If you know of someone that is struggling with debt problems, do something random and nice for them. Surprise them, take them to lunch, or fill their gas tank for them. If you can’t afford to do that stuff, hugs are free and priceless.

You don’t have to offer pity to offer a shoulder to lean on and rather than let another person suffer in silence, let them know you care.

Steve

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I thought I’d give you a free copy of my book Eliminate Your Debt Like a Pro. It is in a PDF format so just click on that link to download it. The book is a free gift to you from me. I hope you enjoy it. It is packed with a lot of good advice, debt elimination techniques and things you should consider.

But I wanted to share with you a couple of get out of debt tips I was thinking about today.

As always, while some of my advice may sound a bit odd at times, there is always a reason why I say what I do.

Don’t Open Your Bills

If you have just realized that you are in deep trouble or you are in the middle of a debt panic attack, take a bill holiday. Just grab a shoebox and all the mail that comes in that looks like bills, toss it in the shoebox for one week.

Use the week to take a stress vacation and help to get your thoughts back to a place where you are mentally prepared to face your situation. You might even find it helpful to ask a close friend to sit down with you when you open the bills at the end of your bill vacation.

Once you can take that little break you can often face the situation with a new outlook or a new resolve and while the numbers may not be what you’d like to see, you can face the reality of what’s in the mail just a bit stronger than before.

Once you open the bills, you know I’m always here for you if you need to ask for advice or to lean on me. Don’t be afraid or shy to write to me for help.

Smile, Smile, Smile

Being in debt sucks. There is no other way to look at it. Even though I lived through my debt struggles and emerged out the other side and then used what I learned to help others, the pain of being in debt, suffering in silence and the shame I felt, sucked.

But what I learned was that just because my life was in the toilet was no reason I had to take it out on others. In fact, being in deep and dark debt made me appreciate the simplest things in my life. I learned to be grateful for someone holding the door or just going out of their way to be nice.

A tremendous amount of the pain we feel when we are suffering in debt is internal emotional pain we create in ourselves. But it is real, it is debilitating and it is life changing. However, there are children around us, a loving spouse, friendly co-workers or maybe kind clients or customers that deserve a smile from us, a kind word or maybe a kind deed. All of those things are free and things we can share with the world as we recover.

The more good we do for others, the better we feel about ourselves.

Take Yourself to the Movies

If you are feeling overloaded at work, at home, from the bills and debts; give yourself some time alone. When the walls feel like they are closing in we all need to just take a mind break from the world, even for a couple of hours. That’s OK.

So you go and spend $10 on a movie. Your financial situation is not going to be radically different because you spent $10 on yourself. It won’t sink you but going and watching a movie will take your mind off your troubles for a couple of hours and give you some alone time to just escape from the pressure and stress you may be feeling. It’s okay to treat yourself in moderation and time to time when you are living through hell.

Be Kind to the Debt Collector

The debt collector is just trying to do their job, collect the debt you owe. Once you realize that the debt collector is just an hourly employee sitting in front of the computer dialer and being whipped to collect you can relax a bit when they call.

Use your smile when you are on the phone and try to make a friend of the collector. That does not mean that you should promise to make any payment you can’t afford to pay, just be nice.

When collectors were calling me I got to know some of them fairly well. And once I started my life helping people with debt problems I had many clients that were debt collectors.

I remember once I went to visit a national debt collection center and I noticed there were guards at the door. After visiting the center and looking at all the unhappy employees on the phones, I walked out wondering if the guard was to keep people out or the collectors in.

If a debt collector is being rude and mean, you don’t have to take that but you also don’t have to stoop to that level. Just be nice, explain that if they are going to behave rude and mean that you’ll have to disconnect and if they continue, say bye with a smile on your face and hang up.

Forgive Yourself

Being in debt is the worst guilt trip you can be on. People feel shame, and pain like I did and feel like failures and losers. I felt that way.

Most money problems occur as the result of things that are beyond our control. Maybe the economy goes bad and your business fails, you lose your job, the factory closes, you got sick, your spouse left you, etc.

You need to be able to forgive yourself and instead of facing backwards trying to repair the past, you need to turn around, look forward and set your sights on repairing the future. The best way you can do that is to take a good honest look at what happened to you, almost like a financial autopsy, and learn from what you see.

