Published Tuesday, January 24, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

In the “new economy,” full of novel financial realities, we often hear a lot about how cash-strapped kids are often coming home to live with and borrow from their better-positioned parents. And now a new report tells us why.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the wealth gap between younger and older Americans has stretched to the widest on record, “worsened by a prolonged economic downturn that has wiped out job opportunities for young adults and saddled them with housing and college debt.”

Based on analysis by the Pew Research Center, the AP says “The typical U.S.…

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Published Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 6:30 am

The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas had many people wondering where America’s lingering financial issues went as millions of shoppers returned to our nation’s stores, malls and gallerias en masse to take advantage of extreme sales (and savings) and, in doing so, generated the most successful Black Friday for retailers ever.…

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Published Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 6:30 pm

We talk a lot about the dangers of using credit cards, the nation’s plastic pariah that contributes to many living beyond their means, causes people to pay incredibly high interest, and in more cases than we care to share, leads a lot of folks to file for bankruptcy.

And so for the many thousands of you who were hoping to pay off credit cards quickly and easily as your New Year’s resolution, we have some bad news.…

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Published Wednesday, November 30, 2011 @ 7:22 am

Many are saying global economic events mean that stock market investors had little to be thankful for during this opening to the official holiday season.

According to CNN Money, “The holiday season has officially arrived, but whether investors will have much to be jolly about next week is uncertain, as Europe’s debt woes continue to weigh on the market.…

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Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 8:16 am

With news this month that almost 40 percent of Americans belive unemployment is the biggest issue facing the country—a figure that leapt from 29 percent between August and September 2011—it’s clear that folks are beginning to believe that joblessness more than “the economy” as a whole is the nation’s most important problem as well as a primary concern for them as part of a larger pool of citizens just struggling to get by in post-recessionary America.…

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Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 7:14 am

We talk a lot here about the trials and travails of underemployment, a perpetual condition of post-recessionary America, in which many, if not most, workers face stagnant wages and/or part-time jobs that fail to keep up with the rising cost of living in the new economy.

In particular, retail workers struggle for hours amid a weak economic recovery, clamoring for extra work in this lower-skilled and paying field.…

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Published Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 8:49 am

Since the real estate reckoning of 2007 launched what would become a global economic meltdown, average Americans just like you have been taking advantage of the sure-fire safe havens of personal bankruptcy. But part of successfully joining the more than 1.5 million people who will file in 2011, is planning for life following the fruition of that bankruptcy.…

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Published Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 7:46 pm

Since the real estate reckoning of 2007 launched what would become a global economic meltdown, average Americans just like you have been taking advantage of the sure-fire safe havens of personal bankruptcy. But part of successfully joining the more than 1.5 million people who will file in 2011, is planning for life following the fruition of that bankruptcy.…

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Published Friday, October 7, 2011 @ 5:58 am

It’s not too terribly surprising that pawn shops have done very well in the wake of the economic downturn.  With more and more average Americans stuck at the lower end of the income spectrum due to the new economy’s trademark unemployment and underemployment, a great many average Americans were forced to rely regularly on consumer credit to pay for their everyday bills, goods and services.…

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Published Tuesday, October 4, 2011 @ 7:45 am

If it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve talked about the rising cost of health care, that’s because up until this year, these mounting medical costs had leveled.

But in the new America, it seems you can’t keep a high cost down.

In reality, the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance surged during 2011, cutting short a timely trend toward only “moderate growth.” According to a report released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, annual premiums for family coverage climbed 9 percent and surpassed $15,000 for the first time.…

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Published Monday, September 26, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

Poverty is now a common (and growing) problem for America’s single moms as jobs, and social safety nets fade as quickly as the economy tanked, according to a new article from The Huffington Post.

“In 2010, the first full calendar year after the Great Recession, nearly 41 percent of the nation’s single mothers with children under age 18, like Williams, lived on incomes below the federal poverty line.…

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Published Monday, September 26, 2011 @ 7:24 am

Need signs that credit card companies are getting more aggressive with their credit card tactics and tricks? Well, there’s 346 million reasons from one particular credit card purveyor, Citigroup.

Based on a new report from The Wall Street Journal, in the third quarter alone, the bank mailed more than 346 million credit card offers to unwitting customers.…

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Published Sunday, September 25, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

Last week, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said it would cut about=a35,000 jobs and reduce annual expenses by $5 billion, as it struggles with costs from its 2008 takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp and a nearly 50 percent drop in share price this year.

