Published Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 10:36 am

Imagine for a moment that you’ve fallen on hard times. You’ve gotten one, two, or maybe more payments than you can count behind on your mortgage. Your bank or mortgage lender has contacted you over and over, threatening you with talk of a foreclosure. You’ve even been told to expect a foreclosure sale in the coming month. The odd thing is, nothing has happened.

You’re left scratching your head, with no clue what’s actually going to happen, without hearing a peep recently from the same lenders who’s been threatening to take your home for months.

According to real estate industry analyst Sean O’Toole, in this situation you may have had a lucky turn on what he calls the “Foreclosure Roulette.” What does this mean?

According to Arthur Delaney of The Huffington Post, “Banks don’t want to recognize losses by having to put homes on the market at foreclosure-sale prices, but they don’t want to encourage borrowers to quit making payments either, so, O’Toole believes, they randomly foreclose on some people to prevent widespread ‘moral hazard.’ The rest are left hanging with the help of the government’s “extend and pretend” approach to the collapse of the housing bubble.”

This type of property ‘purgatory’ is affecting many Americans, including those who have tried to work with banks to modify mortgages under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program—a program meant to place eligible borrowers into a three-month trial period before making the modification “permanent” for five years. For some homeowners, this ‘trial period’ drags on much longer than the three-month window, only to followed by a unexplained rejection letter from banks and a great deal of anxiety as they wait for the bank’s next fateful move.

As Delaney reports, the anxiety may last a while.  “The average foreclosure now takes 469 days, according to Lender Processing Services, whereas it took 319 days at the beginning of 2009. Many industry analysts say that is due to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, HAMP, and federal accounting-rule changes. ‘We weakened accounting standards to allow banks to keep non-paying mortgages in their books at full value,” wrote economist Dean Baker, co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research. ‘Banks also know that they are looking at glutted markets right now, so they have little incentive to take possession of a home and then try to sell it. And, the HAMP and other programs mostly delay foreclosures and hand money to banks, instead of keeping people in their homes.’”

An additional offshoot of this treacherous tactic of delaying foreclosures is the additional expectation that home prices will drop and bank’s refusal to enact a “foreclose and sell” strategy may stall the market and add to the number of strategic defaults.  These unseemly practices are causing many lawmakers to call for bankruptcy judges “to write down mortgage principal (a process sometimes known as ‘cramdown’).”

Until things turn around, don’t sit and wait for your own personal housing bubble to burst. Join the millions of American homeowners who have found immediate help to keep (or flee) their hard-hit homes. If you have been harmed financially by the lingering housing crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you to conquer your creditors and face your economic fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.” The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 10:34 am

Baby Boomers and their cohorts born during the middle part of the 20th Century—between the years of 1946-1964—are a generation of active lifestyles, risk-taking rebellions, musical and cultural significance, and, as they come to represent one third of the population of North America, a group making significant demands on the societies in which they live.  But now, Baby Boomers are adding one more superlative to the bunch: they’re also a generation of financial insolvency.

According to a recently-released study from the American Bankruptcy Institute’s ABI Journal, 42 percent of all debtors filing for bankruptcy were between the ages of 45 and 64 in 2007. In addition, these older Americans are filing for bankruptcy at an even faster rate than their younger counterparts.

So, what’s the reason for these rising rates of bankruptcy among our nation’s more mature Americans?  Like so many individuals during these tough economic times, our country’s more Boomer populations are experiencing off-the-charts unemployment, staggering medical expenses, overwhelming consumer debts and credit card bills, underwater mortgages, and the subsequent siphoning of retirement funds.

But all of these terrible conditions—which are difficult at any age—are exacerbated for the Baby Boomer set. For example, with one job for every five people needing one, older Americans must also face age discrimination in an already competitive job market—whether they’ve been laid off or are attempting to re-enter the workforce following a not-so-tranquil attempt to retire in our not-so-fun financial era. With the average duration of Boomer unemployment running weeks or months longer than that of their younger peers, many older jobseekers are forced, more often than anyone, to turn to their remaining retirement funds, credit cards, or loans, just to stay afloat.

What’s worse is that with the loss of their job, Boomers face the loss of their health care insurance, a sometimes devastating scenario for a generation of older Americans often experiencing their first genuine medical conditions, illnesses, injuries and other medicinal needs. But these risks don’t simply relate to physical maladies: living without health insurance can mean financial ruin when an individual is faced with a medical emergency. These emergencies can also force older Americans to turn to home equity or retirement accounts in an attempt to repay lingering medical debts.

By drawing from their savings, retirement, equity, and credit cards, Baby Boomers create a vicious cycle of spending that, in time, can leave them with no nest egg for the inevitable rainy days when they are unable to work, unable to avoid medical maladies, and unable to turn to other sources of income for help. What’s worse is that as they age, these mature men and women are often targeted for payday loans and foreclosure scams that take advantage of their generational desire to carry their own weight and pay off their debts—albeit at unmanageable interest rates.

These scenarios, in which a Baby Boomer’s only recourse is to use their valuable assets or consumer credit to stave off creditors, is precisely why bankruptcy was created.

So, if you’re a Baby Boomer who’s been effected by the economy,  and are now considering new ways to get out from underneath ever-increasing debt, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

Earlier this week, President Obama stood in front the press corp and verbalized what everyone in America already knew: that far too many people are still out of work. As a result, foreclosures continue and personal bankruptcies are commonplace.

Of course, it’s all political, he says. Republicans are the problem. Well, in reality, everything is the problem. The longer Washington stands aisle to aisle pointing fingers, the longer people like you—our readers—are going to have to stand in unemployment lines and continue to need our help. And we’re here for you, of course; but wouldn’t you rather not have to make that difficult phone call?

The President called into question the Republicans lack of motivation to pass a bill targeted to incentivize small businesses. A couple of things stood out about his speech, however. One, election season is heating up and the Democrats need to attach the opposition to every verbal instance of economic duress as possible. Secondly, unless the bill has a good deal of bacon wrapped around it, most Republicans would support a truly business-centric piece of legislation.

Don’t get us wrong here, this isn’t meant to be a political post. But who are we kidding? Washington has found itself so wrapped up in its own well-being that the people it tries to serve have become nothing more than pawns in the two major parties’ efforts to win votes. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of intrinsic, domestic focus. It’s almost as if we need to wave a flag that says, “Hey, Congress, we’re over here! Remember us?” It’s time to put the swords away.

Last week, a report showed that economic growth has stalled. The timing for the President was anything but good, as it came during his 10-day stay in Martha’s Vineyard. After all, getting the country back on its feet is hard work.

Efforts to date have shown that there is no real magic fix to our country’s economic woes. All the creativity to date has fallen flat. So, wouldn’t one think that it’s time for some radical thinking? What about bankruptcy mortgage cramdown? How about some real relief for those stuck with high interest private student loans?

In his speech, President Obama said, “Every single day, I’m pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that’s been done to the middle class over the past decade and promoting the growth we need to get out people back to work.”

Bold words.

And who doesn’t wish they were true?

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, real relief is just a phone call away. Call the experienced bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt: 1-800-899-1414 or visit www.billsbills.com. Even if you’re unemployed, and think “I can’t afford an attorney”, give us a call. There are many options available under the bankruptcy code, some with very minimal up-front fees. Convenient offices in Raleigh, Wilson, Durham, Fayetteville and Lumberton.

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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. Some can’t pay because they’ve taken a pay cut; in other cases, they’ve been laid off completely; in most they’ve simply lived beyond their means so long that the credit card interest is working far from in their best interest. If this sounds like you, for whatever the reason, you may be wondering what you can do if you can’t pay your bill on time.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that you can attempt to work with your credit card company to get a stay on the payment until you can pay—especially if you can pay—only a little late. If at first you don’t succeed, ask for a supervisor. In fact, ask to be put through to the department that is responsible for negotiating debt workout arrangements. Often what one can’t or won’t do, another can (or is even designated to do).

If that doesn’t work, there’s now another light at the end of the tunnel.  In fact, as of August 22, you now have even more solutions available to you if you find yourself late on your credit card payment.  According to the Federal Reserve, if before August 22, you couldn’t pay your credit card bill you might have a late payment fee of $30. As a result, you would pay that $30, whether your minimum payment was $20 or $200. But as financial expert Michele Singletary reports, “Under the newly implemented rules for the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, your credit card company cannot charge you a fee of more than $25 unless one of your last six payments was late — in which case your fee may be up to $35—or the credit issuer can show that the costs it incurs as a result of late payments justify a higher fee.”

What’s even better is that your credit card company can’t charge you a late payment fee that is more than your minimum payment. As Singletary put it, “For example, if your minimum payment is $20, your late payment fee can’t be more than $20. Similarly, if you go over your credit limit by $5, you can’t be charged an over-the-limit fee of more than $5.”

The end of outrageous fees is a bright spot for many facing the challenges of credit card debt during these tough economic times. Because, as everyone now knows at this point, there’s normally a heavy price to pay for playing with plastic. If you too have been effected by the economy and are wondering how to reduce your credit card debt and get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

Raleigh bankruptcy attorney. Durham bankruptcy attorney. Wilson bankruptcy attorney. Fayetteville North Carolina bankruptcy attorney. Lumberton bankruptcy attorney.

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Published Tuesday, August 31, 2010 @ 7:32 pm

Millions of Americans have been suffering from near double-digit unemployment—averaging at about 9.5 percent—for more than a year; unfortunately now news is coming to light that these very same jobless Americans are paying more than most when suffering from an illness, injury or basic medical conditions or assistance.

According to a recent report by The Huffington Post’s Laura Bassett, the average cost of health care plans for jobless Americans is steadily increasing. “Terminated workers are paying an average of $429 a month this year for individual HMO coverage, compared to $399 for the same coverage in 2009, according to a survey conducted by Aon Consulting. COBRA coverage for an entire family now costs an average of $1,251, up from $1,171 per month at this time last year. With COBRA costs on the rise and the average unemployment check totaling less than $300 a week, a growing number of jobless Americans are no longer able to afford their health insurance plans.”

The cause of these exorbitant COBRA costs is overuse: too many people turning to the system in too-tough economic times. “The increased frequency and duration of COBRA use is creating a significant strain on the program, leading to higher costs,” John Zern, executive vice president and Health & Benefits Practice director with Aon Consulting told HuffPost. “Those who are unemployed, and facing uncertainty about employment prospects and future COBRA availability, are utilizing the program more than we’ve traditionally seen to treat a variety of conditions prior to potentially losing coverage.”

As a result of these costs and uncertainties, laid off workers are struggling to afford COBRA with dwindling cash in their coffers. This sad scenario is made worse by when these same jobless Americans are found to suffer from preexisting conditions.  These year-to-year increases come as the Obama administration ramps up their new health care reforms—reforms many of the aforementioned Americans are finding difficult to qualify for. HuffPost‘s Arthur Delaney recently reported that “only 1,200 people have been approved so far for the government’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, whose steep premiums ranging from $140 to $900 a month make it no more affordable than COBRA for many unemployed Americans.”

To makes matters worse, even if you do find work in this anemic job market, you could face higher health care costs as well. Employed Americans can also anticipate employees their employer-subsidized plans to become more expensive in the next couple of years as employers shift the added expenses over to their workers.  According to HuffPost, “65 percent of employers plan to increase cost-sharing in 2011 for deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums, and 57 percent of companies polled said they will ask employees to contribute more for the overall cost of health care next year.”

In some cases, to take better care of their health care costs, many folks are missing mortgage payments, neglecting their car notes, and fudging on their credit card bills. But there is a better way. Whether you choose bankruptcy to dispense with unsecured debts keeping you from better medical care, or file a medical bankruptcy to alleviate the financial pain and suffering caused by an unexpected health care emergency, or both, the result is a clean slate that will help you better deal with these tough economic times—in sickness, and in health.

In a tough health care situation, especially one coupled with unemployment, contacting a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you regain control of your family budget, conquer creditors and get back on a better budgetary track—yielding all with the right kinds of support, information and insights for a more fair financial future. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

As a recent New York Times report explained, Ms. Reinhart’s paper (co-written with her husband, Vincent R. Reinhart, a former director of monetary affairs at the Federal Reserve) drew upon research she conducted with the Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff for their book This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. “The Reinharts examined 15 severe financial crises since World War II as well as the worldwide economic contractions that followed the 1929 stock market crash, the 1973 oil shock and the 2007 implosion of the subprime mortgage market. In the decade following the crises, growth rates were significantly lower and unemployment rates were significantly higher. Housing prices took years to recover, and it took about seven years on average for households and companies to reduce their debts and restore their balance sheets. In general, the crises were preceded by decade-long expansions of credit and borrowing, and were followed by lengthy periods of retrenchment that lasted nearly as long.”

“Large destabilizing events…evidently produce changes in the performance of key macroeconomic indicators over the longer term, well after the upheaval of the crisis is over,” Ms. Reinhart writes. “Misperceptions can be costly when made by fiscal authorities who overestimate revenue prospects and central bankers who attempt to restore employment to an unattainably high level,” she warns.

If you don’t believe Ms. Reinhardt warning of continuing calamity with many financial leaders and policyholders as partly to blame, NYT also points to other economists who believe that consistent drops in inflation are causing economic deflation, a cycle of falling prices and wages, which could impact an already beleaguered economy in 2010.

So, what do these dire economic outlooks, conditions and trends mean for average families attempting to navigate their own uncertain financial times?

It means shoring up your financial foundation for the near (and possibly distant future):

Keep Your Day Job
While this may sound self-explanatory, doing what it takes to hold on to your job can be  essential to keeping your head above water for the long haul. Working harder, longer, and even in multiple roles and jobs, is now the new norm of a not-yet-healthy economy. And, with one job available for every five people unemployed, if possible it pays to do what you can to keep your current paycheck.

Lessen Spending on the Luxuries
With back-to-school spending in full swing, and the holidays only months away, you may be considering some budget-breaking purchases. Take the time to reevaluate the essentials for your family’s budget, as well as more thoughtful gifts that may mean less wear and tear on your wallet.

Cut out Credit Cards
In addition to the traditional advice to stop using credit cards, in a tough economy it can also be a good idea to stop paying them. Spending hundreds, maybe thousands, a month on high interest consumer credit is money badly spent—funds that can’t be used to set up your savings for a rainy day (which in this economy could be “any day.”)

End the credit card cycle by joining the million Americans choosing bankruptcy this year, all to save themselves from another decade of debt. Your first step? Contacting a qualified bankruptcy attorney to help you regain control of your financial coffers, conquer creditors and get back on a better budgetary track—yielding all with the right kinds of support, information and insights during the coming years—come feast or famine.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

Rocky Mount, NC
Named one of the “America’s Ten Most Impoverished Cities” by Forbes Magazine, Rocky Mount, NC, is a city where its citizens face unbelievably low median incomes, a crumbling infrastructure that means many pay more in utilities than their mortgages, and, according to HuffPost’s map, staggering 13% unemployment. Most surprisingly, these dramatic jobless figures existed even before the recent recession.

Cornelius, NC
In addition to recording the stats of a struggling nation, HuffPost is also accepting its stories. One of these telling tales hails from Cornelius, NC, where Army vet, Kent Walker shared, “I’m a 20 year Service Disabled Veteran with 2 lifetime benefits: (VA Disability and Army Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC). After a[n] Army helicopter crash I was medically retired in 2004 and bought a house in Charlotte NC (Bank Of America headquarters) to complete that American Dream with my wife and 2 girls. Four years later, thanks to Wall Street, my Commercial Real Estate business was busted and I was in foreclosure. I paid into the HAMP program and was dragged along for almost 12 months before being denied last month. My two girls (age 4 and 8) and I sit here waiting for the Sheriff to show up with the “Notice of Eviction” while my wife is away deployed in the Army.” Unfortunately, the denial of this type of American Dream is common—even in places like Cornelius in Mecklenburg County, one of the wealthiest in a struggling state.

Youngsville, NC
In places like the tiny Triangle town of Youngsville, NC, citizens are facing their own unemployment and mortgage meltdowns. One anonymous victim of this uncertain economic era told HuffPost, “It feels as though the bank is doing whatever it can to move a foreclosure along. There is no working with us…homeowners who have been promptly paying the mortgage for 10 years.”

Do these stories sound familiar to you, your family and your friends? Have you been impacted by the financial crisis? In what ways are you bouncing back? What are you doing in your neck of the woods to keep from losing your shirt in “Third World America?” Click here to add your facts, figures and recent fortunes (or not) to The Huffington Post map.

Once you’ve shared your story—like so many others in North Carolina—it’s time to turn to someone who’s got your back when you’re in the process of bouncing back. That “someone” is inevitably a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.” The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

What this shows is that perhaps Washington was simply too quick to react, moving forward with grandiose visions of another New Deal before they really knew what the deal was. From mortgage modification efforts to cash for old cars to homebuyer tax credits, nothing has done what it promised to do. People are still losing their homes and filing bankruptcy in record numbers.

In the interest of objectivity, the economy is growing, but at a rate that by historic standards typically characterizes an economy without any real strength behind it. And given what efforts have already been implemented, the numbers should invoke positivity and hope. Look around. Seeing any of that?

In an article on MSNBC.com, economist David Rosenberg said, “The fact that there has been no sustained response to all these efforts by the government to turn things around is testament to the view that this is not actually a traditional recession at all.”

Instead, the economy has responded in fits and starts, with each one creating an ever-deepening valley. Jobs are scarce, loans are very hard to get and people remain frustrated.

Making things worse is an upcoming mid-term election that will pit parties—and economic strategies—against one another that will be sure to only mask the severity of the country’s financial condition behind election rhetoric. People want to be elected, so things will be said and stats will be hurled around like carnival game slogans. In short, we won’t know who is telling the truth and the odds are very good the result will be the same regardless of which booth gets our money.

