Archive for October, 2008
Some Interesting Ideas To Try To Bribe You To Spend, Spend, Spend
Here are some interesting ideas floated in a recent Washington Post article to encourage consumers to get back to what they are supposed to do best, spend. What do you think about these ideas?
Idea 1
Lower the price of consuming. State governments could suspend sales taxes, with the federal government picking up the tab. The feds, [...]
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Surviving With Less Credit
At ByDesign Financial Solutions, a debt-counseling service in Modesto, Calif., they’re working overtime these days. “Our call volume went up 97% in the past five weeks, which has left us scrambling,” says Martha Lucey, president of the nonprofit agency. “[The callers] are close to the max on their credit cards, and they just can’t figure [...]
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Beware Of Zombie Debt Collectors
Beware Of Zombie Debt Collectors Forbes, NY - 15 minutes ago Read “Debt Consolidation Made Easy” to learn five steps to help you get out of debt faster.) The statute of limitations on debts varies by state, …
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Using Porn And Sex to Help You Get Out of Debt
At first I had ignored the new film Zack & Miri Make a Porno but once I found it the premise of the movie was that they had run out of money and were struggling to get out of debt, I had to go see it.
Here is the review that really made me curious [...]
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Banks Agree to Wipe Out Up to 40 Percent of Credit Card Debt But Watch Out.
Credit card lenders include Discover Financial Services LLC, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Capital One Financial Corp., American Express Co. and HSBC Holdings have finally come together with the help of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Service Roundtable to start the process [...]
Debt is Number-One Problem for People in Wales
Debt is number-one problem for people in Wales WalesOnline, United Kingdom - 43 minutes ago And while credit card debt enquiries across England and Wales as a whole have dropped by 4% in the past year, within Wales alone the CAB has seen requests …
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TEDTalks : The story of Ezra, a child soldier – Newton Aduaka (2007)
Filmmaker Newton Aduaka shows clips from his powerful, lyrical feature film “Ezra,” about a child soldier in Sierra Leone.
Family Finances: When you’re desperate, look out for fraud
At a recent home show, we were grabbed by a debt settlement company salesperson who offered to save us at least 40 percent in our effort to get out of debt — not that we have any. Another salesperson hawked a software program that would direct us …
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Archeologists Finds 3,000-Year Old Credit Card Bill
An Israeli archeologist has discovered what he says is the earliest-known Hebrew text, found on a shard of pottery that dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago.
Carbon dating of the ostracon (meaning “statement”), along with pottery analysis, dates the inscription to time of King David, about a [...]
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Redefining the American Dream
Redefining the American Dream Washington Times, DC - 17 minutes ago And credit card defaults look like the next shoe to drop as cash-strapped Americans have run up credit card debt to postpone the day of reckoning. …
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Your Credit Card Company Is Waking Up After A Bender
Have you ever raised your hurting head the morning after the night before after a little to much fun and alcohol? You know, when you’ve got a bad hangover and possibly regret some of what happened the night before.
It’s much the same thing that is going on at credit card companies right now. Now that [...]
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Bankruptcy Rates To Significantly Increase Next Spring From Ho-Ho-Ho Hangover
I just did an interview with the Christian Science Monitor and we were talking about holiday shopping. The question was if I thought people were going to significantly cut back on holiday shopping to live within their budgets. Sadly, I don’t think they will.
Gift giving and shopping at this time of year are ingrained in [...]
American’s Stranded in the Netherlands Because of Debt to Texas Bank
The 64-year-old ship captain and his crew, whose vessel has been stranded in the Netherlands for months due to a financial obligation gone awry between his employer and a local bank.
It all started July 25 when a tugboat, the Alois, based in Orange, Texas, had been towing ship hulls from Romania, said Salem, who was [...]
