During times of society-wide financial crisis, individuals of all walks of life may suffer the consequences of job-loss, rising debt, and inability to pay important bills like mortgage payments, auto loans and other debts. When it comes to financial struggle, even those who at one point were considered to be “well-off” may face serious difficulty repaying their creditors and protecting their assets.

Although many people have a stereotypical vision of bankruptcy proceedings and the people who seek protection under U.S. bankruptcy law, the truth is that any individual in any vocation may find himself/herself in serious financial trouble. If an individual finds that it is too difficult to repay debts and maintain proper payments, he or she may consider filing for bankruptcy protection under the law.

Life-altering events like loss of spousal support, job-loss, rising debts, mortgage rate adjustments, and other actions can cause severe financial strife. People may find that their bills and debts outweigh the amount of income they bring in on a monthly basis and can eventually find that they are severely delinquent on their bills and payments. (more…)

The Christmas wreaths hanging in the store window say “Noel”, “Peace”, and “Joy”. Yet you are rushing out of that store and on to the next one feeling completely stressed out. You need to buy more Christmas gifts, but your running out of money, time, and ideas. You thought Christmas was to be a time of celebration, but as you pass through more and more check out lines you are getting further away from a festive holiday mood.

Christmas gifts for family or anyone else are nice but should never make you stressed or depressed. With all the self applied pressure to give great Christmas gifts it is easy to end up in debt and unsatisfied.

Is it possible to have peace and happiness in addition to frugality and saving time? Yes. I propose the following 12 new ways of looking at Christmas that will save your time and your money and make this Christmas more meaningful than ever before.

The two most important things you can do are to be aware of what is important and meaningful to the people you care about and plan ahead. Knowing what is important to your loved ones will allow you to find better ways to make their Christmas special without worrying about your bank account and credit cards. Knowing how, when, and where to find those special things will make Christmas gift shopping an exciting experience rather than an unpleasant one.

1st Day of Christmas

Refer to this year’s gift game plan.

What is it: A gift game plan is a list you keep during the year that notes the things that you’ve learned are important and meaningful to the people close to you.

Why: When you give something from your gift game plan you and the receiver of the gift do better because your gift has a value that is much higher than just the purchase price.

Example: Christmas is coming, you have little money, and you want to give your sister a gift that is inexpensive, but will be meaningful to her. You see a note on your gift giving game plan that she mentioned back in May that she loved a particular bowling ball in the public use racks at the bowling alley. It is transparent, has blue sprinkles throughout it, and has just the right finger hole sizes. She tries to hide it every time she is done bowling so she can find it easily next time she comes in. You are a regular customer at the alley and approach owner. It turned out that she is willing to sell you this ball because she wants to buy new balls for the alley anyway. She takes your offer of $10 for this used ball and even has the pro shop polish it and engrave your sister’s name onto it for an additional $5. You didn’t have to spend much money, but your sister is thrilled by the effort you made and that she now owns the “sprinkle ball”!

Action Plan: As a gift giver a better way to ensure that your gift will be appreciated is to make sure you know what is important to the gift receiver. During the year keep a holiday gift list. Every time someone important to you mentions something that is meaningful to them write that down on your holiday gift list. Same goes if they mention something they would really like to own or a problem they would really like to have solved. If you keep this list current you will have lots of ideas on what to get as momentous gifts for Christmas. You will find that often the best gifts / the things that mean the most to your family and friends don’t cost as much as the things you would have bought instead just so you had something to put under the tree.

2nd Day of Christmas

Create beautiful memories instead of ugly debt.

What is it: While there are people who create debt for themselves during the holidays by giving gifts you can inexpensively create a unique memento to a special memory from the past year.

Why: Ever hear that a picture is worth a thousand words? A creatively documented memory could be worth thousands of dollars to the person receiving it!

Example: Want a meaningful gift that will not put you in debt? Think about recreating a special moment from the year with pictures. I once took a picture of a friend who was bowling with her 4 year old daughter who had never bowled before. The picture showed my friend at the bowling line with her daughter while assisting her with her very first roll. I had the picture enlarged to an 8×10 shot and put it in a nice frame I bought on sale during the fall clearance. My total investment in this gift which memorialized this special moment was about $8.00.

Action Plan: Be on the lookout throughout the year for ways to memorialize special events. Collect new and old pictures, video or audio clips, certificates, ticket stubs, and other objects that you can use to remember a special day. Create a collage of pictures. Give a video of the “big game” to the soccer star in your family. Scan an old picture and have it printed as a poster.