The layoffs could have huge ripple effects for the North Carolina economy.…

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Published Tuesday, September 20, 2011 @ 8:03 am

For many recent graduates from colleges and universities all across the country, any job must feel better than no job at all. Shortly after graduation in May 2011, thousands of grads from Washington State to UNC-Wilmington, turned their back on student life and turned back on their computers only to begin their first official job searches—sending out e-mail-loads of resumes in what would become for many a months-long search for work….any work.…

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Published Thursday, September 8, 2011 @ 6:42 pm

A fascinating new article from The Associated Press reveals that the one of the toughest challenges facing unemployed Americans isn’t a job market currently stagnated at 9.1 percent unemployment rate, or even that 14 million unemployed are competing with each other in a country that posted no new jobs in August; rather the AP says the most challenging thing the unemployed are currently contending with is the underemployed.…

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Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 1:02 pm

About a year ago, we reported that North Carolina was at the “top of the heap,” when it came to being home to one of the ten best cities to find jobs. Despite the fact that millions of struggling Americans were still working hard to find employment, economists were heartened about prospects for growth in 2012 as industries increasingly reported better profits and adding new jobs.…

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Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 8:52 am

When you’re drowning in debt, and dodging your creditors, you may feel stuck—forced to eliminate your financial trappings as soon as possible and by any means necessary. But, in the process of dispensing with debt through the benefits of bankruptcy, it’s vital that you deal with that debt deliberately and follow certain rules pre-filing in order to assure that your financial future is as fruitful as possible.…

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Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

At a time when a full-fledged recovery remains a distant prospect for many average Americans and their beleaguered budgets, the outlook is also pretty grim for the overall American economy itself.

As millions of men and women flood unemployment lines awaiting word of jobs that may never return, and with few signs that the federal government nor the nation’s central bank will make any further efforts to stimulate our flagging financial state, according to government estimates released Friday, the United States economy grew at a slower pace this spring than even previously thought.…

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Published Friday, August 12, 2011 @ 9:11 am

As active duty service members come home from wars winding down abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are welcomed to friends, family and staggering unemployment. Now, tens of thousands of veterans are flooding the job market at a time when millions of civilians can’t even head back to work.

According to a new report from Reuters, unemployment among recent veterans grew to 13.3 percent in June, more than 4 percentage points higher than the national average.…

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Published Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 6:56 am

Three years back, Iceland’s entire financial system collapsed and despite being unable to bail itself out of its economic troubles on its own, the country is already recovering quickly and strongly.

As a result, there are valuable lessons anyone considering bankruptcy here at home (or even other countries) can learn from the this spate of Icelandic insolvency and what the Nordic nation ultimately did to solve it and emerge stronger than ever.…

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Published Tuesday, August 2, 2011 @ 10:49 am

In the two years since the end of America’s recent Great Recession, there have been plenty of ups and downs in economic forecasts, fiscal prognostications, and financial facts and figures. Polls have also been a big part of taking the country’s financial pulse, as average Americans are often asked, “how are you feeling now, post-recession?”

Some experts will tell you that as recently as last fall—with news that businesses were back to hiring, some saying the housing market was no longer in a tailspin, and the economy looking less bleak than before—men and women throughout the country were beginning to feel better about their personal financial prospects.…

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Published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 3:12 pm

Few average Americans are likely celebrating the recent two-year anniversary of the period when economists and other experts say the Great Recession ended. This is especially true given that the subsequent recovery has been called “the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s.”

But what’s the real reason so many are feeling less-than-jovial about the couple of years since the end of the downturn?…

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Published Friday, July 15, 2011 @ 11:14 am

According to last week’s Federal Reserve report, U.S. consumer credit rose by another $5.08 billion in May–a figure that suggested a willingness for millions to keep borrowing despite an exceptionally tight job market.

In a recap of these new figures by Reuters, the news agency said, “The May rise, coming after a revised $5.67 billion increase in April, handily topped forecasts by Wall Street economists for a $4 billion increase and marked the eighth straight month of growth in consumer credit.…

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Published Sunday, June 26, 2011 @ 10:08 am

In these tough economic times, some households have had to put basic needs above plans for higher education, turning to personal savings and college funds to fight off foreclosure, meet mounting medical costs, and in some cases, even keep the lights on and food in the fridge. In the wake of the recent Recession, many commentators have begun to question the cost-benefit of analysis of spending for higher education versus the realities of the jobs (and salaries) earned as a result.…

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Published Friday, June 24, 2011 @ 10:08 am

If you’re like so many Americans experiencing tough economic times, you may feel completely overwhelmed by your current financial situation and unsure as to what options actually exist to alleviate it. Maybe you’ve been unable to modify your mortgage, hit with the costs of an unexpected medical situation, dealing with high interest credit cards or are navigating through the pitfalls of unemployment or underemployment with little understanding of how to pull yourself out of the subsequent a financial hole.…

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Published Monday, June 20, 2011 @ 7:41 am

As millions will see in 2011, a personal bankruptcy can relieve you of your post-recessionary hangover, helping you dispense with debts accumulated during tough economic times and get you back on the road to financial freedom. And, while choosing bankruptcy has become an easier for so many average Americans seeking respite from their economic woes, which bankruptcy to choose can be a tougher decision.…

