The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

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.…

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?  For one, the new economy is hardly spreading the wealth.

According to a new report by the Associated Press, “After previous recessions, people in all income groups tended to benefit. This time, ordinary Americans are struggling with job insecurity, too much debt and pay raises that haven’t kept up with prices at the grocery store and gas station.…

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. The total of all consumer credit outstanding in May was $2.432 trillion, up from a total of $2.427 trillion in April.…

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.

But according to a new Gallup/Sallie Mae study, despite tightening budgets and high unemployment, most students and their families are not cutting back on education.…

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.

At times like these it’s often important to get “back to the basics,” separating fact from fiction in order to make an informed decision that can get you back on track for a better financial future.…

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.

Whether you choose a Chapter 13 repayment plan that allows you to save your home from foreclosure, or the quick disposal of unwieldy debt under Chapter 7, you can stop creditor harassment and drop your debt load with either personal bankruptcy.…

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.

Even more striking is that during the recent Great Recession and in its recent wake, many commentators have begun to question the very cost-benefit of analysis of spending for higher education versus the realities of the jobs (and salaries) earned as a result.…

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.

According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, chronicling graduates’ search for better jobs (albeit without hope for a better future), this recent post-recessionary phenomenon may signify a broader trend.  “Historically, college graduates weather periods of economic recession better than their less-credentialed counterparts.…

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. The reading was below economists’ forecasts for 66.5. April was originally reported as 65.4.…

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.

According to a report from Arthur Delaney for The Huffington Post, this latest data “confirms that the housing market’s ‘double dip’ is at hand, and many economists say prices will continue to decline through the rest of this year. Home values dropped from February to March in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, which is widely considered the leading gauge of the housing market’s health.…

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.

Even qualifying for an initial credit limit of $1000 is a good place to start for a newly-discharged debtor, assuming a few conditions are met, including:

(1) You are Pre-Approved for a Credit Card
Qualifying for the a credit card is a little like going to the prom…it always feels better the more you are asked.…

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?

One commentator for The New Republic, Dean Baker, also co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says our biggest problem is now ideological: more focus around the Beltway on cutting deficits rather than spurring the labor market and housing markets.…

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? An underreported impact of our lingering economic malaise and changing job market is the impact on teenage workers.…

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. But, trust us, it’s worth taking a gander at the following, as the end of tax season means the beginning of many a tax scam that might cost you more money (and time) than any IRS tab.

The Internal Revenue Service has now issued a statement warning average Americans just like you about how to spot and solve identity theft issues that stem from your recent tax filing.…

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. Twenty-five properties held by Batch Development Company, Inc. associated with the mortgage default were placed into receivership. Court papers show that Batch was reportedly $6M in the hole at the time of his bankruptcy filing.

But the amount of debt Batch had managed to “batch together” at the time of his filing was not the newsworthy part of this personal bankruptcy story.…

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. economy added 244,000 jobs — the third straight month to see an average of over 200,000 new positions created, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.…

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.…

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.

Based on an article by reporter Arthur Delaney for The Huffington Post, the average jobless spell for older unemployed workers is now over a year, leading many to look for other options to subsidize mortgage notes, consumer debt loads, as well as rising medical costs.

“According to Friday’s jobs data from the U.S.…

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. And being that so many people are having such a tough financial time, this mature fiscal meltdown has a ripple effect on the overall American economy as millions of men and women prepare to retire in 2011 and yet are seemingly unprepared to do so.…

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. In the end, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue found these budget cuts too extreme as it meant public employee layoffs, and, as a result, vetoed the very legislation that would have allowed 37,000 laid off workers in the state to receive their final 20 weeks of federal unemployment insurance benefits.…