3rd Day of Christmas

Write a letter not a card.

What it is: A short, handwritten note or letter that you include with a gift where you would have typically put a greeting card.

Why: When you receive a handwritten letter from someone there is a message you receive before even reading it. It says that the writer cares. Only people that care enough about you, the message, or both take the time to actually handwrite a letter.

Example: You were laid off for almost 8 months this year and are not in a financial position to buy a gift for your friend Chad. Chad helped you find your new job, however, and you want show him that you are grateful for his help this year. You hand write a letter to Chad and tell him that he is the example of what a true friend is, that you appreciate him, and that you will be there for him if he ever needs help as well. You include a picture of yourself sitting at your new work area and write “Thanks for getting me here Chad!”. Chad feels special and important. You acknowledged his effort and documented your gratitude in special way. (more…)

Don’t Face Foreclosure When You Can Get A Loan Modification.

Many individuals are having a hard time paying their home mortgages during these times. If you happen to be in the same boat, there are two things that you can consider to try to get you out of the situation that you currently find yourself in. You won’t need to ponder on these things for long as your answer will most likely stand out to you once you know what they are.

Foreclosure has a lot of disadvantages associated with it and usually just the thought of this word is enough to make people feel bad. No one wishes their house to be foreclosed upon, however in these hard times, this might be something you are having a really difficult time avoiding.

A loan modification is available to assist homeowners in keeping their homes. Foreclosure has a horrible effect on your credit score. If you have not thought of this option before, now is the time to do so. If a foreclosure happens to you, not only will it affect your credit, it will hinder you in trying to get a mortgage anytime in the future. A foreclosure will remain in your history forever. (more…)

The country of United States was totally into debts with many people filing for bankruptcy. Not only individuals but also many companies have filed for bankruptcy and other means of debt settlement methods to bring down their debts. You must be a part of this situation too but here is good news for you! For the past six months, debt settlements have increased largely because of the many stimulus packages that were brought in by the federal government to pump billions of dollars into our economy. This has brought in a great change into the market and also the life of every individual, who were living in debt. Although, initially it was thought that all the money was pumped into the accounts of big financial institutions; but I later understood that, it was helping the people indirectly in some way or the other.

Any ways, the main purpose of the packages was to eliminate the credit card debts that were the main cause of the downturn in the economy. With the help of the debt relief programs provided by various debt settlement companies, small business merchants and consumers are finding some refuge and trying to eliminate their credit card debts. This is a welcomed approach as many people are trapped by the credit card companies and do not know a way out. Fifty percentages of their debts are eliminated totally by the debt relief programs that work along with the people to make a note of all their financial records and negotiate with the lenders and the financial institutions.

This could be a tough process for the normal people, who do not have any idea about the tactics and the calculations that are used by the credit card companies to trap them. It is always better to have some knowledge about the consumer laws and other tactics that will help in negotiating with the lender and bring down the interest rates to the lowest. You can cut down 50% of your debts with the help of debt relief programs that are available in the market. Eliminate credit card debts before you could plan for any other expenses! (more…)

Many people today have a structured settlement that pays them out in dribs-and-drabs but they really need the money this month. The urgent need for ready cash could be to pay of credit cards or other debts or you may want to purchase stocks and bonds while the prices are lower than they could be in the future. Whatever your reason is for wanting the cash now is entirely up to you. It is your structured settlement entitlement and you can do with it as you will; so if you want to sell it, you need to be prepared to take less than its current value.

How much less is up to what you can negotiate with the buyer. But I suggest you make really sure that this is the best way of achieving a fix for whatever problem you are trying to solve. Sometimes, even if it takes years, a little bit of extra regular cash income coming in frequently can be a bonus.

Selling a structured settlement is a big decision and one that you really do need to shop around for the best deal you can find. The only way you will know if you have a good deal or get taken to the cleaners on the transaction will be if you start out with a bit of knowledge. And the fact that you are reading this assures me that you are in the process of doing your due-diligence information check and I think you are to be commended.

I would suggest the first place to approach would be a finance adviser or stockbroker. Talk to a few people and see if one name or one company name comes up frequently.

Often you will find in an area that if someone has a good name as a fair dealer that they will have numerous happy past clients who are only too happy to recommend you go and talk with whoever they recommend. (more…)