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Published Sunday, June 19, 2011 @ 11:37 am

In these rough and tumble economic times, some households have been forced to put low-level, basic needs above long-term plans for higher education, turning to personal savings and what they previously considered to be college funds to fight off home foreclosure, meet mounting medical costs, and in some cases, even keep the lights on and food in the fridge.…

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Published Saturday, June 18, 2011 @ 7:47 am

These summer months are shaping up (again) to be tough times for recent college graduates. This latest round of job seekers continues to face high unemployment and mounting debt. So what happens when these poor economic conditions coincide with payment deadlines for sometimes astronomical educational loans? One word: defaults. In the end, this feeling of financial helplessness leaves many recent grads reeling, and rightfully so, in an economic climate may mean they will never be as successful or financially secure as their parents.…

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Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 4:33 pm

As temperatures heat up all across the country this season, so too are concerns about inflation, with rock bottom housing prices, and a weak labor market, adding fuel to the summertime fire. The result? Tanking consumer confidence in May, at least according to a private sector report released this week, and fears of something more economically-sinister a’ brewin.’

Based on a Reuters reading of the new economic data, “The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.8 from a revised 66.0 in April.…

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Published Tuesday, June 14, 2011 @ 1:28 pm

Two years after experts found the recession to have ended, real estate prices continue to fall in major cities all across the country according to a new report—in some cases to their lowest level since the housing bubble burst in 2006—signifying a true recovery has yet to materialize in the beleaguered housing market.…

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Published Monday, June 13, 2011 @ 7:00 am

After a recent bankruptcy you may be feeling the need to build your credit “credibility.” While it’s always important to understand the perils of plastic—the reason many average Americans choose bankruptcy in the first place—it’s also important for a better financial future to show creditors that you can successfully manage that type of debt.…

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Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:57 pm

Are You Prepared for an American Recession Turned Great Depression?

Just as many Americans had begun to believe the worst of the economic downturn had passed, some experts are saying that the nation’s reemerging job woes are signs of something more sinister afoot: a potential Great Depression.

So what could cause America’s Recession to turn into a Great Depression?…

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Published Sunday, May 29, 2011 @ 8:24 am

We talk a lot about the impact of the recent economic downturn on seniors: how hard is to retire, or even remain employed, as debt rises and dreams of post-career, golden years spent without worry fade as quickly as home prices.

But what about the millions of Americans who have yet to embark on careers, now facing a rude awakening that the jobs that used to pad their wallets and prepare them for college and the workforce, are now disappearing or filled by fellow workers twice their age?…

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Published Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 8:36 pm

We know what you’re thinking.

Another stressful tax season has officially come and gone, and you’re either expecting a well-deserved refund or you owe an obligatory amount to the Internal Revenue Service.

Regardless, we understand you’d rather not think about (or, at least read about) anything regarding taxes, tax time, or the financial implications of this taxing period.…

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Published Thursday, May 26, 2011 @ 5:40 pm

We’ve written about many celebrity bankruptcies in the past several years. But few are more interesting than the bankruptcy of Charlie Batch.

According to the story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Charlie Batch filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2010, after his real estate venture defaulted on a $1.15M mortgage with Dollar Bank.…

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Published Friday, May 20, 2011 @ 6:41 am

Yes, the American employment picture is getting better. The latest numbers show that the U.S. added nearly 250,000 jobs in April 2011, making it the 14^th consecutive month of job market gains. But economists aren’t as optimistic, pointing to a lack of job diversity and higher income positions as signs things are far from back to “business as usual.”

According to a new article from The Huffington Post, “ In April, the U.S.…

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Published Monday, May 16, 2011 @ 1:44 pm

While the country’s overall unemployment rate sits at 8.8 percent, the rate among white Americans is at 7.9 percent. Yet, for a host of reasons ranging from disparate levels of education to outright discrimination, national joblessness is nearly double for African Americans—even during a tepid, but true, economic recovery.

As The Huffington Post points out, joblessness has remained so critically elevated in the decade leading up to the Great Recession, that African Americans like Charlotte, North Carolina’s own Wanda Nolan witnessed a bright future quickly dimmed by an unrelenting  economic downturn:

“From an entry-level job as a fill-in bank teller, she forged a career as a commercial banking assistant, earning enough to become a homeowner.…

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Published Monday, May 16, 2011 @ 10:43 am

Sure hiring is up in many sectors, unemployment rates are dropping and the economy appears to be on the mend, but for many older Americans over the age of 55, who are currently out of work, prospects are poor for ever returning to the workforce as quickly as before the Recession.…

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Published Tuesday, May 3, 2011 @ 4:23 am

Just as Baby Boomers shaped the counter culture of the 1960s, this storied generation of robust lifestyles, risk-taking rebellions, and Rock-n-Roll significance is ready to yet again make its mark on America—this time, in their mid 60s. Today, Boomers now represent one-third of the total population of North America, with their highly populated presence standing as a testament to the hard lessons learned from the new economy: poor financial planning converging with uncertain economic circumstances at a vulnerable age in a working life, can have a apocalyptic impact on our nation’s more plentiful citizenry.…

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Published Thursday, April 21, 2011 @ 5:44 pm

As we reported just last week, 37,000 North Carolinians were on course to lose their unemployment benefits as North Carolina lawmakers failed to revise the calculations used to determine when these payouts from the Extended Benefits program could be distributed.