Strolling the country’s midway striving to detect the slightest pitch of sincerity within the din of disreputable discourse is a collection of the foreclosed, bankrupt and out of work being offered prizes of fixed mortgages, nicer credit card companies and gainful employment. To the surprise of only a few, the prizes are breaking before they can be put on the mantle.

The arguments as to why this recession is not improving are deep and thick, mired in hard-to-discern cable news arguments and a national media that only further divides the argument. The housing crisis, for example, is much worse than many thought. Others believe its the lack of employment. Maybe it’s the lack of credit available to growing companies. Who really knows?

According to the Fed (Federal Reserve) America’s total household asset value, which is home value, retirement funds available, savings and the like, has decreased by $11.4 trillion since 2007. Basically, that’s a complicated way of saying people have way less money than they did a few years ago.

So where does that leave you? Well, on an island for starters. That is, it’s time to do what is needed for you and your family. If you have a job, do whatever it takes to hang on to it. And don’t give another dime to the credit card companies. Consult a bankruptcy attorney today and find out how a properly planned bankruptcy can put you back in charge. Call today: In North Carolina, 1-800-899-1414

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Published Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 10:00 am

The job market is a tough, ugly and sometimes downright brutal place to have to spend time. Heck, July alone crammed well over one hundred thousand into an already really tight space.

The signs you see to help yourself out—job postings—are all over the place it seems. But who’s landing them? Well, maybe this post can help you be the next person who finds their way back into the world of the employed.

According to an article on CNN.com, employment experts agree that one of the most critical things a person can do when applying for a job is craft their resume to the specifications asked for on the job posting. Consider the position’s description as a proposal for a service needed. Your resume then, should become your answer to that need. And because all needs are different, you need to make sure you are not sending your square peg to fit their round hole.

In many instances, you may simply not have what it is they are looking for. Sure, some of it sounds familiar but in the end, it’s either work you haven’t done in years or are not at all qualified to do. So applying to these types of postings can become a serious time drag.

We understand that a current financial situation could have you pressed for time or that your Chapter 13 payment plan is starting to become a problem. Be confident that your time is best spend focusing on potential jobs for which you are a good fit. Do not use a shotgun approach. The time you spend researching an employer, discovering if you know anyone in the company and writing your materials to suit the need should be considered an investment. In time, it will pay off.

When working on your resume, re-use words that appear in the job ad. Do not go overboard. Connect the job’s keywords with responsibilities in your background. These words and terms are how human resource professionals scan through the hundreds of resumes they often receive for a single availability.

Do the same thing in your cover letter. You can use a common introductory paragraph format most of the time but make certain you address the job title. Consider:

“Please consider the enclosed resume for the available JOB TITLE position. I am a tenured industry professional with NUMBER OF YEARS IN INDUSTRY of experience and feel certain that I could provide a quick and positive impact to your organization.”

Your cover letter should be only a summary of your resume. The point of the cover letter is to get them to open your resume. So again, include related job terms, cite specific years of experience and lace it with persuasive language.

Most job needs today are being communicated online and asking for a resume to be attached. It is absolutely key that you use the e-mail itself as a marketing tool. Do not just type “resume attached” and hit send. Use the subject line to include the job title being applied for and unless specifically asked not to, consider inserting a quick one-liner. For example:

“Web site copywriter position – 8 years of experience.”

The body of your e-mail should be the same type of cover letter you would write if submitting on paper. This may sound like common sense to some people but you would be surprised at how many examples hiring professionals could cite where this is not the case. Candidates are in the screening process the moment their e-mail appears in the recipients inbox. Make it count.

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Published Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 8:17 am

With the U.S unemployment rate holding steady at an unsettling 9.5% this past month— signifying more than 14.6 million out-of-work Americans—news that some of our nation’s industries are actually suffering from worker shortages may come as a surprise.

What’s to blame for the discrepancy between the near double-digit national unemployment rate and the dearth of workers to fill certain jobs? One word: qualifications.

In fact, according to CareerBuilder’s 2010 Mid-Year Job Forecast:

• One-in-five employers (22 percent) reported that, despite an abundant labor pool, they still have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates.
• Forty-eight percent of HR managers reported that there was an area of their organization in which they lacked qualified workers.
• Health-care employers were the most likely to report a skills deficit with 63 percent of HR professionals in large health-care organizations stating they have a shortage of qualified workers.

Wondering what jobs are out there? Trying to figure where to focus your job training for the best shot at a new career? CareerBuilder shares the “employee-hungry sectors” currently in need of a ready, willing and able workforce, including:

Skilled Labor
According to a talent shortage survey conducted by staffing firm Manpower Inc., “skilled trade jobs (HVAC, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, etc.) are 2010′s hardest jobs to fill.” In the current economy, skilled trade jobs are attractive because they often allow for on-the-job training, yielding a paycheck while you acquire necessary labor skills in the form of paid apprenticeships.

Transportation
Recent increases in manufacturing have created a rise in demand in warehouses to store goods and transportation to deliver them. According to a 2010 job outlook study done by online ad research firm Borrell Associates, “the transportation, warehousing and utilities industry is expected to see 31.6 percent more job openings this year than it did in 2009.” Not only is there a high demand, but also there are few obstacles to breaking into an industry which normally requires only that you to be of a certain age, have a Commercial Driver’s License, and a clean driving record.

Automotive
A rebounding auto industry is looking to hire back much of its workforce. And with automotive salaries topping most others in the manufacturing field, it pays to accelerate your job search in this industry.

Education
Despite budget cuts and layoffs, teachers are still needed, especially in the areas of special education, mathematics, bilingual teaching and foreign language. While low salaries and high stress are often culprits in low teacher retention, career changers are being heavily recruited into education with liberal teaching certification programs.

Healthcare
According to a December 2009 survey by AMN Health Care Services, “95 percent of hospital CEOs agreed that there was a shortage of physicians in the U.S.; and from 2008-2018, the BLS reports that 600,000 new jobs will be created in nursing alone.” As such, 10 of 20 of the fast-growing occupations is in the healthcare field.

Engineering
With many of its most qualified workers retiring, the engineering industry is in dire need of trained professionals able to take charge in jobs spurred by economic stimulus funds. These well-paid positions often require engineering degrees, but also can be filled by math or science majors.

Customer Service and Sales
Building client relationships and revenue remains a priority as the economy attempts to rebound. According to CareerBuilder’s Mid-Year Job Forecast, that means “25 percent of hiring managers surveyed said they plan to hire workers for customer service positions in the second half of 2010, while 22 percent said they’d be hiring more salespeople.” This is great news for an eager workforce looking for jobs requiring a strong work ethic and with no real educational requirements.

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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. A number of other studies have shown that lower-income Americans give proportionally more of their incomes to charity than do upper-income Americans. In 2001, Independent Sector, a nonprofit organization focused on charitable giving, found that households earning less than $25,000 a year gave away an average of 4.2 percent of their incomes; those with earnings of more than $75,000 gave away 2.7 percent.”

The fact that Americans are still giving, especially the poorest of our citizenry, is striking given the nation’s continuing economic malaise, high unemployment rates and ever-increasing number of bankruptcy filings. But, as the NYT reports, “Empathy and compassion appeared to be the key ingredients in the greater generosity of those with lower incomes. And these two traits proved to be in increasingly short supply as people moved up the income spectrum.”

As long as those facing the toughest financial times and feeling it the most, are also feeling the most empathetic and giving the most, it’s important to understand how declaring bankruptcy can affect your ability to give to your favorite charities. While, bankruptcy courts can find fraud in charitable donations if a debtor is perceived to be deliberately avoiding paying their  creditors, courts will also take into account the timing of the gift, the payment amounts, and the circumstances surrounding these gifts. For example, if you’re a lifelong devout Catholic who has given an annual 5% donation to your local Catholic church, your donation will likely not be strenuously judged following a bankruptcy filing. Instead, bankruptcy will allow you to free up the savings to support your favorite charity in the near, and distant future.

Some simple tips for keeping track of your charitable donations before and during your bankruptcy filing, include:

Staying Informed About Charitable Organizations

Before giving money or time to any charitable organizations, it’s important to obtain written details, including the organization’s financial report, the amount of your donation that will go to overhead costs and the specific project your gift will support. This will give you the peace of mind that your piece of the financial pie is being eaten up by the right initiatives. Click here to find charities registered with the Better Business Bureau and meet their Wise Giving Alliance Standards.

Avoiding Cash Donations
To avoid being taken for a ride by a charitable solicitor, always make your donation by check: payable directly to the appropriate organization.

Protecting Your Personal Information
Avoid solicitor scams by resisting the urge to give credit card or other personal information directly to that person. Always request official organizational confirmation and materials for submitting individual donations.

Keeping Track When You Give Back
Like your mortgage payment or utility bills, it’s best to always budget for charitable giving in your monthly payment plan. In terms of keeping the right records, for gifts of less than $250, a cancelled check or credit card statement will meet IRS documentation requirements. For larger gifts, you will need to obtain a properly worded receipt from the charitable organization as proof of your tax-deductible contribution.
In these uncertain economic circumstances, it’s important to realize that you can decline a donation and give at a later time.

When in Doubt, Just Say “No.”

Want to find out more about how bankruptcy protects charitable givers—givers who may end up needing help themselves? Check it out with the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt. In North Carolina, call for a totally FREE consultation at 1-800-899-1414 or visit their website at www.billsbills.com.

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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.

So, after the recent mortgage meltdown, many are wondering: “where do we go from here?”

That’s the very question asked in a recent report by NPR. In it, correspondents found that after two decades of expansions in home ownership—fostered by government mortgage guarantees by the now much-maligned likes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—many policymakers are looking at housing finance reform as a top priority to the nation’s prospects for economic recovery.

“The two mortgage finance giants made astonishing mistakes,’ Raj Date, executive director of a financial policy think-tank called the Cambridge Winter Center, told NPR’s Audie Cornish. Ultimately, Date said it might be time to rethink homeownership as an American ideal. ‘The world we live in today is not quite the world that existed in 1950,” he noted. “The nature of households and the rate at which they dissolve and reform, the nature of work and its transient nature across geographies are all things that suggest that maybe, just possibly, a middle-class American shouldn’t stake themselves to an illiquid, very large, concentrated, leveraged asset —- that is to say, a house.’”

As a result, many are revisiting (and reconsidering) the idea of the “white picket fence,” and turning to rental property as a way to prevent real estate from owning them—at least financially—instead of the other way around.

“Homeownership has gone from being pretty much an unmitigated good — something that would provide stability—and instead has thrown a huge cloud of doubt over the value of homeownership for a lot of people,” Alyssa Katz, author of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came To Own Us told NPR.

Unfortunately, for many Americans, alternatives to home ownership, namely renting property, means relinquishing that long-held sense of success and status that seems almost a birthright for many in this country. And beyond national sentiment, renting can be a precarious living scenario, reliant on landlords and leaseholderss for repairs, renewals and reliability that, in this uncertain economic era, is often a luxury. Between the social and socio-economic stigma and the relative lack of security, even in these tough financial times, renting can be many families’ last resort.

As a result, it’s important for homeowners with dwindling equity, underwater mortgages, or facing foreclosure to consider other options in attempting to save their shelter. Of these options, Chapter 13 bankruptcy can provide a tried and true alternative to moving onward and, in some cases, downward.

Don’t wait for your own housing bubble to burst or become a reluctant renter. Join the millions of American homeowners who have found immediate help to keep their hard-hit homes. If you have been hit  by the hovering mortgage crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

Today, almost the exact opposite has become reality. Mortgages are exceptionally more difficult to obtain and when they can be approved, the houses themselves don’t qualify because of drastically diminishing real estate values.

This week, reports surfaced that new home sales are at an all-time low. Well, at least since the government began keeping records in the early sixties.

Housing industry analysts and real estate professionals who are on the street trying to sell are waving their fingers at the expiration of a Washington-backed tax break for new home purchases, perhaps the federal government’s most successful economic resuscitation strategy.

Last year at this time, experts across the cable channels confidently predicting that by this summer, we would be breathing a sigh of relief at a blossoming economy. Instead, it appears we have stagnated at a new normal. Housing sales are down 32.4 percent from last July, which was a time widely thought of as the “heart” of the downturn.

For the last few decades, home ownership became the definition of financial stability. It was sold to people as a way to reach the “good life” that helped color America as the land of opportunity. The collective nationwide strive to qualify for a mortgage eventually became a target of the financial industry, from politicians on influential economic committees to Wall Street executives. Finally, houses became a real commodity, bought and sold as quick investments and wealth starters for people at all income levels, not just the upper middle class.

Today, home ownership is a stain on the financial records of families across the country. People are bitter, saddened and broke. A rising tide of personal and commercial bankruptcies can be attributed directly to the real estate crash. For citizens who once used home ownership as a goal on their way out of a separate financial setback, disappointment abounds.

There is more to the reported decline in housing sales than just the expiration of a tax break, according to industry watchers.

Chris Low, a chief economist with FTN Financial, a financial services and analyst group, believes there is a mindset problem in America relative to home buying. “A double-digit drop suggests to me that there wasn’t just a tax effect at work in July, but a change in sentiment, a change in the willingness to make such a big purchase. It is especially surprising given where mortgage rates were. It is just a reminder of how much work there is still left to do before housing can be deemed healthy again.”

Normally, factors like low interest rates spur home sales. That is simply no longer the case. People, in short, are scared. And there is also a very overt mistrust in the financial industry. The have-nots are seething at the haves, or at least those who are perceived to have.

The situation in the foreclosure world has become so brutal that houses are selling for pennies on the dollar to investors and families are able to remain in a home without paying for months before a back-logged bank official can make steps toward legal eviction.

It appears, that at least for the next few years, American home ownership isn’t going to carry the status it did just three or four years ago. Many believe it may never be again.

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Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 9:27 am

Debtors attempting to avoid bankruptcy by waiting for housing prices (and equity) to increase may be waiting a long time. In fact, according to The New York Times, wealth-building via housing booms may have also gone the way of guaranteed pensions, free healthcare, and secure employment.

Per the NYT, “many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century, when houses not only provided shelter but also a plump nest egg. The wealth generated by housing in those decades, particularly on the coasts, did more than assure the owners a comfortable retirement. It powered the economy, paying for the education of children and grandchildren, keeping the cruise ships and golf courses full and the restaurants humming. More than likely, that era is gone for good.”

This rather bearish news on the state (and future) of the housing market is capped by the finding from Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who “estimates that it will take 20 years to recoup the $6 trillion of housing wealth that has been lost since 2005. After adjusting for inflation, values will never catch up.”

Unfortunately, many Americans aren’t buying this news on the housing bomb. “In an annual survey conducted by the economists Robert J. Shiller and Karl E. Case, hundreds of new owners in four communities — Alameda County near San Francisco, Boston, Orange County south of Los Angeles, and Milwaukee — once again said they believed prices would rise about 10 percent a year for the next decade.”

In truth, the housing-as-investment ideal that arose post World War II hasn’t been on solid ground for decades–when inflation of the 1970s and favorable tax policies increased housing prices followed by a long decline in mortgage rates in the early 1980s. In the next decade, rates rose, allowing American homeowners to withdraw about $100 billion in home equity houses. These billions paid for a lot of luxury—luxuries that we’re now paying for, in spades,  since the inflated home prices burst the housing bubble in the 2000s.

“The experience we had from the late 1970s to the late 1990s was an aberration,” said Barry Ritholtz of the equity research firm Fusion IQ. “People shouldn’t be holding their breath waiting for it to happen again.”

With substantial sums of money available from home equity in the 1990s now a distant memory, many homeowners in the new foreclosure-plagued, underwater American reality are fortunate to still be solvent. For others, the tumble in housing prices has taken it’s toll, leaving many wondering where to turn no that their own personal “home sweet homes” are leaving a sour taste in their moths.

Don’t wait for your own personal housing bubble to burst. Join the millions of American homeowners who have found immediate help to keep their hard-hit homes. If you have been hit hard by the lingering housing crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. The retail report, which came only days after the Federal Reserve announced a new effort to prop up the economy, fueled growing concern that the U.S. is in danger of falling into a double-dip recession.”

The report comes as Washington debates the need for (and fiscal possibility of) a second stimulus infusion in order to spur economic growth and avoid further state and local layoffs and cuts. But while lawmakers stall, so does the economy. And even though economists with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report that a double dip recession is unlikely, they “nevertheless pegged the chance of one at 25% to 30%, which it termed ‘unusually high.’ The retail-sales numbers aggravated those fears. Though the Commerce Department reported a 0.4% rise in sales in July, the improvement was due entirely to rising gasoline prices and pent-up demand for cars. Sales would have fallen 0.1% without those items.”

As the LA Times reports, small businesses are among many American laborers feeling the pinch of the tepid economy, especially in terms of retail sales in luxury items and services—from cosmetics stores to fitness centers.  “The government talks about helping businesses, but we’re not seeing one benefit of anything they’re doing, and neither are my friends and neighbors,” said Maurice Stein, owner of a Burbank, California retailer called Cinema Secrets. “We knew that the economy was bad. We never expected this to go so long.”

These sentiments about the economic malaise are echoed all across the country as well. Many individuals and small business owners—from Northern California to North Carolina—are facing layoffs or are already unemployed and drowning in debt, using dwindling federal benefits and credit cards just to get by.

So what can you do to make a new start as this recessionary climate continues onward?

If you’re like the majority of Americans, waiting on Washington to fix our financial woes is not an option. If you are already struggling financially and fear the further economic impacts of a widening recession, now may be the best time to make a guaranteed fresh start through bankruptcy. Discharging personal debt like credit card bills through bankruptcy is, in some cases, the only sure solution for so many Americans facing years without steady income or small business owners trying to hold to their hard-earned assets.

If this sounds like you and you’ve already found yourself in dire straits just as America faces what seems like one unending economic episode after another, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain control of your coffers, conquer creditors and get back on a better budgetary track—yielding all with the right kinds of support, information and insights at a low cost.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 7:43 pm

Just as Social Security seems to be running into the red—paying out more dollars than it’s taking in—it also appears the social welfare program has never been more important.  In its 75^th year, amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Recession, Social Security is acting as a financial lifeline to America’s most needy citizens.  And without it, the consequences would be dire.

