Economics Finance

If you’ve got a lot of debt, you may be thinking that bankruptcy is your only option. But, don’t file that bankruptcy petition just yet. These six steps may be all you need to stay out of bankruptcy and get your finances under control.

1. Write out all your monthly expenses, in detail.

Do you have a mortgage or an auto note? If so, what is your interest rate? How much are your monthly payments? What is the outstanding balance on those loans? List them, in full detail.

Next, write down all your necessary monthly expenses. These expenses include things like electricity, telephone, insurance, food, etc. You should know how much you spend each month on all of these items.

After surveying your necessary monthly expenses, take a look at your discretionary monthly expenses. Discretionary expenses are those things that are optional. You don’t have to have them. But, you may enjoy them. Representative discretionary expenses include entertainment, eating out, club memberships and any impulse buys you make in a given month. Continue reading ‘Bankruptcy is Avoidable If You Do These Six Things Today’ »

Your children rely on regular child support payments for all kinds of necessities: food, clothing, shelter, medical attention. It’s every parent’s responsibility to care for his or her child, and child support payments are a way of enforcing a non-custodial parent’s debt to his or her children. So what happens when the person supposed to make the payments files for bankruptcy? Will it put your children’s welfare into jeopardy? Can your children afford bankruptcy?

Fortunately, even during bankruptcy proceedings, a parent is still required to make his or her court-ordered child support payments. The welfare and care of the children is considered a top priority under American law, and these obligations take precedence over the relief afforded by filing for bankruptcy. The recent Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) helps clarify the rules surrounding such payments, and re-emphasizes the importance of providing for and caring for one’s children.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a type of liquidation bankruptcy, in which non-exempt property is sold. The sale of these items is used to pay off one’s creditors. For example, if you owe $10,000 to the bank and can’t pay it, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the money made from the sale of your possessions is used to pay off that debt. Under the BAPCPA, the continued support of any children is considered a serious priority, and proceeds from the sale go towards your court-ordered payment plan first, before creditors are able to take the money. Continue reading ‘How Bankruptcy Affects Child Support Payments’ »

In our present economic times, many people are finding themselves under the gun financially. They face a struggle they realize they cannot win without help. They have gotten behind in payments, interest rates and fees are rising and they barely have enough money to make minimum payments. They, like you, just can’t go on like this any longer.

You need an accredited credit counselor. They can offer you help to make a repayment schedule and get your finances in order and your life back on track. There are many things they can do that you cannot.

• Your counselor will contact your creditors and attempt to negotiate a reasonable repayment plan. If you are late in your payments, your current interest rates could be as high as twenty percent. Your credit counselor will negotiate with your creditors in order to set lower interest charges and eliminate fees and penalties, and that will free up more of your money toward cash flow. Continue reading ‘Working With a Credit Counselor on Your Way to Financial Freedom’ »

Have you started thinking about debt consolidation as a way to help you out with your monthly payments? That is a great idea and you are to be commended for trying to find a way out of your predicament. Believe me, in this day and time you are not alone if you are struggling a bit financially. Just about everyone is having some sort of problem with figuring out a way to make ends meet from paycheck to paycheck.

But before you impulsively sign up with a consolidation company online or offline, be sure to do your research just to have “all your ducks in a row” as my mom would say. It is real easy to find a company and get started with this, thereby lowering your bills by quite a bit, but there are a couple of things to think about first to check to be sure this is the best idea for you.

You want to take a look at your unsecured debt and see if it is more than a couple thousand. If not, you may not be able to consolidate. For example, if most of your bills go to house payment and car payment, and you have very little credit card debt, it would not be any benefit to you to even contact a company. And good for you, by the way, you have done great. Continue reading ‘Debt Consolidation Information Can Help You Decide Whether it is a Good Idea to Consolidate Debt’ »

We all have a love-hate relationship with credit cards, we love the convenience, but hate those sudden rate hikes, sizable fees and higher minimum payments that the credit card companies impose. If you are looking for a way to avoid credit card charges, read on for a few good tips.