This week, however, the legislative actions were more purposeful as Republican legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly attached budget cuts to a bill maintaining the state’s eligibility for these federal benefits.…

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Published Monday, April 4, 2011 @ 5:37 pm

In 2010, the President Obama reworked his $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan. The second incarnation of the Home Affordable Modification Program (or HAMP) added new incentives to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis, targeting homeowners who were unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (i.e., folks owing more on their loans than their homes were worth).…

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Published Friday, March 4, 2011 @ 4:45 pm

In the mafia, there’s always a “fixer:” someone in the organization who will do the dirty work, get things done, and do so without any hesitation at all. And while the “fixer” is good at what he does, he has a tendency to be an unseemly character, whose unscrupulous tactics leave a lot to be desired.…

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Published Tuesday, March 1, 2011 @ 12:58 pm

We talk a lot about the real estate reckoning and its effects on companies, individuals, municipalities, and sometimes states. But these days the mortgage crisis is even handing the family pet a raw deal, as families are forced into foreclosure and out of their homes, and the animals they owned are left behind in animal shelters, or worse yet, in the empty houses to languish alone.…

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Published Monday, February 28, 2011 @ 8:29 am

One of the most widespread effects of the current housing market malaise is the “curse” of negative equity. This now ubiquitous occurrence of the real estate reckoning is a product of an underwater universe wherein a good number of houses all across the country are valued as less than what homeowners originally paid for them.…

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Published Monday, February 21, 2011 @ 7:39 am

New data shows that 2010 was marked by more personal bankruptcies than any other year since stricter federal bankruptcy laws were enacted in 2005. Roughly 1.53 million consumer bankruptcy petitions were filed in 2010, up 9 percent from 1.41 million in 2009, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.…

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Published Wednesday, February 16, 2011 @ 8:42 am

In the last century, it was not uncommon to hear of average Americans, understandably wary of a then-fledgling banking industry, hiding personal fortunes under household mattresses instead of placing them in various accounts.  And yet while wads of cash are even less common in today’s tough economic times—times when banks coincidentally are mistrusted more than ever—the idea of Americans hording whatever they have for a “rainy day,” is not.…

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Published Monday, February 7, 2011 @ 10:19 pm

When asked in a recent interview by Anna Robertson of Yahoo! News what he had to say to America’s 14.5 million unemployed, the Vice President Joe Biden responded, “hang in there.” Pointing to a slow and gradual national recovery, Biden said that while the unemployment rate is only “dropping minimally,” the economy is slowly improving, leaving Americans to wait it out.…

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Published Friday, February 4, 2011 @ 2:59 pm

Commonly we hear of bankruptcy coming to the aid of those drowning in credit card debt, underneath tons of medical bills, or otherwise underwater in their mortgages and facing foreclosure. But in these tough economic times, a sudden and unexpected loss of work can be just as damning to already beleaguered family budgets, sending many households searching for immediate ways to increase money coming in and reducing debts going out.…

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Published Wednesday, February 2, 2011 @ 11:57 am

With some reports in recent decades finding that (1) gambling losses account for some 10 percent of total bankruptcy filings, (2) more than 20 percent of compulsive gamblers are forced to seek the safe havens of bankruptcy, and (3) more than 90 percent of these same compulsive gamblers use credit cards in order to gamble, the idea of wagering money on little more than chance seems far from child’s play.  In truth, it can wreck budgets, marriages, and even lives.…

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Published Monday, January 31, 2011 @ 9:28 am

Maybe you feel you’ve avoided financial calamity during the major years of the American economic meltdown: You’ve managed to avoid foreclosure and credit card debt, stave off a major medical injury or illness, without cutting into savings or retirement plans. You’ve possibly even avoided being fired or laid off from your job.…

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Published Tuesday, January 25, 2011 @ 8:22 am

Amid a 2010 marred by some of the highest foreclosure rates ever recorded, came the news that many of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders had been forced to suspend foreclosure proceedings following charges that these same “mega mortgage-holders” rushed the recordation process by forcing thousands of borrowers from their “home sweet homes” without the appropriate documentation to do so.…

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Published Saturday, January 22, 2011 @ 7:22 pm