Based on a recent report by The Huffington Post, “If [Social Security] benefits were to be significantly cut, 19.8 million more Americans would be thrust in poverty, according to a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In addition to supporting the elderly, Social Security is currently keeping more than 1 million children and more than 5 million adults below the age of 65 above the poverty line.”

The report also finds that cuts to Social Security would be especially debilitating for a nation composed of nearly 12% women over the age of 65 who currently live below the poverty line. Without Social Security nearly half of them would have no way to stay afloat. As a result, many of these mature women and millions of other Americans who depend on Social Security are, according to The Huffington Post, “watching closely as a bipartisan commission set up by President Obama mulls over the idea of cutting funds to the program to reduce the deficit. HuffPost‘s Ryan Grim reported that nearly 85 percent of American adults polled oppose cuts to Social Security, according to a recent survey conducted by GfK Roper, and 72% ‘strongly oppose’ the idea.” Within this AARP survey included a conclusion that flies in the face of conventional wisdom: half of all non-retired adults said that they would be willing to pay higher taxes to ensure that Social Security will be there for them.

Other themes revealed in the survey include:

Strong Desire to Have Social Security Despite Low Confidence in its Future
According to the survey, a strong majority of respondents not too or not at all confident of Social Security’s future as a program agreed that even if they didn’t need it, they’d like to know it’s there. A majority of respondents also agree that without Social Security, their families would be hard hit in the aftermath.

Protecting Social Security Trumps Dealing With the Deficit
Given their desire to have Social Security as a program available in later years, it’s not surprising that half of respondents surveyed would also be willing to pay more taxes to ensure the program’s existence in retirement. This contravenes the wisdom of many a politician’s election-year vote wrangling under the premise of dealing with the deficit at any cost, including cuts in Social Security spending which cover unemployment benefits as well as disability and retirement payments.

Even Younger Americans Support Social Security
According to AARP, “Nine in ten adults under age 30 believe Social Security is an important government program, and over nine in ten want to know it is there when they retire just in case they need it.” In short, while they’re not to confident that it will be there for them when the time comes, younger generations value this 75-year-old social welfare institution as much as the next person.

As The Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim concluded, “The strong support for the program isn’t ideological but personal and visceral. Cutting Social Security would bring real pain, survey respondents said. Just shy of two-thirds say that their family would be hit hard if Social Security were cut. Eighty percent of Americans say that Social Security alleviates the financial burden of taking care of parents. Prior to the enactment of Social Security, the elderly consistently drained the savings of their children in their waning days or were shipped off to homes known as ‘poor houses’ — a phrase that survives today as a cliché disconnected from its original use.”

If you’re struggling with dwindling benefits, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your own “social security.”  Chapter 7 or 13 can help get rid of unsecured debt payments and let you focus on what really matters. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

According to this weekend’s The Washington Post, “Congress has delivered only about a quarter of the $266 billion in “temporary recovery measures” the president sought in his February budget request and ignored much of the rest. There is unlikely to be another ‘recovery’ check for Social Security recipients. Come December, Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit — the signature initiative he regularly touts as a tax cut for 95 percent of Americans — will probably be gone.”

Now, economists are warning that Congress’ election year deficit fears could plunge the nation into a second Recession.

Yes. That’s right. Another one of those. Specifically, while Congress is focused on as exploding federal budget deficit, it is thought that if Capital Hill doesn’t act—instead spending more on the economy—America may face another lengthy period of astronomical unemployment and, what’s worse, subsequent recessionary status.

One continuing strike against a vote in favor of stimulus spending in this election year is the fact that Americans appear on-board with some forms of fiscal conservatism. In fact, polls reveal most folks don’t believe the President’s first go at a stimulus package worked and continue to vacillate on whether job spending or paying down deficits is the greater priority.

Despite this, The Washington Post reports, “Administration officials are forging ahead, theorizing that voters would be even angrier if Washington skipped the additional spending and unemployment began to climb again. The White House is also trying to do a better job of selling the original $862 billion stimulus package, enacted last year, which has gotten high marks from many economists. ‘This is an environment in which there’s a great deal of jaundice about government and government spending,” White House senior adviser David Axelrod. ‘But it’s foolhardy to suggest that we should walk away from the things we need to do to continue recovery efforts as a way to deal with our fiscal problem.’”

Regardless of how you feel about the current politics of federal spending, Axelrod’s words ring true when considering ways to perpetuate your own personal financial bailout. In times of staggering unemployment, rising medical costs, and a crippled housing market full of underwater mortgages, it is more important that ever to do the things you need to do to continue your own economic recovery efforts and deal with your personal fiscal problems.

One way millions of Americans are moving forward with their own efforts to stimulate savings, security and a better financial future is through bankruptcy. No longer the forbidden fruit of the financial recovery world, bankruptcy has helped many an American avoid creditor hassles, foreclosures, eviction, loss of a vehicle or tools of a trade, and even divorce—all beginning with the acknowledgement that you need a long-term solution to your lingering financial woes.

So, are you one of the many beleaguered individuals attempting to take things into your own hands to address financial woes and take back their fiscal freedoms? Consider making a fresh start through bankruptcy. Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help any Recession-weary debtor to conquer their creditors and face their financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— to start anyone on their way to a more viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:22 am

If you’re reading this, odds are you may be suffering through  a tough financial time. Yet, what might make you feel a bit better about your current ordeal is the knowledge that you’re not alone. Millions of average Americans just like you are facing a shared financial circumstance as they struggle to stay afloat in the wake of this decade’s Great Recession—facing foreclosure, job insecurity, and, in some cases, 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 our collective financial meltdown head-on.

In part four of this ongoing series, we meet the LaRochelles, an average American couple bearing witness to what some are calling an end to the middle class.

A couple of years back, David and Debbie LaRochelle owned a couple of houses: one home in Southern Florida and a mobile home in Georgia, near Debbie’s parents. They both worked full-time with a combined income of $100,000 a year. Things were great. And they were living the middle class dream.

According to The Huffington Post, today times have certainly changed for the LaRochelles. “Two years and a recession later, the 60-year-old couple are both unemployed, have drained their savings and 401Ks, are depending on Social Security, unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance to stay afloat and are in the process of losing their Florida house in a devastating short sale. Their dilemma is an increasingly common one: they can no longer afford to make their mortgage payments without an income, but they can’t sell their house because they now owe more on it than it’s worth….The LaRochelles are two of the nearly 2.4 million Americans who are seriously delinquent on their mortgage payments, thanks to plummeting property values and lingering unemployment. And according to the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research and policy group, as many as 9 million homeowners could go into foreclosure in the next two years.”

It turns out the LaRochelles didn’t know their property had dropped in value from 139K to 49K. “It’s been such a nightmare,” David LaRochelle told HuffPost. “I tried to work something out with Wells Fargo, but they wouldn’t even talk to me until I was 30 days past due. We tried a deed in lieu three times because they ‘lost the paperwork’ twice, and then they turned it down because they said we hadn’t advertised our property at fair market value.”

This very type of lender indifference, mortgage delinquency and underwater living is a situation tailor-made for bankruptcy.  If you’re like the LaRochelles: having trouble making your mortgage, living in a home that will never accrue equity, and/or residing in an area that is currently devalued and an eyesore for the foreseeable future, bankruptcy can help get you back on the right side of the tracks.  A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will allow you to surrender your underwater home, negate your personal and financial liability, and move forward financially. Or, if you so choose, keep your home while using Chapter 13 to catch up your delinquency and pay your mortgage through a Chapter 13 plan.

Because it’s all about using all of the tools at your disposal during our own Great Recession.

Bankruptcy could have worked for the LaRochelles. It could work for you too. If you’ve been affected by the economy and are wondering how to get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:07 am

Well, this may come as a surprise: a bank was deliberately charging customers for banking errors they did not make.

Shocker, huh?

Okay, well, maybe that kind of snark is a bit uncalled for. There are plenty of banks out there doing the right thing. But the timing of a California judge’s ruling that Wells Fargo must pay back more than $200 million to customers for egregiously fat-fingering their adding machines when calculating overdraft fees could not have come at a worse time.

News that the economic recovery is slowing (also quite the shock, huh?) and that unemployment continues to punish the nation has only exacerbated the nation’s mood toward the financial industry, largely considered the source of our current economic woes.

United States District Court Judge William Alsup ruled that Wells Fargo used an accounting tactic that literally multiplied one personal banking mishap into several, sometimes even 10. So, a $35 overdraft fee would wind up costing a customer $350 once totaled. What’s worse, the bank actually created a shroud around the practice, hiding it from customers and regulators.

Specifically, the bank would process checks for higher amounts first, regardless of when they were written. That means they would re-order the timeline of entry, resulting in more overdraft fees. In its defense, the bank said that larger checks are often the more important ones, like car payments and mortgage dues.

A banking and finance writer for the San Francisco Business Times described an industry conference years ago where banking executives were told that waiting on larger checks and then clearing them first was a sound way to increase bank revenue through overdraft fees. The speaker even mentioned that the tactic worked particularly well on military bases because customers in that demographic are often “struggling financially.”

All told, customers could have been bilked for much more, considering that the bank collected $1.8 billion in overdraft fees between 2005 and 2007. That’s billions. Now might more people understand the role some banks play in our nation’s personal debt pile?

These sorts of things tend to happen to people on or close to the edge of a serious financial headache. Checking accounts get hard to balance when jobs go away and kids still need shoes. More over, in today’s world of online banking and debit accounts, it has become even harder to track expenses, as some purchases record as debits in our accounts faster than others. We move so fast at check-out counters and Web sites that many people completely forget they purchased something until days later.

Our time is precious, to be sure, so we move faster. But isn’t our financial livelihood precious too?

Without argument, banks are a business. And, there are ways to not have to use a bank. But let’s be honest, the rest of the business world does not make it very easy. However, one would think that a business in the business of saving, growing and handling money would have a higher regard for the value of it to their customers. Perhaps that’s not the case anymore.

A financial analyst with an investment banking firm called FBR Capital Markets, said that Wells Fargo’s “method” of calculating overdrafts fees has been questionable for some time, illustrating that it has been “going on for years.”

With sweeping financial reform making its way around Washington and soon to a bank near you, overdraft fees, ATM charges, late fees and many other banking charges will be handled and disclosed in a much more overt fashion, according to those in the know. Basically, that just means it will become more expensive for you to use a bank.

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Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:06 am

As Baby Boomers age into their rightful place at the retirement table, Social Security appears to be running into the red—literally paying out more dollars than it’s taking in—even after decades of prosperity and pay-outs.

According to a recent article in CNNMoney.com, this could leave many who do (and will) depend on Social Security in a rough economic spot during already tough financial times. “For the first time in nearly 30 years, the system will pay out more benefits than it receives in payroll taxes both this year and next, the government officials who oversee Social Security said on Thursday,” reports Annalyn Censky of CNNMoney.com. “And while Social Security cash flow will likely head back into the black for a few years after that, starting in 2015 it looks to stay in the red for the long haul, the trustees said in their annual report.”

As a social program funded by American payroll taxes since its rollout during the New Deal, Social Security encompasses many social welfare and insurance programs, including unemployment benefits, Medicare, and precious payments to the retired, disabled, and other disadvantaged groups. In short, people who work pay in and withdraw when they can’t or don’t.

Yet, as mentioned, according to industry experts, during the next couple of years the Social Security system will reach a tipping point: paying more benefits to dependent Americans than it can collect in taxes, diminishing the fund and benefits for the nation’s neediest people. While the Social Security drain could begin to reverse itself for a few years following 2011, some fear the fund could be depleted by 2037.

What’s to blame then for this severe Social Security shortfall? Like everything else: the Recession. Surging unemployment rates, at near double-digit levels, have meant that fewer Americans can contribute to the Social Security pot, with more people withdrawing in the form of unemployment benefits. In addition to the strain of unemployment benefits, less work means many more Americans are simply foregoing the job hunt for an early retirement, meaning another payment drain on the Social Security gravy train. Finally, stimulus needs have meant higher than usual Fed borrowing from insecure Social Security coffers.

So, you might wonder, what does this Social Security insecurity mean for you? In essence, it’s just another sign that average Americans can’t depend on Federal programs to get them through this lingering financial downturn. As another in long-line of government “in-the-red” red flags—ones that have also included warning signs of dwindling unemployment funding and stagnant stimulus spending—Social Security concerns mean you should avoid depending on social welfare programs as you plan your retirement.  This leaves personal retirement savings and investments as your sole, [guaranteed] source of stability in your later years.

Unfortunately, if you find yourself facing financial insecurity, with no real income, drowning in debt, and/or suffering from a lapse in benefits, it may seem nearly impossible to start saving for your own social safety net. Yet, this is the exact circumstance for which bankruptcy exists: allowing Americans just like you to clean and clear their financial slate to begin putting money where you need it—out of the clutches of your creditors and instead accessible in your own accounts.

Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your own “social security,” conquer creditors and face these exact financial fears, yielding—with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. The quick roll out of federal plans and the pressure on banks to quickly create similar programs obviously led to a lot of frustrations. Still, when things iron themselves out, consumers stand to benefit.

Another recent instance of positive regulation has stemmed from the offices of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The News & Observer reported that last week, the organization ruled that as of October 27 of this year, companies operating in the rather unregulated “debt-relief” industry must now be a great deal more clear about to what extent they can actually provide assistance. Specifically, the new law states that any company offering to alleviate your standing debt is not allowed to request payment until the “benefits” of their efforts reach fruition. In other words, they don’t get paid until they do what they said they would. Quite a notion, huh?

The last couple of years has seen a tremendous rise in the number of organizations offering “debt-relief.” From shaky, hand-written signs on the side of the road promising to rebuild your credit to more formal companies with Web sites and 1-800 numbers, the number of ways you can “start over” has exponentially multiplied. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of Americans have found that that is not really the case.

Typically, the industry model has been to request fees from customers upon engagement of service, a strategy that hardly seems reconcilable with common sense. To sell this goofy model, companies peddle panic. They target not the completely destitute but the people somewhat close to the edge of a serious financial dilemma, those considering a bankruptcy but still looking for alternatives. This anti-sell tactic works wonders. The practice has sky-rocketed.

More over, many industry players instill confidence by telling customers to cease paying their credit cards. “We’ll handle it,” the operator says with a smile and headset.

The longer you go without paying any obligated debt without formal legal protection (bankruptcy), the worse off you are going to be.

The new guidelines will require companies to tell you how long it is expected to take to realize the results they present to you and a good faith estimate of your total costs. Previously, companies often asked you to create a separate account with them to hold money that you should be using to pay your credit cards as way to ensure they get paid everything they are “owed” after they decide your account is done be serviced.

Come this fall, any money you are asked to set aside must be held in a separate financial institution under your name.

So let’s recap this for a second: Debt-relief companies tell you to stop paying your credit cards so that you will have the money needed to pay us. Moreover, they can make absolutely no promise that your debt will be alleviated or what it is you will need to pay them. And, since they know what it is you owe every month, might their total fee just happen to be close to whatever it was you were supposed to be paying to your credit card debt?

See how that works?

The most certain way to ensure long-term relief from your debts is through filing bankruptcy. It’s not always the answer for everyone but it is certainly far better than what what private “debt-relief” companies are offering.  Call the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt today for your FREE initial consultation: 800-899-1414 

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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/08/618265/ftc-reins-in-debt-relief-practices.html

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Published Tuesday, August 10, 2010 @ 9:30 am

What was once a white picket fence is now a potential foreclosure; what used to be some measure of Social Security is now using retirement just to get by; what would have been the expectation of (and ability to) send your kids – all of them — to college, is now in question, along with all of the other trappings of a now-fleeting American Dream.

Like so many insights and incomes in these tough economic times, the middle class is shrinking—short-changed by everything from the fiendish financial industry to a hobbled housing market.

According to Arianna Huffington’s new book, “Third World America”, our country’s middle class is facing an onslaught from all sides, including several surprising facts average American’s should remain mindful of—and attempt to prepare for—as they forge ahead into a new reality:

Increases in Income Inequality
In the middle of this decade, the bottom 20 percent of household earners made an average income of $10,655 while households in the top 20 percent made almost $160,000. This disparity of 1,500 percent is the biggest gap between “haves” and “have-nots” on record.

States Cut Services
Between redirected bank bailouts and state budget shortfalls, Americans can expect severe shortages in state-supported services. “According to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, at least twenty-nine states have made cuts to public health programs, twenty-four states have cut programs for the elderly and disabled, twenty-nine states have cut aid to K–12 education, and thirty-nine states have cut assistance to public colleges and universities. America’s states faced a cumulative budget gap of $166 billion for fiscal 2010. Total shortfalls through fiscal 2011 are estimated at $380 billion—and could be even higher depending on what happens to unemployment. These are massive numbers. But when you remember that we spent $182 billion to bail out AIG ($12.9 billion of which went straight to Goldman Sachs), you realize that this amount alone would be more than enough to close the 2010 budget gap in every state in the Union. Toss in the $45 billion we gave to now-making-a-profit Bank of America and the $45 billion we gave to now-making-a-profit Citigroup, and we would be well on the way to ensuring that no state’s vital services are cut through 2011.” -Arianna Huffington, Third World America

Corporate Tax Evasion
Unfortunately, average Americans are paying much more in taxes each year than their corporate counterparts. “According to the White House, in 2004, the last year data on this was compiled, U.S. corporations paid roughly $16 billion in taxes on $700 billion in foreign active earnings— putting their tax rate at a paltry 2.3 percent.

Infrastructure in Ruins
Think dilapidated roads and potholes can’t be deadly? “In studying car crashes across the country, the Transportation Construction coalition determined that badly maintained or managed roads are responsible for $217 billion in car crashes annually – far more than headline-grabbing alcohol-related accidents ($130 billion) and speed-related pile-ups ($97 billion)”, Huffington writes in Third World America.  And of the 42,000 road fatalities each year, more than half (53%) are at least partially due to poor road conditions.