Therapist: Financial Infidelity Can End Couples
Therapist: Financial Infidelity Can End Couples Fox5 KVVU, NV - 41 minutes ago It can be anything from keeping credit card debt a secret to hiding money from a spouse. "I'd say finances and financial stress is one of the number one …
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Do I Tell My Creditors I Am Going Bankrupt?
A question I am often asked is if people need to tell their creditors that they are going bankrupt. If you’ve already decided to go bankrupt and you’ve met with a bankruptcy attorney who will handle your case, then there is no harm in telling them, but why?
Once you have made the decision to go [...]
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American Express to Cut 7,000 Jobs. Experience The Freedom Of Joblessness.
As part of a reengineering plan, American Express plans to cut some 7,000 jobs, or about 10% of its work force, the company said Thursday morning. The company will cut staffing levels, reduce compensation, lower operating costs, and scale back its investment spending. "We’ve been engaged for the past few months in an intensive, companywide review of priorities and staffing levels," said Kenneth
Lawyers Lose Licenses Over Debt Relief. Dangerous Waters For All.
This has been a growing story over 2008 but I think it is a good example of the perils that consumers face when trying to get out of debt. We already have been ingrained to not trust credit counselors by the flurry of activity as the IRS targeted credit counselors a few years ago. But [...]
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Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US economy
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US economy Minnesota Public Radio, MN - 49 minutes ago It's now at its highest point in decades at nearly 71 percent and, perhaps not surprisingly, credit card debt has climbed along with it. …
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TEDTalks : Products (and toys) from the future – Zach Kaplan / Keith Schacht (2005)
The Inventables guys, Zach Kaplan and Keith Schacht, demo some amazing new materials and how we might use them. Look for squishy magnets, odor-detecting ink, “dry” liquid and a very surprising 10-foot pole.
Is Debt Consolidation a Viable Debt Solution For Unsecured Debt?
It seems like every day the question of debt consolidation comes up and I think it is starting to drive me a little crazy. Some where in the human DNA is a gene that makes people think that when you have problems paying your bills that debt consolidation is the natural debt solution.
If I had [...]
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Groups seek credit card debt forgiveness
Groups seek credit card debt forgiveness BusinessWeek - 34 minutes ago issue around 80 percent of all US credit cards. Americans now are weighed down by around $900 billion in credit card debt , according to Federal Reserve figures.
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Soon, Where You Shop Will Control Your Credit
Information is already leaking out about the efforts of American Express to closely watch the places their card members shop at as an indication of credit problems.
With mounting losses by credit card companies and an avalanche of new bad credit card debt to come, creditors are looking for ways to identify potential high risk customers [...]
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A Pledge And Promise I Work Hard Every Day to Keep: To Be Here For You When You Need Me
Since my financial failure and bankruptcy I have never taken for granted the difficult and painful process of living through and surviving money troubles. I’ve walked in your shoes. I know what it feels like. I’ve felt the pain and shed the tears. I’ve been afraid and I’ve been depressed.
And even though a lot [...]
Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer
Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer Times Online, UK - 37 minutes ago At the same time the Prime Minister pledged to take action against companies that force people out of their homes for trivial amounts of credit card debt . …
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Consumers Feel the Next Crisis: It’s Credit Cards
Indeed it is. If you’re not in top shape for the credit card shakeout that’s already taking place, there isn’t much you’ll be able to do about it. It’s probably already too late. After years of flooding the market with credit cards (and generous limits), banks are finally starting to take it back. Eric Dash, a New York Times reporter, does an excellent job of distilling the situation. From
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The Perfect Debt Assistance Program
I can dream, can’t I? If I could get a wish for debtors it would be to wave a wand and implement this perfect debt assistance or debt relief program.
Here is what the program would look like.
A Sliding Scale Nominal Charge – Consumers would have to pay a sliding scale setup fee. It is too [...]
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Bad Economy Leads To Opportunity
It’s nice to see our friends in Scotland able to put a smile and optimism on an otherwise depressing economic time. Here is an article from Edinburgh.