While unexpected circumstances and scenarios often cause American debtors to consider the bankruptcy option, a disability, often combining mounting medical costs with a sudden loss of an otherwise dependable income, can make for an especially strong case for seeking the benefits of bankruptcy. The good news is a personal bankruptcy is an often safe solution for eliminating some (or all) of the associated debts from a disability.…

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Published Saturday, January 22, 2011 @ 7:24 am

In 2010, the Obama administration reworked its $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program (AKA “HAMP”) in an attempt to better help those hardest hit by the housing crisis: homeowners who were unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (i.e., owing more on their loans than their homes are worth). Within these changes, (1) the unemployed could qualify for up to a six month stay on their mortgage payments;  (2) in turn, participating banks would receive financial incentives to reduce mortgage balances for underwater homeowners; and (3) lenders could refinance mortgage loans secured by the Federal Housing Administration.…

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Published Friday, January 14, 2011 @ 1:52 pm

The Supreme Court’s recent holding in the bankruptcy case of Ransom v. FIA Card Services, N.A., means new challenges regarding allowed expenses for Chapter 13 debtors.  In an eight to one opinion, the Court recently affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that a debtor may not deduct “vehicle ownership” costs when computing his Chapter 13 plan payment if that debtor happens to own his vehicle “free and clear.”

In layman’s terms, this means that a person filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 cannot reduce his payments to unsecured creditors by claiming “ownership costs” for a car on which he owes no money.  In this case, the petitioner, Jason Ransom, filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and claimed a $471 monthly expense in his Chapter 13 payment plan for automobile ownership costs.…

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Published Friday, January 14, 2011 @ 11:52 am

Following the worst financial downturn since the Depression of the 1930s, men and women of the middle-class have found themselves profoundly affected by an economic meltdown that’s quickly pushed many into poverty. Widening unemployment paired with shrinking government safety nets means one unexpected and unfortunate incident—a sudden layoff, debilitating injury or illness, a missed mortgage payment—can mean a person’s life is instantly transformed from “happy-go-lucky” to the brink of homelessness or worse.…

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Published Wednesday, January 12, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

Hiring a bankruptcy attorney is your best first step toward a refreshed, healthy financial future. The decision can be a tough one, we know.
Once on track to file though, we’ll clear the path for you, assisting at every step and consistently communicating. There are a number of things you can do along the way, too.…

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Published Wednesday, January 12, 2011 @ 8:40 am

Well, it’s a new year. 2011. Time to put behind the hassles and headaches of what was and time to think about what will be. Especially in terms of your personal financial situation.

Despite what so many had predicted, 2010 wasn’t much of a recovery year for America. The stock market saw some gains for the second year in a row.…

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Published Tuesday, January 11, 2011 @ 3:28 pm

Ah, tax season: the oft-dreaded time when we’re all forced to assess a previous year’s worth of financial doings, pay back deficiencies and seek deductions. But this year’s tax season may become a bit more taxing for some as industry watchdogs are finding that the Internal Revenue Service is further targeting struggling taxpayers with aggressive tactics meant to retrieve all that is owed from already economy-ravaged Americans.…

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Published Tuesday, January 11, 2011 @ 12:23 pm

Retirement is the time when we’re supposed to enjoy our money. With decades of work behind us, mortgages paid off and a healthy 401(k) ready to be cashed, retirement is when we hang it all up and really start to enjoy life. Right?

Hello? Anyone?

Yeah, not many of you there huh?…

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Published Friday, January 7, 2011 @ 6:52 am

As we’re all now aware, this decade’s economic downturn has dealt, and unfortunately continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of many American families, leaving millions in debt, facing foreclosure, and sometimes looking to any means necessary to break even, much less get back on a financially-healthy course. And so, once again, we’re finding that the beginnings of tax season can also yield it’s own set of challenges for some cash-strapped citizens as many turn to plastic to pay back what they owe the IRS.…

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Published Wednesday, January 5, 2011 @ 9:56 am

Just as many people head back to work after an extended holiday, and many more continue to look for work in the New Year, new data this week shows that the old year (2010) was marked by more consumer bankruptcies that any other since stricter federal bankruptcy laws were enacted in 2005.…

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Published Monday, January 3, 2011 @ 8:51 am

Despite an apparent uptick in consumer confidence this during the latter part of 2010, no one is buying the idea that the housing market—a major cause for this decade’s economic meltdown—is getting better anytime soon. In fact, according to U.S. Bank regulators, the country’s home foreclosures actually spiked in the third quarter as banks and other mortgage lenders became less inclined to help Americans stay in their homes as the housing market continues to struggle.…

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Published Monday, January 3, 2011 @ 6:50 am

