Published Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 4:13 pm

You’ve read the headlines. You’ve heard the network commentators. Despite the reported recent economic recovery, post-recessionary American is marked by a new, and troubling, era of economic inequality.

One of the major reasons for the widening gaps between rich and poor is that minimum wage remains at $7.25, the same rate as it was in 2009, despite dramatic rises in the cost of living.…

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Published Sunday, January 22, 2012 @ 9:08 am

The best holiday gift may have been a private sector hiring surge in December 2011, as employers gifted the American job market with 325,000 new workers. At the same time as a the rise in public sector jobs, claims for unemployment benefits fell, raising high hopes that recent labor market woes are over and a new year may mark a new era in employment optimism.…

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Published Friday, January 20, 2012 @ 7:08 pm

Jobs in the private sector may be on the way up—a complete change of pace from the post-Recessionary years—but optimism about the mortgage industry is still way down in the wake of massive foreclosure abuses at major mortgage lenders.

In fact, The New York Times recently published a shocking article detailing the struggles of homeowners facing foreclosure framed by mortgage servicing horror stories piling up all across the nation.…

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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 Friday, December 16, 2011 @ 5:34 pm

Despite a few recent hints that the sluggish U.S. economy might be improving—including record-breaking consumer spending figures from the recent Black Friday shopping boom—U.S. President Barack Obama is ready to warn the American masses that it could take longer than expected before the country gets back on its financial feet again.…

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Published Monday, November 28, 2011 @ 7:11 pm

Or, at least that’s what older workers believe.

According to a new survey from AARP, older workers say economy worse than last year. Nearly two thirds of workers in the 50+ age group first surveyed by AARP’s Public Policy Institute in 2010 said things had gotten worse by the time the senior lobbying powerhouse followed up in August.…

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Published Wednesday, October 26, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

Despite recent findings that the number one thing Americans waste their money on is eating out, a new survey provides the proverbial “food for thought” to those who believe they are struggling alone in their own personal financial crisis.

A report from Seattle Weekly finds that more than half of all Americans say they’ve recently gone a year without dining out, in what may be one of the clearest signs of how the current economic malaise is impacting our ability to consume even the most basic luxury choices.…

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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 Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 5:29 pm

It’s hardly news to most Americans that good jobs in the U.S. wounded economy are more than hard to come by. But with news that the job market is as tough as it’s been in three decades, is now having a substantial impact on America’s ability to bounce back.

According to a new report from Reuters, “U.S.…

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Published Wednesday, October 5, 2011 @ 3:53 pm

You might think when city officials need to cut personnel costs, they start by letting public employees go.  But according to a new article from The Huffington Post, “firing people isn’t the first thing they look to do: it’s the third.” Ranking the reduction methods, HuffPost evaluates the eight top ways that city officials are dealing with budgetary woes—according to the National League of Cities—including:

(8) Reduce Pension Benefits
A full 18% of cities facing increasingly thin budgets cut back on pension benefits to shore up spending costs in 2011.…

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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 Monday, September 19, 2011 @ 10:00 am

President Barack Obama, who submitted his American Jobs Act to Congress earlier this week—including bills that aim to use a combination of spending and tax cuts to spur job growth—seems to be on the pulse of a larger political issue.

Though the unemployment rate has been high for months, it’s never been more clear that joblessness is the primary concern for nearly a majority of average American voters.…

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Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 5:05 pm

If you’re unemployed you have a ton to worry about.

Past due bills, mounting debts, going without health insurance, possible repossession of your car or foreclosure of your home, are just some of the not-so-pleasant thoughts plaguing the millions of average Americans facing extended joblessness.