When you are deep in debt you can be a loser or you can forgive yourself and move forward. I sure wish someone had shared that tip with me when I spent three years in a monochrome funk after my bankruptcy.

So here is my gift to you right now. If you are in debt and feeling like the world is closing in, just know that I love and care about you and if I was there with you I’d give you a big hug.

Steve

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I asked Patrick to share a recent case with us so that you can see what life is like many time zones away in Northern Ireland.

It has been a bit of a depressing week in my efforts to give debt advice to people here in the province.

On Monday I spoke with David (name changed) from Belfast who has recently been in court as his second mortgage lender was trying to repossess his house for non-payment. He also had a fairly hefty balance on his credit cards and isn’t paying them either. His house is on the market, he has reduced the price once already and is unwilling to reduce it again, although there has been no viewers since it went up for sale. The property market is extremely stagnant in N.Ireland and a house has to represent a significant ‘bargain’ to attract a buyer.

“I have been made redundant twice” said David “and both times it took me a while to find work again, which meant that we had to borrow to keep up with our living expenses. We have two sons in college and that is expensive, plus we have all the usual things like a mortgage, car payments and all the other bills a regular family have.”

The family took out a second mortgage a couple of years ago to consolidate the debts accrued from David’s first period of redundancy, and ironically it this lender which has been the least accommodating about their financial situation and recently took them to court.

David was clearly at the end of his tether during our conversation this week, “I just can’t see a way through this, I realise we willingly borrowed the money and feel morally bound to pay it back but we just can’t go on robbing Peter to pay Paul. We are getting demands for payment from all sides at present and I just don’t know which way to turn - every time I plug a hole in on part of the dam another bigger leak springs out somewhere else.”

Unfortunately for David I was unable to help him with his debts because his monthly expenditure considerably exceeds his income, and that is before he makes any payments to his unsecured creditors. He is (just about) maintaining an arrangement to repay his mortgage and reduce his arrears balance but as a consequence his credit card borrowings are increasing substantially each month, and he is failing to make his minimum payments on these.

My advice was that he should reduce the price on his house further and get it sold as soon as possible. It is my belief that his unsecured creditors will very soon default his credit cards, cutting off his ability to top up his income each month. Once that happens he will then start to miss his repayment schedule on his mortgage arrears and other priority debts, he will end up back in court and a possession order will be granted, and he and his family will be out on the street.

I felt really bad having to give this advice but unfortunately sometimes the people I speak to are too far down the debt path to save their homes from being sold. In this case it is better for the property to be sold under David’s control rather than being repossessed by the lender and sold at auction.

For David if he can get his house sold now and clear his debts with his equity then he can still afford to rent a home, and a huge millstone will be taken from around his neck. It might not seem like it at present, but hanging on to his house and getting himself into serious debt as a consequence is not working for David and is putting himself and his family under massive stress, more stress than they would experience from selling at a reduced price and moving into rented accommodation.

I wish you well David and my thoughts are with you and your family as you go through this difficult time.

Patrick

If you’d like to learn more about debt problems in Northern Ireland, visit Patrick’s site.

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But is seems like the ads proclaiming christian debt relief are appearing more and more. Advertisements like:

• Christian Debt Relief - Christian Debt Consolidation Help Free Quote!
• Christian Debt Advice - Debt consolidation and counseling based on Christian principles.
• Christian Credit Relief - Non Profit Debt Solutions. Get a Free Expert Debt Analysis Now!
• Christian Debt Help - Check Out Christian Debt Help Solutions From A Trusted Source.
• Christian Debt Reduction - Cut Your Debt By 30% To 60% Now! We Negotiate Your Debt For You.
• Christian Debt Counseling - Reduce Balances, Lower Interest Rates & Stop Late Fees. Start Now!

In the past I have advised many ministers with financial problems, as private clients. I’ll share with you the same advice I have given them that they could not dispute and they found some comfort in because they recognized it to be honest and true.

Most groups proclaiming to offer ‘Christian’ debt advice are really just using ‘holy’ as and advertising tool. What they wind up offering you is the same credit counseling, debt management, or debt settlement programs that everyone else does. Don’t believe me, follow some of the christian debt relief ads you see online and see for yourself.