Failing Grades for Education
Unlike previous decades, America’s educational system is leaving more and more children behind.  Arianna explains in Third World America, all across the country, more and more students are failing with no end in sight: “In Alabama, only 20 percent of eighth graders are proficient in math. In California, it’s just 23 percent. In New York, it’s 34 percent.”

Foreclosures in Full Force
“Barry Bosworth and Rosanna Smart of the Brookings Institution found that the catastrophic collapse of the 2008 sub-prime mortgage market resulted in the disappearance of $13 trillion in American household wealth between mid-2007 and March 2009… on average, U.S. households lost one quarter of their wealth in that period,” cites Huffington. As a result, Third World America characterizes the housing crisis as “Katrina for the middle class,” with more and more Americans pumping money they don’t have into underwater mortgages and lost assets.  

Sickening Health Care Costs
“The vast majority of people who file for bankruptcy are middle-class folks who can’t pay their bills because they’ve lost their jobs or been hit with high medical bills. In fact, a 2009 study by researchers at Harvard and Ohio University showed that health-care problems were the root cause of 62 percent of all personal bankruptcies in America in 2007. When the same researchers did this study across five states in 2001, health-care problems caused only 50 percent of bankruptcy filings. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, America had 1.4 million personal bankruptcies in 2009, a 32 percent increase over the previous year. Put another way: Every thirty seconds, someone in this country files for bankruptcy in the wake of a serious illness.” – Arianna Huffington, Third World America.

If you’ve been affected by the economy and are wondering how to get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, August 10, 2010 @ 9:26 am

You can’t turn on a television or read a newspaper today without hearing about the housing crisis, with foreclosure remaining the focus of many a homeowner’s worst nightmare. Yet even in areas where banks aren’t repossessing Americans’ biggest assets, the real estate market meltdown is still having its way with local politics and policymaking, haunting many communities—in the form of skyrocketing property taxes—for years to come.

As PBS Newshour’s Dante Chinni found, many long-term residents in some of America’s more attractive areas are facing unprecedented property taxes as newcomers move in and make themselves at home in houses (and communities) that have ballooned in value—even amid the mortgage meltdown.

As Chinni reports, “Fueled by many out-of-staters looking for a second home with views of the glacier-carved Mission Mountains and only miles from Glacier National Park, property reappraisals including land and home soared to as much as $10,000 per foot of shoreline along the lake. Those increased values helped push Flathead County, which abuts the lake into the Monied ‘Burb county classification in Patchwork Nation. And like other communities that experienced rapid growth in real estate assessments those ballooning values came with other costs. On Flathead Lake, the complicating factor has been rising property tax bills. For the new residents who had dropped $1 million for a home, the bill was no shock, but for the residents who had owned their home for 20 years, the new levy threatened to tax them out of their homes.”

Still, the potential for being taxed out of house and home has become routine for many in areas that have witnessed meteoric increases in property assessments over the past several years (such as the Northwestern Montana example above). In some areas, these levies have hit so hard in some towns, “that some neighborhoods have seen special assessments that cut values across the board designed to make home values more realistic and more current.”

In the state of Montana, the average household income is a bit under $44,000. In some counties it’s a bit more, and some a bit less, but in places like Lake County, affected by the reappraisals and rising levies, the average family brings home $38,505. But, as Chinni says, “with property appraisals soaring along some parts of the lake, the average family can only afford so much in terms of land and taxes. But any reappraisals will shrink an already anemic tax base and that could mean trouble for communities trying to keep their services running and financial house in order.”

Until the housing market levels the playing field for many American homeowners, it’ll be a hard many to avoid rising mortgage rates, foreclosure fights, and now, the possible escalation of property taxes—especially during taxing times.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can provide for the payment of past-due real property taxes and can help you catch up on your house payments, among many other things.

Don’t wait for your own housing bubble to burst. Join the millions of American homeowners who have found immediate help to keep their hard-hit homes. If you have been affected by the mortgage crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Monday, August 9, 2010 @ 4:03 pm

Without insult, you should accept the fact that you read at a ninth grade level. It’s okay, four out of five adults do. It doesn’t mean you like the “Twillight” series, it means that the depth of your vocabulary and comprehension skills are at the most efficient level needed to succeed in today’s society. In short, it’s fine. And that’s not really the point of this post anyway.

It should come to no surprise then, that credit card companies create their agreements, notices and paperwork at a reading level on par with the comprehension and reading skills of only one in five Americans. Why do you think they do that? Never mind, you know why.

Roy Peter Clark, a recognized writing skill level specialist and a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, explains succinctly why the credit card industry does this. “So that the customer will not be able to understand it … I may be cynical, but I don’t think their writing strategies are accidental, the collateral damage of a bureaucratic mindset. I think those writers know exactly what they are doing.”

What else is not accidental is the industry’s overall marketing strategy, which appeals to status and our most base level of wanting, an emotion with which infants can identify. Thus, you have the ultimate bait and switch. They market to us on a broad, simple-to-grasp level but apply rules to their product that are deliberately arcane. To think this contradiction doesn’t contribute to the country’s incredible debt situation would be foolish. But that’s what they want us to believe.

The industry collectively spends billions to learn how the human psyche works so they can get inside it to sell us things and then skirts culpability when, lo and behold, it actually works!

New credit card laws are supposed to make the entire process of overseeing your credit cards a bit easier. The big rules may be in place about interest rate notifications and cancellation options and the like but no hard and fast regulations are in play about making agreements easier to understand. Some companies are trying to make an effort with separate forms that explain clearly the terms of an agreement. However, that sheet is typically coupled with a more traditional version that contains all the fine print and confusion.

In fact, little has changed with the new laws in this regard and in some cases, the sense of simplicity that many assume is now inherent because of the new laws can lead to false sense of confidence that the credit card companies are now on the straight and narrow. Hardly.

One may think that Visa and Mastercard don’t want you to read the fine print. The truth is, that is exactly what they want you to do. The language, terms and figures serve are great distractors. They are textual sleights of hand, taking our eyes away from what really matters, leaving us dumbfounded when the monthly balance sheet arrives. “Did I agree to this?”

Creditcards.com performed an analysis of more than 1,200 credit card agreements that are now required to be made public as part of the new legislation. What they found was an array of vexing terminology and financial language that actually read almost four levels higher than the average citizen.

Among many other astounding characteristics, they found that the Visa and Mastercard agreements for Fifth Third Bancorp contained 20,799 words and is written at a 14.5 reading level. The United States Constitution has just over 4,000 words.

Our Founding Fathers would be so proud.

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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.

According to a report by Daily Finance, the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 50.4 in July, its lowest mark in five months driven by fears about unemployment.  “The consensus of economists surveyed by Bloomberg had been that the closely watched index would dip to 51 in July from a revised 54.3 in June, and 63.3 in May. The index hit a record low of 25.3 in April 2009.  As they did in June, every index component dropped in July, and it was clear what was weighing on the minds of consumers: job market conditions and the outlook for business conditions in the near future. The percentage of survey respondents who said jobs are “hard to get” increased to 45.8% in July from 43.5% in June, while those claiming jobs are “plentiful” was unchanged at 4.3%. The percentage of those expecting there to be fewer jobs increased to 21.8% from 20.1%. Those expecting more jobs to become available in the months ahead declined to 14.3% from 16.2%.  In addition, those expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 15.9% from 17.1%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen increased to 15.7% from 13.9%.”

So, what do these consumer confidence figures have to do with you? In the real economic world, falling consumer confidence can have many impacts, including:

Retail Sales
As Daily Finance reported, the director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center, Lynn Franco, said the recent drop in consumer confidence could have a negative impact on consumer activity, including back-to-school business. “Consumer confidence faded further in July as consumers continue to grow increasingly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. Concerns about business conditions and the labor market are casting a dark cloud over consumers that is not likely to lift until the job market improves,” Franco said in a statement. “Given consumers’ heightened level of anxiety, along with their pessimistic income outlook and lackluster job growth, retailers are very likely to face a challenging back-to-school season.”

As a result, if you’re a retailer, this news could mean another season of lost sales lower profits, and an overstock of inventory with nowhere to go. More directly, floundering business can mean layoffs, contributing to a ever-more unemployment, and even less consumer spending.

Slow Economic Growth
This endless cycle of no confidence, no business, no jobs, no confidence, doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.  As Franco said, “[c]oncerns about business conditions and the labor market are casting a dark cloud over consumers that is not likely to lift until the job market improves.”

And, since consumer spending is one of the most important part of our nation’s economy—accounting for nearly 70 & of the country’s total GDP—a drop in consumer confidence is always a bad sign for America’s economic health. Plus, while experts don’t agree whether this slow growth will lead to a second (or “double-dip”) Recession, the longer the economy languishes the longer American families will likely do the same.

Bankruptcy
As the economy continues its “slow-to-no” recovery and consumer confidence fads, confidence in the benefits of bankruptcy continues to rise. If your own economic house is shaken due to credit card debt, repossessions or foreclosure, it may be time to take your financial future into your own hands.

The first step is knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Sunday, August 8, 2010 @ 9:04 am

You might have seen reports that federal stimulus funding has stemmed the tide of school layoffs, has caused a marked increase in roadside construction projects, or has brought about broadband to areas preciously unable to get it; but many of the beleaguered masses are searching for more direct benefits from stimulus spending. 

Well, now it seems your local retailers aren’t waiting around for an economic rebound, they’re taking the concept of economic “stimulus” into their own hands with programs poised to get you spending in their stores, while providing more substantial savings for your trouble.

As The New York Times is reporting, “Stores like Sam’s Club, Target, Toys “R” Us, Staples and Office Depot are offering unconventional promotions meant not only to attract visitors to stores, but also to get them feeling profligate. Sam’s Club is introducing a program in which it facilitates loans for shoppers of up to $25,000, backed by the Small Business Administration. Target will give its credit card holders 5 percent discounts. Toys “R” Us is instituting a holiday fund program where it adds to shoppers’ savings, and Staples and Office Depot are giving away office products for a penny or at no cost. ‘A lot of the government programs have come to an end,’ said David Bassuk, a managing director in the global retail practice at AlixPartners, a financial consultancy. “So retailers are taking it upon themselves to do everything they can to get the consumer to spend, even opening up their own wallets to give money back to the consumer.’”

But getting consumers to spend right now isn’t a simple prospect; unemployment remains at double-digit figures in many states across the country, with the economy unable to keep up as millions remain jobless and hundreds of thousands lose their unemployment benefits.

Still, retailers remain hopeful following news that personal income and savings are on the rise in the past several months. As such, stores are hoping consumers will part with some of their hard-earned cash when offered major over-the-counter offers, including the aforementioned enhanced discounts, giveaways and, in the case of Sam’s Club, even loans.

According to The New York Times, “Sam’s has done only a small test of the S.B.A. loans, and so far about 200 people have applied, with about 45 percent being approved, said Tim Jochner, chief executive and founder of Superior Financial. Sam’s is considering offering other financial products through third parties to help ease customers’ finances, like working-capital loans or peer-to-peer loans, said Hiren Patel, director for financial services at Sam’s….Of course, smart shoppers can take advantage of these programs without necessarily improving the stores’ revenues.”

In fact, some heady shoppers are taking retailer’s like Sam’s up on their low-interest loans, without using the money they save for anything but more savings. Yet, while a low-interest loan may be a good thing for someone struggling with a small business, more loans, discounts and giveaways that entice greater consumer spending—while great for the economy and retailers—can lead average Americans down the path to more debt in very uncertain economic times.

If you find yourself struggling financially, your next best bet is not to take out loans or spend more on retail sales, but to find permanent relief from your economic woes.  In fact, if you’re drowning in debt and looking for a way out, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Saturday, August 7, 2010 @ 8:45 am

The Obama Administration’s recent landmark health care laws will mean exciting changes for Americans seeking better medical insurance and/or facing crushing medical debt. But for many, these changes can’t come quickly enough. And for some the changes may come late—especially for already beleaguered and bankruptcy bound individuals facing unexpected illnesses, injuries or surgeries.

So what can you do to minimize the financial impact of an unexpected a medical emergency?

Step One – Assess the Damage
In the case of a medical emergency, you rarely have time to weigh the pros and cons of health care costs. Nevertheless, an important step once the bills are a foregone conclusion is to take some time to calculate the costs. What’s the final total of all of your medical bills? Has your injury or illness left you unable to work—either temporarily or for the long haul? Will you be able to keep your job, or a steady income, despite your disability?

Once you’ve assessed your fiscal (and physical) conditions, you can determine how the bills will balance with your budget, and how your medical condition will ultimately affect your ability to pay back those bills.

Step Two – Keep in Contact with your Creditors
Even amid injury or illness, it is of the utmost importance to stay connected with your medical creditors. Find out if your creditors would be willing to put off your payments while you’re out of action. Some creditors will acquiesce to your request for two or three month reprieve while you get back on you feet, always with the understanding that you will ultimately begin the repayment process once your deferment has ended. Keep in mind, this type of reprieve is only temporary; if you’re facing a long-term disability or an extended loss of income, your options may be limited to default or a discharge of this type of unsecured debt through the benefits of bankruptcy.

Step Three – Pay for the Priorities
Even if you’re bankruptcy bound due to overwhelming medical bills, it’s important to continue to pay what you can on secured debts like your home, car, etc.  Even if you choose to dispense with your unsecured medical bills via bankruptcy, you’ll still want to pay for the things you’ll attempt to keep post filing. In short, if you’re able redirect available funds to keep your precious property versus paying down unsecured medical or consumer debts.

Step Four – Weigh Your Options, Including the Benefits of Bankruptcy

In some cases, when facing mounting medical debt without insurance, talking to your hospital’s billing department can help to reduce the damage.  But the reality is, in most cases, emergency medical costs are a lingering problem leaving one easier option:  bankruptcy. According to recent reports, medical bills played a role in 62% of personal bankruptcies filed in 2007, up 7% from 2001. Shockingly, 78% of these filers actually had health insurance.

If you are suffering from illness, injury and out of control debt, and considering filing a medical-related bankruptcy, it is important to remember that as unsecured debt, medical bills can be discharged entirely under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Indeed, bankruptcy may be just what you need to help you get back on your financial feet again.

The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button and let these experts smoke out your next best financial steps.

Durham loan modification. Durham debt relief. Raleigh bankruptcy attorneys. Greenville NC bankruptcy attorneys. Wilson bankruptcy attorneys. Sanford bankruptcy lawyers. Fayetteville bankruptcy attorneys.

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Published Friday, August 6, 2010 @ 8:55 am

Have you heard from many experts and economists that the country’s headed for a double-dip recession—a second downturn that results from recent limits on economic stimulus? Well, take heart…we’re apparently only in a “one-and-a-half dip” recession.

That’s right.  According to Robert Reich, Former Secretary of Labor, we’re in a one-and-a-half dip recession, with the worst is yet to come and politicians and other people in power should take note. With retail spending on a downturn, home sales in the dumps, and the average work week in decline, Reich argues the only thing that’s actually piling up in this economic climate is unsold goods, fallow homes and default loans.

As Reich writes, “The 1.5 dip recession should be causing alarm bells to ring all over official Washington. It should cause deficit hawks to stop squawking about future debt, blue-dog Democrats to stop acting like Republicans, and mainstream Democrats to get some backbone.

The 1.5 dip recession should cause the president to demand a large-scale national jobs program including a new WPA that gets millions of Americans back to work even if government has to pay their wages directly. Included would be zero-interest loans to strapped states and locales, so they didn’t have to cut vital services and raise taxes. They could repay when the economy picked up and revenues came in. The national jobs program would also include a one-year payroll tax holiday on the first $20,000 of income.”

Reich argues the recent job benefits extension is only a Band-Aid on a bigger unemployment issue. Instead he encourages the Obama administration to focus on an enhanced jobs bill that can help get Americans back to work  and get consumer confidence back on track.  As he put it, “Jobless benefits are humane but they alone don’t get jobs back.”

In anticipation of what Reichs predicts may be tougher economic times just around the corner, many aren’t waiting for government action but rather are taking their own financial futures in their own hands by furthering their education, shoring up their expenses, and, in some cases, taking on second and third jobs, where and if they exist.

But what if you’re already unemployed; or drowning in debt; or both? What can you do to make a new start before the recessionary weather returns?

If you are already struggling financially and fear the further economic impacts of a double-dip recession, now is the time to take on your financial woes and take back your fiscal freedoms by making a fresh start through bankruptcy. Discharging personal debt through bankruptcy now is, in some cases, the only solution for so many Americans—especially unemployed persons facing years without steady income—to keep their personal lives financially afloat and creditors at bay. In short, what policy makers can’t do for you, you can do for yourself.

If this sounds like you and you’ve already found yourself in dire straits just as America faces another economic downturn, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 7:11 pm

In the Triangle, an area known for entering recessions later and exiting them earlier, foreclosures continue to be a problem, as the rate dipped a tad in June but on the whole, remains above where it was last year at this time. For a market like ours, that’s not a good sign.

Foreclosure and bankruptcy are often wound tightly together. In most cases, if a person can’t pay their mortgage, a number of other bills are remaining unpaid as well. A lot of times it comes down to hard economic decisions. If it came down to a medical bill for a child or a mortgage payment, it’s a safe assumption that the mortgage is going to be late this month.

Surprisingly, and most likely out of fear of the unknown, very few people actually call their bank when they realize that the mortgage is becoming a burden too difficult to bear. More often, the first step is to pay late or not at all and then wait for a notice to arrive to begin the discussion about what comes next. Sometimes, your bank could help you before needing you to enroll you in a mortgage modification program, at which point you become just another number to the bank on a call queue and another statistic to the evening news. Being proactive, just like in bankruptcy, can help you tremendously when it comes to getting your mortgage under control.