Unfortunately, now there’s one more concern to add to the job market meltdown mix: a new report by the National Employment Law Project has found that employers are continuing to discriminate against unemployed people in their online job ads despite increased scrutiny surrounding the nation’s hiring practices.…

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Published Saturday, September 3, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

As things heat up in the waning days of summer, the job growth cooled down in August, with the U.S. economy picking up [read my lips:] no new jobs in August as the unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.1 percent. These figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday now stand as the most clear and present symbol yet of a stalled economic recovery that has the words “double-dip recession” written all over it.…

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Published Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 7:52 am

Are you buying forecasts of an economic recovery? Don’t believe another global recession is possible? Just ask Michael Spence, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics. Recently, Professor Spence told Bloomberg Television Wednesday that there’s “probably a 50 percent” chance of the global economy slipping into recession.…

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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 Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 9:20 am

Some are calling a recent drop in consumer bankruptcies during the first half of 2011 a sure sign that the tides may finally be turning for the U.S. economy, as these new figures from the American Bankruptcy Institute Americans fuel the idea that American may be more financially stable in 2011 than they were at the same time last year.…

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Published Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 6:20 am

U.S. Credit Downgrade Ramps Up Fears of Another Recession

Standard and Poor’s recent downgrade of U.S. government debt is capturing headlines across the country and around the world. And with the major agency’s actions to cut the United States government’s top credit rating, financial experts and commentators are finding themselves increasingly concerned that the American economy is headed back into another economic downturn.…

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Published Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 8:56 am

Are you buying forecasts that we’re in a slow-but-steady economic recovery?

Well some believe the economic recovery never actually happened.

Just ask Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. On the heels of the recent debt ceiling crisis, 600-point plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average and the drop in interest rates to near-record lows, Krugman warns that the United States economy was never truly ‘on the road to recovery.’

As Krugman writes in this week’s New York Times, “It’s not just that the threat of a double-dip recession has become very real.…

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Published Monday, August 8, 2011 @ 6:11 pm

In this new “rough and tumble” economic era, 117,000 sounds like a lot.

$117,000 dollars. 117,000 shares of stock. 117,000 jobs?

Well, in all but one of those cases, you’d be right. In July, the American economy beat expectations by adding 117,000 new jobs to the current market and dropping the unemployment rate from 9.2 to 9.1%.…

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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 Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

Just when the financial experts said it was safe to call the economy “in recovery,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says many Americans will face hard times for a long time to come.

Geithner reemphasized in an episode of “Meet the Press” that we remain in the midst of a very tough economy in which, for a lot of people, “it’s going to feel very hard, harder than anything they’ve experienced in their lifetime now, for a long time to come.” He also revealed that he believed  President Barack Obama has rescued the United States from a second Great Depression and will continue the hard work of trying to strengthen the economy.  Unfortunately, Geithner also predicted that it would be some time before many people actually feel like the country is recovering.…

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Published Wednesday, July 20, 2011 @ 11:50 am

In these rough and tumble economic times, cheery financial news can be hard to come by, even amid the economic recovery itself. This remains true at the midway point of 2011—a full two years following the official end of the economic recession—as a major indicator of the strength of the America’s economic machine is showing that we’re still in the throes of an economic downturn, at least for consumers.…

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Published Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

It’s been two years since experts signaled the end of our recent Great Recession. But based on the most recent job report, it seems like only yesterday. In fact, according to last week’s surprisingly dismal government labor figures for June, a true recovery from the economic downturn of the late 2000s could be a long way off indeed.…

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Published Monday, July 4, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

With the rebound of the credit card industry in full swing for 2011, more and more credit cards are being made available to consumers—often via aggressive tactics—than in quite some time. And amid these plentiful offers for plastic there come enticing rewards of all types, with a litany of merits for the cautious consumer and just as many drawbacks for average Americans attempting to get out (and stay out) of debt.…

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Published Sunday, June 26, 2011 @ 2:09 pm

It seems like only yesterday that being termed “one in a million” was a good thing.

But that was apparently before the economic crisis.

Today, there are over one million Americans (1.4 million to be exact) who have been out of work for 99 weeks or longer. Deemed as the “very long-term unemployed,” this overflowing group of unfortunate unemployed workers tends to skew more mature, with little discrimination between those with (or without) a college education.…

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Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 2:33 pm

Think high unemployment concerns have passed? Well, according to the Labor Department, these concerns are just as pressing as ever, with a paltry number of jobs added in May to keep up with the growing demand of an expanding labor force.

