May 31
Credit cards can seem to be a blessing for someone who is struggling to get by. But as the debt mounts, you may begin making fewer payments, leading to ridiculously high interest rates. That can lead you to consider filing for bankruptcy in Chicago.
But a recent article by a debt expert Andrew Housser explains how people can avoid using credit cards as a crutch that ends up ruining their credit scores.
A Cook County bankruptcy law firm can help you if your credit card debt or other forms of debt have gotten out of control in your life. We can work to help you save your house from foreclosure or choose whether to file for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
But it’s not always necessary to file for bankruptcy. So, consult with a law firm dedicated to helping you protect your assets. According to the article, in recent decades household debt has gone up. From 1968 to today, household debt has increased from about $1.3 billion to $800 billion. But overall revolving household debt is down 17 percent from fall 2008, just before the country’s recession.
Over the last few years, you may have been cutting back on debt and trying to get it stabilized only to have it shoot back up.
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Tags: Credit Card, Debt
May 30
Filing for bankruptcy protection is most likely the last thing anyone wants to do, but understanding when you are in need of protection is really rather easy. Becoming bankrupt is a black and white experience much more than it is a gray one. As a general rule of thumb, you are completely financially bankrupt if your current sustainable income plus any cash reserves will not pay all of your living expenses, pay interest on outstanding loans, and reduce some of your principal on those loans while paying on them for five years. Depending on which state you live, this definition of bankruptcy should not include any of your retirement moneys as cash reserves. Paying off debts for five years is chosen because five years is the maximum legal number of years a United States Bankruptcy Court allows an individual to work their way out of bankruptcy.
When you find yourself in a complete bankrupt situation, there are certain advantages for filing for bankruptcy protection. Here are eight advantages bankruptcy protection might offer a bankrupt debtor:
- You can obtain an automatic stay which is applicable to all types of bankruptcy filings.
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Tags: Bankruptcy Protection, Protection
May 30
Once you have calculated precisely how much money you owe then it is time to create a budget that will help you to use your
income more efficiently by covering all your necessary expenditure and working towards the elimination of unecessary expenditure
to reduce your debt.
A budget can be prepared simply using pen and paper.
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Tags: Budget, Budget Gain
May 28
With the lowest home prices in a decade and record-low mortgage rates, 2011 could be your year to purchase your first home or upgrade to your dream home. Wait, not so fast. Although the above premises are true, what is also true is that tight lending standards are keeping many potential home buyers from realizing that potential. Even with good FICO scores, virgin homebuyers can need lots of cash to secure financing.In an article in the Chicago Tribune’s special section, Chicago Homes, Susan Dewey, executive director of the Virginia Housing Development Authority states, “For first-time homebuyers, generally the biggest obstacle to buying a home is the ability to have a down payment.”Luke Mullins of U.S. News & World Report, in the Tribune, lists nine ways to attain the funds needed to buy your bungalow:• If you are a U.S. veteran or active duty personnel, you may qualify for zero-down-payment mortgages through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These loans are made by private lenders but backed by the agency. Similar loans are available through the U.S. Department Read full post…
May 25
Along with credit cards automobile debt is one area that gets a lot of people in financial strife.
Most people don’t realize that one of the most profitable parts of the car dealership business is in the financing of the motor vehicles.
There is often more money to be made from the financing than from the sale of the vehicle itself.
And guess who pays for it?
You do! And you pay considerably more for it than you would from many other types of borrowing. You are probably paying interest on not only the purchase of the vehicle but also the insurance, the warranty and any other additional items that the dealer talked you into at the point of sale.
This makes for a very expensive vehicle and before many people know it they find themselves in difficulty making the monthly payments.
So how do you get out of the situation?
You need to consider what alternatives you have to reduce your automotive debt and that might mean selling your expensive motor vehicle and getting something a little more realistic considering the situation you are in.
Cars are very often an emotional buy, where the impression that your new vehicle might have on friends, family and neighbors might influence your decision into buying a more expensive vehicle by borrowing more.
You need to look at it a bit more realistically and consider what you have to deal with on a daily basis trying to make ends meet due to your car payments and then look for a better alternative. <
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Tags: Automobile Debt, Debt