I am not a biblical scholar so my advice is based on the fundamental tenants of fairness, honesty, and doing the right thing.

I’ll toss out these quotes and let you take them for how you interpret them:

• Isaiah 33:15, TLB. - “I will tell you who can live here: All who are honest and fair, who reject making profit by fraud, who hold back their hands from taking bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong.”
• Proverbs 16:11, TLB. - “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established this principle.”
• Romans 13:7-8 - “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

It is my belief that when you find yourself in debt that there is only one way out and that is an approach that is fair and balanced for your creditors. That approach is to pay your creditors back based on their percentage of debt you owe. You don’t need anyone else to do this for you. You can do it yourself.

Let’s say you owe the following debts:

• Capital One Visa - $2,500
• MBNA Visa - $3,300
• Bank of America - MasterCard - $8,700

Your total debt would be $14,500 and out of that debt let’s figure out what percentage of the total debt we owe each creditor.

• Capital One Visa - $2,500 / $14,500 = 17%
• MBNA Visa - $3,300 / $14,500 = 23%
• Bank of America - MasterCard - $8,700 / $14,500 = 60%

Now let’s take an honest look at our other expenses and determine what we might be able to cut out and reduce in order to free up money to use for debt repayment each month. For some they believe that they should downsize their lavish lifestyle and chose to move to a smaller house, sell the expensive car, hang the clothes on the clothesline instead of using the dryer, buy bulk instead of gourmet, or whatever. I’ll let you decide what you can do.

So after you have made your expense reductions just divide what money you can afford to send each month to each creditor based on their percentage of debt. If you can afford to send $500 a month your payment would be divided:

• Capital One Visa - 17% = $85
• MBNA Visa - 23% = $115
• Bank of America - 60% = $300

My major point of contention with the Christian debt companies is that rather than put together a repayment plan that is first and foremost, fair to your creditors, they instead put together one using the credit counseling terms the creditor wants or give preference to a creditor that pays the Christian credit counselor more for helping you.

Up to this point my approach has sounded reasonable, but here is where it can become a matter of faith and trust in your higher power. This is also where many begin to bargain and delude themselves into an alternate path.

Being the fairest you can with what you have requires you to disregard your credit report and forget about your credit score. If the fair percentage of your debt repayment dollars does not meet the creditor minimum payment, then it does not. If you start bargaining with yourself and justifying that you should send a higher payment to one creditor over another to avoid a late fee or negative mark on your credit report, who are you really trying to serve? Yourself.

I hate to pull the old “What would Jesus drive” argument but if Jesus had credit card debt, would he rationalize making payments that were not fair because of his credit report or a late fee or would he try to be the fairest to all in repaying his debts?

“But Steve”, you might be saying, if I do this I might get collection calls. Well if this results in you getting debt collection calls is there any reason why you can’t be kind and honest to the debt collectors calling and treat them with grace? After all they are simply trying to collect on a debt that you promised to repay. Show them the Christian you really are.

Is it not possible for you to find grace and comfort in knowing that you are following your core beliefs in your time of trouble maybe you need to ask yourself how fundamental your core beliefs really are?

In times of problem debt, if you have strong faith, no matter what your religion, and believe in your religious core values then an approach to get out of debt based on love, honesty, fairness and faith is the wisest path to follow rather than one of self-serving interests.

Here is a book that I just read while thinking about this topic. I found it to be exceptional for exploring debt and religious values.

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Anyway, I hate debt but after moving back I wanted to see what other financial surprises were waiting so I did not pay off the one card I used for those moving expenses. I’m glad I didn’t. As I began to worry about the economy a few months ago I decided the interest I was paying on the balance was better than letting go of the cash I had at hand. As I’ve said over and over, in economic downturns, cash is king.

Yes, I admit, I am the get out of debt guy and there I was, carrying some debt. I was paying way more each month that the minimum payment, or as I now like to call it, the maximum profit for the bank payment. It was a dilemma between wanting to hold on to my cash and let go of it to reduce the debt. It was that age old struggle of trying to find the right balance.