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s, most people—people just like you—contemplated resolutions for a better, and in many cases, more financially sound, 2011.  And with millions of Americans facing foreclosure in a lingering housing crisis, extended unemployment or job insecurity, mounting medical debts, and/or other tenuous financial situations during this lingering economic malaise, making amends to be more fiscally savvy can be as tough as post-holiday fruit cake.…

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Published Wednesday, December 29, 2010 @ 1:33 pm

In every film there’s a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. And over the years, famous film directors from Kubrick to Polanksi have painted the Metro Goldwyn Mater film lots with many of these three-part cinematic elements—elements that, in the golden age of filmmaking of the 20^th century, brought in billions for MGM’s coffers.…

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Published Saturday, December 25, 2010 @ 8:35 pm

The holidays. A time for figgy pudding, partridges zipping around pear trees and maids milking barn animals. Those are well and good signs of happiness and all, but we’re here to dole out gifts that really sparkle under the tree, the kind that keep on giving and never need be returned.…

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Published Friday, December 17, 2010 @ 1:39 pm

Everywhere you look these days, it seems economists and financial experts are pointing to signs of a slow and steady economic recovery, including recent figures showing a seasonal spike in consumer savings and spending. Unfortunately, another indicator of the economic upturn is showing up in the mailboxes of many American households this holiday season: credit card offers.…

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Published Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 4:33 pm

The United States may appear to be a world power but when it comes to health care, far too many of our people are treated poorly.

A recent survey of industrialized nations revealed that in more so than any other country, American adults are most likely to avoid critical health care because of the cost.…

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Published Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 8:25 am

In retrospect, we’re all able to see that the recent economic downturn was sparked by a housing crisis full of unscrupulous sub-prime lending that easily spread to prime mortgages as unemployment rates rose. And, as many of you already know, the result of this collapse in the American housing market was a historic increase in the number of mortgage foreclosures, many in neighborhoods that had not previously had any issues with vacant or abandoned properties.…

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Published Wednesday, December 8, 2010 @ 1:56 pm

If you’re without a job, and on the fence about whether to seek the benefits of bankruptcy, the latest news on the unemployment front should be proof positive that there’s no better time to take your financial future into your own hands.

Following three months of positive growth in what had been an extended period of recession-era unemployment numbers, business hiring slowed in November 2010 as national unemployment figures rose to a staggering 9.8%, the highest rate since April and up from 9.6% in October.…

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Published Tuesday, November 30, 2010 @ 5:26 pm

In every great relationship, transparency is essential. And a perfect match is often a partner willing to share their past relationships, their financial status as well as what they’re thinking. Similarly, in every fruitful bankruptcy, honesty is key. In fact, it is mandatory. So, if you’re bankruptcy bound, it’s always best to understand early on that, at the outset of your filing, you must act in good faith, revealing all salient points with both your bankruptcy attorney—the person or persons who represent you in your case—as well as your bankruptcy trustee—the person who administrates your case.…

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Published Monday, November 29, 2010 @ 9:47 am

You hear tons of experts advising you to pay off high interest debt before any other expenses. And in some cases this makes perfect sense. For example, it’s always a smart move to deal with credit cards with double-digit interest rates before handling the plastic with single-digit interest. But in other cases, you may want to pay off debts with lower interest rates in the interest of appeasing creditors who have more recourse against you when or if you get behind on your payments.…

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Published Wednesday, November 24, 2010 @ 7:09 am

Are you feeling too broke to break out of debt? Too often, Americans just like you, already suffering under the intense strain of rising mortgage costs, consistent credit card debt, mounting medical bills, employment woes, and other blights on their bank accounts, are also suffering under the misconception that an experienced bankruptcy attorney is, for them, financially out of reach.…

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Published Monday, November 22, 2010 @ 11:26 am

A recent report by a reputable financial strategy and investment research firm finds that many Americans are ignoring their responsibility to manage their money. Whether by not logging-in to their checking account’s online statements or putting aside letters from the bank or credit card, one in five of us are intentionally not paying attention to our money, according to Javelin Strategy and Research.…

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Published Monday, November 15, 2010 @ 10:51 am

You’re in credit card debt, often with a double-digit interest rates that can balloon over time into a monthly amount more than even your car payment. You may have sold (or lost) your home, but without much equity to go around, you have downsized with little to show for it. You’ve minimized the amount you contribute to your future—retirement, savings, investments—in the hopes of having more to pay down mounting bills.…

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Published Monday, November 15, 2010 @ 10:13 am

While some experts are calling the latter portions of 2010 a new era of economic recovery, bankruptcy filings remain in true recession-era form.  In fact, according to the 2010 Fiscal Year statistics from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the number of bankruptcies filed between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010 increased from 1,402,816 to 1,596,355, marking an increase of 13.8%.…

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Published Saturday, November 13, 2010 @ 8:21 am

Even though the Triangle is one of the better performing real estate markets in the country, even being named by Newsweek as one of the Top 10 Places in America Poised for Recovery, it wasn’t enough to buoy the state’s foreclosure rate, which has surged during 2010.

