You are not alone!
Are you up to your neck in credit debt and there doesn’t seem to be any way out? Bankruptcy used to be a forbidden subject spoken about in hushed whispers. But nowadays it’s so widespread, that it’s much more common to hear the lament that ‘I’m just not making it and I might have to consider bankruptcy’. It is so familiar now to be overburdened by massive credit that the topic is no longer taboo. Bankruptcies affect more than 1 out of every 100 households across the nation, (not to mention the huge increase in foreclosures), involving every economic and social sector. In our effort to help people in these dire straits, we find it is usually the entrepreneur and forward thinker, working hard and trying to leverage a better life for themselves and get ahead, that is the one most often struck down by the current economic climate. The individuals caught up in this debt crisis are definitely not the lazy deadbeat profile that the current stigmas would have you think, but are more typically hard working individuals looking for real debt freedom.
But they say things are getting better!
When the politician says things are getting better, it really means that we are not going backward as fast as we were – only losing 400,000 jobs a month (July 2009) instead of 467,000 (June 2009). This is great news except to the 400,000 people who just lost their job! Don’t be fooled into thinking that debt problems will go away soon and everyone will have plenty of money to pay their bills. The effects of this recession will be felt for many years and we are just at the beginning of the coming meltdown in credit card defaults. How long will it take 400,000 people who lost their jobs, in July 2009, to get caught up on rent, mortgages, and food, and then to pay off their debt?
Bailing out the credit card companies was supposed to be good for us, but was it?
Banks and Credit Card companies are in the business, not to help us make our lives better, but to make as much money as they possibly can! At the time a credit card company offers us the money and debt we think we need, they are in turn using that credit to enhance their own portfolio, borrowing nine (9) times that amount. Nowadays, as soon as a credit company even thinks you are in trouble, your interest rate can be doubled (we’re just starting to see 40% rates), and the minimum monthly payment being raised from 2% to 5%. So a monthly payment of $500 could now rise to $1300 or more. And this may happen after you’ve lost your job, had a pay cut, a major illness, or experienced some other downturn in your situation.
But, at least, I can file for bankruptcy and get a fresh start?
Sadly, this is no longer the case. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was anything but what it was labeled. This bill was a dream come true for your creditors and the banks. In fact, they have been trying to pass a bill like this for years! If you are anything but dead broke, without any hope of future income, you will be forced into a Chapter 13 (court ordered repayment plan) rather than a Chapter 7 (most debts forgiven) by the bankruptcy judge. (By the way, the bankruptcy attorneys selling bankruptcy to you do not control who qualifies for a Chapter 7.) Chapter 13 is a court ordered repayment plan for individuals with regular income and unsecured debt of less than $290,525 and secured debt less than $871,550. You will become a ward of the court system and required to repay your debt. Any change in your financial situation for the better will be rewarded with an increase in your debt payments to your creditors. Add to this the long term negative effect on your credit score of filing bankruptcy and the resulting added costs in higher interest rates for any new credit purchases, this filing has lifetime effects. In fact, for the rest of your life, whenever you are asked on a credit, financial, mortgage, or employment application if you have ever filed bankruptcy, you will have to answer, “Yes”! This may cost you significant lost opportunities and thousands of dollars. This kind of bankruptcy “relief” could be a disaster for you for years to come.
There are many credit relief companies out there that promise they can help you out, but very few of them have a strategy that will do more than add to your debt (by paying a built in fee to a third party company) or consolidating your debt into one payment, with some lowered interest rates.
There is another alternative to Bankruptcy (the only one that we found to be successful, legal, and cost effective) where you can actually stop your credit card payments now, have the courts protect your assets and income, and have your credit profile restored, all while you are obtaining a legitimate debt negotiation for as little as ten cents on the dollar. This provides you a second chance and the opportunity for a new financial fresh start! (In fact, over 2,000 customers have freed themselves from credit nationwide over the last six years with this attorney authored and monitored program!).
And, once you have legally resolved your debt and restored your credit, there are many other cutting edge strategies to get you back in tip top financial shape quickly and help you streamline your path to retirement: top-quality passive income systems to help your IRAs and portfolio rebound from stock market and real estate collapses.
Good luck,
consumersdebthelp.com
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