I’ve watched so many people in the past get into difficult situations by being so freaked out about carrying debt that they use every last penny to pay it down. But that all or nothing approach leaves them in a terrible situation should an unexpected expense appear.

For example, my daughters car suddenly needs a new EGR valve. It has been many years since I worked on my cars but once the local mechanic quoted $700 to replace it for her, I got my hands dirty real quick. I even took the EGR valve off and cleaned it out but that didn’t work. It needs to be replaced. The replacement part is about $275. And when the engine light pops on unexpectedly, that’s one of those expenses not in the budget.

So with all the economic doom and gloom swirling around us I wasn’t sure if there still were some good balance transfer credit card deals to be had, but I was wrong. There still are.

So what Pam and I decided to do was to accomplish two goals at the same time. You see, in all the years since our bankruptcy in 1990, Pam has not had any credit in her name alone. But lately we’ve been talking about the fact that if anything happened to me she would not have much of a credit report or credit score if she needed one.

So this turned out to be perfect opportunity for us to apply for a card in her name, do the balance transfer and then pay the debt off at 0%. I mean really pay it off. The goal is to divide the transferred debt by the 15 months of 0% interest and pay that bill off in full using the banks money for free. At the end of that time she’ll also have gone a long way to reestablishing her new and good credit and the debt will be gone.

If that logic and approach makes sense to you, use the balance transfer link, like I did to find a great balance transfer deal.

It’s interesting that getting out of debt does not mean that you have to be credit adverse, just credit smart. It’s about finding balance, finding that point at which the use of credit does not become a burden for you, but an advantageous tool to use for your benefit.

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Christian Mogensen & Sharon Glassman - Wedding Day December 24, 1996

The webpage update that Christian made was a death announcement of a demise about to happen at his hands. His web page, untitled, read:

The murder suicide appears to have been the result of financial stress and pressure because of an eminent eviction from their apartment over $6,100 of back rent. On top of that Mogensen owed at least another $28,500 in debts from 1994 that were still being pursued by debt collectors. I bet there was more as well.

Sources say that the debt collection activity was active as recently as 2006 and make it sound as if their was some court action to collect.

Christian Mogensen was a 61 year old self-employed computer industry consultant who ran his business from the couples apartment in Charles River Park. Mogensen called 911 and notified police that he had “just killed my wife, and announced that he would kill himself before emergency help arrived.

Feeling Conflicted

I am never surprised by these incidents. Pressure and stress are motivators to do all sorts of nonsensical things. What has me conflicted about this event is that while I am deeply sad, I am royally pissed off at the same time.

The intense pressure and desperation Christian must have been feeling must have been overwhelming. So overwhelming that the thought of murdering his wife and then killing himself was considered a better idea.

What makes me madder than hell is that no financial problem in the world is so important to require suicide or murder.

I remember when I lived through my debt problems I was depressed and feeling low but the reality is that nothing that was externally happening to me at that time could ever have justified the murder of my wife and daughter and then my suicide.

I’m not sure if I ever felt suicidal during those dark days. You see, much of that time is a blur to me now, lost as I drifted through my self-imposed depression over my financial failures. What does vividly remain are the memories of intense failure, fear, and shame. Emotions more intense than I needed to make them.

I can’t think of a single debt situation that can’t be resolved in one way or another. All problem debt might have solutions, but maybe not magic wands.

If it is true that the financial problems lead to the kind and friendly Sharon Glassman being murdered by her husband of 12 years, then it was an unnecessary and senseless death. Not a murder of compassion, but instead a murder of stupidity.

If anyone is reading this right now and feels like killing themselves or harming another person because of financial problems, don’t.

I am here for you, I will help answer your questions to deal with your debt and no matter how you feel right now, there is hope for a new and better day.

No hug for Christian but a big hug is waiting for you if you need me.

Steve

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It might be tough for me to help all the people that are going to be in financial trouble all by myself, but I’m doing my best to help.

But I can use your help as well. It does not cost you anything to help and I’ve made a list of six perfectly free ways you can help me to help others.

Together you and I might not be able to help everyone, but we’ll do our best to do the most that we can do.

So the answer to “Who Is Going To Help The American People To Get Out of Debt?” is you and me. As a team, we can do anything.