The News & Observer reported that foreclosure filings in the counties of Durham, Johnston and Wake totaled 4,433 for the first half of 2010, a 24 percent jump from the same point in 2009. That’s a healthy spike, to be sure. Even with Wake County reporting only 443 foreclosures (a 20 percent decrease from last year’s June count) the county as a whole is higher than it was for the January to June period of 2009. Durham County’s foreclosure rate is higher by 10 percent for June and experienced a 35 percent increase for the first six months of 2010 in comparison with the first half of 2009.

The N&O notes that a foreclosure filing is only the start of the foreclosure process and that not every filing equals an official foreclosure. However, it still means that somewhere, a family is having a very hard time making ends meet, which is not a good sign for an economy believed to be in recovery. And it’s even worse for a regional economy that on a national basis is believed to be healthier than most.

In many real estate markets across the country, foreclosures are what lead the housing sales market. More agents are fielding calls from parties, either families or investors, looking to get in on the bottom of the housing cycle. Buying a foreclosure is not a real simple process often requiring a good deal of cash. Thus, it’s a niche market. In the end, real recovery in the housing market is going to take mainstream, mass-market buyers. That is, families with jobs. And today, there are just too few of them.

If you’re facing foreclosure, call a Bankruptcy attorney today. A Chapter 13 can help you stay in your home and possibly lower your monthly payment. Call 1-800-899-1414 today for a free consultation.

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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.

Unfortunately, this same kind of accountability hasn’t been as much a part of the debt settlement industry. In recent years, the lengthy recession has delivered to them an abundance of debt-saturated “patients,” suffering from the ills of unemployment and sliding toward the brink of bankruptcy; and until recently no one had really monitored the industry’s activities.

This lack of regulation is shocking considering that settlement companies typically harvest fees reaching 15 to 20 percent of the credit card balances carried by their customers, and they tend to collect upfront, regardless of whether a customer’s debt is actually reduced. State attorneys general from New York to California and consumer watchdogs like the Better Business Bureau say the industry’s proceeds come at the direct expense of financially troubled Americans who are fleeced of their last dollars in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. But these same people rarely emerge from debt settlement programs with their credit card balances eliminated and many end up worse off, with severely damaged credit, unending threats from bill collectors and lawsuits from creditors.

Even this week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the Illinois Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, arming Illinois consumers with the strongest protection in the nation against the abuses and unfair treatment from these companies. Madigan said she was prompted by “the drastic increase my office has seen recently in complaints against dishonest debt settlement operators. Since 2009, my office has filed seven lawsuits against firms using abusive and deceptive means to take money from Illinois consumers whom they promised to help through their financial woes.”

Like people in Illinois, customers all over the country have bought into bankruptcy alternatives like debt settlement—and by doing so, face the real possibility that before they know it, they’re paying the company thousands of dollars of non-refundable fees up front. And while customers are told to stop paying their credit cards as the firms negotiate a settlement, often the settlement never actually happens. As a result, Madigan says, “About two-thirds of consumers drop out of these programs before their debts are settled. They not only lose the thousands of dollars in non-refundable fees, they are often deeper in debt than when they started thanks to penalties and late fees imposed by the credit card companies due to the lack of payments.”

In short, debt settlement firms are bad medicine: financial quacks trying to sell their customers a quick and easy cure for the economic ills of our Great Recession. Unfortunately, not all states have enacted protections against these charlatans, leaving many open to the tricks of the debt settlement trade.

So, if you are considering bankruptcy alternatives due to mounting credit card debt balances, it’s advised that you instead address your debt with a knowledgeable attorney and a proven solution to insolvency: bankruptcy. Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

North Carolina debt settlement. Durham debt settlement. Fayetteville debt settlement. Raleigh debt settlement. North Carolina bankruptcy lawyers.

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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.

In fact, according to a recent Washington Post article, “growth was below the long-term trend rate at which the U.S. economy expands and is not strong enough to drive down unemployment. And more worrisome, many of the details of the report point to a continued slowdown of expansion this year…. The new numbers — and the spreading realization that sluggish growth may be a lasting trend rather than a one-quarter phenomenon — hang over the political world heading into November’s midterm elections. The House of Representatives left for its August recess Friday without resolution of policies meant to boost the economy, including legislation to support small-business lending.”

Americans are spending more on goods and services. But in the wake of staggering unemployment, leveling incomes, and staggering debts that linger from pre-recessionary spending, we can’t seem to spend fast enough to help the economy. A weak economy can’t create jobs. And the cycle of tough economic times, low consumer spending, and “too-small-to-help” growth continues.  “The problem is it looks like the consumer was really weakening in June, so you’re starting the third quarter in a position of weakness,” David Shulman, senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast told The Washington Post. “The components of this report are ugly.”

And with the imminent end of certain factors that had helped buttress the U.S. economy over the last year, including boosts from businesses building their inventories, surges from the home-buyer tax credit and the results of federal spending, economy growth is expected to come in the form of “an ongoing sluggish recovery.”

If you feel your own economic recovery is sluggish at best, and you’re continuing to drown in personal or even non-consumer debt, it might be time to take your own financial matters into your own hands and join the millions of people who have already found financial relief in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy throughout our “Great Recession.” By discharging personal or business debt through bankruptcy you could solve many of your most pressing financial problems—righting your course for a better financial future…just as the country attempts to do the same. This will put you in the right fiscal place at the right time to hit the ground running as the nation tries to right itself, allowing you to start over in a better position than most.

Specifically, a personal bankruptcy through Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy will automatically stay creditor action and harassment, including those annoying collection letters, phone calls and repossessions; as well as dispense with much, if not all, of your secured and unsecured debt, either via an exchange of collateral, property or other assets, or through a personally-tailored payment plan that you can afford.

The first step is knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

Cary bankruptcy attorneys. Durham bankruptcy attorneys. Apex bankruptcy attorneys. Raleigh foreclosure relief.

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Published Monday, August 2, 2010 @ 12:57 am

In the current economic environment, where lawmakers are setting their sights on tighter restrictions on the financial industry’s abusive practices—from excessive overdraft charges to out-of-control interest rates— banks appear to be fighting back with higher fees.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “industry leaders like Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., HSBC Holdings PLC’s HSBC North America, Fifth Third Bancorp and others are experimenting with new ways to nick their customers, from imposing maintenance fees on checking accounts to rolling out new charges for services like fraud alerts, debit cards and credit reports.”

This news should matter to anyone with a bank account. Even though new rules mean banks must fully share any new fees with their customers, these institutions can do so in what WSJ calls “the ordinary-looking correspondence that most consumers toss in the trash without reading. The result: Many people will learn of the new charges only after opening their monthly statements.”

Customers should remain vigilant. Even customers who keep low balances and manage their accounts responsibly can be hit with so-called “penalty fees.” Here are some things to look out for and things you can do to fight back against excessive banking fees

Checking Fees
In this new wave of banking fees and costs, free checking may be the first to go. Instead, some banks are implementing monthly fees for keeping an account open, ending what has been years of free checking options for millions of customers and a major bank enticement meant to persuade people to do more types of business with their bank. If your free checking goes the way of the dinosaur, one way to get a better deal on checking fees is to do a lot of business with your bank—from mortgages to car loans. For some banks, this added activity will be an incentive for your bank to waive your checking fee. If worse comes to worst, there’s always the option to move your money. Shopping around for a better banking experience can not only mean free checking but also a better ongoing relationship with a community bank.

In addition to checking fees watch out for those fees related to checking account woes, including:

Maintenance Fees
As mentioned, checking account maintenance fees are becoming the new banking standard. In addition to doing more types of business with your banks, sometimes banks will waive these maintenance fees when you keep a minimum balance, combined balances in several accounts, or even when you use direct deposit.

Debit Fees

Often banks will require you to use your debit card a certain amount of times in order to avoid debit card fees. To offset this, often banks will match these transactions with cash back, often deposited directly into a separate savings account. Check into your bank’s  options.

Interest
Historically, bank accounts with low fees don’t pay any interest. This give and take is typical. Keep this in mind when setting you accounts for the long haul. Often, your money is better housed in a different account.

Rewards
Similarly, accounts with the lowest fees typically don’t offer rewards. Check with your own bank about different rewards; but always read the fine print as often in the financial world, “reward” is bank code for “to the customer’s ultimate detriment.”

Minimum Deposits
The Wall Street Journal also warns that banks may raise minimum initial deposit requirements to encourage people to keep more of their money in their coffers. Again, when opening a bank account in this tough economic climate, it’s best to do your research and shop around.

And, as always, a little due diligence now can go a long way later. Happy banking.

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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. This means that more than 25 percent of us are likely to not get a car loan, new credit card (really?) or a mortgage.

FICO arrived at their conclusion through an analysis of April’s consumer credit reports. Historically, only 15 percent of all “credit-active” consumers fell below the 599 mark. That statistic alone should demonstrate the impact of what is currently happening with our economy. In other words, it’s been a long time since our country has been in this type of situation.

One of the reasons for today’s poor credit scores is the widespread availability of credit in the last few years. Quite literally, credit spread like a virus. Neighbors saw neighbors move into bigger houses, buy faster cars and take extended trips and wanted the same. Financial conservation became a virtue of past generations, like butterfly collars and 57 Chevys. In 2007, that’s just how you lived. Equity lines. Sub-prime mortgages. Rewards programs.

In response, personal bankruptcies are continuing to climb, and probably will for quite some time. As we have said in previous posts, often those most in need of bankruptcy code protections don’t file, perpetuating their issues. Our hope is that many of our clients will be in an ideal position to reclaim their financial livelihood when our country gets to a point where economic recovery can be legitimately proven and not just faintly derived from confusing figures talked about on business stations.

In light of this news, we are reminded that we tend to put a lot of pressure on a number. This becomes a recurring topic on the blog because we have been taught that a solid credit report is a sign of success, a mark of “making it.” We’re told we can’t have things and can’t go places. None of which is really true. As we have said numerous times in this space, wealth is relative. Pursue only what you need, and try to need very little. And if your obligations are forcing you to choose between paying back an aggressive creditor and putting food on your family’s table, it’s time to think about bankruptcy. Call the experienced bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt for your free consultation. 1-800-899-1414. Call today. Offices in Raleigh, Durham, Wilson, Fayetteville and Lumberton North Carolina.

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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. So, with the country on track to face ten times that amount of foreclosures this year, with 1.7 million U.S. homeowners already getting some kind of foreclosure-related notice between January and June of this year, that means one in every 78 homes is facing foreclosure already.

Given these staggering figures, you might be wondering: Are you one in a million?

Understanding the ins and, most importantly, the outs, of foreclosure can prevent you from being hurt by the lingering home crisis. Here are steps in the foreclosure process, including what causes a bank to repossess your home and what you can do to prevent it:

Step 1: Delinquent Payments: If you are delinquent on a mortgage payment by 30 days or more, your mortgage lenders may send a notice that your house is in foreclosure—the first sign of the foreclosure process.  If missing a payment is unavoidable and you receive notice of a pending foreclosure, your first best step is to notify your bank about your financial situation, followed by a quick call to a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help stop the foreclosure, not to mention help you to keep your home, through a Chapter 13 filing.

Step 2: More notices and notifications: While procedures vary from state to state, if missing mortgage payments becomes the norm, your lender will likely follow up their initial notice with more contact via phone and mail that foreclosure proceedings are officially under way. In this case, again, it’s best to contact a bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible. Your bankruptcy filing can stop lender harassment and contact, and get you back on the road to financial recovery.

Step 3: Eviction: One of the toughest parts of the foreclosure process is an eviction. Even though it can take more than a year for a bank to repossess your property, an eviction means you’re out in the cold, stripped of a home of your own. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can prevent eviction, allowing you to stay in your abode not only during your bankruptcy, but throughout the three to five year repayment process, and depending on your jurisdiction’s laws, possibly bring your mortgage payment down.

Step 4: Foreclosure auction or sale: Barring a bankruptcy or a modification from your lender, your home will likely be repossessed. The bank then owns your house and is entitled to sell it at a foreclosure auction or using a short sale. As such, any proceeds from these sales remain with the bank, leaving you with no roof over your head and no equity for your troubles.

Don’t wait for your own housing bubble to burst. Join the millions of American homeowners who have found immediate help to keep their hard-hit homes. If you have been effected by the mortgage crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

It is true that the big bailout, the one for Wall Street, is in view of the finish line. Yet, federal support (tax money) is still being distributed to countless organizations, according to the highest official on the subject, Neil Barofsky.

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) issued a report that showed federal spending in support of private financial institutions is currently at $3.7 trillion, an increase of $7 billion from last year. A large amount of the money is coming from the Federal Reserve and FDIC. The housing sector is seeing its fair share as well.

In his report on the state of TARP, Barofsky commented on the Obama Administration’s federal mortgage modification program, citing its slow progress and the substantial gap between the current number of homeowners helped and its goal of assisting three to four million. While this fact makes for easy political debate, its relative failure hardly falls on the lap of the President. It’s simply another example of big government inefficiency.

With all of the corporate bailouts going on, where is the bailout for the taxpayer? Where is your bailout? Congressional efforts to help Americans who are flailing in the economic deep end are simply not working. The mortgage modification program has only helped a fraction of homeowners, and more homes are being lost to foreclosure every day. It’s time for you to consider real economic relief- it’s time to consider bankruptcy. With the power of federal law, you can stop foreclosure, stop harassing creditors, and even stop the IRS. Preserve your family’s future and contact a bankruptcy attorney today!

Brought to you from the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, providing real debt relief to thousands of North Carolina residents. Call 1-800-899-1414 to schedule your free initial debt consultation.

In the midst of trying to collect all these spilled marbles, more of us fight to find jobs and pay our bills. If your struggling and need a

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Published Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 7:25 am

In order to assist the millions of jobless Americans during our recent “Great Recession,” Congress used stimulus funding to buttress Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs (or TANF) in states across the country aimed at assisting them to provide work for people with children. Unfortunately, if you or someone you know has been helped by the TANF Emergency Fund, not unlike the hundreds of thousands of other families across the country, your support is about to run out.

According to a report by The Huffington Post, “Congress is set to increase unemployment by not reauthorizing a fund for a subsidized jobs program that will expire on September 30, jeopardizing 240,000 jobs in 37 states ‘Unless Congress extends the fund, tens of thousands of people across the country will lose jobs — potentially raising the unemployment rate in places with particularly large programs, such as Illinois and Los Angeles,’ writes LaDonna Pavetti of the progressive Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. In May, the House approved a bill that would have reauthorized funding for the TANF Emergency Fund program, but the “tax extenders” measure crumbled in the Senate over deficit concerns from the right. Senate Democrats eventually dropped the TANF funding, as well as $16 billion in Medicaid assistance to states, in an effort to pass an urgent reauthorization of unemployment benefits, which lapsed for 2.5 million people before Democrats finally succeeded in breaking a Republican filibuster last week.”

As a result, the irony is that a win for many jobless Americans in terms of unemployment benefits extensions is now a loss for many others who may now need them. And not unlike Congressional justifications for dragging feet on unemployment benefits extensions, many are touting that the end of TANF is important to prevent a situation where the poorest citizens have incentives not to work.

But for many hardworking Americans, simply trying to scrape by, and many politicians outside of an election-year Congress, this justification for reducing stimulus while the economy continues to sputter, simply doesn’t add up. In fact, state leaders and lawmakers are advocating for a TANF program they believe is a silver lining to the dark cloud of stimulus failures, creating local jobs precisely when and where people most need them. As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome wrote about TANF, as accounted for in America’s largest economy in California, “The new jobs bill is an enormous opportunity for lawmakers to give a boost to a program from the stimulus that LA and San Francisco are using to create thousands of jobs.”

Still, many can’t wait for the legislative branch to right the wrongs of a three-year recession. As a result, many are taking things into their own hands to address their financial woes and take back their fiscal freedoms through the benefits of bankruptcy. These people—whether employed or jobless— know that bankruptcy is their only shot to discharge personal debt  and other lingering financial problems such as foreclosures, repossessions and evictions.

If this sounds like you and you’ve already found yourself in dire straits just as America faces another stimulus shortfall, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 9:16 pm

A recent insurance company survey highlights the fact that a large percentage of Americans are not financially prepared for a sudden loss of employment. Saving an “emergency fund”, as the financial advice columnists and radio show hosts like to call it, is far easier talked about during afternoon drive time than done. Heck, it’s the emergencies that pop up while trying to save for an emergency that prevent us from being able to squirrel away enough cash to prepare for the worst. Have a few hundred bucks to put away? Oops, there go the brakes on the minivan.

MetLife’s report shows that close to half of all Americans would be unable to pay their bills if they lose their job. In total, 65 percent said they could maybe cover a month or two, but not three, which is the coveted benchmark. In today’s tough job market, even a 6 month emergency savings account is probably an inadequate safety net.

Now, this is a wake-up call readers. Stop and look around at your situation. It’s time to start saving.
Take this opportunity to find every instance of money heading out and shut down the leaks. And if a significant portion of your income is going to pay unsecured debt, call a bankruptcy attorney today. Discussing your options with a bankruptcy attorney will give you one more perspective on your situation. Maybe bankruptcy isn’t your best option, but you don’t know until you’ve taken a hard look at your financial situation and talked to an attorney.

Look, we know you’ve probably heard this all before. But if you’re still reading about it, what have you done about it? Digging out of a financial hole is no easy job. Rest assured, it will take time. And by all means, let us know if we can help.

From the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, with offices in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Wilson, and Lumberton North Carolina. Call us today for sound financial advice.

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Published Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 6:16 pm

It may come as no surprise that long-term unemployment has a greater effect on layoff victims compared with shorter spells of joblessness. What you may not know is that this impact has far-reaching implications for family, friends and feelings about oneself.