As Reuters is reporting, “Employment rose far less than expected in May to record its weakest reading since September, while the jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent as high energy prices and the effects of Japan’s earthquake bogged down the economy.…

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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 Friday, June 3, 2011 @ 2:52 pm

Just released unemployment numbers in North Carolina are showing some promising signs of post-recessionary economic improvement. Unemployment officially dropped in 93 of 100 North Carolina counties from last month’s figures.The state’s adjusted unemployment rate is at 10.1%, with 36 counties at that level and the number of workers who found jobs in February up by16,500.…

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Published Wednesday, June 1, 2011 @ 2:49 pm

Tens of thousands of jobless North Carolinians are wondering when the stalemate will end between a Republican-led state legislature and the Democratic governor—both wanting to pass a state budget, but with little to agree on other than that.

According to a new article from Arthur Delaney, entitled “North Carolina Unemployment Standoff Drags Endlessly,” a reporter who has been watching the now more-than-a month-long budget boondoggle play out in front of both local and national media outlets, the disagreements between the legislative and executive branches is unchanged this week despite attempts at concessions on both sides.…

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Published Sunday, May 29, 2011 @ 1:26 pm

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.…

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Published Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans working for state and local governments or other agencies, you may be one of the many wondering why so many so-called “financial experts” are saying the economic recovery is all around us. For you, it likely feels like the same old lingering economic malaise—especially as news emerges that your job may be on the chopping block in 2011, with even more cuts slated for 2012.…

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Published Tuesday, May 3, 2011 @ 9:29 am

As we’ve been reporting, thousands of 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. These same benefits were then placed in limbo when the Governor vetoed a bill in which Republican legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly attached budget cuts to the state’s eligibility for these federal benefits.…

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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 Thursday, April 21, 2011 @ 4:37 pm

Apparently the lingering economic malaise has its limits: according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 216,000 new jobs last month. This good news appears to support recent claims that the labor market recovery, as Bloomberg put it, is finally “gaining traction”.

But according to a new report from The Huffington Post, those who have been lucky enough to find work, any work, are also often finding their former standard of living to be completely out of reach.…

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Published Tuesday, April 12, 2011 @ 7:34 am

Just this month it was announced that about 37,000 North Carolinians would suddenly lose their unemployment benefits. This news emerged as at least eight other states avoided a similar fate by changing the calculations used to determine when these benefits could be distributed.

But according to Bloomberg Businessweek, the same revisions weren’t considered in the Tar Heel State.…

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Published Monday, April 11, 2011 @ 3:27 pm

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.…

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Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011 @ 7:12 am

It may seem strange, the whole prospect of turning a timely tax return into a bankruptcy, but in a nation currently dealing with a healthy debt load, the whole idea that half of Americans get some form or return, comes at a good time for those looking to pay down those debts, or, better yet, find a longer-term solution for their cash-strapped situation.…

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Published Sunday, March 27, 2011 @ 7:04 am

Just as average Americans are beginning to see more budgetary benefits from 2009′s landmark credit card protection legislation, the Credit CARD Act, they can also expect to see some not altogether unexpected side effects from their credit card providers: additional fees and higher rates.

In fact, while the CARD Act demands that card companies review customer files and lower rates where applicable to good payment history, according to a recent report from Marketplace’s Stacey Vanek Smith (of American Public Media), the changes can come at a cost.…

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Published Saturday, March 26, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

In the wake of the lingering real estate reckoning, skyrocketing foreclosure rates, and high unemployment and underemployment, folks all across the U.S. had a lot to complain about in 2010. But last year’s well publicized economic troubles were matched by less-reported consumer outrage at a range of financial and privacy concerns sweeping the nation.…

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Published Thursday, March 17, 2011 @ 2:06 pm

The Best of National Consumer Protection Week: Part Five: Avoiding International Scams

To commemorate the Federal Trade Commission’s annual National Consumer Protection Week (March 6 – 12, 2011), the FTC is providing a budget-load of handy-dandy information designed to protect your money, your credit, and your overall post-recessionary financial future. So whether you’re rebuilding your economic life post-bankruptcy, or simply trying to speed up your savings, the NCPW blog can yield a wealth of resources exactly at a time when average Americans need a financial infusion, including information about:

• Avoiding foreclosure rescue and other mortgage-related scams;
• Knowing how to spot employment opportunity scams;
• Making the most of your money in the early stages of your career;
• Building and maintaining a budget to improve financial stability;
• Avoiding time-share and credit-card scams offered via text messages; and
• Learning what steps to take to save your home from foreclosure.

