It’s Not What You Make, It’s What You KEEP! Getting Out of Debt.

Earning your way out of debt is much like the process of dieting. To lose weight you can choose liposuction over dieting and exercise, but in doing so, the solution is just temporary. If you do not change some of the fundamental lifestyle habits you practice, the weight comes back. Managing your way out of debt is comparable in many ways.

You can file for bankruptcy (akin to financial liposuction) but if you don’t adjust your spending and saving practices, your debt (the heavy fat burden that weighs you down) will reappear.

Just as with a liposuction (or any other procedure) there is a bit of pain and discomfort with bankruptcy as well. It is better to avoid it altogether if possible. But at some point in evaluating your financial position, leveraging your change of financial habits with some effective financial tools (such as bankruptcy) may be a wise move.

The goal is not to shirk your responsibilities. As previously mentioned, wiping your debt without changing your behavior solves nothing. Many people are able to manage their way out of debt by containing their situation before it compounds. However, often times creditors include terms (or change terms) in your binding contracts that result in increasingly difficult bills to pay. If the situation gets bad enough, you can find yourself with no way out.

Now ask yourself this question. Even if you can manage to change your cash flow to effect a positive result, how long will it take you to eliminate the burden of debt? If your answer is “years”, then consider how much time you are losing towards your retirement in order just to break even by climbing out of debt to “zero”. By that time, you will likely have lost most of the benefit of compounding interest towards your nest egg. Is it worth it to lose your future security due to current debt? No.

In fact, bankruptcy laws exist, in part, to help people preserve their future security. Our legal system supports your right to prosperity in the face of those who would attempt to contractually indenture you to create an ongoing financial stream for themselves at your expense. Whether you got in over your head due to poor judgment, inexperience, an unforeseen change in circumstance, or by being a victim of predatory lending, filing for bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or Chapter 13) is a legal tool to level the playing field and cut your losses, so you can live, learn, and move on towards a better future.

True, some people abuse the system, and that has given the notion of filing for bankruptcy a negative stigma. Assuming, however, that you uphold higher values and are truly seeking to amend your situation (rather than use the system as a crutch), you really should not overlook the legitimate, legal resources available to you to do so.

Just the same, you should not undertake the process blindly. Take the time to get financial counseling on your debt. Find ways to curtail or reform your spending habits. Consolidate accounts and simplify where you can. Remember, wiping (or reducing) your debt through bankruptcy is not a solution in itself; it is part of a potential solution. The other part is a change in habits and practices. Many a lottery winner lost their fortune as quickly as they received it by mishandling money management through uncontrolled spending. When the money ran out, their spending habits did not change, and hence they ended up worse off than if they had not won the lottery in the first place.

Famous athletes and celebrities find themselves in the same boat if they habitually spend what they make as they make it. Financial counseling combined with exercising your legal resources is imperative to prevent the same kind of trend in your household. Otherwise, history will repeat itself and you will be that much worse for the wear. At the end of the day, it’s not the amount of money you make that determines your standard of living. It’s the amount of money you keep, that can be applied towards securing your future happiness. Are you giving most of your money away in interest payments and fees to creditors?Examine your finances. If you carry a significant, debilitating debt, it may be time to take action. The debt may come from a variety of reasons: divorce, stock market crash, college tuition, disability, a variable rate mortgage, credit cards, unemployment, the list is endless. Even if your cash flow seems to be improving, if every pay check is spent before you get it and the creditors keep calling back for more, what peace of mind do you have? What quality of life? And thinking forward, what provisions for your future are you making? A combination of debt reduction, financial consolidation, and education through a qualified counselor may be the smartest action to take right now. You have a life to live. Chasing your tail is not the way to live it.

The Galler Law Firm is a prominent Atlanta, GA, practice specializing in bankruptcy law for twenty years. David Galler is also accomplished and experienced in civil trial and workers’ compensation, and has been at the forefront of the alternative dispute resolution movement. Visit the Galler Law Firm. For more information on successful online business practices, please visit http://www.website411book.com, a book authored by Tom Elliott, Website service provider to Galler Law Firm. Websites and blogs created by WebDrafter.com, Inc.

