Economics Finance

When folks ponder bankruptcy, they as a rule imagine cars, houses, or credit cards. They more often than not will not consider medical bills. But the reality is that a big part of the bankruptcies filed in the United States are thanks to overwhelming medical expenses that people cannot pay.

If you are somebody who is considering medical bankruptcy, here are a few things that will give details to you the two kinds of bankruptcy and the ways they surely will affect your costs and the different ways they are going to affect you in the the near future.

Chapter 7

This sort of bankruptcy will wholly exonerate most of the debts that somebody has, which will likely include all of the person’s medical costs. The unpleasant thing about this type of bankruptcy is that it will remain on a person’s credit report for a decade, which is a exceptionally long time. This will also really affect their credit, even if that person filed it only because of their medical costs.

Chapter 13 Continue reading ‘Consider These Medical Debt Bankruptcy Facts’ »

If you or someone you know is trying to become a first-time homeowner, and you don’t have a high salary or a lot of savings, there is financial assistance available if you lack a large down-payment or enough money for closing costs.

Over the past decade there has been a surge in first-time homebuyer initiatives designed to give people a helping hand in overcoming the down payment dilemma. In fact, in every state in America there are a broad range of first-time homebuyer assistance programs, including:

* Free grants and cash gifts for down payments – with funds ranging from $500 to as much as $40,000
* Money for closing costs, prepaid escrows and other mortgage expenses
* Grants or loans to fix up homes in need of repair
* 100% financing programs, so that you pay zero down on a home
* Home loans that feature 0% interest, low interest rates or below-market interest rates
* Mortgages with loan forgiveness benefits or no payments for a set period of time
* Federal and state housing tax credits
* Homebuyer workshops to teach you about the rights and responsibilities of being a homeowner
* Mortgage education classes that explain the mortgage process
* Budgeting, credit counseling, money-management and overall financial planning services

First-Time Homebuyer Programs In Every State

No matter where you reside or where you’re looking to settle down, if you’re a first-time homebuyer, there’s a program that can help you purchase a house. And virtually every type of residence is eligible under these programs, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, modular homes, and manufactured housing. Many assistance programs have income limitations, particularly those that provide city, state or federal funding. But other programs have no income criteria. Also, certain housing assistance plans impose caps on the purchase price of the property you can buy. Despite these restrictions, you’ll find that taking advantage of a first-time homebuyers’ program is one of the smartest things you can do. It will allow you to get into a home sooner, save money in the process, and simultaneously build wealth. Continue reading ‘Where to Find Grants and Free Money For First Time Homebuyers’ »

A student is about to enter college but at the same time worried about how he is going to find the money to be paid for the various school dues and costs. This has been the common scenario at the start of every academic year. It is a good thing that these days, there are now easy private student loans that one can apply for.

Indeed, as a student you should not worry about the lack of financial sources as there are numerous kinds of loans and aids designed for college students. Some of these loans are quite difficult to obtain while many others are easy student loans to get.

If you have to acquire some debts for reasons of your academic pursuit, you would surely like to acquire one of the available easy college loans. Definitely, there are some loan types that you can obtain without experiencing so much difficulty or hassle. Continue reading ‘Easy Private Student Loans’ »

If you have reached a position where, even with significant cut backs in your spending, you would be unable to repay your outstanding debts within three years, then you are probably in a position where you are considering the possibility of bankruptcy. However, even if you are absolutely certain that you do need to file and that you meet the criteria required, you should still avoid a do it yourself bankruptcy at all costs. You absolutely must hire a lawyer with experience and expertise in the field.

The lawyer will look at your situation from a legal standpoint and take into account the experience he has had in previous cases and he will be able to advise you accurately. You could even be shocked to find that bankruptcy is not the best thing for you to do and finding out at this stage, as opposed to finding out too late if you attempt a do it yourself bankruptcy, will save you a lot of financial and practical hassle.

Continue reading ‘Do-It-Yourself Bankruptcy – Can You Attempt to Declare Bankruptcy Without an Attorney?’ »

Budgets are stretched beyond breaking point these days and this whole recession experience is new to many younger people, who may be just building a home environment and starting to raise their families. Certainly, there’s pressure on everything you do and you must strive to cut down on your costs as much as possible. This certainly includes the need to reduce utilities, which can often be the biggest cost of all.