…

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Published Thursday, March 17, 2011 @ 6:00 am

To commemorate the Federal Trade Commission’s annual National Consumer Protection Week (March 6 – 12, 2011), the FTC is providing a budget-load of handy-dandy information designed to protect your money, your credit, and your overall post-recessionary financial future. So whether you’re rebuilding your economic life post-bankruptcy, or simply trying to speed up your savings, the NCPW blog can yield a wealth of resources exactly at a time when average Americans need a financial infusion, including information about:

• Avoiding foreclosure rescue and other mortgage-related scams;
• Knowing how to spot employment opportunity scams;
• Making the most of your money in the early stages of your career;
• Building and maintaining a budget to improve financial stability;
• Avoiding time-share and credit-card scams offered via text messages; and
• Learning what steps to take to save your home from foreclosure.

…

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Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011 @ 6:55 am

To commemorate the Federal Trade Commission’s annual National Consumer Protection Week (March 6 – 12, 2011), the FTC is providing a budget-load of handy-dandy information designed to protect your money, your credit, and your overall post-recessionary financial future. So whether you’re rebuilding your economic life post-bankruptcy, or simply trying to speed up your savings, the NCPW blog can yield a wealth of resources exactly at a time when average Americans need a financial infusion, including information about:

• Avoiding foreclosure rescue and other mortgage-related scams;
• Knowing how to spot employment opportunity scams;
• Making the most of your money in the early stages of your career;
• Building and maintaining a budget to improve financial stability;
• Avoiding time-share and credit-card scams offered via text messages; and
• Learning what steps to take to save your home from foreclosure.

…

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Published Friday, March 11, 2011 @ 10:51 am

Continuing unrest in major oil-producing pockets of the Middle East—including recent changes in Egypt’s leadership and the current chaos in Libya—is adding fuel to the rumors that rising gas prices could take us into another economic downturn.

Yes, you read that correctly.

According to a new report from The Huffington Post, “Yet another group of analysts have issued grim warnings about the recent run-up in oil prices.…

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Published Monday, February 14, 2011 @ 7:36 am

In these tough economic times, nothing says “I love you” quite like saving money. And the best way to save this month is avoiding Valentine’s Day scams meant to separate you from your cash even as you try bring togetherness into your life—either by treating your partner with something special or by finding one.  This is especially true in an era of online propositions of all sorts, whether they be from online dating sites or unscrupulous vendors awaiting unwary consumers.…

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Published Monday, February 7, 2011 @ 7:18 pm

With all of the 2011 headlines touting a strengthening American economy and falling unemployment, many are wondering how either can actually be true in light of a recent Bureau of Labor statistics report. The Labor stats found that while the unemployment rate fell to 9% in January 2011, the country only added a paltry 36,000 jobs last year.…

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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 @ 9:57 am

In the midst of millions riding the waves of the real estate reckoning, even more ordinary Americans are facing the rising tide of credit card APRs. In fact, according to new data, the average credit card interest rate has recently climbed to an all-time high, with averages hovering just below 15%.…

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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 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 Sunday, January 2, 2011 @ 6:59 am

We all know that credit cards, with their excessive fees, high interest rates, and unforgiving fine print, can be the key to financial ruin…as well as many a personal bankruptcy filing. But now there’s a new unfriendly financial cost on the horizon: debit card fees.

These normally safe and fiscally responsible alternatives to their costly cousin, the credit card, are now coming into focus as the latest instrument by which banks are placing higher fees on unsuspecting consumers.…

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Published Friday, December 17, 2010 @ 9:44 pm

In the midst of a record number of foreclosures, inattentive banks riddled with an ever-growing wave of scandal and a widely held mistrust of the financial industry, Raleigh based State Employees Credit Union has won major kudos from customers all across the state for their handling of homeowners’ struggles throughout the recession.…

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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 @ 12:24 pm

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.…

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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 5, 2010 @ 10:28 pm

Months after a number of debated stimulus efforts on the part of our federal government to help bolster an ever-weakening economy, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke is bringing to light yet another move designed to try it again. Given the mood of the people and their recent display of frustration at the polls, it’s not very likely that Bernanke’s message will reach accepting ears.…

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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 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 Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:07 pm

Okay, it’s time for some motivation.