According to a new Pew Research Center survey, more than four in ten (44 $) of people out of work for six months or longer said unemployment had led to “major changes” in their lives, compared with 31 percent of people jobless for less than six months. Forty-three percent of long-term unemployed said they lost contact with close friends, and 38 percent said they lost some self-respect. “Few significant differences are evident between workers who were unemployed less than three months and those who were jobless for three to five months,” according to Pew. “But among those unemployed for six months or longer, experiences with emotional problems increased dramatically.”

Pew’s employment data illustrates how lengthy periods of joblessness –not unusual during these tough economic times—can “strain household budgets, test personal relationships, force changes in career plans and erode self- confidence.” The analysis includes the following trends:

Reduction in Finances
Not surprisingly, more than half of people surveyed (56%) who were unemployed six months or longer say their family income has declined during the recession, compared with 42% who were jobless less than three months and 26% of adults who have not been unemployed since the recession began nearly three years ago. Overall, the long-term unemployed are also more likely to say they are in worse shape financially now than before the recession.

Frayed Relationships With Friends and Family
Think high unemployment rates only affect the people who are unemployed? In truth, almost half (46%) of the long-term unemployed say being unemployed has put an increased strain on their relationship with family, compared with 39 percent of those who were out of work for less than three months. Even friendships have been affected as 43 percent of those unemployed more than six months say they have fallen out of touch with even close friends.

Bad Feelings
Nearly four- in-ten (38%) long-term unemployed report they have lost some self-respect while out of work, compared with 29% who were jobless for shorter periods of time. The long-term unemployed also are significantly more likely to say they sought professional help for depression or other emotional issues while out of work (24% vs. 10% for those unemployed less than three months).

Career Changes
More people appear to be thinking of jobs, even ones they’ve never had, as their unemployment continues. In addition to 43 percent of the long-term unemployed say the recession will have a “big impact” on their ability to achieve their long-term career goals, more than 70 percent of long-term unemployed say they changed their careers or job fields or seriously thought about doing so.

Job Dissatisfaction
For many in this current economic environment, new jobs pay less and have worse benefits than  old ones, with 29 percent of long-term unemployed saying their new job is worse than the one they lost, compared with only 16% of re-employed workers who had been jobless for less than six months.

Pessimistic for New Work
Pew reports that “among adults who are currently unemployed, those who have been jobless for six months or longer are significantly more pessimistic than the short-term unemployed about their chances of finding a job as good as the one they lost.”

If you feel pessimistic about finding a job anytime soon, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney might be the first best step to help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a more viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 8:00 am

Life after bankruptcy can be a challenge. It will take commitment, a new mindset and an entirely fresh set of budgeting habits.

People are surprised to find that when they look around, there really are countless ways for you to save, establish credit and rebuild the economic life you once had.

For a some filers, bankruptcy meant giving up a car payment you could no longer afford. With the new change, getting around town to run errands or schedule job interviews can be pretty frustrating. However, alternative modes of transportation are becoming more abundant. One example is the WeCar program, an idea already popular in larger cities and on college campuses.

The membership program allows people to rent a car on a short-term basis for an hourly rate. You can register online at www.wecar.com to get your membership started. After you get a card, you can reserve your car online when you need it and then use a “swipe card” to activate the car via a computer built into the vehicle. The keys are stored in the glove box.

The costs associated with WeCar are pretty reasonable, especially when compared to the cost of owning a car. And public transportation, while an even more affordable option, does have its drawbacks in some instances, especially if you need to be somewhere in a timely manner and don’t have the time it often takes to travel by bus. And, WeCars are available at all hours, unlike mass transit. Plus, Raleigh doesn’t exactly have a large population of taxis darting around its streets and avenues.

The annual membership is $50; the application fee is $20. After that, it’s $10/hour, which includes gas, insurance and mileage. So, in total, you can have access to a nice, dependable car for $70 in year one, and $50/year after that. If your transportation needs are minimal, or you generally have a short commute, this can be a good option.

Granted, this program isn’t as helpful for you readers in the suburbs or in Durham. However, rest assured that it will not be long before an hourly car rental program is within your reach. Hertz has launched its own version of a car share program in Manhattan.

ZipCar, which was started a few years ago, is another hourly car rental company that has been expanding quite rapidly but primarily targets the college crowd. It already has college locations in Chapel Hill, Elon and at Wake Forest University.

Raleigh is one of only three cities to have a non-college version of WeCar, making it stand out as an area that could attract additional car sharing businesses. Currently, WeCar has two Honda Civics but will add more as demand grows. One car is located at Enterprise’s office on South McDowell Street and the other at the West Condo building on Harrington.

So as we mentioned, it can be easier than you might think to save when you are coming out of bankruptcy, thanks to programs like WeCar. Keep coming back to this blog for more consumer and money management tips for life before, during and after bankruptcy.

Durham bankruptcy. Cary bankruptcy attorneys. Raleigh bankruptcy.

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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.

As Krugman wrote, “We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost—to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs—will nonetheless be immense. And this third depression will be primarily a failure of policy. Around the world — most recently at last weekend’s deeply discouraging G-20 meeting—governments are obsessing about inflation when the real threat is deflation, preaching the need for belt-tightening when the real problem is inadequate spending.”

And Krugman isn’t the only one threatening more economic troubles for a world of struggling nations. Joining the columnist’s analysis, The Wall Street Journal noted that “members of the Federal Reserve are in private planning for the possibility of a double-dip recession in America—a concern shared by MarketWatch’s in-house economist.”

All of this news comes as long-term unemployment is skyrocketing; unemployment benefits have stalled in Congress during election year wrangling; and consumer spending flags. As a result, Krugman argues that economies all over the world, in various stages of collapse, are trying to balance job support and creation with the competing goal of decreasing deficits. But trying to reduce deficit spending to the detriment of those trying to find work, Krugman argues, will actually work to the detriment of “tens of millions of unemployed workers, many of whom will go jobless for years, and some of whom will never work again.”

You heard right: “never work again.” So, if you are already struggling financially and fear the further economic impacts of a third depression or double-dip recession, now is the time to take on your financial woes and take back your fiscal freedoms by making a fresh start through bankruptcy. Discharging personal debt through bankruptcy now is, in some cases, the only solution for so many jobless Americans—especially unemployed workers facing years without steady income, and, now, exhaustion of government unemployment benefits—to keep their personal lives financially afloat and creditors at bay. In short, what policy makers can’t do for you, you can do for yourself.

As Krugman writes, “It’s almost as if the financial markets understand what policy makers seemingly don’t: that while long-term fiscal responsibility is important, slashing spending in the midst of a depression, which deepens that depression and paves the way for deflation, is actually self-defeating.”

Don’t be defeated. If you already find yourself in dire straits as America faces another economic downturn, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney is the first best step to help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. As a result, millions of unemployed workers might be wondering how to pay their debts as Congress tries to trim the deficit during an election year.

Despite Congress’s current apathy to the plight of the unemployed, voters appear to be feeling much more sympathetic as illustrated by two national polls (ABC News and CBS News) released just this week showing that registered voters believe it to be more important to help the unemployed than to reduce the national debt.

More than half of voters (52%) participating in the CBS News poll said that Congress should extend unemployment benefits “even if it means increasing the budget deficit.” A greater margin (62%) of registered voters told ABC that Congress should extend benefits despite concerns that doing so “adds too much to the federal budget deficit.”

According to The Huffington Post, “During the past several weeks, Democrats in the Senate have been unable to muster the 60 votes they need to break a Republican filibuster, failing by just one vote in the most recent attempt. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that Democrats will try again on Tuesday, after the swearing-in of a replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). The poll results suggest that most voters agree with economist Mark Zandi, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain, who has argued that helping the unemployed is more important than deficit reduction in the short-term, and that nickel-and-diming the unemployed now could jeopardize the economic recovery.”

Are you personally feeling nickel and dimed during this tough economic time? Are you out of work and looking for a way to make ends meet despite a devastating amount of debt? Well, instead of hoping that the halls of Congress will provide a much-needed monetary lifeline, it might be time to take your economic matters into your own hands and join the hundreds of thousands of people who have already found financial relief in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy this year.

By discharging personal debt through bankruptcy you could solve many of your most pressing financial problems—problems that are an ever-present worry for so many jobless Americans, including those facing months and even years without a steady income and no federal assistance in sight.

A personal bankruptcy through Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy will automatically stay creditor action and harassment, including those annoying collection letters, phone calls and repossessions; as well as dispense with much, if not all, of your secured and unsecured debt, either via an exchange of collateral, property or other assets, or through a personally-tailored repayment plan.

It’s your choice: cast your vote for a better tomorrow. Help yourself with a fresh financial start through bankruptcy.

The first step is knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help you regain your power, conquer creditors and face your financial fears, yielding—all with the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 1:25 am

No one likes surprise expenses, especially when we’re already struggling to get by.

Countless bankruptcies can be attributed to the use of credit to handle an emergency, especially when they involve our homes. Sure, emergencies involving the home are why we have home insurance but you still have to pay a deductible and more than likely, there are always extra costs you won’t expect.

Plus, there is a ripple effect to having to take care of major home repairs. What if you have to stay home from work one day to meet contractors but your boss just doesn’t want to hear about another one your personal issues impacting your monthly quotas? Think that doesn’t cost you in the long run? Or, what if the roof damage led to rain and debris in your closet, making that outfit set aside for tomorrow’s job interview look more like a dust rag than a job winner?

While there is very little you can do to combat the Wrath of God being inflicted on your home, you can engage in a number of fundamental tasks to prevent standard maintenance issues from becoming bankruptcy-worthy budget crushers.

Spending money on your home is a tough sell for those experiencing debt problems. There have been a number of studies released recently that suggest when it comes down to choosing what bills to pay when under financial duress, the majority of people opt to pay credit cards before their mortgage. However, since you can almost always save your home in a bankruptcy, it makes great sense to do all you can to preserve its value, especially in today’s market.

For starters, get up on a ladder and clean those gutters.

Gutters? Really?

Clogged gutters lead to more roof and siding damage than fallen trees or other forms of direct weather damage. If water is forced to go elsewhere other than the downspouts, it will carve a path under the fascia and behind the siding. Water will find its way down and when it discovers a new path, it tends to follow it frequently. And in case you’re not convinced of the damage water can do, Google “The Grand Canyon.”

Poor drainage around your home can also lead to pest infestations, as termites and other critters like to be around things that are rotting, like the wood in your foundation, and also corpses. Provided you’re not moonlighting as a coroner, then wet wood under your home should be your primary concern. Even if you have a crawlspace, put on some old clothes and as best you can, poke around under there to just check on things.

You don’t need to be a home inspector to use a broom handle to knock on support beams to check their strength. Get a Maglight and scan under the house for anything that looks unusual. If you do suspect something, then it helps to spend a couple of hundred dollars on an expert’s opinion. And even those with ongoing pest control installations are surprised to learn they have an infestation of some kind, so don’t think a few cans of pesticide around the house make you immune to wood-destroying insects.

It’s important to look for mushrooms, moss or other weed build-up along the sides and corners of your house. If water is collecting, the moisture augments the growth of such plants, possibly indicating poor drainage.

If you’re not afraid of heights and can stay safe, poke around at the vents on your roof for damage, paying close attention to the runner “boots” and seals that surround their base. If cracked, they can become another source of water getting into places where it doesn’t belong.

From the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt. Call today, 1-800-899-1414 for a free initial consultation.

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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.

And during some of the harshest economic conditions in American history, the federal government set out to take the latest U.S. Census, and, in the process created an unlikely stimulus package for thousands of Americans who were out of work: over a million census takers hired to help compile the 2010 figures. As such, census-related hiring had an immediate impact on America’s staggering unemployment rates.

But following months of creating much-needed jobs for a struggling workforce, the Census Bureau is ending its decennial work, and with it, the employment of hundreds of thousands of workers.  According to The New York Times, “the Census Bureau is shedding hundreds of thousands of workers — about 225,000 in just the last few weeks, enough to account for a jot or two in the unemployment rate, say federal economists. Most of those remaining will be gone by August; a few will last into September. In past decades, the bureau faced a challenge just keeping workers around to close up shop, as most dashed for new jobs that might pay better. Not this time around. Jobs remain scarce. In Rhode Island, the unemployment rate stands at 12.3 percent, higher than a year ago. The national rate, too, has not budged.  As most census workers have nowhere to go, rushed farewells are rare. Self-reflection, and a touch of anxiety, mark the mood. ‘Typically, at this point in the process, we’re losing a lot of people because they’re taking jobs,’ said Kathleen Ludgate, the regional director in Boston. ‘I wish we had that problem now.’”

Many of the men and women of the Census teams represented mature or middle-aged recently laid-off workers, who saw Census work as a way to make ends meet during these tough economic times. And while the door-to-door Census work didn’t pay much (averaging $15 dollars an hour), it was more than enough to give a beleaguered bunch of previously jobless Americans the much-needed confidence of applying their minds and bodies to a collective goal. Now, that the jobs have ended many are being forced back into the uncertainty of unemployment.

But it’s not all bad news on the homefront. As the Times reported, “Many departing census workers will be eligible for unemployment, although by no means all of them. Some census employees, particularly those who knocked on doors — known as enumerators — worked in fits and starts. They were dispatched intensively, then laid off, then rehired. Unemployment rules are a crazy quilt, with no two states quite the same.”

The desperation of many of these workers, and others like them, often depends on both job prospects following their temporary jobs and how much debt they may have accrued while looking for more permanent employment.

If you’re recently out of work and debt has got you down, qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist proud, but jobless, citizens just like you to conquer your fears of losing more than you bargained for.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, July 7, 2010 @ 8:53 am

News just moved from bad to worse for many homeowners seeking shelter under the Obama Administration’s Home Affordability Modification Program (otherwise known as HAMP).

Recent government figures show that the average beneficiary of the administration’s flagship homeowner-assistance program owes their mortgage lender more than $1.50 for every dollar their home is currently worth. As a result, many more homeowners than expected are underwater (owing more than their homes are valued), facing foreclosure and will likely be forced to walk away from their mortgages in the near future.

As The Huffington Post reports,  “A recent study by Federal Reserve economists shows that underwater homeowners are, not surprisingly, much more likely to default on their mortgages. Moreover, borrowers who are deeply underwater — like those in HAMP, who average negative 50 percent home equity — are far more likely to default willingly; that is, to give up on trying to overcome their growing mountains of debt, and just stop paying at all. This revelation underscores the problems with the path taken by the Treasury Department to help homeowners, who merited federal attention only after the government gifted the banks and Wall Street with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to survive a financial meltdown largely of their own making. Rather than designing a program exclusively focused on homeowners, the administration chose to set up an initiative that seeks to balance the needs of homeowners with the interests of lenders and investors. Thus, while the average homeowner in the program is saving more than $500 a month, 28 percent more homeowners have been bounced from the program than have been helped. Homeowners that receive permanent reductions in their monthly mortgage payments end up deeper underwater than they were before they were ‘helped.’ Meanwhile, lenders and investors continue to foreclose on properties at a record pace.”

This result is shocking considering the HAMP’s costs and the fact that the $75 billion plan was recently reworked in an attempt to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis—targeting homeowners who were unemployed; underwater in their mortgages; or even those homeowners who are bankruptcy bound.

Coincidentally, as American homeowners search for more immediate and steady mortgage help, many are instead turning to the simplicity of bankruptcy to stop their impending foreclosure and other creditor actions. In fact, unlike HAMP, bankruptcy seems tailor-made to help beleaguered mortgage holders to hold on to their homes if they can afford to pay their arrears through a  Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan; or, instead, walk away without fear of lender reprisal (via either Chapter 13 – in most circumstances - or Chapter 7). So, if you’re having trouble making your mortgage, living in a home that will never accrue equity, and/or residing in an area that is currently devalued and will be nothing by a blight on your budget for the foreseeable future, bankruptcy can help get you back on the right side of the proverbial tracks.  A bankruptcy will allow you to surrender your underwater home, negate your personal and financial liability, and move forward financially in a new, and most importantly, affordable place.

Your first best on the road to an effective bankruptcy is knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney who can help you to conquer your mortgage creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond a recession that has “HAMPered” many a homeowner. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, July 7, 2010 @ 8:48 am

For most recent college and post-college graduates, the hot summer months are a chilly reminder that student loan repayment deadlines are mere months away. These impending debts arrive at some of the toughest economic times ever for the newest round of job seekers, as the nation, and especially its youngest workers, continue to face record unemployment and mounting consumer debt. So what happens when poor economic conditions coincide with mandatory payback timelines for budget-busting student loans? Two words: loan defaults. Now, the countdown is on as many recent grads will soon exceed the 270-day window for paying back their educational debts, beginning a bad precedent for staying current in an economy that may or may not be heading into another recession.

As a result, many student loan borrowers are left wondering: can bankruptcy help?

Normally big debts, high interest rates and no job would be the perfect equation for making a new financial start using bankruptcy. Unfortunately, in most cases, student loans debts are exempted from the list of debts absolved during the bankruptcy process. In fact, student loans must be found to create an “undue hardship” in order to be eliminated or reduced in bankruptcy court—creating a high standard for making a dent in a debtor’s often most astronomical debts.

Well, now there’s a little more bankruptcy light at the end of the student loan tunnel. In a recent case, the 8th Circuit Federal Bankruptcy Appellate Panel upheld a bankruptcy court’s decision to discharge $300,000 in student loans. The court in In re Walker found that the debtor’s inability to work due to family circumstances justified a discharge of her student loans. In this particular scenario, the debtor had taken on a large amount of student loans pursuing a bachelor’s degree and several postgraduate degrees while raising five children, two of them with autism. As a result, the student-mom was unable to maintain high-paying employment that would allow her to repay her massive student loan debts.

Ironically, in most bankruptcy cases, the same $300,000, if placed on a credit card or wrapped up in a bad mortgage, could be easily discharged in bankruptcy—automatically expunged under Chapter 7 and significantly reduced in case of Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

However, the liberal decision in In re Walker to forgive the debtor’s student loan debt due to her family circumstances should hearten many recent grads struggling to balance family, low-paying jobs and whopping educational debts. In addition, the tide also seems to be turning at the legislative and executive levels, as the Obama administration and Congress consider making it easier for debtors to discharge private student loan debt.

