Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Kevin Mulligan

How to Consolidate Your Debt and Pros and Cons

Published or updated by

Getting into debt is really easy if someone is willing to give you a credit line. It’s the getting out of debt that is the hard part.

Many financial gurus advise against debt consolidation.  There’s the old adage of “You can’t go into debt to get out of debt.”

While consolidating does have its risks, it can be beneficial in helping you turn your finances around.

Pros and Cons of Consolidating Debt

First let’s look at the positives and negatives of using debt consolidation to helping you get out of debt once and for all.

Pros of Debt Consolidation

[Read more…] about How to Consolidate Your Debt and Pros and Cons

What is an IPO and Should I Care?

Published or updated by

Facebook’s recent IPO and resulting stock price flop have been all the talk in both financial and general news media as of late.  Billions have been made and lost on that single stock alone.

But what exactly is an IPO?  And does it really matter to the average investor?

What is an IPO?

IPO stands for “Initial Public Offering”.

When a private company wants to sell a share of the company to the public in order to raise capital to continue expanding operations it is done through an initial public offering.  It is called this because up to this point the private company hasn’t sold a share of the company publicly on the stock market.

In short, an IPO is when a privately held company owned by a few individuals or handful of investors, sells a chunk of the company on the publicly traded stock markets.

Why Do Private Companies Go Public?

[Read more…] about What is an IPO and Should I Care?

Motif Investing Review

Published or updated by

I had never heard of Motif Investing when Glen asked me to take a look at them and write up a Motif Investing review.  Having done so I’m really glad I’ve been made aware of this investment firm.

This is one of the most unique value propositions I’ve heard of for retail investors in quite some time.  If you ever plan to invest for your future retirement I think looking at Motif is a good idea.

What is Motif Investing?

[Read more…] about Motif Investing Review

What is the Student Loan Forgiveness Act and Is It a Good Idea?

Published or updated by

Earlier this year a new bill was introduced to Congress called the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.

The potential legislation has some massive changes for the student loan industry.  Is this new student debt legislation a good idea or something that should be shelved by Congress?

What is the Student Loan Forgiveness Act?

The Act would make wide changes to the massive student debt load in the country.

In 2010 total student loan debt exceeded total credit card debt for the first time.  The Act is also in response to a poor economy: the idea is that former students are too cash strapped from paying their loans to spend any money in the economy and relieving them of this debt would greatly improve the consumer economy.

10/10 Payment and Forgiveness

[Read more…] about What is the Student Loan Forgiveness Act and Is It a Good Idea?

What is a MLM Business and What You Need to Know About Them

Published or updated by 9 Comments

Looking to improve your situation by starting your own business?

As you’re doing your research you may run across some amazing claims by potential business operations that promise you the ability to work for yourself while selling great products.

The old mantra of “if it is too good to be true, it probably is” should raise a red flag in your head.

When an individual or business claims they’re going to make everyone rich and successful, you are probably speaking to someone involved in an MLM business scam.

What is a MLM Business?

[Read more…] about What is a MLM Business and What You Need to Know About Them