Making The Tough Choices

Sometimes it seems like such a struggle to get along carrying so much debt. At some point you have to realize you need just to sit down and analyze your situation. If you are new to this blog in the past entries we have set the groundwork to help you do this. This blog is new and it will not take to much time to catch up so going back to the first entries may be a good idea. As this blog goes on we are going to get to the specifics of the topics we have covered to date and we will be referring back to these pages you are reading now. We are also going to cover the A to Zs of getting back on your feet and living a debt free life. You may think I am going through these topics rather quickly, but knowing some people really need help and need it fast we wanted to get solutions out so they can be looked at and implemented as quickly as possible. Day to day you get frustrated by the runaround from the people in the financial industry that seem to have there own agendas in mind instead of offering you solutions. We want to bring solutions right to your computer screen so you can decide what is the best action for you. If an advisor is not willing to give you options how are you going to know you are taking the best route to recovery? In the last entry I had told you the route I took twelve years ago. While being satisfied with the help I received I thought the result could have been better considering the loyalty and the time spent paying back my debts. We all have to know this is going to be a long process and you have to be disciplined to get a good result. This is where I hope this blog can give you hope and comfort. We know this blog is not going to be for everyone, but for the ones that follow by reading and participating in this blog you are taking the first steps to solving your debt problems and should be congratulated for being honest with yourselves and taking action. You will find as this blog goes on a feeling of comfort as your debt disappears and you gain wealth instead of debt. For those of you that want to stay with this blog bookmark this page because there is going to be more Finding Financial Freedom to come.

Dealing With the Calls and the Mail

It was twelve years ago and sometimes it seems like yesterday when I was declared legally blind. For me as a heavy equipment operator I didn’t only loose a career that I enjoyed I lost my main source of income. It just wasn’t like I could just get a job anywhere. Landscaping and park construction was all I knew. My heart goes out to everyone that who has lost their jobs in this current economic decline, a physical condition or any other cause. I can recall what it was like when I could not pay my bills any longer. My saving grace was that my wife’s career was starting to blossom. I still cannot forget those original days after my regular work had ended. The phone calls and the mail made it seem like creditors were terrorizing us. It was unrelenting the mail and the phone calls. At that point knowing how to use a computer for me was something I had talked about instead of using as a source of convenience. So I proceeded to do all my research the old fashioned way in contacting help by phone and public transportation. You can only imagine how slow that process was. But the problem was dealing with debt was not the only thing I had to overcome. It was all the other problems associated with my glaucoma I had to deal with at the same time. There was no mercy from those creditors as they were determined to get payment. I can still remember my wife sitting up in bed in the middle of a dead sleep and shaking because of the constant pressure and what we were going to do about the debt problem. At that point I had contacted Consumer Credit Counseling after reading the ad on a bus going to a part-time job I had just gotten just a few weeks earlier. I was still dealing with creditors until the week before Christmas when finally my first payments made their way to my creditors from Consumer Credit Counseling. I had contacted Consumer Credit Counseling in early November and it took over a month and a half to stop the calls.

If you are going to deal with your debt yourself we can only suggest an e-Book called Stop Creditor Harassment. In Stop Creditor Harassment is information and form letters in a PDF format so you can fill out and send the letters necessary to your creditors to stop their overwhelming correspondence. You can find Stop the Creditor Harassment at help with -debt rights. Keep in mind as long as debt collectors know they have the right to call you they are. The longer it takes for you to quiet them the nastier they get. Forget the number on threatening them. The only thing to do is being nice, and take action. If you feel you can deal with the harassment hang in there but if you want some space to work out solutions Stop Creditor Harassment is a great source to start with. Put yourself in a position to protect your rights. The creditor and debt collectors have employees and lawyers protecting their rights you should do the same. Stop Creditor Harassment gives you what you need to deal with your creditors and your rights. Just remember after you file with your creditors to stop the unnecessary correspondence you only have a short time to implement a payment plan, settle your debt, or hire a lawyer and file for bankruptcy. Even if you consult a lawyer you have as fast as the lawyer works to file your paper work to quiet the debt collectors so you may want to start ahead of your counsel and give yourself some peace of mind.

