How to Get Out of Debt With the Get Out of Debt Guy » state governments

Emily Wants to Know “I’m Pregnant And Got My Hours Cut. What Do I Do?”

Steve Rhode — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:09:01 +0000

Emily wrote in to me at GetOutOfDebt.org to ask for help. Here is what she said.

“I’m having some money problems. I’m having to struggle on making a payment on time and cause I’m pregant my hours got cut back at McDonald’s. Just trying to pay people back and stay on top with my debt with rent.

How can i get help with paying my bills?”

Emily,

My gosh this is a difficult and stressful time in your life. In a perfect world it would be great to be able to be pregnant and enjoy that process rather than having to deal with the stress and pressure of money troubles, job issues and making it through life.

I always try to give advice in an honest and compassionate way. I just wish there was a way for me to reach through the computer and give you a giant hug. Sounds like you could use one right now.

Now for some honesty. The idea that the government or someone will help you to pay your bills is an urban myth that has been floating around forever. There is no other way to say this other than it does not happen, It does not exist. It is a lie, a falsehood, an untruth.

Now that being said, there are in fact some ways that someone, the government will help YOU and not your bills. But indirectly it can be helpful to paying bills.

Local and state governments do offer assistance programs to assist with rent, food, etc. These social service programs are available through loads of red tape, dealing with frustrating and often rude government employees and it takes time and patience to work you way through the process.

I would advise you to contact your local social service office and ask for help to find out what you are eligible for. The reaction I hear most often to this is people who say they don’t want to be on benefits. That’s a pride issue, not a reality issue.

If you’ve paid taxes and helped to fund the system, you should take advantage of it when you most need it. Pride is one thing but even salt does not help it to taste better when you are hungry.

We can’t forget the obvious contributors here as well. The three most important people in your life right now to help you through this will be your family, the baby’s father and the bankruptcy attorney.

If the baby’s father is fully participating and helping you both emotionally and financially, he deserves a hug. If he is not, then he needs to know that he has a responsibility to provide and help you to care for the child.

There is a legal process to help make them pay for child support. And by the way, child support is to be used to pay for the child, not your support. Talk to you local child support office to find out what to do to get the support your child is eligible for the baby’s father if he isn’t around or does not want to care for you or the child.

Family can be the saving grace at times like this, they can help us to make it through difficult times but asking them to pay your bills for you would be unreasonable. They are not their bills, they are your bills. If you can’t afford to pay your bills then you need to go and talk to a bankruptcy attorney. It would be reasonable to ask your family to help you pay for the bankruptcy lawyer. It is a one-time expense that will make a big difference. I’m all for those kinds of investments.

The law of the universe is that to overcome money troubles you either need to earn more or pay less. If McDonald’s isn’t able to offer you more hours then you could go look for a better paying job or go bankrupt to eliminate your debt.

Based on what you told me, and my years of experience I know you are living on the edge and just making it. A visit to the bankruptcy lawyer is the the most logical solution.

Once you put these financial pressures behind you then you can focus on having a less stressed and a more healthful pregnancy. That’s important. Stress during pregnancy does not help the growing life within. Start being a good mom now and take responsibility for dealing with the bills now.

Let me know how the trip to the bankruptcy attorney goes.

Big Hug!

@GetOutOfDebtGuy

The American Consumers Nuclear Winter

Steve Rhode — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:31:43 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

With so little time before the next presidential election it is a good time to take a quick look at some important issues that are impacting the wallets and purses of the American consumer.

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

Some Interesting Ideas To Try To Bribe You To Spend, Spend, Spend

Steve Rhode — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:39:56 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

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, under this plan, would pay states 5 percent of the 2007 consumption amount of their residents.

Idea 2

Homeowners could automatically renegotiate mortgage terms when prices in their area fall more than 20 percent. Lenders must participate. They would have to reduce the face value of the mortgage by the amount houses in the area fall in value, according to an index of prices in the given Zip code.

Idea 3

Government has spent billions of dollars trying to avoid foreclosures but has not managed to encourage home purchases. “There are many, many potential buyers out there, but they are afraid. Therefore it is important that we initiate some programs to bring the demand curve up.”

Idea 4

Encourage growth through consumer spending. By suspending worker Social Security contributions the government would effectively boost employees’ take-home pay and pump billions of dollars each week into the economy. Workers would feel like they had a better handle on their household budgets, helping boost confidence in the economy. Consumers could spend money on products or services but also pay down debt.

How to Get Out of Debt With the Get Out of Debt Guy » state governments

Emily Wants to Know “I’m Pregnant And Got My Hours Cut. What Do I Do?”

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