We’ll try to do the right thing and look forward to the good karma that will flow our way in return.

Here is an enormous and massive hug for all your help.

Steve

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I avoid debt, but I have some. But it is not the debt that scares me right now, it is the potential loss of income if our economic system tanks. If it does, forget about servicing your debt, all bets are off at that point, your focus will shift from protecting your credit report to just making it through day-to-day.

Sure the headlines sent out by the president and politicians make an eminent economic collapse sound likely and those warnings can be easy to dismiss as hyper alarmist babble, but should I? Should you?

On a daily basis I have a very positive outlook about the future. I enjoy life and the experiences it brings. I really enjoy helping people. What I don’t enjoy is seeing people in pain and suffering, starting with myself and my family.

95% of Americans and American families are going to face getting royally screwed if the economic collapse happens. The poor, we’ll they are already screwed so they are in the bucket waiting for the rest of us already.

For those that think that nothing can happen to them, you might want to evaluate that again.

If the economy declines a number of dominos start to fall with each one putting more and more pressure on my life and your life as they tumble.

If we look at the broader picture, the best thing for you to do is spend, spend, spend and run up debt. Debt equals business orders, orders equal production, production equals employment, employment equals income and income leads to spending. It’s a pretty simple closed loop system.

But what is best for you as an individual right now is not what is best for the economy. Some may say that it is damn near unpatriotic. What is best for us individually is to save, save, save, instead of spend, spend, spend. By putting money in a savings account right now we will be able to put cash in the bank to help us in case we accidently lose our jobs or get our wages cut.

If your hours get cut, your management position gets eliminated or there is any loss of income, your previous obligations don’t care. Your bank will still want the mortgage payment, the auto company is still looking for the car payment and as for the utility companies, not only are they looking for their money but they are planning to raise you rates at the same time.

When faced with an economic uncertainty the best thing you and I can do is watch how we spend every single dollar and ask ourselves if what this is that I am about to purchase really necessary? If it is not, don’t buy it. I’m not. And let me be clear that I do understand that my actions are not good for the economy at large, but they are good for my family at large.

If you spend for what is best for the economy and then find yourself unable to make your payments, you don’t get a badge or bonus points. Instead you are left with not all that many rights and creditors have the power to sue you, take stuff like your home and car, and the stress and pain are intense.

I lived through bankruptcy once and once is good enough for me. I never want to go through that again and that is what leads me to share this article and advice with you. I don’t want to see you live through the unintended pain of financial failure. It is a lesson best avoided.

My advice for today, stop spending and hoard your cash to protect yourself from too much damage if this economy tanks. It can happen ‘fast and furious’ and that concept makes for a better movie than my or your daily reality.

Big hug.

Steve

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The government wants consumers not to lose confidence during tough times. The economy needs you to keep spending money to fuel business but when you’ve done your part and you are tapped out, there is no safety net for your financial failure.

Your spending to keep the economy afloat is at the personal risk of the financial health of you and your family. As an individual, the reality is that you are disposable, but as part of a collective of consumers, you are indispensible.

So this article will focus on top ten realities and what you should do as an individual when facing financial insecurity.

1. Cash Is King – While you don’t need to go so far as converting your cash to gold and burying it in your backyard but you should treat cash in hand like gold.

   It is much easier to control the outflow of cash that you’ve already earned and hold than it is to refill the cash reservoir. You need to take an ever more concentrated gaze of the outflow and ask yourself if you really need whatever it is that you are buying. If it does not have to be bought now, don’t. Hold onto all the cash you can.

   Think about it like this, your cash is like water and as you set out across the desert you’d want to ration and protect the water that you started with because you don’t know what situations you’ll run into along the way. It could be a long, hot, dry and dusty journey.

2. Credit is Not Cash – Anything you buy on credit now, that you absolutely can’t pay off this month is going to be a tightening noose around your neck as the weeks and months pass. That credit, when spent, immediately converts from a shiny attractive thing, credit, to a dark and horrid mass, debt.

   Once credit is converted to debt it must be served, you must give up cash to pay for it and if you feed it only enough to make it content, it will cost you dearly over the years and years it will take to pay off.