In short, relieving financial burdens early in your adult life and career can pay dividends later: allowing you to rebuild credit as you build your career and repay your educational loans earlier in the game. As a result, if you too have been affected by the economy and are wondering how to reduce student loan debt—and stress— knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Saturday, July 3, 2010 @ 8:27 am

In the recent “Great Recession” more and more Baby Boomers were found to be delaying retirement in order to hold onto few and far-between jobs and hold tight to their incomes. But even in tough economic times some are weighing the pros and cons of calling it a day…and a career.

To help those close to retirement figure out whether now is the time in both age and budget, The Chicago Tribune has put together a list of questions to determine your next best steps. Answer affirmatively, retire away; but if most of the answers are “no,” consider taking a bit more time to firm up your finances and plan for a future unfettered with economic worry and woes—one way or another.

Focus on the following:

If you were to withdraw 4 percent of your retirement portfolio,
would it equal half your annual pay?
If it doesn’t, then maybe you should consider holding off on retirement. Put another way, if you have not saved 12.5 times your current annual salary you might not have enough to live on for the long retirement run. As a rule of thumb you should try to live on 75 percent of your current salary when you retire, with 50 percent coming from your savings and 25 percent from Social Security. If you know you don’t have it now, even for basic expenses, consider waiting.

Have you discussed your retirement with your children and partner?
Kids today…from college-age to middle age, are also struggling, putting aging parents in a precarious position to aid their offspring at, quite literally, their own expense. So, if your children might be relying on your financial help (or vice versa), let them know your retirement plans now. The same is true with your husband, wife or partner. You want the whole family on the same financial page before you turn it.

Have you calculated basic, occasional and catastrophic costs?
While it might be easy to account for basic costs of retirement, the need for a new vehicle, water heater, or a catastrophic medical bill could be right around the corner. Budget for more than the basics to figure out whether your retirement money is for better…and for worse.

Do you understand where your retirement income comes from?
Understanding the risks related to investments for retirement is a crucial part of keeping that cash in your coffers for the long run. Even if you have a financial planner, get acquainted with your retirement accounts so your money can continue working for you…even when you have stopped working for it.

Have you figured how to avoid withdrawal penalties?
As the Chicago Tribune puts it, “If you retire or lose a job in your 50s, it may make sense to leave your 401(k) plan with your employer instead of rolling it into an IRA, because company plans in general allow penalty-free withdrawals at age 55, more than four years earlier than an IRA.” Keep that in mind if your retirement is “forced,” or otherwise earlier than you expected.

Do you have means for health insurance?
While this may be a no-brainer, it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself fully after decades of employer-subsidized care.

Does your plan reflect your true life expectancy?
No one knows what the future brings. You may have budgeted for a medical emergency, but have you accounted for a long, healthy life? According to the Tribune article, retirees tend to underestimate how long they will live. Don’t be one of those people.

Do you have a back-up plan?
The Chicago Tribune also suggests keeping your options open. And in this tough economy, one of those options to keep retirement accounts intact, and creditors at bay, is bankruptcy. Avoid tapping into retirement to stay afloat. If you’re an older American who’s considering new ways out from underneath ever-increasing debt, and get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, July 1, 2010 @ 12:04 pm

While some experts are calling 2010 the year of the economic recovery, bankruptcy filings are in true recession-era form, rising in recent months, and, according many analysts, increasing with no end in sight. In early June, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) validated these fears, reporting that personal bankruptcy filings for the month of May 2010 increased compared with a year ago (May 2009).

According to the ABI findings, in May 2010, 136,142 personal bankruptcy cases were filed, a nine percent increase from May 2009, when 124,838 cases were filed. Based on figures collected so far in 2010, most sources estimate that personal bankruptcy filings this year will total about 1.6 million, a 10 percent increase over the 1.44 million filed in 2009, and taking the numbers to, or above, where they were prior to bankruptcy reforms in 2005.

The reasons behind the bankruptcy bound bursting at the proverbial economic seams—now and in the not-so-distant future—are indicative of a continuing economic crisis that includes:

Foreclosures in Full Swing
Our Great Recession’s mortgage crisis continues to hit close to home, typing families to underwater houses and seemingly endless and adjustable payments.  To help these same beleaguered homeowners avoid foreclosure, many have insisted the only solution is to force banks to modify mortgages in ways that are affordable or provide mortgage deferments while recently laid off mortgage holders hone in on new jobs. However with more failed foreclosure prevention programs than you can shake a stick at, the number of homeowners facing foreclosure has steadily increased throughout country’s real estate woes.  In turn, many of these same homeowners who are having difficulty making their mortgages may be considering filing for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy protection.

Discerning Creditors
In the heyday of high spending and budgetary booms in the early 2000s, many took out major mortgages and proceeded to make even more personal purchases, leading to more debts being covered by home equity, credit cards and educational loans; and no end to lenders willing to give more to get more.  In the wake of the economic meltdown, however, these wells of consumer credit are drying up, leaving many forced to make due, and make up for years of more going out than in. For these folks, bankruptcy provides the right track on the road to healthier spending habits.

A Morose Job Market
In these tough economic times where there are more job reductions than employee raises, many are finding sudden unemployment to be the leading reason to head into the safe harbors of bankruptcy protection.  And for the millions unemployed for more than a year, mounting debts paired with dwindling savings and a lack of realistic bankruptcy alternatives, leads many to the doors of the nearest bankruptcy attorney—especially with recent apathy towards extending much-needed unemployment benefits.

So, if you’re one of the millions struggling with unwieldy debt, long-term unemployment, or an unmanageable mortgage, bankruptcy can work for you as it has for so many this year, and last.

Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to save money, time, and make you more self-sufficient in an uncertain future, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.” The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 6:52 pm

Only three months ago, the President Obama reworked his $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan. Part two of the Home Affordable Modification Program (or HAMP), put into play new incentives to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis, targeting homeowners who were unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (i.e., folks owing more on their loans than their homes are worth).

Unfortunately, a month later, data showed that more than twice as many homeowners were kicked out of HAMP as were granted permanent relief.

Now, The Huffington Post is reporting that “More than five times as many homeowners were kicked out of the Obama administration’s primary foreclosure-prevention program last month than were granted new relief, new data released Monday show[s]. Nearly 155,000 homeowners were bounced from the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program in May versus about 30,000 who were offered new temporary trial plans of lower monthly payments. About 48,000 more homeowners were granted five-year plans of lower payments compared to April, with an undisclosed amount offered five-year plans that have yet to complete the paperwork.”

When it’s all said and done, that means that in May alone about twice as many homeowners were kicked out of HAMP—a program that “promised to help struggling families hurt by the firms at the heart of the worst financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn since the Great Depression.” This while those same firms received hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer cash and guarantees as incentives to work with beleaguered homeowners.

And while this happens, more than a year since President Barack Obama told a crowd in Mesa, Ariz. of his plan to “help between seven and nine million families restructure or refinance their mortgages so they can afford—avoid foreclosure,” almost 436,000 have been pushed from the program—a program meant to aid the very same mortgage-holders and that has only been able to give 340,000 applicants permanent relief.

And the banks don’t appear to be helping. As HuffPost reports, “Wells Fargo, the nation’s fourth-largest bank by assets, put 40,759 of its borrowers in five-year HAMP plans, data through May show. However, the bank kicked 59,910 homeowners out of trial plans through April, according to Treasury. The number of homeowners bounced from the program also likely rose in May. Put another way, the number of homeowners Citigroup and Wells Fargo have tossed from HAMP trial plans is 60 percent greater than the total number of homeowners they’ve granted permanent relief.”

Since the banks aren’t helping, you may be wondering what can? If you’re having trouble making your mortgage, living in a home that will never have equity, and/or residing in an area that is currently devalued and an eyesore for the foreseeable future, bankruptcy can help get you back on the right side of the tracks.  A bankruptcy will allow you to surrender your underwater home, negate your personal and financial liability, and move forward financially.

So, as American homeowners search for more immediate and steady mortgage help, many are instead turning to the simplicity of bankruptcy to stop their impending foreclosure and other creditor actions. If you too have been effected by the housing crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

A recent survey by the Associated Press and its polling partner Gfk indicated that 46 percent of families are still not confident in the status of their economic situation.

The sense of financial stability in the country can be compared to the local weather forecast. With the heat and humidity here in North Carolina, an actual temperature of 90 degrees could actually feel like 96. The “real feel” temperature they call it. And in the end, isn’t that the only thing that matters? After all, the numbers are subjective, just like economic stats. If a person doesn’t have a job and is on the verge of bankruptcy, what difference does a spike in the consumer confidence index make? In fact, what the heck is a consumer confidence index? Who comes up with this stuff?

What is clear is that the job market still stinks. Compounding the job issue is the foreclosure epidemic. The two factors are tightly bound to one another. And the statistics in the housing market are just about as confusing and erratic. New home starts are up but sales are down. Agents keep talking about how great a market it is to buy but fail to mention how difficult it is to secure a mortgage. Man, lots of conflicting information about there, huh?

Ultimately, polls like the one conducted by AP-Gfk are as equally nonsensical. A person’s outlook on the economy is completely independent of the condition of the country as a whole. There are many people who have found a way to succeed in this economy and are making more money than they ever have. Therefore, a poll is going to find them fairly confident about their odds of avoiding bankruptcy and the economy in general. Heck, pretty much anyone who has a job right now is going to respond positively.

There are some benefits to the ongoing fear of the country’s economic status: more people are remaining aware of the pitfalls of long-term debt. Penny-pinching is becoming chic and credit cards are no longer yanked out of wallets like a six-gun sidearm.

Nevertheless, people are still pretty worried about what’s going on out there. If you’re having trouble keeping your head above these troubled economic waters, talk to a bankruptcy attorney today. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will help you eliminate all of your unsecured debt, freeing up your money for more important things. A qualified bankruptcy attorney can also discuss whether a Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be a better option. A Chapter 13 can help you get caught up on your house and car, and keep you out of foreclosure. In North Carolina, John T. Orcutt has the experience you need to get a fresh start. Call 1-800-899-1414 today to set up your free initial consultation, or visit www.billsbills.com to fill out our debt questionnaire. Don’t wait another day.

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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. They’re the type of settings now home to industry trade associations like the United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives, a group that recently convened in Palm Beach, Florida, amid the oceanfront confines of the Four Seasons Resort, to forge deals and plot strategy. And for these types of companies that are currently promising relief to Americans confronting overwhelming credit card debt, business is booming.

In fact, according to a recent New York Times article, for the debt settlement industry, happy days are here again. As Peter S. Goodman reported, “The long recession has delivered an abundance of customers—debt-saturated Americans, suffering lost jobs and income, sliding toward bankruptcy. The settlement companies typically harvest fees reaching 15 to 20 percent of the credit card balances carried by their customers, and they tend to collect upfront, regardless of whether a customer’s debt is actually reduced. State attorneys general from New York to California and consumer watchdogs like the Better Business Bureau say the industry’s proceeds come at the direct expense of financially troubled Americans who are being fleeced of their last dollars with dubious promises. Consumers rarely emerge from debt settlement programs with their credit card balances eliminated, these critics say, and many wind up worse off, with severely damaged credit, ceaseless threats from collection agents and lawsuits from creditors.”

In short, if you buy into bankruptcy alternatives like debt settlement, the possibility is real that before you know it, the three, four, five, maybe even a dozen different credit cards you are trying to pay and protect are now simply a revenue builder for a burgeoning industry duping you out of much-needed money. You send them money up front, they take their cut off the top, and, unlike bankruptcy, they leave you with little to no protection from the credit card companies coming after you for more on their end.

And keep in mind, the debt settlement pitch on television and radio is, in most cases, just that, making lofty promises to spare people from bankruptcy and eliminate her debts. As the industry grows, so do its aggressive strategies and unfair practices. As the Times reports, “Since 2004, at least 21 states have brought at least 128 enforcement actions against debt relief companies, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. Consumer complaints received by states more than doubled between 2007 and 2009, according to comments filed with the Federal Trade Commission. ‘The industry’s not legitimate,’ said Norman Googel, assistant attorney general in West Virginia, which has prosecuted debt settlement companies. ‘They’re targeting a group of people who are already drowning in debt. We’re talking about middle-class and lower middle-class people who had incomes, but they were using credit cards to survive.’”

So, if you are considering a bankruptcy due to mounting credit card debt balances, it’s advised that you instead address this fact with a knowledgeable attorney. Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

But fast forward to the recessionary 2000s, when family premiums average about $13,500—economically out of range for many, if not most, of the millions of today’s unemployed.

Taking into account the astronomical cost of health care, a 2009 stimulus bill, with subsequent expansions, tried to changed all that, providing a reprieve in the form 65 percent federal subsidy on health insurance for up to 15 months.  According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, “Workers laid off through May 31 [could] qualify for the benefit through their former employer. ‘It has been a significant program and it has helped many middle-class families to keep their health insurance at a time when maintaining health insurance was difficult because of the high rate of job loss,” said Alan Krueger, the Treasury Department’s chief economist. Official statistics on how many people were helped have yet to be compiled, but Krueger estimates that as many as one-third of eligible unemployed workers enrolled in subsidized coverage.’”

However, this good news is tempered by the fact that Congress is now allowing this emergency health care assistance for unemployed workers to officially expire on May 31, with little willingness to renew it despite pleas from President Obama. And with the unemployment rate still at staggering levels (at just under 10 percent) and with 15 million people looking for work, this post-recession withdrawal of health care assistance is being touted as premature at best.

According to the same The Huffington Post article, “on Saturday night, the White House released a letter Obama sent to congressional leaders of both parties asking for nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments to fend off ‘massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters’ and to prevent a possible double-dip recession. ‘We are at a critical juncture on our nation’s patch to economic recovery,” the president warned. “It is essential that we continue to explore additional measures to spur job creation and build momentum toward recovery, even as we establish a path to long-term fiscal discipline. At this critical moment, we cannot afford to slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold.’”

But for some, this experience hardly represents a recovery at all. And from teachers to police to factory workers, this latest economic setback is just one in a long line forcing people to make tough financial decisions. In Marietta, Ohio, for example, “boiler operator Neil Davis is facing the loss of his job as the coal-burning power plant he works at prepares to shut down for good. Davis, 33, has marketable skills but he’s unsure how quickly he’ll be able to find comparable work. His wife is a stay-at-home mom raising two elementary-age children. ‘Being able to have coverage at an affordable rate, we wouldn’t be afraid to take the kids to the doctor if they get sick,’ said Davis. “The economy might be getting better some place, but I don’t know where at.’”

For many, the quickest route to recovery comes from bankruptcy.  Instead of giving up health insurance, bankruptcy allows average Americans to surrender consumer and medical debts that have been keeping them down, while allowing them to devote the dollars they do have to the important work of keeping their families healthy—even if (and when) they’re out of work.

If you too have been effected by the employment crisis, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke said warned Congress recently that the economic recovery “won’t feel terrific.” That may be because, as The Huffington Post reports, “there’s still a significant risk of America falling into a second recession. According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest round of economic news has raised concerns among the Federal Reserve’s board of governors that the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing.”

The Wall Street Journal echoes this dismal news with more bad news from the Fed on the unemployment front.  “I would be surprised if the national unemployment rate were to fall below 9% before the end of 2010 or below 8% by the end of 2011,” Narayana Kocherlakota, Minneapolis Fed president, said Friday. And with May 2010 marking the first monthly decline in retail sales since last Fall, “CNN Money spoke to a handful of market insiders, all of whom agreed that the chances of a double-dip were rising. The experts put the chances of a double-dip recession between 20 and 30 percent.”

So how do you plan for a so-called “double-dip recession?”

Savings
While advice to “save more” may sound obvious, in a financial meltdown it can be tougher than you think to put money away and tighten your belt. According to US News and World Report, “During the worst days of the recession, Americans boosted their savings to about 5 percent of their disposable income, as they built (or rebuilt) nest eggs and rainy-day funds. But the savings rate has now fallen to 3.4 percent, and that’s not high enough. Economists believe the savings rate needs to be somewhere between 6 and 10 percent, for several years, for the nation to rebuild all the wealth lost in the housing and stock market busts. That might sound high, but the historical average after World War II was about 12 percent. Few households today can match that.”

Side Income and Connections
In this tough economy, there’s no excuse for not harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit. In order to shore up your savings or make a backup plan for your business, try accruing side income and professional connections via freelance or consulting work, starting an online business, or putting together a website showcasing your marketplace acumen. A little hard work now can pay dividends in a “double-dip.”

Self-Sufficiency
As federal deficit balloons and Congress become more reluctant to spend, there will be a lot less aid from government coffers to spurn the economy and help Americans, including fewer tax breaks, unemployment benefits, stimulus-sponsored jobs, or other government aid. As such, the quicker we realize we’re on our own the easier it’ll be to make preparations for an uncertain future: save more; work harder; and plan better…for rainy days and beyond.

Consider Bankruptcy
Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to save money, time, and make you more self-sufficient in an uncertain future, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, June 17, 2010 @ 8:17 am

Just when you thought it was safe to call it an economic recovery, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) pointed to a continuing recession with reports last week that personal bankruptcy filings for the month of May 2010 have increased compared with a year ago (May 2009). In this data also reveals figures finding that total bankruptcies dropped slightly in May 2010 versus the previous month of April 2010.

According to the ABI findings, in May 2010, 136,142 personal bankruptcy cases were filed, a nine percent increase from May 2009, when 124,838 cases were filed. May’s total marked a six percent drop from April of this year, when 144,490 cases were filed. Of the cases filed, 26 percent were under Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and most of the remaining 74 percent were under Chapter 7. Based on figures collected so far in 2010, most sources estimate that personal bankruptcy filings this year will total about 1.6 million, a 10 percent increase over the 1.44 million filed in 2009.

