The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

It would make sense that recent signs of recovering economy would be great news for jobless Americans. But as a report on public polling explains, even though the overall economic picture may be brightening, many job seekers are still very much in the midst of a stark economic haze.

According to a report from The Huffington Post’s Janell Ross, “Economic data suggests the long-stagnant economy may finally be gaining momentum, but Americans aren’t seeing a turnaround yet, according to a pair of newly released polls. The economy — and more specifically the nation’s persistent jobs crisis — remains the number one concern for most Americans, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Friday.…

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. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of census data released Monday.…

If you’re like many beleaguered and over-budgeted Americans, you grew weary and wary of credit card debt during the throes of the Great Recession.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act) was supposed to address the fact that you’ve been “paying” with plastic both literally and metaphorically ways for years, shielding average Americans from unexpected and massive changes to their credit card terms—terms that had previously led directly to financial hardship for an overwhelming amount of our nation’s families.

Fast Forward to 2011 when new legislation is actually worsening many of the gains from the Credit CARD Act, by tightening federal regulations on debit card usage and causing banks to push their credit card offers to supplement lost debit income.…

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 two of a two-part series picking up where we left off with the TOP TEN tips for making a 2011 bankruptcy work for you:

(6) Calling All Lenders.…

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.…

When home prices plunged, the stock market crashed, and nationwide hiring froze, many desperate debtors were left destitute, depressed and feeling without hope—all at the height of our recent Great Recession. But fast forward to nearly three years since the recession officially ended, and today many of the most mentally hard-hit Americans are those facing long-term unemployment.

According to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, about 9 percent of Americans were defined as clinically depressed in data released last year by the compared to an estimated 6.6 percent in data collected in 2001 and 2002. In the process, many of these depressed men and women have also seen their home foreclosed, vehicles repossessed, relationships fail, and addictive behaviors prevail.…

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. Keep in mind, that’s more than the approximately 308 million people in the U.S, according to the Census Bureau.

Despite this high volume of consumer credit offers, according to the financial experts at Bloomberg, revolving credit usage, which includes credit cards, dropped the most in six months in July.…

Remember when Labor Day used to mark the last three-day weekend for waning summer fun and frivolity?

Well fast forward to September 2011 when Labor Day weekend arrives on the heels of disheartening fiscal news that the American economy added no jobs during the month of August (you read that correctly: none, zero, zilch), signifying to financial commentators and economic experts alike that the slow and steady economic recovery appears to be furiously losing steam.

Add to these facts that consumer confidence recently dropped almost 15 points to the lowest level since April 2009, and you might gather that these combined economic impacts would affect the way that average people plan to spend one of season’s best (and brightest) holiday weekends.…

In the midst of an economic meltdown, it can be tough to track your finances and start saving for a rainy day. But in the years since the recent Great Recession ended, many people are indeed trying to get their budgets back on a positive track, staging a financial comeback after years of dire economic setbacks.

In fact, according to our friends at WalletPop, even if you “messed up your finances in your 20s, then made matters worse in your 30s,” and are now “ready to act your age, get serious about the business of fixing your credit and start writing your financial comeback story,” it’s possible to “bounce back and take control of your financial future.”

“How,” you may ask?…

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.…

This week, Citigroup will launch a brand, spanking new credit card that purportedly carries with a trifecta of post-recessionary perks: no late fees, no penalty rates and a single interest rate for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances.

As reported by The Associated Press, Citi’s revamped “Simplicity card” sells itself as exactly that: it will be marketed to those who are “juggling busy schedules” and “want a credit card with simple terms.” In fact, Jud Linville, CEO of Citi Cards told the AP, “It lets them not have to worry that they’re going to be late on a payment. It provides some flexibility.”

But amid Citi’s claims that their new card is somehow different than the plastic that has placed so many an American budget in financial jeopardy over the past several years, there are many reasons to think twice before sending in an application for their Simplicity.…

If you’re currently in bankruptcy or considering the benefits a bankruptcy can provide, you might be wondering about budget-conscious ways to truly get-away this summer, without, that is, wearing a complete hole in your wallet. But with gas prices on the rise and high unemployment holding steady, the prospects of seasonal vacation may not seem possible.

