Published in Debt Advice Features on Friday, June 03 2005 0 Comments

As you may have read, the savings rate for people today is at its lowest point in many years, maybe at its lowest point ever. Many people do not even have the two to three months of wages put aside that most financial experts suggest keeping as an emergency fund.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Friday, June 03 2005 0 Comments

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of debt you owe?  Do you lie awake at night wondering how you will pay the rent, the car payment or the mortgage. Do you worry constantly about having enough money? Are you constantly being harassed by debt collectors? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you may be able to benefit greatly from the services of a debt management companies.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Friday, June 03 2005 0 Comments

Did you know that the most frequent reason cited for the breakups of marriages is financial problems? It’s true. More than adultery, religious difference or difference in values, problems with managing money is most likely to doom a marriage. In addition to all the other reasons to get debt under control, it just might save your marriage as well.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Friday, June 03 2005 0 Comments

The statistics can be very depressing. Personal savings rates are at some of their lowest points in history. At the same time, consumers are carrying an ever increasing load of personal debt. Most people have only enough cash in the bank to see them through a couple of weeks at the most. Many people have even less than that and some people may have no emergency cash available.

With these facts in mind, it is not hard to see how so many people are getting in over their head and considering declaring bankruptcy. Like any other major financial decision, the decision to file for bankruptcy is not one to be taken lightly. A bankruptcy filing will stay on your record for a number of years and will greatly affect your ability to get credit in the future.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 23 2005 0 Comments

We understand it may not be your fault you’re living with bad credit. Sometimes circumstances arise within our lives that we have no control over. Divorce, death, medical problems, loss of a job; there are innumerable circumstances that can contribute to a bad credit situation. We also understand that even when you’ve made bad financial decisions in the past; it isn’t fair to continue to punish you for them well into the future.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 23 2005 0 Comments

These days having at least one credit card is just about a necessity. From booking a hotel room to buying a plane ticket to renting a car, it is just about impossible to travel without one. Many other facets of everyday life are also made easier and simpler by the convenience of credit cards, but all this ready access to spendable cash has its downside as well. 

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 23 2005 0 Comments

It is no secret that most people have too much consumer debt. It is all too easy to just sign your name on the dotted line and run that credit card up to the max. Unfortunately, many users of credit cards seem to forget that eventually the bill comes due, and they may be in for a rude surprise when it does. Credit card interest rates are notoriously high, even for consumers with good credit. Where a secured loan from your bank or credit service might cost you 8% or 9%, interest rates on typically unsecured credit card loans can be 18% or even higher.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 16 2005 0 Comments

A trend of running credit checks on prospective employees is starting to alarm job seekers. In recent years an increasing number of employers have begun using credit checks as part of their standard selection process when hiring new employees. Employers state running credit checks is a good way for them to determine which candidates can be considered responsible and which ones can’t. They look to past and present credit problems as an indication that prospective employees might be irresponsible in their professional lives and may have the potential to mishandle funds. Apparently, employers feel that given the right, or wrong, circumstances anyone can behave in an uncharacteristic manner and become a potential thief. This trend is becoming increasingly popular in industries where employees handle large sums of money or else have access to perks like expense accounts. Companies are also concerned employees with money problems might be tempted to develop sticky fingers and lift expensive objects they can later sell to raise cash.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 16 2005 0 Comments

It is no secret that more and more people are finding themselves in need of debt reduction services. With more and more consumers carrying every increasing levels of personal debt, it is no surprise that so many find themselves unable to pay their monthly bills.

Consumers in this situation are often not to blame for their predicament. It is also no secret that wages have not been rising as fast as prices. As a matter of fact, a recent survey found that real wages – that is wages adjusted for inflation – have actually been falling for quite a number of years. With circumstances like that it is no wonder that so many people find themselves so deeply in debt.

Published in Debt Advice Features on Monday, May 16 2005 0 Comments

Business debt can be a difficult subject to tackle. Any business owner or executive can tell you how hard it is to run a business. Unlike the nine to five racket, owning a business means that your income will be irregular, maybe lots of money came in last month and next to nothing this month.

With that kind of irregular cash flow, it can be extremely hard to meet the very regular expenses that come with running a business. Things like electricity, water, heat, lease payments and employee salaries have to be paid no matter how much money is coming in or not coming in. With realities like this, it is not hard to see where business debt comes from.