Author Archives: The Village Family Service Center

Nine Steps to Dealing With Medical Debt

When most people think of medical debt, they think of a person or family with no health insurance at all, yet a large percentage of Americans who have incurred medical debt actually do possess health insurance (also known as the “underinsured”). If you find yourself facing medical debt, here are some steps and options to consider. Continue reading

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Making the Case against Receiving a Federal Income Tax Refund

Millions of Americans celebrate receiving an income tax refund each year. Many of these same people live each month under the burden of financial hardship, struggling to make ends meet, often falling behind on living expenses and debt obligations. The … Continue reading

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Survival Plan for Maintaining Financial Stability during Sequestration

Sequestration is now in place, and along with it came a good amount of uncertainty, causing many Americans to wonder how they will be impacted. By some estimates, more than one million employees of federal agencies may receive furlough notices. … Continue reading

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Guide to Disputing Credit Report Inaccuracies

The accuracy of credit reports has been in the news lately, causing consumers to wonder how error-free their own report is. Since credit reports are the backbone of the all-important credit score, it is indeed important to fully understand what … Continue reading

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Ways to Find Money and Offset Social Security Tax Hike

Paychecks are getting smaller. While many Americans are breathing a sigh of relief that their income tax did not increase, there is nonetheless a tax increase that will impact all paychecks. The Social Security payroll tax rate was reduced for … Continue reading

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Are You Profiled as a High Achiever by FICO?

I received this information the other day from and thought it was interesting and worth sharing. The original study was published by myFICO.com, the consumer division of FICO, the company that invented the FICO Credit Score What’s the Profile of … Continue reading

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Consequences of Overspending on the Holidays

Millions of consumers have begun their holiday shopping, snagging sale items either in-person or online, and therefore considering themselves savvy shoppers. At the same time, many lost sight of the fact that regardless of the price, a bargain isn’t a … Continue reading

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More than One in Five Americans Consider Credit Essential

According to the September poll hosted on the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) website, 22 percent of more than 1,900 respondents indicated they could not make ends meet without access to credit. “There are hundreds of millions of credit … Continue reading

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Village Financial Counselors Help Consumers Understand Importance of Credit Report

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it would soon begin examining credit reporting agencies to confirm, among other things, that they are producing accurate credit reports and that consumers have ample ability to dispute errors on their … Continue reading

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Check Your Credit Report!

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it would soon begin examining credit reporting agencies to confirm, among other things, that they are producing accurate credit reports and that consumers have ample ability to dispute errors on their … Continue reading

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