In October, the foreclosure rate jumped more than 40 percent when compared to the same time last year.…

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Published Friday, November 12, 2010 @ 10:38 am

The trigger that forces you to finally take the benefits of bankruptcy can come in many forms: unexpected medical bills; mortgage defaults; the implications of divorce. But, more often than not the culprit can come in the form of out-of-control credit card bills. And with good reason: Chapter 7 bankruptcy can virtually wipe all of those bills away with one, simple filing.…

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Published Friday, November 12, 2010 @ 10:36 am

As has been well reported, mortgage modifications in the current housing market remain hard to come by. But what is less well known is that even for many lucky enough to modify their current house payments, the financial future is far from safely sheltered.  According to a recent report, more than 50 percent of homeowners who received mortgage modifications were at least two mortgage payments behind within a single year’s time, yet again making them vulnerable to perils of foreclosure.  The report also showed that approximately one-third of homeowners who received mortgage modifications that reduced their monthly payments by 20 percent or more had fallen behind again within a year compared to 60 percent for borrowers whose loan payments were left unchanged or increased.…

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Published Wednesday, November 10, 2010 @ 6:37 pm

The status of the job market is on everyone’s mind right now. Even the employed.

But if you’re one of the many currently collecting unemployment benefits, the world is a frustrating place.

It’s not so much the effect of not having a place to go to every day as it is all the things that follow not having a job, like the fear of not having enough money to support your family.…

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Published Sunday, November 7, 2010 @ 6:36 am

If you’re here, there’s no way around it: you’re considering a personal bankruptcy filing. And if you’re considering bankruptcy options, odds are your preference is for Chapter 7, a liquidation bankruptcy that qualifies you to discharge most or all of your unsecured debts. In the alternative, Chapter 13 bankruptcy means crafting a plan to repay a lighter load of debts, usually only the consumer’s secured debts (like car payments and mortgages)

Given these facts, you may think the choice is clear and that Chapter 7 is the only way go.…

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Published Saturday, November 6, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

Many long-term unemployed have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits available. The group,  known as The 99ers is a byproduct of an unprecedented number of Congressional extensions to unemployment benefits in a lingering economic malaise.

Do you consider yourself a 99er? Out of work for nearly two years or more?…

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Published Tuesday, November 2, 2010 @ 8:42 am

As the economic meltdown lingers, layoffs continue and jobs remain hard to come by, many skilled and experienced Americans are turning to entrepreneurship to make ends meet. But, while it is a good time to take your financial future into your own hands in business, it is also important to understand that self-employed individuals who fall on hard times at any point in the business-building process can also take their financial future into their hands through bankruptcy.…

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Published Monday, November 1, 2010 @ 10:42 am

Our recent, and lingering, economic recession has left many average Americans wondering how to keep their heads above the proverbial financial water. In a recent (and timely) article from AOL’s DailyFinance entitled, “Mired in Debt? Here’s How to Dig Out Safely,” the financial resources site discusses just that: strategies for success when trying to dig yourself out of mountains of debt.…

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Published Sunday, October 31, 2010 @ 5:41 pm

This week you may have seen many ghouls and goblins trolling around your neighborhoods, asking for tricks or treats. But, the scariest thing currently happening in your community is an array of potentially unlawful home repossessions from mortgage companies expediting the foreclosure process or refusing mortgage modifications in bad faith. In turn, a whole host of homeowner lawsuits have erupted on the scene, with the vast majority of them revolving around the idea that mortgage companies are deliberately misleading and manipulating homeowners just like you for their own financial benefit.…

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Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

Serious debt happens to most people before they realize it. Even though it’s always there, only when the income stops do the debt obligations get really noticed. And in a recession like the one that has plagued our country for the last three years, loss of income is a common thing.…

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Published Saturday, September 11, 2010 @ 9:18 am

In most discussions of bankruptcy, there are few mentions of the rising costs of motherhood/parenthood, especially considering the current economic state of affairs, whereby families are sometimes forced to choose between clothing, feeding and educating a child and their responsibilities of paying mortgages, car notes and consumer debt.

 As a result, it’s as good a time as any during this especially tough economic era to take a closer look at how mothers, guardians, and caregivers are crunching the numbers when it comes to giving their child the very best, and what that means when, at the same time, that parent is forced to seek the protections of a personal bankruptcy. For example, what might spending for a school expenditures and activities and/or a college education mean when it comes time to file and face bankruptcy’s two basic evaluations?…

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Published Friday, September 10, 2010 @ 6:25 pm

By it’s very name, a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy sounds like a process that would leave you not only without any debt, but also without any property or assets left over to show for it. As a result, many people considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy worry about losing their biggest asset—their home—in the process.…

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Published Tuesday, September 7, 2010 @ 5:31 pm

It would be inauthentic to blame every instance of bankruptcy on sudden life changes, such as a tragic illness or other life-altering emergency. The truth is, some bankruptcies are preventable.