Contemplating Bankruptcy

Some people believe that filing for bankruptcy is a quick bailout. The process only happens as fast as you can get your case into Civil Court. Usually three to six months. In the mean time you have constant reminders from your creditors to settle your debt. Even after bankruptcy you have constant reminders when you go to apply for credit. It may be obtainable but at what cost? This process goes on for ten years and if you have financial difficulties within those ten years you cannot file for bankruptcy in the ten years from the date of your bankruptcy. If you straighten out your credit and pay on time it takes seven years to get your credit back into acceptable shape. if you work your credit solutions out with your creditors yourself. However, your credit score and report improve by each month you pay on time without default. Right now it may seem like a harder course to take but you will get better results faster if you can avoid bankruptcy. If there is any way possible for you to pay back your debts without bankruptcy no matter what any one tells you, you will save yourself years of possible agony. With bankruptcy you will not get a good rating after the ten years are up. You still may have to work on your credit rating for some time to get your credit rating from fair to good adding more time to your total recovery.

I have seen instances where bankruptcy has helped people but for me that was only birds eye views of what a family member and a friend went through. With a family member, and sometimes you know how that goes, you only get the parts of the story that they want you to hear. What happened with my friend was back in the early nineteen eighties, after he was laid off from a local tire plant. In both cases their lawyers advised them of one thing. No matter what else you default on do not fall behind in your mortgage payments. As a result both families got to stay in their residence and they got to keep their homes. When you file for bankruptcy there are three different chapters or laws commonly used to file under that basically tells you which of your possessions you can keep and what becomes part of a settlement. Forget the high dollar imported automobile as it will go with the bankruptcy so get ready to drive a regular used car as just an example of what may be the first things that will be seized. How you file depends a lot on your personal or business status. Another thing to keep in mind there are the three different ways to file but there are two types of bankruptcy, which are voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary is when creditors call for your assets in Civil Court and at that point a judgment is rendered against you. You want to avoid this at all costs because all your property is in jeopardy. Voluntary is where you have the most control over your assets, leaving you in better control of the results of any judgments. We will go on more about that in the future. In the mean time it is best for you to speak with a lawyer about what your bankruptcy options are. In help with – debt rights we have the forms to file for bankruptcy yourself however this is one instance that we may insist you consult a lawyer and not try to handle a bankruptcy on your own.

If you have been with this blog for the few weeks this blog has been making steady entries you know that a lawyer is going to want you to get your paper work together. It may be a good idea to revert back to Getting Started portion of this blog for help. If the law firm you choose hires an accountant for you this can get very expensive. You may not have to pay your creditors but you will have to pay the lawyer so keep that in mind when preparing for your visit to the lawyer. Also do not get upset when he or she asks you to reference and give him or her more information. I say this because it can get a little more personal than is comfortable for you. Just work with your lawyer and be patient. I know this from a different situation I was in dealing with my disability coverage recently. For those of you that have your paperwork together try to find someone to recommend to you a good lawyer. Referrals on lawyers seem to be the best and may leave you in the most comfortable position to take action. Finding a lawyer can be exhausting. You can look through the phone book or Legal Match can help you. Legal Match is a multiple-listing website that will help you get in touch with a lawyer in your area to help you with your specific needs by filing out a form. You will find Legal Match in help with - debt rights. For all you that have a busy schedule this may be a good option. Just make sure no matter what you do, you do not settle for second best and be comfortable with who you use. More on bankruptcy later, as we get more information I will post it on this blog as a special entry.

Next week we are going to talk about how we can shop online with a few online shopping solutions. With the Holidays coming, and with the season of hope we want to give to you solutions for hope. Also for people that are short on cash we are going to look at an e-Book video and audio to help you raise some cash to deal with many of the problems you are facing. You will be surprised on what you can do to start raising some money and you can start right from home by starting small. All with little or no money down and I am going to repeat no money down. Noting works like cash when you are in need.

Keep in mind if you can do it yourself or if you need some help it is here in this blog for you. Just stay disciplined and confident, and let’s all become Financially Free Together Forever.

A Promised Update To This Entry

We found Better Bankruptcy as a significant source for more bankruptcy information. As you go through this website Better Bankruptcy has different articles about themselves and the different types of bankruptcy. Better Bankruptcy also keynotes some of the signs in which you should contemplate bankruptcy. We here at Finding Financial Freedom will support any decision you should make only you know your situation. However, we at Finding Financial Freedom still urge you to look at all the options before declaring bankruptcy. Ten years can be a real life changing challenge and there are many alternatives in the entries, on the sidebar and at help with – debt rights. We will still be here for you to help you with other services, suggestions and solutions here at Find Financial Freedom no matter what course you take.