Coming out of bankruptcy, or at least the feeling of resolution that comes when the cloud of economic despair finally lifts, can do a lot for a person’s psyche and sense of self. Like a new breath after a long-time struggle in financial whitewater, knowing you are free of what has been pulling you under can empower you to try new things, pursue goals and live your dreams.…

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Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:06 pm

If you’re reading this, odds are you might be suffering through a pretty tough financial time. What may make you feel a bit better about your current economic situation is the firm knowledge that you’re not alone in this global economic meltdown. Specifically, millions of average Americans just like you are facing a shared financial burden as we all struggle to stay afloat in the wake of this country’s recent Great Recession—full of folks facing insurmountable health care costs, foreclosure, job insecurity and losses, and, in some cases, complete and total insolvency.…

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Published Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 7:36 am

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.…

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Published Tuesday, August 31, 2010 @ 9:32 pm

The Obama Administration’s Credit CARD Act, meant to tighten the reins on credit card industry treatment of card customers—and thereby assist most average Americans— has slowly (but imperceivably?) begun changing our credit card rates, rewards, the appearance of our statements, and even the number of offers we receive.

But despite these significant changes in credit card law to this point, many Americans are still struggling to pay their bills on time, every time.…

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Published Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 2:23 pm

Think the economic downturn is now only a temporary concern? Well, according to an authority on the history of financial crises—Carmen M. Reinhart, an economist at the University of Maryland—this country’s economy could suffer from super-slow growth and staggering unemployment for a full decade or more. This seemingly unending economic malaise remains a direct result of the collapse of the housing market and the economic turmoil that began some three years ago.…

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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 Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:49 am

While it is well known that the United States is a nation of givers—with an estimated $227.41 billion sent to charitable organizations in 2009—what might be surprising is what groups are actually giving the most.

According to a recent New York Times article entitled The Charitable Giving Divide, “For decades, surveys have shown that upper-income Americans don’t give away as much of their money as they might and are particularly undistinguished as givers when compared with the poor, who are strikingly generous.…

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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 Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:41 am

Just a few years ago, home ownership was something available to just about anyone—an economic reality that to an extent, contributed to where we are today. Nevertheless, the mortgage boom helped a lot of people realize that benefits of home ownership. It’s simply too bad that it came with so many hidden financial pitfalls, many of which have subjected sub-prime borrowers (and also those with standard mortgages) to serious, long-term hardships.…

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Published Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 9:43 pm

With joblessness on the rise, retail sales in a slump and the stock market on the skids this week, many experts are predicting more economic uneasiness with a coinciding side of protracted unemployment troubles.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, “The U.S. economy and stock market ended one of the grimmer weeks of the year, as disappointing retail sales figures released Friday combined with other dismal data to heighten fears that the nation’s nascent recovery is stalling.…

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 2:04 pm

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.…

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:18 am

If you’re reading this, odds are you’re considering bankruptcy. As such, you have a lot on your plate. Yet, what might make you feel a bit better about being bankruptcy bound is the knowledge that you’re not alone. Millions of average Americans just like you are facing desperate circumstances as they struggle to stay afloat in the wake of this decade’s Great Recession—facing foreclosure, job insecurity, and, of course, insolvency.  In the series, Our Great Recession 2.0, we’ll delve into some of the more unique stories of this decade’s unprecedented economic downturn, allowing you to see familiar faces and dire places people are going in order to handle the financial meltdown head-on.…

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:12 am

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.…

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Published Tuesday, August 10, 2010 @ 9:46 am

A number of good things have emerged from the economic situation of the last several years. Recently enacted credit card reform will hopefully change the way we are treated by the industry responsible for so much of our country’s collective personal debt.

