If you’re like most Americans, you probably have some sort of medical debt. In fact, about one in four people report having difficulty paying their medical bills, according to a recent study. Medical debt can be a huge burden, both financially and emotionally. But there are ways to get help and make it more manageable. Here are some tips on how to pay off your medical debt.

1. Understand what medical debt is and how it differs from other types of debt

Medical debt is a financial burden that can be incurred in situations where the cost of medical treatments or services exceeds what is covered by insurance, such as bunion surgery. It typically arises after a person has received medical care and receives an itemized bill of the costs they must cover. This type of debt differs from other forms of debt in that it is generally considered to be more urgent and pressing, as medical bills are often accompanied by late payment penalties and threats of collections activities almost immediately. Additionally, many medical debt items cannot be addressed through traditional methods such as consolidation or refinancing. People dealing with this type of debt often require specialized help from attorneys or counselors who may be able to negotiate payment plans on their behalf. Understanding what medical debt is and appreciating how it lends itself differently than other kinds of debt can help people build strategies for managing their overall finances more effectively.

2. Know your rights

You have the right to negotiate with creditors. Everyone should make sure that they understand their rights. Having knowledge of your rights can go a long way in helping to protect yourself, your financial needs, and ultimately your security. One particular right is the right to negotiate with creditors. People can use this right while struggling with debt or other difficult financial issues. By negotiating, it may be possible to reduce what you owe or lower the interest rate on a loan, for example. Understanding and exercising this important right could very well provide the help needed during stressful times.

3. Consider consolidating your debts or using a credit counseling service

When facing overwhelming amounts of debt, it can feel like a Herculean task to pay it off. Consolidating your debts or using a credit counseling service can be a great way to help manage your debt and make sure that you are paying off everything you owe. By consolidating your debt, you combine multiple loans or credit card bills into one smaller payment, reducing stress and helping you stay on top of obligations. Additionally, many credit counseling services provide budget planning assistance and financial education classes to help ensure that you do not fall back into the same bad habits that created such a financial mess in the first place. There are numerous reliable and reputable organizations available for assistance if your debt is too much for you to handle alone, so consider seeking professional help before it gets too far out of hand.

If you have a baby on the way, it is likely that your excitement is mixed with at least a little bit of stress about finances and you might find yourself questioning exactly how you will be able to afford everything once your little one arrives. Whether you’re a first-time parent or just adding a new addition to your family, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and concerned about your family’s finances and spending habits in the months leading up to the birth of your child. Whether you’re the CEO of your own company, a medical scribe for Provider’s Choice Scribe Services, or hold any job title in between, the birth of a new baby is a major life change that will have an impact on your finances. While there are many ways to financially prepare for a new baby, here are 5 simple tips for getting started.

1. Do Your Research

If you’re preparing for a baby, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and get caught up in all the seemingly necessary products you have to buy. Before spending any money on baby supplies, take the time to do a little research on the items you’re buying. Look around online and consult your friends or family members who are parents to determine what products are actually necessary.

2. Accept Second-Hand Items

In consulting with your loved ones, it is likely that you will receive offers for old clothes, toys, and other items that once belonged to their little ones; accept them. Since baby items can only be used for a short time, reusing them is completely acceptable and a great way to save big money.

3. Hold Off On Maternity Clothes

Resist the urge to splurge on maternity clothes just because you’re excited. Since these clothes are only necessary for a short period of time, it is better to wait to buy them until you absolutely have to, so you can access what you need and avoid going overboard.

4. Consider Future Gifts

At your future baby showers and upon the birth of your child, it is likely that you will be showered with gifts, often more than you need. Make a registry of items you need or want, and wait until at least after your baby shower to purchase any of these items, since you never know what gifts you will end up getting.

5. Buy in Bulk

When buying your initial supply of items that are absolutely essential and will inevitably need to be purchased, such as diapers or formula, consider purchasing them in bulk. These will last longer and save you a considerable amount of money in the long run.

Remember that although having a new baby can be scary and comes with stress about many things, including finances, this is an exciting time for you and your family. Use these tips to help you start thinking about your budget and how you can save money before your baby arrives, so you can limit your stress and enjoy this special time.

Streaming services have changed the way that we as a society consume media, and for the most part, it’s great! However, consumer insights have shown that most people don’t want to pay for another streaming service, and it’s not hard to understand why: we’ve got too many. Some are packed full of great content, while others are only getting our money because of one or two shows. Paying for all those streaming services can really add up if you’re not careful, which is why you should implement some tips to save yourself some money at the end of each month.

Pick and Choose

Most of us would have to agree that there are a few too many streaming services to choose from these days. But with great shows on each of them, what are you supposed to do? One option would be to pick and choose which services you use most often and cut the rest. You can keep one service while you finish a show, then when you finish and are ready to switch to another, cancel your subscription and switch to another! This is a great way to focus on shows you’re interested in without breaking the bank.

