When it comes to your finances, your credit score is the most important number you have.
Your credit score is a rating assigned to your credit history. Your credit history shows your payment history, the number of credit accounts you have and the balance on each, any collection actions taken against you, any applications you’ve made for credit, any bankruptcies, and other information. [Read more…]
When you’re strapped for cash, and you have a credit card payment coming up, it can be tempting to just pay the minimum required payment on the bill.
But you should always try to pay more than the minimum required payment. Here’s why:
Credit cards work by lending you the money you need now and allowing you to pay it back over time. [Read more…]
Tax day—April 15—was just a few weeks ago, and most of you are probably just now finding out, or have already found out—the outcome of your tax return. Are you getting a return? Or do you owe the IRS money?
If you owe the IRS money but don’t have a way to pay it, you might be scared and overwhelmed. You’ve likely seen the news stories about the IRS going after delinquent taxpayers, and you don’t want to be one of them. [Read more…]
Personal finance educators agree that keeping a budget is the foundation for a viable financial plan, and therefore the foundation that will keep families far from filing bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, a recent poll revealed that only 32 percent of Americans create a budget to track cash inflow and outflow every month. [Read more…]
In the current economy, even some of the most well-known businesses are suffering. Quiznos Subs, for example, is headed toward bankruptcy.
The chain eatery is preparing to file for bankruptcy court protection in the coming weeks as it faces unhappy franchisees and a $570 million debt load, according to a recent news article. [Read more…]
Consumers are taking out their credit cards more often, and consumer debt is on the rise once more. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Household Debt and Credit Report, consumers took on $241 billion in new debt in the last quarter of 2013.
That’s the largest increase since 2007, according to an article from CNN Money. [Read more…]
Prior to 2007, if a person needed to file for bankruptcy relief, he or she almost certainly qualified for Chapter 7 relief. Back then, debtors could qualify for Chapter 7 without having to prove whether they could—at least potentially—repay a portion of their consumer debts. In 2007, Congress passed the landmark Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, more commonly known as BAPCPA (codified at 11 U.S.C.S. § 707(b)). The Act marked a change in the tide of personal bankruptcy filings, and made it much more burdensome for the consumer to get approval for a Chapter 7 discharge. Now, every person filing for a Chapter 7, 11, or 13 must first measure their income through the means test, which compares the state’s median income against the income of the person filing for bankruptcy. [Read more…]
If you’re considering bankruptcy, you may be wondering whether Chapter 13 bankruptcy is right for you. There’s no substitute for the advice of an experienced Kentucky bankruptcy attorney, but this article will discuss some of the requirements you’ll need to satisfy to qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
To qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must meet several criteria:
There are a number of things that distinguish a Chapter 7 bankruptcy from a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
One big difference between the two types of bankruptcy is whether debt repayment is required. Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharges most of your debts completely without any repayment being required. However, under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be required to repay the full amount of your debts, although many people will end up paying less than the full amount under their Chapter 13 plan.
If a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will wipe the slate clean, why would anyone file for Chapter 13? [Read more…]
If you’re facing foreclosure and considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may be wondering whether bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure and save your home. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will not permanently stop foreclosure, but it can delay the process. When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect. The automatic stay prevents your creditors, including a foreclosing mortgage lender, from taking any collection action against you outside the bankruptcy proceedings.
Unfortunately, lenders have ways to get around the automatic stay. If you are already facing foreclosure when you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your lender may ask the court to allow them to proceed with the foreclosure. [Read more…]
