Bankruptcy Information

I went to a trustee meeting last week with a single debtor who owned a car free and clear. The car blue book value was $10,000. The debtor said the car “needed work” and that she had a repair estimate of $3,000. I looked at the estimate and most of the items were normal maintenance- new plugs, new belts, brake job etc. There was a single scratch on the exterior. In the debtor’s best case, this car had approximately $6,000 non-exempt equity which amount the bankruptcy trustee could demand from the debtor. 

Before the meeting, my client was very upset about her car. She was unemployed. She lived with a family member who also was unemployed. She had no money and no prospect of future employment to buy back the non-exempt car equity from the trustee. Without a car, she said she had no way to look for a job or to go to a job if she found one. Things looked bleak- I explained that the trustee is not a bad person who is only doing his job by going after the $6,000 car equity.

 So, the debtor tells the trustee about why she filed bankruptcy. She Read full post…

Tags: Car

Odysseas Papadimitriou is founder and chief executive officer of Evolution Finance, which is the parent company for Wallet Blog and Card Hub—an online marketplace for credit card offers.

‘Credit or Debit?’ You’re used to hearing this question when checking out at the grocery store, but have you ever stopped to think about what your choice means in terms of your financial security?

Using a credit or debit card makes you vulnerable to fraud, but 62 percent of purchases in 2009 made using electronic payment methods* suggests that this fact is not stopping consumers from using their cards. Cash may be safer in terms of fraud, but it is simply not a practical option for our day-to-day needs. So this begs the question, ‘credit or debit?’ when it comes to fraud protection.

Fortunately, the major credit and debit card networks (i.e. VISA and MasterCard) adhere to a strict 0 percent liability policy for victims of fraud. That means that whatever money is stolen from you via your debit or credit card will be returned to you in full. That does n

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Tags: Card, Card Protect

Paying off debt is a good thing. You pay off your debt you no longer have to worry about payments, late or otherwise. You have the peace of mind of knowing that you are living within your means. Living debt-free is easier all around.

And there was a time when paying off all of your debt meant that your credit score would go up.

And it still might. Paying off your debt may increase your credit score.

But it may not.

Unfortunately, in the current economy, credit has been more difficult to get. At the same time, the banks have felt the repercussions of the easy credit of the past.

Now, many people are experiencing a “Follow Me Down” phenomenon from paying down their credit cards.

The “follow me down” phenomenon is when a customer pays down the balance and in turn the bank decreases their credit limit.

Unfortunately, if your credit limit is decreased you will see no positive change in your credit score if you pay off debt.

There are ways that you can try to protect yourself from the “follow me down”. However, th

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