In the past few months many consumers have experienced higher interest rates and fees, as well as increases in minimum payment amounts. If this was not bad enough, the credit limits have been lowered, which raises the risk of unwittingly exceeding your credit limit. Continue reading ‘Avoid Credit Card Charges – Six Top Tips’ »

A lot has been written and said about what happened on that fateful night when toxic gases escaped from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. Till then, nobody had given much thought to what an environment disaster was all about. The results of the catastrophe were difficult to even imagine. It was worse than what has been depicted in a few futuristic movies that are based on apocalypses and similar frightening phenomena. They were so many physically challenged men, women and children, who emerged as survivors of this terrible disaster. After a long legal battle, Structured Settlements were thought of and some moneys were distributed to these hapless individuals. The point in question here is this: did these Structured Settlements really help those who had lost their only means of livelihood and for no fault of theirs, suffered untold miseries caused by the leaching of toxic substances into the soil and water around them? Continue reading ‘Do Structured Settlements Really Help Physically Challenged Persons?’ »

Structured settlements were created to help persons who had settled tort lawsuits out of court receive their payments based upon on a time schedule. These settlements were instituted by the federal government as a means to guard claimants from spending their lump sum payments and ending up with no money. They even provided unbeatable incentives to make structured settlements more palatable.

Consequently, there are no federal or state taxes on these arrangements. In addition, studies have demonstrated that most people who receive lump sum payments have no money within five years. Bearing in mind these factors, you may be wondering why individuals are selling their settlements.

With the nation in a depression, numerous people have lost a lot of money in the last few years. As a result of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, wealth has been eradicated and safety nets incinerated. Annuities are an exceptional means of acquiring liquidity in a short period of time. Continue reading ‘Some Things to Know About Selling Structured Settlements’ »

What is an unsecured loan?

Borrowing money without providing the lender a security (such as a property or vehicle).

What is a secured loan?

The lender secures the loan against an asset such as a property or vehicle. If you fall behind with the loan payments, the lender can take possession of that asset.

TRUE OR FALSE: Secured loans are safer than an unsecured loan.

FALSE: Borrowers assume that secured loans are safer than unsecured loans. However, secured means safer for the lender, not the borrower. Therefore your asset such as your home or vehicle is at risk if you fail to make the regular repayments of the loan.

TRUE OR FALSE: Unsecured loans have no risks.

FALSE: If you own your home, but fail to make regular payments on the unsecured loan, your lender may be able to secure a charge order against the property. This means when your property is sold, the debt will have to be paid from the proceeds of the property sale. Continue reading ‘Unsecured and Secured Loan Options’ »

Ever sued a person or company because they’re actions permanently hurt you either accidentally or maybe even intentionally? Was the decision or settlement favorable to your case? It it was, there are a number of ways the payment can be made. You need to understand all your options including a structured settlement.

Usually, when a judgment is in your favor the defendant is ordered to pay the judgment amount in a one time payment in full. Let’s say, for example, you have a form of cancer caused by insecticide. You sue the insecticide manufacturer, who agrees to settle out of court for a million dollars. You get a check for a million dollars, right?

You could accept the lump sum payment but it might be financially smarter to accept an installment plan called a structured settlement. Installment payments are setup creatively to best meet your long term financial requirements while at the same time protecting you from inflation. They can range from a simple yearly payment to complex arrangements consisting of an initial lump sum payment, monthly indexed installments, deferred payments, and special provisions relating to the future care or death of the insured. Usually, the person or company ordered to pay would purchase an annuity (from an annuity or insurance company) for a one time payment. The annuity will pay out regularly scheduled income to you as scheduled by the terms of the structured settlement. Let’s look at the advantages a structured settlement offers. A big advantage is you are guaranteed an income source until the day you die. A major advantage is reducing your tax liability. You will be able to substantially reduce your taxes on any investment income that would otherwise accrue from investment of a lump sum settlement. Continue reading ‘The Basics to Help Sell Your Structured Settlement Payments’ »

Avoid Debt Settlement or Other Problems by Paying More Each Month

Minimum payments are a consumer’s best friend when it comes to credit card bills. Who doesn’t want to spend $5,000 and then only have to pay $100 a month in order to keep the account current? However, in 2006, the system changed so insignificantly that more people are paying down their bills without even realizing it. The OCC, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is the group that regulates national banks. They are in charge of regulating the required minimum payment percentage that people are required to pay on their monthly credit card bills. They ordered this percentage to be doubled in order to help consumers get out of debt faster. So many consumers get hooked on just getting by with that minimum payment that they wanted to take it upon themselves to help people.

Perhaps if the minimum payments were even higher, more people would avoid debt settlement, or even use credit less because the repayment is more expensive. Nonetheless, the increase in required minimum payments has helped some. Imagine paying back only $100 every month on a card with a $5,000 balance that has high interest. You would likely be paying on that card for upwards of 20 years or more when you add in finance charges and only pay the minimum required amount. By paying $200, you would cut the time that you are paying in half or less. However, since most people can’t take this upon themselves, the OCC took care of it for them.

Continue reading ‘Increasing Minimums to Reduce Debt’ »