One of the most important things you can do to reduce utilities is to use a programmable thermostat. These are not very expensive and, let’s face it, who remembers to turn up and turn down the thermostat when you are retiring at the end of the day, or coming back into the house after being away. You can certainly pay for the cost of the thermostat in a short space of time and its a wise investment.

We have so many appliances in our modern home that we are definitely spoiled. If you look back a couple of generations ago, all of the tasks we took for granted were performed by hand. If you really want to make a difference and reduce utilities, consider taking a leaf out of their book. Wash dishes by hand, for example and if you live in an appropriate area, try hanging the clothes out to dry. They will smell a lot fresher and last a lot longer. Continue reading ‘Go Out of Your Way to Reduce Utilities’ »

If I approached you and asked, “If I loan you $300.00 next month, will you give me back $2,300.00?”, you would think two things: I am a loan shark of the lowest order, and if you did it, you are one of the most foolish people on the planet. Yet, we do it every month in the form of a mortgage payment!

Do we need a mortgage for a $400,000 house, or could we have learned to be more comfortable in a home that only costs $300,000?

We use plastic today at an alarming rate to satisfy our desires, and we have to have that projection TV today not in three months when we can save up for it you know, operate within a strict budget.

I’m told that for every dollar we spend on credit, we owe the dollar plus four more, so the payback is five times more than the purchase price. If you charge that sub sandwich at Subway for $5.00, it will cost you $25.00 to pay it off. That $100. pair of Nike sneakers will actually cost you $500.00. Would you have paid $25. for the sub up front, or $500.00 for those sneakers up front? I say that to know how much things actually cost to have it now – and pay for it on credit, is a stupid thing to do but we all do it.

In this very tight economy, one has to wonder if there are ways to get out of debt when we have so much debt to get out of. Happily, the answer is yes.

Here’s what I have done, and I am already getting ahead – albeit, slower than I would like.

First, if you have Windows XP or Vista, there is a free software program already in your computer. It is called Microsoft Works Spreadsheet. Go to START, then PROGRAMS and it should be there. Load it, and try to keep your next months’ budget on your desktop so it is always right in front of you.

Next, List your Cash on Hand at the top of the budget under INCOME. Then list all other revenue sources that you anticipate for the month that you plan to start your budget in. If you collect wages, list your take-home pay there. If you receive other income (alimony, child support, rental property income, or odd-jobs that you do on the side), list them under INCOME.

The Works Spreadsheet will allow you to add a TOTAL INCOME column, and there is a greek symbol and dollar sign symbol at the top of your spreadsheet. The Greek looking symbol is there for creating a formula for adding columns up for you to give the total. For instance, your formula will likely be (B3:B8), and this will automatically add up your figures in rows B3 through B8.

Below that, skipping a row or two .you will begin to add EXPENSES. Below that category, list every dime that you spend using your checkbook, or ATM card. These are all of your bank account transactions. Oh, and STOP using your credit cards immediately. Your intent is to get out of debt. Even the Bible tells us that to owe a creditor is to be a slave to that creditor.

List expenses like mortgage, auto payment, auto insurance, gas & repairs for auto, health insurance, medications, Supermarket food, Food-Misc. (this covers coffee, donuts, sub sandwiches, going out to eat at night, etc), electric bill, phone bill, cell phone bill you get the picture. Each month, as you look over your budget to determine if you will be in a negative or positive cashflow situation at the end of the month, you will start adding more things under expenses things that you never thought of as a cost before.

Within three months, you will pretty much have your total, reality-check budget in place. Then, you can start seeing where you can cut expenses or add a little income here and there and over time, you can see those budget reductions, and take pride in the fact that you can whip this debt thing.

That $1.87 cup of coffee and the $1.50 bagel with cream cheese in the morning, then again around 3:00 PM is really $6.74 a day. But, look at the larger picture of how much that costs per month, which is $202.20 and a whopping $2,460.10 a year! I always measure it out by the year once I know the “short cost”. This helps put reality into perspective of what that little pleasure really costs!

Let me ask you this would you rather pay your credit card down by $2,460.10 – or go for that $2460.10 coffee bill? My guess is that using that money to pay down debt might put a heck of a dent in one of your credit cards! Continue reading ‘Rise From the Ashes of Debt’ »