   You need to stop thinking about available credit as a safety net, it’s not. Start thinking about your credit cards as only a financial instrument that allows you to make a purchase today on borrowed money and repay it tomorrow with your precious cash.

3. Run Away And Live To Fight Another Day – Now is not the time to try to increase your status with things. In fact it is the time to be cool by shedding things. If you can sell the plane you are struggling to keep, sell it. If the lease is up on the shiny fast car, replace it with a used car that costs less each month.

   What used to be shiny and cool is now just going to be a rope around your financial neck. You don’t have to go so far as to wear Birkenstocks but scaling back will definitely be real cool when you are living less stressed than your high flying friends that will be freaking out on how to make it through the month.

   You can always buy most stuff in the future and you’ll be better able to if you shed stuff now because those actions will protect your credit score and credit report. If you try to hold on to all the stuff you’ve got during tough times, I guarantee it will drag your cash or your credit down.

4. Throw Stuff Away – If you are currently paying for a storage place to keep your stuff, go take a second look at what you’ve got in there. Go through all the stuff in there and either make room for it in your home or get rid of it.

   Now is not the time to pay to store stuff. You can use that $150+ extra in your pocket each month.

5. Sell Stuff – Put stuff you can get rid of on eBay or Craigslist or have a yard sale. Just try to get some cash for the stuff you no longer need. If it does not sell, throw it away.

   If you don’t want to hassle with selling it, and you are just that lazy like me, then contact one of the many companies that will sell it for you and keep a percentage for their troubles. You can turn trash to cash and that cash only helps to refill your pockets a bit, or a lot if you factor in the savings for the storage place you just dumped.

6. Do Not Cancel Your Health Insurance – If you are thinking of cutting out your health insurance to make ends meet, don’t.

   All it takes in one unforeseen and unexpected event to bankrupt you with medical bills.

7. Stop Paying Bills – If you’ve paid for the basic expenses like food, shelter and clothing and you don’t have enough money to pay your credit cards, don’t pay them. It will make the credit card companies angry and hurt your credit but it all that can be overcome. Creditors will only be happy when you send in the minimum payment but that will only keep them happy this month.

   The worst that will happen to you if you don’t pay the bills is some late fees, maybe your interest rate gets jacked up, some nastygrams or unhappy phone calls. There isn’t much a debt collector can do when you are friendly, nice and honest on the phone and just tell them you don’t have any money to send them. Try to make the debt collector smile, make a friend of them and help them to have a better day, but under no circumstances should you promise to make a payment you either can’t afford or have to use savings to pay.

8. Don’t Use Savings to Pay Some Bills – What! I know, it sounds crazy, after all isn’t that what savings is for? Well, kind of. In uncertain economic times, if you lose your job or your income is cut back, you may not know when it will be restored to previous levels. You need to use that money to pay the essentials, and not all your bills are essentials. Mortgage, rent, car payment, food, medical insurance, etc., those are essentials. Other bills aren’t.

   Creditors will be pacified for this month when you reach into your savings to pay the bill but when you reach bottom they will not thank you for all the months before that you drained your savings to make them happy. No, they will be just as disgruntled and unhappy as if you had stopped paying them months ago. Draining your savings didn’t change the inevitable, just delayed it, in worse shape, and left you dry.

   If you do anything with your savings, move it to a bit more distant high paying savings account that will earn you more as it sits there and be less accessible to immediate temptation.

9. It’s Not Worth What You Want – If you are trying to sell your house or some fancy car and people keep making you insulting low offers, get off your high horse and take a clear headed look at what it is that you are selling.

   Holding out for more often leaves you nothing. You don’t get cash unless you sell and in any economy the fair price is that price at which the buyer and seller agree. Period. If you need to unload some asset noose around your neck, then you might have to sell it at a loss.

   Far too often people ruin the sale of their home because of the value that they place on their home. When you bought it you were told it was going to go way up in value and when the real estate agent came to help you sell it they said it was worth a lot but you’ve got to look through that smokescreen.

   The original promise that your home was going to go way up was a marketing tool to persuade you to buy it and the high value that the real estate agent told you when you put it on the market was an inflated value to make you think you would get more and list your home with them so they’d get a commission.

