Smart Talk About Debt: Daniel Goldstone's Practical Advice

Dan Goldstone wants to help consumers in all walks of life be smarter about managing their personal finances. His message: today, good credit is almost as critical as good health.

Consider these debt facts:

o more than 50 percent of Americans carry $10,000 in credit card debt
o Two million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2005
o 83 percent of college students carry a credit card
o 96 percent of graduate students have 6 credit cards with an average of $2,000 in debt

Daniel Goldstone doesn’t believe that credit cards are intrinsically evil. He does believe some consumers don’t recognize the privilege – and responsibility – of spending borrowed money. His site gives consumers actionable information and access to helpful resources for creating and following a budget, selecting the right credit card, and maintaining good credit score.

Teach the Children Well

For Goldstone, teaching young consumers about financial literacy is a core passion and in fact, the site springs from his belief that financial responsibility should be introduced early in life. He believes that society fails to prepare children for the real life situations where credit plays a major role.

To close the gap in understanding, we should try to use simple, clear language and real-life examples that bring this message about the costs of poor financial management home. You should start to learn the a vocabulary list of common terms used in financial transactions, without financial jargon and a question-and-answer online community for questions that consumers have but may be afraid to ask.

College students needs this debt support the most to help manage their money. Goldstone’s advice to this next-generation of homebuyers, employees and parents: “Develop a budget, and keep a close track of what comes in and what goes out, the more thoroughly the better. It will pay off in many more ways than any spending spree.”

Practical Advice for Troubled Consumers

You should look to find immediate steps for getting control over finances to find tips for speeding the time to paying off debt and how to engage with debtors. For anyone dealing with debt collectors, talk to them, specifically about willingness to pay; in many cases, the collectors are highly trained professionals who have specific skills in creating workable payment plans.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you are in debt,” said Daniel Goldstone. “The most important thing is to learn from past experiences and commit to treating good credit as a precious resource.”

Debt consumers should take the steps now to find basic tools and tips for understanding the role of credit in their lives, how to manage credit resources wisely and most importantly, what to do if they get into financial trouble

These are some of the steps to managing your personal finance:

o Determining how much credit is right for an individual
o Increasing monthly payments to pay off debt faster
o Managing calls from debt/bill collectors
o Dealing with bad credit ratings

Its time to start talking about debt, so that consumers can take control of their personal finances with the debt tip resources that are available online.