Mortgage modification, even with all its warts and scars, should eventually become an industry with real benefits to struggling homeowners.…

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Published Monday, August 9, 2010 @ 2:01 pm

In these tough economic times, good news can be hard to come by—especially hard for the economic recovery itself. This remains true at the midway point of 2010, as a major indicator of the strength of the America’s economic machine is showing that we’re still in the throes of our own Great Recession.…

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Published Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 9:01 am

Say you sought the help of a doctor to cure some ill in your life. However, instead of helping you heal, your physician actually makes you sicker. Realizing this, you would likely not only move on to a different doctor, but also report the offending physician—a professional, like many others, whose misconduct could mean malpractice, serious sanctions and a loss of licensure.…

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Published Monday, August 2, 2010 @ 9:00 am

Despite a continuing overseas economic crisis, the U.S. saw a fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth. This good news is tempered by another economic prediction: with stimulus spending on the decline and the economic recovery sputtering, experts are warning of a troubling new pattern—an economic upturn too slow to put Americans back to work and get the nation back in business.…

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Published Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 8:42 pm

It seems that in today’s difficult economic weather, just about everyone is a risk for a lender.

Earlier this month, FICO, Inc. (the company that develops credit risk metrics) reported that America’s collective credit score is at an all-time low. Close to 43.4 million consumers have a credit score at or below 599, which is the risk benchmark for the majority of lenders.…

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Published Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 2:58 pm

More bad news for those facing tough financial times: mortgage foreclosures are likely to top the one million mark in 2010. As The Associated Press reported in the last week, “Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service.”

By comparison, according to RealtyTrac, in an average year the United States only sees about 100,000 homes in foreclosure.…

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Published Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 2:27 pm

People are often deterred from filing bankruptcy by a nagging sense of pride that tells them that asking for financial help is somehow admitting defeat. Well, in this type of economy, it couldn’t be further from the truth. And if you need more evidence of that, consider the state of the federal bailout effort, which, while lacking in headlines, continues to be more aggressive today then when it was initially introduced.…

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Published Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 10:10 am

Are you buying forecasts of an economic recovery? Don’t believe a “Third Depression” is possible? Just ask Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. On the heels of the G-20 meeting in Toronto, where world leaders pledged to cut their country’s deficits in half by 2013, Krugman warned that worldwide austerity will curb the necessary stimulus needed to encourage economies and deter another downturn.…

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Published Wednesday, July 14, 2010 @ 2:54 pm

Everywhere you look it seems there are people affected by Congress’s failure to authorize and extend unemployment benefits to jobless Americans. And everywhere you turn there are reports of politicians accusing laid-off laborers of resting on their laurels and depending on these federal same governmental subsidies instead of following through with their job searches.…

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Published Monday, July 12, 2010 @ 5:20 pm

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau takes a demographic snapshot of the American population, determining how many people reside within our country’s borders, who they are, and where they live. The results help determine our representation in government, as well as how federal funds are spent in our communities on things like roads, parks, housing, schools, and public safety.…

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Published Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 9:27 am

You may already understand some of the dangers of debt settlement: the fact that Americans rarely emerge from debt settlement programs with their credit card balances eliminated; the fact that many wind up worse off than when they started their consolidation; and that many emerge from these plans with severely damaged credit, ceaseless threats from collection agents and lawsuits from creditors.…

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Published Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 2:30 pm

While those that analyze esoteric financial trends and market conditions seem to think that the recession is easing, a large portion of the country aren’t so quick to agree. With foreclosures still prevalent and personal bankruptcies at a level close to that of 2005’s pre-code change flood, there are plenty of reasons for Americans to still be on edge about their finances.…

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Published Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 8:30 am

Imagine it: Oceanfront resorts. Leis around necks. Succulent buffets. Steel drum music in the distance. Beautiful hostesses serving plentiful drinks. Tanned clientele all around.

For many beleaguered Americans these images evoke a distant and faraway vacation-land entitled for only the endlessly rich and privileged few. But this background of tropical bliss isn’t only for elite individuals.…

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Published Friday, June 18, 2010 @ 8:28 am

The times they are a’ changing.’ But are they really getting better for the unemployed?

Back in the 1980s, laws like COBRA were enacted to protect laid-off workers from losing their precious health care immediately following their job loss. COBRA allowed, and currently allows, for unemployed Americans to keep their former employer-provided health care benefits for up to 18 months, assuming those same employees pay the full amount of their premiums along with additional administrative charges.…

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Published Thursday, June 17, 2010 @ 10:15 am

Following the last several years of the worst economic downturn in recent history, economists, commentators and financial experts have recently been heartened about prospects for economic growth and recovery this year as industries increasingly report better profits and the additions of new jobs.