Utilize Free Trials

A majority of streaming services offer free trials, so why not use them? Obviously, this isn’t a long-term solution, but before you add yet another streaming service to your bill, try the free trial out. If you find there’s not much there that appeals to you past the one or two shows you finish within the free month, ditch it! This can be done several times if you’ve got multiple emails throughout your household.

Account Sharing

Sharing accounts can be a tricky situation. Certain providers do not condone it, while others haven’t said much about it at all. That being said, it can be hard for some people to afford many of them without some sort of sharing system. We don’t recommend that you just give out your password and emails to everyone that asks for them, but one thing that a lot of people within families do is pay for one service, share it, and then the other person does the same with another service. By splitting things fifty-fifty, you’ll get more access to shows for the same price, and more people can enjoy them. Whether you think it’s good or bad, the reality of the situation is that without this, many people would simply not use certain streaming services at all.

Opt for Ads

Nobody enjoys having their show interrupted for a commercial, especially when we’ve gotten used to not needing to deal with them with services like Netflix. However, if you’re trying to save a few bucks across multiple services each month, opting for ads may not be a bad option. Often times an ad-included subscription option will reduce the overall price by a third to half of what the ad-free version costs. If you aren’t quite ready to get rid of your Hulu subscription for King of the Hill, choosing ads might be a sacrifice you’re willing to make.

Save and Enjoy!

By using these tips, you’ll not only save more on your streaming subscriptions each month, but you’ll be more likely to explore shows and movies that you may not have otherwise. Whether you decide to cut some subscriptions out of your budget or downgrade to allow ads, you’ll still be able to watch the shows you want and save some green in the process.

Gaining a mortgage is considered as essentially the Mount Everest of our generation. It’ll be a challenge, but possible. And we give so much time and energy to gaining the mortgage, we don’t even really think about the monthly repayments. The train of thought is to save for a down payment and think about if you can afford the mortgage repayments down the line.

Lucky for you then, that there are ways you can save on your mortgage repayments. If you’re looking for ways to save on your mortgage repayments, take a look at our guide below.

Shop around

Contrary to popular belief, there is an opportunity to negotiate when it comes to your mortgage. The best way to do this is to shop around. Present your finances to various lenders and see what offers they put on the table.

Remember to put forward the best case possible. Offer every source of income you have, including alimony, child support, social security payments, returns from investments, side businesses and part time jobs. Wipe away any debt as best as possible. You can do this over time by paying more than the minimum amount or make things easier with a balance transfer card or an auto refinance. The first thing any lender will look at is your income, and then your debt-to-income ratio to determine if you are a good choice to lend to. Most banks prefer less than 36% on a debt-to-income ratio to be secure in lending.

You can take all the heavy lifting out of this process and gain an expert’s insight by hiring a mortgage broker. They can sift through potential mortgages, comparing interest rates and looking for areas where you can save money. If you’re looking to deal with a mortgage broker, take a look at this guide.

Once you have your offers, you can present them to your initial lender to see if they will match them. They might see that you have potential, or they might stick to their guns, either way, you now have a better offer on the table that you can pursue.

Offer a bigger down payment

When you are shopping around for a new home, you will have to think about how much you have saved up for a down payment.

This is a big part of how you can save interest on your mortgage. If you have a down payment of more than 20% of the value of your home, you can forgo the private mortgage insurance or PMI, that will be added to your regular repayments. Lender’s insurance is designed to protect the lender, should you stop paying your mortgage.

With the extra funds that 20% of your potential home’s value will bring in, your lender will feel more secure in offering you a mortgage and therefore will drop the insurance fee.

Switch to bi-weekly

The main principle of saving money on your mortgage interest is to pay off your mortgage faster to avoid more interest. That’s why it’s useful to switch to bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments. Switching your payments to every two weeks rather than once a month adds a payment every year, so you are making 13 payments a year rather than 12.

Plus, the total payments made every year counts towards your principal, and every reduction in your principal will bring your interest down. Throughout a 15 or 30 year mortgage this can equal taking years off your loan.

Even if you don’t switch to bi-weekly payments, perhaps due to the fact that your policy doesn’t allow for it, you can have the same effect by making an extra payment every year of your own accord. In fact, if you find you have the money, say from a tax return or a bonus at work, you can add as many extra payments as you want to and keep bringing your principal down and your interest with it.

Recast your mortgage

Recasting, or re-amortization, is the concept of you paying a significant chunk of your loan and then “recasting” your existing loan, meaning you are taking out a new loan without the need for existing qualifying factors.

From the point that you take out this new loan, your principles and interest month-to-month will be recalculated and with the extra chunk of loan paid off, your monthly repayments will lower.

Streamline refinance

Streamline refinance is available to people who have a government-backed loan and allows them to lower their interest rates and monthly repayments. It ultimately allows you to extend the length of your term so that your monthly repayments are more spread out.

Some firms will even put you through the process of a streamline refinance without resetting your term, and the main perk is that it can be personalized to your financial needs.

If you aren’t backed by the government, you can look into its conventional equivalent, the rate-and-term mortgage refinance.