Nobody said it would be easy. As the threat of a deep and lengthy recession looms over the country like a soggy, grey cloud, we could all [...]
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Tina Says “My CPA is Under Investigation For Fraud”
Tina wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.
Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty. If you would like to [...]
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Value City. Gone.
Our business strategy is quite simple. We fill our stores with a wide assortment of designer, department, discount and specialty store deals at prices substantially lower than competing department and discount stores. We use our buying expertise to drive down prices and then pass the savings on to you, the customer. You never know what [...]
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Credit cards face bad debt
Credit cards face bad debt SunJournal.com, ME - 1 hour ago Asked in a recent TV interview if credit card debt would be "the next shoe to drop" for the banking industry, Lewis replied: "It, in some ways, already is," …
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Is Consolidating Debt the Way to Go? – American Chronicle
Is Consolidating Debt the Way to Go? American Chronicle, CA - 21 minutes ago … the debtor to discharge their debts by filing for payday loans in recent years, offering some contrast to the get-out-of-debt ads we´re bombarded with. …
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Debt Counselors of America – What I Learned
In 1994 I decided I would start a non-profit charity to help find good solutions for bad debt problems, all I really knew was that I wanted to help people.
Almost every organization at the time was named something with credit counseling in it. I figured that I did not want to counsel people about credit, [...]
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As Economy Slows, Lenders Begin to Curb Credit Cards
As Economy Slows, Lenders Begin to Curb Credit Cards New York Times, United States - 2 hours ago Currently, the total losses amount to 5.5 percent of credit card debt outstanding, and could surpass the 7.9 percent that occurred after the technology …
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Life Without Debt Extreme Get Out Of Debt Secrets
Home Contact Brent Riggs You are about to learn simple yet extremely effective methods to wipe out your debt with AMAZING speed You can live life with zero debt faster than you ever dreamed It doesn rsquo t matter how much or little …
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How to Hide From Debt Collection, the Debt Collector, and Creditors
Writing this article is a bit of a double-edged sword. You see while I think that open communication is always the best way to deal with a debt situation, sometimes people just need to find a way to escape from the pressure just to recover their sanity.
If you are having a difficult problem handling collection [...]
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Woman Chains Self to Home to Prevent Foreclosure
I’m not quite sure how effective this particular approach is but one foreclosure specialist, facing financial problems of her own, has chained herself to the front porch while awaiting eviction.
The woman chained to the porch is June Reyno. June Reyno, her husband and their five dogs have lived in their Mira Mesa home for nearly [...]
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Would You Like to Be a Debt Collector?
Recruitment Video For Debt Collectors
This recruiting video for a major banks debt collection department is very interesting if you listen closely to the words. I’d suggest that you even consider watching it with your eyes closed.
I think you’ll find the video a very interesting approach to try to put a positive spin on what can [...]
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Credit Card Horror Stories: Tales of Credit Limit Reductions and Account Closures
Bankrate.com did a story on Friday (sorry for not getting to this earlier) highlighting some of the same stuff that I’ve been pointing out here for weeks. More and more customers are experiencing credit-limit reductions and account closures. Over the course of the past few weeks, Bankrate.com readers have been chiming in with their own credit-card tales. Many of their stories will seem familiar.
Medical Debt Sending Many Over Financial Brink
Since 1999, Keith and Deborah Krinsky of Magalia, Calif., have seen their health insurance deductible soar from $1,000 to $10,000.
A combination of Keith’s chronic asthma and potential heart problems, Deborah’s connective tissue disorder and fallen arches, and their kids’ various scrapes and stumbles led them to amass a pile of credit card debt and forced [...]
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Meltdown risks mental health disaster
Fears over job security, paying the bills or even just whether your house is going to be foreclosed are fuelling an epidemic of stress, anxiety and sleepless nights among workers on both sides of the Atlantic – and it is managers who are having to pick up the pieces.
Increased stress, anxiety and tension inside as [...]
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