Debt

South Carolina’s debt situation is bad. But all is not lost. In this episode of InDebted, we wrap up the series with a look at what some of South Carolina’s greatest thinkers, lawmakers, and lenders are doing to address the Palmetto State’s ecosystem of debt.

RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit based in New York, buys medical debt through donations, then wipes those debts clean. It's a solution rooted in its CEO's impatience with waiting for the system to fix itself.

Debt is not just a poor person's plight. People with good credit and equity are like a buffet to lenders who want a piece of your wealth. And they have fantastically complicated contract language to distract you with.

You do not need to be poor to get caught in the cycle of debt. On this episode of InDebted, a look at how even those with good credit and successful businesses can fall victim to predators and end up in financial trouble.

South Carolina is second only to West Virginia in the share of residents with medical debt in collections. The why is a tangle of healthcare costs, disproportionate incomes, and low insurance rates. For starters.

'Michelle Strickland' has been hit about as hard as anyone could get hit financially. Her full story isn't exactly commonplace, but her plight navigating South Carolina's medical debt environment is.

For many South Carolinians, large medical expenses can change their lives completely. In fact, the Palmetto State currently has one of the highest levels of uninsured of any state. On this episode of InDebted, we look at medical debt in South Carolina and the very high cost of falling ill.

A USC finance professor discusses one solution he'd like to try for short-term loans.

In parts of South Carolina, residents without access to traditional financial institutions have to rely on alternative services such as payday loans, rent-to-own services, and auto title loans. On this episode of InDebted, we hear from the unbanked and underbanked, and learn why some economic experts view debt as a public health crisis.

You probably call all kinds of short-term loan product 'payday loans.' But short-term, small-dollar loans are a rich tapestry.