Nevetheless, while expenditures on luxuries are not recommended for the bankruptcy-bound, there are some financially-friendly ways to take a trip without “breaking the bank,” including the best places to go, the best ways to get there, and the top ways to make the most of limited budgets.…

When markets crashed, home prices fell, and unemployment rates rose, many desperate debtors were left destitute, depressed and feeling without hope in the height of our recent Great Recession. And as you might imagine, and as researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last week, some of these desperate Americans even took their own lives—in greater number—during the tough economic times of the 2000s.

These troubling stats were confirmed in the CDC’s latest study, published online in the American Journal of Public Health. According to Reuters, the new study was the first of its kind to evaluate suicide trends by age and business cycles, revealing that working Americans, aged 25 to 64, are significantly more likely to commit suicide when facing the feeling of insurmountable economic struggles.…

By now we know that “paying” with plastic is both a literal and metaphorical proposition, especially as a good number of bankruptcy bound individuals—even in an era of home-made foreclosure filings and mounting medical bills—find credit card debt to blame for their insolvency.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act), signed into law by President Obama on May 22, 2009, was meant to change much of that. Signaling a new era of consumer protection, the so-called CARD Act was intended to shield average Americans from unexpected and massive changes to their credit card terms—terms that had previously led directly to financial hardship for an overwhelming amount of our nation’s families.…

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.…

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. So, if economic prosperity joins “a healthier you” on your list of goals in the New Year, take this timely advice to get yourself on the road to financial fitness in 2011.…

There was a time when a college diploma carried the promise of long, prosperous employment. Today, it’s as promising as a one of those silly motivational pictures of eagles and mountains.

As most people are coming to realize, it doesn’t matter how many initials are attached to the end of your name, you stand about as much chance as finding work today as the guy holding a sign at the intersection.

Earlier this week, President Obama stood in front the press corp and verbalized what everyone in America already knew: that far too many people are still out of work. As a result, foreclosures continue and personal bankruptcies are commonplace.…

Political satirist P.J. O’Rourke once said, “Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.”

This quote could be said to ring true today as ever, since not yet a week after the Obama Administration pushed for more economic stimulus spending meant to benefit “the people,” Congress refuses to act, distracted by election-year anxiety about the deficit.

According to this weekend’s The Washington Post, “Congress has delivered only about a quarter of the $266 billion in “temporary recovery measures” the president sought in his February budget request and ignored much of the rest.…

In this tough economy, it may seem like your creditors are an ever-present part of your life…showing up where and when you least expect, or need, them.  You’re not alone.  It turns out that millions of Americans have fallen behind on paying their bills, and an unfortunate result is that debt collection law firms are now heading to court in record numbers in order to collect.

In addition to this tough economy making past-due debtors out of many Americans, the rise in unprecedented debt collection cases is also being blamed on the wonder of automated debt collection.

According to a new The New York Times article by Andrew Martin, many debt collection law firms are now relying on “computer software to help prepare its cases.…

Given the popularity of channels like HGTV and all of those televised extreme home makeovers , it’s more than apparent that America is a nation full of  “do-it-yourselfers:” people drawn to the idea of going it alone in order to get it done right—their way, the first time.

As a result, it’s not surprising that in this self-supported culture there are so many services available online and offline that, for a fee, offer any DIY inclined consumer the opportunity to file their own bankruptcy. In fact, in these tough financial times, DIY bankruptcy petition “farms” are becoming increasingly popular for cash-strapped debtors who know that they need bankruptcy protections but don’t believe that they can afford an actual bankruptcy attorney.  Using these services could spell trouble for your self-perpetuated petition and your already beleaguered budget.  Here’s why:

Lack of Adequate Information
When you begin a DIY project for the first time like installing a light or fixing a leaky faucet or even building a home addition, it’s often helpful to have someone there to do more than just sell you the materials.…