This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dianne Michels, 81, who works at Trader Joe’s in the Chicago area while developing a consulting and coaching business. She works to pay down her $70,000 in debt and fund the business, which she hopes will live on beyond her. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Part of me never wants anybody to know how old I am because I don’t want them to treat me like I’m an old person. The way people in retirement are treated is like they’re no longer relevant.

I started my career at a telephone company in Fargo when I was 19. I went to college but dropped out because I didn’t want to be a nurse or a teacher, and it seemed like those were the only…

 For those students and ex-students with HELP, or what was called HECS debt, in Lismore and the Northern Rivers, there is some good news today as the Australian Federal Government has cut all student debts by 20 per cent.

In Australia, that is three million people with student debt at a cost of more than $16 billion.

The government says its number one focus is continuing to deliver cost-of-living relief for all Australians, and that cutting student debt by 20 per cent will ease pressure on workers and students across the country. 

For someone with the average debt of $27,600, this will see $5,520 wiped from their outstanding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans. 

Backdated to 1 June, this is lifting the burden for Australians with…

A financial repayment company has been stripped of its license by ASIC following a story on A Current Affair.

Solve My Debt Now promised to help people in financial trouble, but was accused of doing the opposite.

At the helm was Merrilyn Mansfield, who told A Current Affair last year in an exchange with journalist Pippa Bradshaw that she had done nothing wrong.

“Are you a debt vulture Merrilyn?” Bradshaw asked.

“That’s an allegation,” Mansfield responded.

“So they’re completely in the wrong here?” Bradshaw asked.

“Absolutely,” Mansfield said.

“And you’re completely in the right?” Bradshaw…

“I’ve been forced into bankruptcy as a result of a defamation case where I was found to be unsuccessful, owing a vet clinic $320,000 in damages,” Peterson said.

“And that doesn’t even include their legal costs, putting my debt to over half a million dollars.

“During the trial, I was forced to produce financial and bank statements because their lawyer was trying to claim that I did animal rights activism for financial gain.

“The judge denied this claim. The opposing lawyer also accused me of tax fraud, a serious allegation which again the judge found to be untrue.

“This accusation led to the Australian Tax Office auditing me for over two years worth of income and this lawyer is now being investigated by the WA Legal Board.”