However, we’re not judging. We know that timing plays a big part.

For example, let’s say one morning that you look at the pile of bills on the counter and say to yourself: “That’s it, I’m changing the way I handle money.” Then, the first thing noticed on your desk at work is a pink slip.…

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Published Friday, September 3, 2010 @ 3:32 pm

While many people consider it common knowledge, the last-minute fear before deciding to file bankruptcy could end up costing you even more come retirement. Turns out, that as the recession deepens, more people are looking toward their long-term savings for an influx of cash to help stay afloat.

Well, don’t ever be one of those people.…

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Published Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 10:34 am

Baby Boomers and their cohorts born during the middle part of the 20th Century—between the years of 1946-1964—are a generation of active lifestyles, risk-taking rebellions, musical and cultural significance, and, as they come to represent one third of the population of North America, a group making significant demands on the societies in which they live.  But now, Baby Boomers are adding one more superlative to the bunch: they’re also a generation of financial insolvency.…

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Published Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 10:32 am

Last year, one million people filed for bankruptcy, with 2010 on tap to top even that staggering figure. So what’s behind the big bankruptcy bump? A continuing housing crisis, higher health care costs, and unemployment hovering the double-digits. As a result, many people who have already filed in the past may be facing another round of tough financial times, and considering a second-time bankruptcy.…

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Published Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 10:07 am

In an era of meteoric unemployment rates, looming layoffs and job uncertainty, income can be a tough thing to talk about these days.

But for those men and women seeking the priceless protections of a bankruptcy—many for the same unfortunate economic reasons listed above—talking about income is at the very core of a successful bankruptcy filing.…

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Published Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 2:20 pm

In previous posts we’ve mentioned the findings of Third World America, Arianna Huffington’s new book taking an up-close-and-person and personal look at those hardest hit by the ongoing economic crisis: individuals, families and even whole communities.

In the process of capturing this unwelcome slice of American life, Huffington’s own news and information website The Huffington Post has “mapped the areas hardest hit by home foreclosure, unemployment and bankruptcy this year.”

To give you an idea of the depth and scope of the damage done by the financial meltdown, here’s an overview of how hard people are being in hit throughout a state like North Carolina.…

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Published Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 8:17 am

Deciding to file bankruptcy requires that you take an honest assessment of your financial situation.

Now if our government would just approach our economy the same way.

News this week about an economic recovery that probably never was and a perpetuating recession are putting into a harsh perspective just how much time, energy and tax-payer money has been dumped into a financial revitalization effort that looks to have not just stalled, but pulled us backward.…

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Published Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 9:47 am

In the hard-hit housing market, there’s some good news and some bad news. First the good news: according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the first time since 2006, the number of loans in the process of foreclosure fell in the second quarter. But then there’s the bad news: even with these drops in default leading to foreclosure, still more early delinquencies are apparent all across the county as homeowners continue to struggle with high unemployment and job insecurity.…

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Published Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 8:21 am

In the annals of bankruptcy law, special rules have come to dictate how certain property—from homes to cars to household items—is categorized and dispensed post-filing. Specifically, most states have some sort of homestead exemption that protects some or all of the equity in the debtor’s home from the clutches of creditor claims.  The Bankruptcy Code provides debtors with a homestead exemption—an exemption that is doubled for joint owners.…

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Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:54 am

So, like a very large number of Americans today, you think bankruptcy is your best route out of the financial doldrums.  After all the credit counselors, self-help books and Craigslist charlatans, it’s likely that you’ve grown tired of the debt cycle. We understand. That is what brings a lot of clients to our offices.…

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Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:46 am

During the mid-2000s, housing prices reached stratospheric levels with mortgage lenders more than willing to be liberal with their loans, selling the idea of the “home as American Dream” to anyone who would listen—whether they were qualified or not.  But, if the recent housing crisis has taught us anything, it’s that home ownership isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.…

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Published Wednesday, August 18, 2010 @ 7:44 am

With many experts predicting a protracted economic malaise with imperceptible growth and stubbornly high joblessness, bankruptcy filings appear to be in true recession-era form, rising in recent months, and, according to many analysts, increasing with no end in sight. In fact, during early summer, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) validated these fears, reporting that personal bankruptcy filings increased in 2010 compared with only one year ago.…

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 2:06 pm

In this underwater housing market, the old adage that renting a home is the same as throwing your money away can be grossly inaccurate. In many cities, from San Francisco to Dallas to New York, “price to rent” ratios make leasing property a no-brainer. But now, even smaller cities like Omaha, Oklahoma City and Kansas City appear on top ten lists of places better to rent than own.…

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