10. Consider the Unthinkable – If you have followed all of these steps and you are still finding it hard to survive then you should learn more about the unthinkable – bankruptcy.

    Bankruptcy feels shameful, feels dirty and can be the secret you’ll want to keep from people at work, but the reality is that bankruptcy is a legal and viable way to clear debts that are now dragging you down. The vast majority of people that find themselves in these difficult financial situations wound up there because of factors beyond their control. Either they had their income cut, got sick, had a change of marital status, etc.

    It is a bigger tragedy to watch people struggle along for years trying to satisfy debts when they could have used that time to rebuild a new and better future. You have to ask yourself if it is reasonable for us to allow a family to go month-to-month with no health insurance because they can’t afford it or to go bankrupt, clear bills they can’t afford and now be able to afford health insurance.

    Talking to a bankruptcy attorney to get a free bankruptcy review does not mean you will go bankrupt but it will allow you to become more informed about how bankruptcy may help or hurt you. You can’t make good choices unless you have all the facts. Speak to a bankruptcy attorney for free and learn the reality of bankruptcy for you before you simply decide against it on an emotional level.

11. Remember What Is Really Important – Being able to spend at will and buy what you want, feels good. Having really nice stuff to show people how successful you are, is a high. But at times like this, trying to hold on tightly to what is no longer sustainable creates stress and friction in your life.

    This stress and friction create tension and pressure at work and at home. Suddenly, before you know it, you are living in fear, depression, uncertainty and wherever you turn you can’t see anything good or happy in your life.

    Now is the time to set some new priorities about what is most important. Is it more important to pay that credit card bill you can’t afford or to go to your kid’s game? Is it better to hug your girlfriend and share with her how much you love her, or to fight about what you can’t change?

    Now is the time to find gratitude in your life and to be grateful for the simple daily pleasures. If someone holds the door open for you, thank them. Hold the door open for someone else.

    Random acts of kindness not only make someone else feel better in tough times, but make you feel better also. Instead of enduring your suffering in silence, just do whatever little things you can to be nice and find moments of joy instead of solid days of pain. Trust me, it is a big help.

Source

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Under the Bush administration consumers were significantly harmed by unreasonable and unfair bankruptcy reforms that clearly helped big business, hurt consumers and only made bankruptcy more expensive for the same people that still need to file for protection.

A future administration for change and putting people first should strongly look at repealing or enacting legislation to turn back the hands of time to allow consumers in an ever-tightening economy, to have more reasonable access to bankruptcy.

The Obama-Biden ticket has promoted a Credit Card Bill of Rights for some time now and it would be beneficial to see the McCain-Palin ticket pledge to work diligently to put similar protections in place.

The advent of the foreclosure next door has been upon us for some time now but little help is available to truly allow people to remain in their homes and avoid foreclosure. While lip service is given to industry pledges, the reality is that the paperwork and processes is so arcane and less than helpful that people continue to lose their homes who don’t need to.

During the past Bush administration the Internal Revenue Service and many state governments worked to crack down on abuses in the consumer credit counseling industry. Many of these prosecutions were against companies that had truly strained the limits of the law, such as Ameridebt. But many nonprofit credit counseling groups sought to drag out the IRS audits for compliance, where they would have not been in compliance to let a statue of limitations expire so they could remain in business.

At the same time as consumer advocates, and local and federal governments were cracking down on these consumer assistance agencies, no new legislation has been to provide shelter or assistance for consumers was enacted.

Consumers have lost more rights and are worse off today, than they have been in nearly a decade.

And now in the face of discouraging financial news, consumers have little hope in front of them of being able to allow them fair and reasonable access to bankruptcy or an impartial fair and pro-rata way for them to repay what they can afford without bankruptcy.

At the same time, creditors are offering non-binding agreements in debt management plans and not offering truly constructive offers to help a sinking consumer to have any real hopes of resolving their unexpected financial difficulties without more pain, punishment and stress.

Source

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• Suzy Wants to Know If She’s Done Enough to Protect Herself
• Would You Like More Credit Card Rights If It Means Credit Cards Are More Expensive?
• Emily Wants to Know “I’m Pregnant And Got My Hours Cut. What Do I Do?”
• Five Inside Truths About Debt Management Plans (DMP) You Need to Know