personal finance

Each week in our ‘Do-It-Yourself Bailout’ series, we talk about how we can all get into better financial shape and bail ourselves out of debt. Today we talk about how to improve your credit score and why you should care about it. From The Takeaway.

More and more Americans are filing for bankruptcy, and the biggest reason people are doing so isn’t excessive spending or job losses. According to a recent study, 62 percent of the people who file for bankruptcy do so because of medical debt.

The U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel released a new report that looks at how effective goverment efforts have been at stemming the tide of foreclosures. It expresses concern about the limited scope and scale of the Making Home Affordable program.

Americans paid off $21.6 billion in credit card debt and other consumer loans in July. Louise Story, a finance reporter for the New York Times, says the economy will fundamentally change if Americans take on a new attitude about using credit.

A bill to reform the practices of credit card companies is likely to end up on President Obama’s desk before Memorial Day. To help us understand how this bill will affect consumers, we turn to finance writer Beth Kobliner.