount of debt. At the same time, people in the same category often have the highest incomes, so they may be better able to deal with the amounts that they owe. Younger and older Americans have lower amounts of debt. As people retire, they are less likely to accumulate major purchases on their credit cards as they adjust to a fixed income. In addition, those who make more money are also more likely to spend money. At the same time, those people may be better placed to pay off their debt. This debt-to-income ratio may be a more important metric.