Yet, as the economy emerges from the doldrums, consumers aren’t the only ones feeling hesitant.…

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Published Wednesday, June 9, 2010 @ 7:23 pm

Despite faint signs of recovery in the business world, bankruptcy courts in America are busy handling more personal bankruptcies. Really busy.

In the last month of the first quarter of this year, more individuals filed for bankruptcy than in any month since last 2005. Back then, there was a last minute rush to seek financial protection because of the soon-to-be-enacted Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, which made bankruptcy laws what they are today.…

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Published Thursday, May 27, 2010 @ 8:11 am

While many economists and financial experts are now saying that this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans who have been working diligently for a year or more to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree.

In fact, a new report has found that just one in five people who were out of work at this time last year have found meaningful employment since then.…

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Published Friday, May 14, 2010 @ 8:20 am

Don’t call him a repo man. But if you are behind on the house payments, he’s coming for your keys.

In what can only be considered a sure sign that the current housing crisis is unlike any other, banks are now deploying professional “mediators,” to visit struggling homeowners to negotiate a settlement, which usually ends up with the homeowner accepting a check and the bank changing the locks.…

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Published Tuesday, May 4, 2010 @ 8:22 am

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. But creditors with real teeth (i.e., car lenders, mortgage holders, and landlords) don’t need to make harassing calls or threaten you in order to get what they want.…

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Published Monday, May 3, 2010 @ 9:21 am

Could the food industry be the latest bellwether of a better economy and returning consumer confidence? Some industry experts seem to think so.

According to William Neuman’s report in his recent New York Times article, “The Tables Turn,” “Restaurants all over the country are beginning to see signs of a potential recovery after a dismal 2009.…

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Published Friday, April 9, 2010 @ 7:27 am

While many economists say this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans still working hard to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree…and now, the figures do too.

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report, more than 40% of the nation’s 14.9 million unemployed workers have been out of a job for at least 27 weeks, with an average member of this beleaguered club having been unemployed for 29.7 weeks.…

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Published Thursday, April 8, 2010 @ 9:18 am

This blog talks at length about savings strategies and offers a great deal of consumer spending advice. Our goal is to create an all-encompassing approach to helping readers, clients and potential clients be financially successful after bankruptcy.

Having a healthy savings account should be the goal of anyone rebuilding after bankruptcy.…

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Published Monday, April 5, 2010 @ 8:27 am

While the unemployment rate remained steady at 9.7 percent for the third straight month, in March the nation’s economy posted its largest job gain in three years.

According to recent Labor Department calculations, employers added 162,000 jobs last month— the most since the recession began more than two years ago. As The Huffington Post reports, “The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S.…

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Published Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 10:18 am

As we’re all aware, this decade’s Great Recession has dealt, and continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of many American families, leaving millions in debt, underwater in their mortgages, and looking for any means necessary to get back on a financially-healthy course.  Now, tax time can  yield a long-term solution for some cash-strapped citizens.…

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Published Saturday, March 20, 2010 @ 11:58 am

If you are like most Americans who are out of work today—and there’s a lot you—the seemingly perpetual job search may eventually take a toll on your psyche. There is just so much out of your control.

As soon as that resume leaves your e-mail, it could be weeks before you receive an acknowledgment- if you even get one.…

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Published Monday, March 15, 2010 @ 6:27 pm

Exacerbated by the recent “Great Recession,” small business owners everywhere are not only facing high employee health care costs and lagging consumer and commercial spending, but also fewer credit options. While loans have always been the lifeblood of the small business, all across our great nation, mom and pop endeavors with even the most solid credit histories face tremendous obstacles in qualifying for much-needed capital.…

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Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 @ 7:25 pm

If you’re reading this, odds are you’re considering bankruptcy. As such, you have a lot on your plate. Yet, what might make you feel a bit better about being bankruptcy bound is the knowledge that you’re not alone. Millions of average Americans just like you are facing desperate circumstances as they struggle to stay afloat in the wake of this decade’s Great Recession—facing foreclosure, job insecurity, rising costs and, of course, insolvency.…

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Published Tuesday, March 2, 2010 @ 10:48 am

While many economists say this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans who are still working hard to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree. And as we are all now well aware, the once thriving middle class is being hit especially hard—with a determination of whether you’re in a recession or recovery based largely on where you live and if you still have a job.…

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