The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

We’ve all seen them.

Envelopes full of checks and other offers filling our mailboxes these days touting 0% or 2.99% and other low-to-no interest balance transfers for your more costly credit cards. These seductive rates do come at a cost if you don’t know what to look out for.

So check out these five tips to avoid getting taken advantage of, when taking advantage of balance transfer offers, including:

#1 Inspect the Interest Rates
When playing the balance game, the best bets are obviously the lowest interest rates available.  These days if you have a pretty good credit score, you can normally find a 0% interest teaser rate that can greatly reduce the amount of interest you’re currently paying.…

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.

In fact, with so many people facing income deficiencies due to underemployment or unemployment in 2011, it’s work revisiting the best advice for an effective bankruptcy. Here’s part one of a two-part series exploring the TOP TEN tips for making a 2011 bankruptcy work for you:

(1) Talking Through Your Bankruptcy Tale.…

While many Americans learned a harsh lesson during the economic recession—turning away from reckless spending in an attempt to increase much-needed savings and avoid high-interest consumer debts—auto lenders still did well during the downturn, as demand for cars remained high and auto loans became one of the very few types of consumer debts that grew even as consumer confidence dwindled.

In this auto-lending boom, more and more subprime lenders are popping up on the scene, willing to take advantage of a credit-ravaged consumer’s need for a new or used car.

Take for example Ally Financial, Inc. As Reuters is reporting, the largest American auto lender is making bank on many an unwary consumer’s automobile buys.…

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.…

Whether you’ve just concluded the bankruptcy process, been denied credit, are checking up on an identity theft incident, considering buying a home, or any other financial endeavor, it pays to check out your credit report. Why? Because when you’re trying to rebuild your credit health or prove you’re a good credit risk, it’s important to see what others see, namely your credit score.

You may already understand that you’re entitled to know what information is included in your credit reports. You may also know that you’re entitled to a free credit report each year. What you may not know is the right way to get it.…

Whether you’re considering bankruptcy or just coming out of it, you may be wondering the best ways to rebuild credit as soon as possible. Obviously, credit cards are one way to rebuild your credit history (and future) more quickly; but most people entering or exiting the bankruptcy process are well aware of the perils of plastic…and how difficult it can be to qualify for a card with a dinged credit past.

Here are a few ways to select a good credit card despite a bad credit history:

(1) Make to a Call to the Potential Creditor
You may not get offers in the mail, so it’s a good idea to “make the first move.” Give banks that appeal to you a call at the 800 number listed on their website in order to address their practices, policies and intentions.…

Becoming a Credit-Savvy Consumer Post-Bankruptcy: Part 2

Becoming better with credit post-bankruptcy can be a daunting task for many clients. You’ve repaid or dissolved your existing debts, and are about to close your bankruptcy case with a new and improved outlook on your financial life. Unfortunately for many in your position, even well-intentioned Americans can return to their debt-full ways, even after the many lessons learned from their bankruptcy filing.

As a result, it’s important to take a first (or now second) look at the best ways to break the cycle of debt, this time for good! Continuing from part one of our series, here are five additional strategies for making the best of your post-bankruptcy life:

(1) It’s Cheaper to Change Your Mind.…

Becoming better with credit post-bankruptcy can be a daunting task for many clients. You’ve repaid or dissolved your existing debts, and are about to close your bankruptcy case with a new and improved outlook on your financial life. Unfortunately for many in your position, even well-intentioned Americans can return to their debt-full ways, even after the many lessons learned from their bankruptcy filing.

As a result, it’s important to take a first (or possibly second) look at the best ways to break the cycle of debt, this time for good! Five sound (but simple) strategies include:

(1) Bank on it.
Banks inevitably issue real credit offers.…

If you’re like many average Americans, you were dealt a hefty budgetary blow during the recent Recession. And, as a result, you may have responded by trying to spend less, save more and reduce debts where you could—including cuts in your consumer credit card use.

If so, you’re not alone.

According to a recent report from Credit.com, since the inception of the economic crisis, more and more men and women are resisting the urge to spend, climbing aboard the equivalent of the “Good Ship Spendthrift” in order to create a sea of savings on a new course to a better financial future.…

It’s closing in on the end of the first month of 2011, another year into the Great Recession. Of course, things do look “somewhat” better than they did for the last three. However, everything does when enough time passes.

If you filed bankruptcy in 2010, or anytime in the last couple of years, chances are you made a few financial resolutions for the new year. Great. But now you have to stick to them.

In order to help you stay true to your own economic goals, lets’ explore the ways many financial resolutions end up going broke.

First, it is critical that you do not set your expectations too high.…

The nation’s residential real estate market continues to tumble, further complicating life for millions of Americans looking to either buy or sell a home in the near future.