What To Do When You Find Yourself in a Financial Crunch

The economy is heading south, foreclosures are at an all-time-high, and if you are under serious financial pressure with the walls closing in, you’re not alone. In short, there are a number of factors in today’s economy that individually would not be of much significance to your financial situation, but this year they may all come into alignment to create financial hardships for millions of hardworking Americans. Despite the optimistic Congress that may generously be rebating you a few extra tax dollars out of the governments pocket this year, the “economic stimulus” package will not keep you out of bankruptcy.

If a financial crunch happens to you, the pressure and stress of the burden can feel like the weight of the world is upon you. If you find yourself in such a situation, you must know that there are resources and legal ways that you can recover, without losing your residence, transportation, and other possessions..

Last year several major credit card companies changed their minimum payment policies, as well as their interest rates. If you normally pay your bill in full, changes in the credit card agreements may not impact you. However, on a revolving balance the new, higher required payments might take you by surprise and be drawing from money that was earmarked for other purposes. For example, if you took advantage of the subprime lending rates on your home and either refinanced or borrowed against your equity, the added payments from adjustable rates mortgages might be creating an additional financial pinch in the coming months, and money that you had planned to spend on keeping up with your mortgage may now have to be redirected to your monthly credit card bills. The compounding effect of balloon payments and increased minimum payments is further aggravated by any kind of life changing or unforeseen expenses:

* Kids going to college?

* Car needs new tires to pass inspection?

* Tax bill coming due?

* Your stock portfolio or IRA lost money?

Complicating matters further, recent changes to bankruptcy laws make it harder to be eligible to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. That’s not to say that you want to hurt your credit rating or run away from your responsibilities, but in today’s complex financial world, but industry and commerce has stacked the deck against you much like how the house has favor in a casino. When the rules change in the middle of the game, it’s time to consider your options to free yourself of the financial chains. Commercial enterprise is trying to saddle you with their woes as a consumer. There’s nothing that says you need to accept their load and encumber your future so that big business can increase their profit margins.

Go online to your favorite search engine and do a local search for a bankruptcy attorney in your area. Each state is different, so find the best qualified attorney that practices in your area by using keywords like “bankruptcy attorney” or “bankruptcy lawyer”, followed by the city and state where you live. When you do a search at the local level such as this, the resulting listing will show you qualified professionals in your surrounding area that can help you reduce or eliminate your debt, while preventing harassing calls from creditors. Getting the right information is just the first step to making an informed decision. There is no shame in protecting your future. You didn’t change the laws. You didn’t change your payment schedules. And you didn’t create the unforeseen circumstances beyond your control. You can, however, take control and minimize the impact on your financial picture in years to come by seeking professional guidance now.

Ask yourself this question: If you do nothing differently in the next six months, will your financial situation improve, worsen, or stay the same? Then answer the question, Are you happy with your current cash flow, debt management, cash reserves, and quality of life? If you don’t like the answers to those questions, procrastinating on making a decision to get help is not serving you well. If pride is the culprit keeping you from taking action, it can be difficult to overcome the feelings related to getting assistance. Consider the fact that the laws are in place to help you ease your burden for a reason. If there were not a widespread economic need to address the shortcomings in our financial system, bankruptcy laws would not be available to you. Consider, also, how it would feel to get out from under the anvil of debt that crushes your spirit, steals from your lifestyle, and deprives your family of freedom. Is it time to clear the slate, learn from the past, and make wiser money decisions moving forward? Is it time to live again? The next step is yours.

The Galler Law Firm is a prominent Atlanta, GA, practice specializing in bankruptcy law for twenty years. David Galler is also accomplished and experienced in civil trial and workers’ compensation, and has been at the forefront of the alternative dispute resolution movement. Visit the Galler Law Firm.  For more information on successful online business practices, please visit http://www.website411book.com, a book authored by Tom Elliott, Website service provider to Galler Law Firm. Websites and blogs created by WebDrafter.com, Inc.