Not only that, but home sales are so tightly wound into our economic system that every ebb and flow tends to create ripples on Wall Street. Financial analysts around the country are doing all they can to instill a sense of calm in the American people about our financial system. Every time they do, more facts about a faltering real estate market come to light, scaring those who currently own and increasing the hesitation in those thinking about buying.…

It is our hope that after a person files and gets back on track, that they do so with an awareness of what led to them contact us. (This goes without saying that many bankruptcies are not at all caused by poor spending choices, but happen as a result of sudden medical emergencies or unexpected financial commitments.)

So we admit to be somewhat nervous by the onset of trends showing credit card use will increase in 2011. Apparently credit card companies are on the marketing attack, having sent over a billion solicitations in the third quarter of 2010. Last year at this time, the number was under 400 million.…

Millions of people have taken advantage of bankruptcy protections in the past several years, following through on their freedom to file and subsequently end creditor harassment and debt worries amid uncertain economic times.  As a result, many people, people just like you, are now exiting bankruptcy, most often Chapter 7, wondering how to begin on the road to financial recovery, and maybe even hit the literal road by procuring a new (or “new to you”) car in the process.

This is especially important for people who have been undone by unemployment, and are finding that a car, any car, is their only sure method to drop off resumes, take part in interviews, and reliably make it to work—whether that job is brand new, or threatened by lingering job insecurities.…

In the beginning weeks of 2011, Americans all across the country are making (and sometimes breaking) resolutions of all types: vows to finally lose those holiday pounds; promises to eat healthier and exercise more; and possibly (and more probably) earnest efforts to lower debt and save more during these tough economic times.  But for those financially-strapped individuals who are bankruptcy bound or finally exiting the process, some resolutions are worth keeping. So, in the interest of helping you honor your financial goals, we introduce the series, Bankruptcy Resolutions 2011, where we’ll examine a few examples of keys to bankruptcy (or post bankruptcy) success in the New Year.…

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. Many of which are quite simple but go a long way toward ensuring your next “economic life,” as it were, is as productive as possible.

You’ll also want to keep a keen eye on your credit reports after you file. Make sure the accounts that were discharged are recorded that way.…

It’s coming up on tax season folks, so that means it’s time to start thinking about ways to make those deductions count.

Too many people, especially those who have had a rough financial year or are coming out of bankruptcy, believe that tax benefits are just those things wealthy people talk about. Well, that’s pretty far from the truth. In fact, even though the IRS comes off as meticulous and bureaucratic, they do allow a number of deductions for every financial demographic.

Before we get into the basic deductions you can claim, hear us out on a couple of tax preparation tips.…

There are few lumps of coal as heavy or black as a delinquent credit card.

When you’re heading out to the outlet center this year, think about the long term impact of your holiday spending.The holiday shopping craze tends to alter our judgment about what make good gifts. Moreover, it makes us think we’re getting great deals on big ticket items when in fact, the most popular gifts become substantially cheaper at other times of the year.

Take for example power tools. Lowes and Home Depot pitch everything from socket sets to arch welders this time of year, aiming squarely at women in search of the perfect gift for their husbands.…

Even with tremendously low interest rates and diminished, buyer-friendly market conditions, owning a home can still be quite expensive.

If you have had your heart set on home ownership as a personal, post-bankruptcy goal, it’s important that you also consider the ancillary costs of home ownership before you make a move based solely on an affordable monthly mortgage payment.

The best advice for would-be home owners is to limit the role emotions have in your buying decisions. Real estate agents see it happen all the time—and so do creditors. Suddenly, your reasonable monthly payment balloons by a few hundred bucks because you believed that one house on the list was the one you had to have, even if it was $50,000 over your budget.…

During the early part of the new Millennium, as the economy blossomed and business was booming, “Shopping ‘Til You Drop” was far from a foreign concept. From luxury electronics purchases to cultivating closets full of clothes, Americans made a habit of spending as much as they made as they also spent tons of time in malls, outlets and stores. But according to a recent series about the state of the American consumer from The Associated Press, and as reported by The Huffington Post, those days of unconscious spending seem to be over, even as the economy bounces back, giving way to a more “surgical” approach aimed at spending economy, especially among lower-income consumers.…

Let’s talk about cars.

We need them (more than we like to believe) and we certainly love them. But can we afford them? Boy, that’s a tough question.

In the age of excess, which most people like to call “2007,” we couldn’t find cars big enough or fast enough. If we could make a monthly payment over seven years, then it was affordable. Well, things are different now. People are looking for reliability, comfort and practicality. Just look around at the rise of small, hip cars full of features once considered the bastion of pricey imports.

Sport utility vehicles are morphing in front of our very eyes into more nimble, passenger-oriented “crossover” alternatives to mini-vans, which also found their way into the upper echelon of car prices, by the way.…