While May marked a decline in filings from the previous month, the ABI data is still illustrative of a severe economic crisis—especially the recent year-to-year increase in insolvency.

While the reasons for the rise in personal bankruptcy, and specifically Chapter 7 bankruptcy, aren’t always clear, other economic forecasts in recent months shed some light on the ongoing issues.

First and foremost, an increase in total bankruptcy filings from this time last year could be one of the offshoots of consistent borderline double-digit national unemployment. This persistent joblessness means many average Americans who have been out of work for several months to a year or more are now exhausting their savings and turning to bankruptcy to get a better economic foothold. In addition to pushing people into bankruptcy, unemployment seems to responsible for the fact that Chapter 7 cases outnumber Chapter 13 cases nearly two to one. This data reveals that widespread unemployment may mean many people have too little money coming in to even consider a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan. As a result, Chapter 7 may be their only hope in an uncertain economic environment.

And there appears to be no help on the home front for those in over their heads and underwater in their mortgages. In addition to long-term unemployment affecting bankruptcy filings, mortgage costs may be pushing more filers toward Chapter 7. As has been well reported, despite efforts from the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), millions of Americans with astronomical mortgages and facing foreclosure have not been able to have their loans modified and still owe more than their homes are worth. Stuck with expensive home loans that they can’t afford, many are willing to walk away from the underwater lifestyle using Chapter 7 (versus salvaging their homes through Chapter 13).

So, if you’re one of the millions struggling with unwieldy debt, long-term unemployment, or an unmanageable mortgage, bankruptcy can work for you as it has for so many this year, and last.

Knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to save money, time, and make you more self-sufficient in an uncertain future, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.” The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, June 16, 2010 @ 8:23 am

There is no shortage of bright, shiny signals alerting us that the world of technology is changing faster than we can measure. At one time, shopping on the Internet was considered a decision that could put your entire financial wherewithal at risk. Now, if a company doesn’t have an online shopping cart, it’s outdated. Cell phone cameras were thought of as intrusive, unnecessary accessories that no one is going to care to own. Today, a palm-sized phone has auto-zoom, manual focus and 5-megapixel imaging.

The latest sign of technology’s preponderance is the presence of Blockbuster video on the ever-crowded edge of corporate bankruptcy.

The once de-facto choice of entertainment for family movie nights and awkward first dates everywhere, the home-video stalwart has been muscled out of its marketplace by the Internet. Having already taken out Hollywood video, online movie services have successfully capitalized on America’s lust for convenience. As scary as it is to admit, we have now reached a point where leaving the house to return a movie has become too cumbersome. We are now officially a culture obsessed with remaining insular and micro-local. The more we can get without having to see the sun, the better.

Pardon the digression.

Many years ago, the movie industry launched a very major, very public tirade against film piracy. The ads touting the evils of stealing a studio’s work played as preamble before major releases and took up full color pages in entertainment publications. While there is no question that bootlegging and streaming direct from a studio server is indeed stealing, the legalities of the issue were not what concerned the studio. The amount of money piracy costs studios is only a fraction of what they claim it to be. Most pure cinema lovers would much rather pay $10 to see a film in its all glory on the big screen instead of paying $6 for a blurry, poorly filmed replica. And, until recently, the majority of Americans didn’t have the bandwidth or the screen quality (hello HD!) to make downloading a stolen film worthwhile. And those who could and then sell it were taking only fractions of cents on the whole from the box office.

Instead, the studios real concern was that they did not want to get beat to market. The threats of penalties and jail time simply provided a convenient way to delay their competition until things fell into place.

Today, some movies make it to the consumer market only weeks after theatrical release. Netflix, Blockbuster and iTunes all offer legitimate, direct downloads of movies for the same amount they once cost to physically pick from the shelf. Cable and satellite television service providers offer “on-demand” services that play a recent release with the push of a button and an easy add-on to your monthly bill.

At one time, Blockbuster and Hollywood video lived and died by the sale of VHS and DVD player manufacturing. After all, the entities were useless without one another. Walk into a Wal-Mart or Best Buy today and you’ll notice that Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are much more friendly with your local Internet service provider than your neighborhood video store, as more video players are connecting, via WiFi of course, to the Web to download movies directly to your television.

You see, there was really no concern with what piracy was costing the folks at Warner Brothers, Paramount and MGM. Ultimately, the pirate market was simply one they couldn’t control. But it’s not an issue anymore because technology has caught up to their plans. They now know how to make money on Web-based content.

Now, about those video cell phones …

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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.

March saw 35 percent more people file bankruptcy than in February, when a total of 158,141 petitions were filed. Prior to that, October 2009 held the record but was still 19 percent less than March’s total. And, in at least 12 states in the first quarter alone, personal filings increased by double-digit amounts compared to their 2009 totals.

Impressive, huh?

These numbers indicate a few things. Primarily, they show that the current recession will have a much longer tenure than what the evening news may be figuring. With more people just now filing, that means it will be at least a couple of years before the people behind those numbers can reach their full spending potential within the economy. And even then, they will most likely be living under a “save more, spend less” mindset.

The increase in filings also demonstrates that fewer people view bankruptcy as a sign of financial insecurity or weakness and more as a suitable, legal way to begin anew.

Surprising to many in the industry is that even in states where bankruptcy numbers were already high, the numbers continue to climb. The figures, compiled by Automated Access to Court Records, show that California, Arizona and Florida citizens are still leading the nation in filings after months of suffering the most from the collapse of the real estate market.

The explanations for so many bankruptcies are many, from unemployment to housing trouble. However, personal borrowing is said to be powerful driver of how so many of us wound up in debt. According to a law professor at the University of Illinois, Robert Lawless, the rate of borrowing is 10 times what it was in 1960, when adjusted for inflation. When at one time most people would simply borrow more to stave of creditors, the credit freeze has made re-financing and loan adjustments all but impossible.

The trends are also pointing to a rather steep drop in the number of Chapter 13 bankruptcies, which involve paying a portion of your debt, consolidated, in a series of monthly installments. Now, the vast majority of personal bankruptcies are Chapter 7, which involve complete liquidation of debts and sometimes a loss in personal assets. Essentially, Chapter 7 enables a quicker turn-around. People are able to start fresh, although with not much of a credit rating. At least for a couple of years.

A law professor at UC Berkeley, Katherine Porter, reported that since 2005, Chapter 13 filings are down 35 percent, accounting for only 25 percent of all personal filings. “Systemically,” she said, “that’s a big change.”

Relative to home ownership, the numbers also show that more people are walking away from their mortgages instead of continuing to pay them as part of a Chapter 13 plan. Plus, with the foreclosure rate growing almost as quickly, it’s often the better route.

While there was at one time debate about a mortgage cram-down bill, which would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage terms to make payments easier for those filing, no such proposal has been passed, leading, in part, to the current state of American home ownership.

If you think you may become part of these statistics, please consider calling us. The sooner, the better.

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Published Tuesday, June 1, 2010 @ 12:11 pm

Are you struggling to stay current with mounting mortgage costs or finding yourself already in arrears? Well, you’re not alone.  According to a recent Reuters article by Lynn Adler, a staggering one in seven households were behind on mortgage payments or is in foreclosure in the first quarter of 2010.  And while the rate of new foreclosures has slowed, the sheer number of delinquencies and foreclosure actions still occurring, some two years following the beginning of the recession, is a clear sign that the U.S. housing market remains on a rocky foundation.

This first quarter data from the Mortgage Bankers Association also shows that the nation’s foreclosures rate rose to 4.63 percent, up from 4.58 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009—almost a point higher than the foreclosure rate this time last year (3.85 percent).

While these figures signify we’re a long way from a housing recovery, the diagnosis isn’t all bad: as the unemployment rate peaks, repayment pains will likely subside a bit, yielding fewer new foreclosures. But for those in the midst of foreclosure, and searching for immediate mortgage assistance, these positive forecasts can seem very distant indeed.

“It’s like shutting off the oil leak,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association told Reuters. “You still have a lot of oil in the Gulf to deal with.” Home loans that are 90 plus days overdue or are facing foreclosure remain at historically high levels and represent 68 percent of what Adler characterized as “problem mortgages.”

This is occurring just as the Obama administration reworked its troubled $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan. The revamped Home Affordable Modification Program (or HAMP) put into play an attempt to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis, targeting the mutinies who remain unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (owing more on their loans than their homes are worth) by creating incentives for lenders to lend or modify existing loans to them. Yet, even as some lenders are adjusting some loans to help make mortgages more manageable for borrowers, unemployment continues the pressure of making any payments and saving many a happy home.

“Some might take comfort from the apparent topping out in the number of foreclosures started, but the inventory of foreclosures continues to rise — in other words, this headwind will linger,” said Tom Porcelli, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York told Reuters.

If you’re behind on your mortgages and facing foreclosure like so many other Americans, take heart: bankruptcy can be just what you need to rebuild your budget and protect your biggest asset immediately.  In fact, bankruptcy can provide an array of options appropriate for your personal situation—helping you to keep your home—especially if your inability to pay is temporary and you still have a steady form of income.  With this arsenal of information in hand, you can feel more comfortable beginning a discussion with your lender, calculating the costs of keeping your home, and planning for your financial future.

So, as most American homeowners search for more immediate and steady mortgage help, you can take your best first steps to stop foreclosure in its tracks through bankruptcy. And knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to more quickly and easily conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— to help keep your home your own. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, June 1, 2010 @ 8:10 am

While millions of struggling Americans still working hard to find employment might disagree, economists are heartened about prospects for growth this year as industries increasingly report better profits and add new jobs.

In fact, job growth is said to be at its fastest pace in 10 months.  In recent surveys, American employers were found to have added 162,000 jobs in March 2010, the most in three years. Wages and salaries also are improving.  And, obviously higher salaries bode well for the recovery, since consumer spending accounts for as much as 70 percent of our nation’s economic activity.

So, are you still looking for work? Well you’ve come to the right place. Or, at least, the place where you can find the best “places” to find work as The Milken Institute, a nonpartisan economic think tank, released its annual Best Performing Cities Index earlier this week.

And where are these bastions for hiring and employment boom towns? Would you believe deep in the heart of Texas?

The 2009 top 10 performers (with 2008 rankings) of the 200 largest metros:

1. Austin-Round Rock, TX (4)
2. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX (13)
3. Salt Lake City, UT (3)
4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (7)
5. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX (16)
6. Durham, NC (21)
7. Olympia, WA (9)
8. Huntsville, AL (5)
9. Lafayette, LA (14)
10. Raleigh-Cary, NC (2)

Yep, that’s right, the Lone Star state as it happens made up four of the top five cities in the Milken report. In it, the index editors suggested that these large Texas towns rose to the top of the employment heap, along with a notable pair from North Carolina, due to their resources and technology sectors, in addition to the “state’s favorable business climate and its ability to attract jobs and corporations away from higher-cost states”:

“Regional economic factors also strongly influenced the rankings this year, with the oil and gas sector, technology and alternative energy providing stability among metros in Texas, North Carolina, Washington and Louisiana, which also benefited from low dependence on housing/construction. Austin in particular has been helped by its strong tech industry. It is the first metro to ever be ranked number one twice on the index, the last time being in 2000.”

For many of the cities, rising to the top of the rankings was a matter of not losing ground, and, as The Huffington Post put it “sidestepping the worst pitfalls of the recession in order to maintain the status quo.”

As the Milken reported found:

“‘Best performing’ sometimes means retaining what you have,” said Ross DeVol, director of Regional Economics and lead author of the report. “In a period of recession, the index highlights metros that have adapted to weather the storm. As we move forward in a recovery that still lacks jobs, metros will be further tested in their ability to sustain themselves.”

Cities in the index were also ranked based on how well they create and keep jobs, illustrating reflected both long- and short-term measurements of employment, wages, salaries and the aforementioned tech growth. But whether you’re in Texas or the Tar Heel state, these rankings aren’t definitive….and, in this lingering economic recession, neither is job certainty.

In tough times, why not turn to something that is definitive: a smart move to a better financial future through bankruptcy. If you have been effected by the economy and are wondering how to get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Sunday, May 30, 2010 @ 1:41 pm

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

But one lesser-known and publicized piece of the CARD legislation is its effect on companies who issue gift cards. The rules, which won’t be fully enacted until August 2010, will affect you if you’re one of the whopping 95 percent of Americans that have used a gift card. From online iTunes stores to the brick-and-mortar department store, there is seemingly a gift card for everything, with gift card purchases now accounting for an impressive portion of all purchases, especially during the holiday season.

Yet despite the one-size-fits-all popularity of today’s gift cards, gift card companies made plenty of money making these cards indispensable for the average consumer, and like its credit card cousin, a commodity that lost value as soon as you bought into it.

The reason? Gift card companies used credit card company tactics to made gift cards the gift that keeps on taking: adding on activation and maintenance fees to the cost of the cards, while in some cases making sure the more time you held on to them, the less value they had until they eventually expired. In short, you bought their card, and, depending on when the card was used, the gift card companies never paid.

While many states took action against gift card companies even before the CARD Act was passed, after August 22, 2010, the new legislation extends additional protections across the nation, including:

Expanding Expiration Dates
With the new CARD Act, now you don’t have to worry about your gift cards collecting dust or being misplaced. Gift cards with an expiration date of less than five years can no longer be sold.

Checking the Charges
Card companies may not charge refund fees for fees for replacing an unexpired card. Additionally “inactivity fees” will be come more “inactive,” as new regulations only allow them to be issued after the card is a year old, and even then a fee may only be charged once per month.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Transparency
As of August, gift card issuers must be more actively involved in notifying and educating consumers about fees, charges or expiration dates, as well as providing contact information regarding their ongoing practices.

And remember: If you purchase gift cards or happen to be the lucky recipient of a gift card, take full advantage by using the card in a timely manner and using the full amount. While gift cards don’t affect your credit score like its credit card cousin, it can cause you to lose money without due shopping diligence.

As everyone now knows, there’s normally a heavy price to pay for playing with plastic: the card that’s less of a gift and more of a curse. If you too have been effected by the economy and are wondering how to reduce your card debt and get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Sunday, May 30, 2010 @ 8:00 am

While lack of confidence in the recent economic recovery led employers to shed an unanticipated 85,000 jobs in December 2009—even as many long-time unemployed Americans gave up looking for work to keep the unemployment rate steady at 10 percent—the qualification dates for existing tiers of unemployment benefits were extended for an additional two months. That two-month bump in benefits was again renewed at the end of February 2010.

Now another deadline may leave millions of average Americans bewildered and without any money coming in to their coffers.  In fact, without Congressional action to extend these benefits, this latest look at the state of unemployment means an unprecedented number of jobless workers will lose their benefits and become ineligible to get more by June 2010.

As The Huffington Post reported this week however, politics and partisanship mean the latest round of benefit renewals is far from a slam-dunk. “This week Congress will consider legislation to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits for the rest of the year. It’s gonna be an epic fight: Republicans in the Senate will likely do everything they can to stand in the way of a bill projected to add $123 billion to the deficit, forcing Dem leadership to round up a supermajority for a last-minute Friday vote before Congress adjourns for its Memorial Day recess.”

But even if legislation passes extending unemployment benefits, it comes as very little consolation to the hundreds of thousands of long-term jobless Americans, seeking the hopeful “hand-up” of being hired into a job versus the alternative federal “hand out” while they continue their lengthy search. In fact, in many states across the country, unemployed workers can receive checks for 99 weeks, with no option for a 100^th. This group, now dubbed the unfortunate “99ers” by some in the media, isn’t even considered in the latest proposals for extending benefits.

“What’s frustrating is that our government doesn’t seem to think this is an important issue,” said Christy Blake, a 35-year-old mother of two in Fruitland, MD, told HuffPost. “We didn’t put ourselves here. It wasn’t our choice. I have been diligently looking for work.”

Unfortunately, Congress seems to be less empathic and more apathetic than in months past, in some cases scoffing at the notion of extending monthly benefits because of the appearance that these subsidized sums encourage people to exit the job search. Case in point, Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper recently told the Washington Post that few laid off workers in her district were applying to hiring businesses because of a steady stream of unemployment checks. “Now, whether that’s true or not, I’m still trying to decipher,” said Dahlkemper. “But I think it’s something we really need to look at.”

But for average folks like Christy Blake, the situation is clearer: “I think it really stinks,” Blake told HuffPost. “It’s beyond stinking.”

As a result, many are taking things into their own hands to address their financial woes and take back their fiscal freedoms to make a fresh start through bankruptcy.

In fact, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help any unemployment person to conquer their creditors and face their financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. According to The Huffington Post, “of more than a thousand unemployed people surveyed by Rutgers University researchers last August, just 21 percent had landed a job by March, a follow-up survey reveals. Two-thirds remained ‘unemployed’ according to the government’s definition — the rest gave up looking for work altogether, either going to school or retiring early.

And, of the fortunate folks who did find meaningful work, a paltry 13 percent found full-time jobs; whereas 61 percent said their current work was merely “something to get you by while you look for something better.” A small consolation indeed.

“It’s a pretty grim study,” Cliff Zukin, one of the authors of the report at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers told HuffPost. The survey also found that an additional 70 percent searched for work longer than six months, up from 48 percent in the summer. To deal with the deficits of not having a steady income, “70 percent dipped into retirement funds, 56 percent borrowed money from family or friends and 45 percent turned to credit cards. Forty-two percent skimped on medical care, 20 percent moved in with family or friends and 18 percent visited a soup kitchen.”

Not surprisingly, the pain of extended unemployment appears to be wreaking the most havoc with more mature Americans. The survey showed that only 12 percent of those over 50 years old had found jobs since August 2009, with many believing age discrimination was to blame. “Although there is nowhere on a CV/resume that you state your age, employers can tell how many years you have worked,” wrote one older American surveyed. “I have been interviewed for positions requiring experience by managers more than half my age, and they can barely contain their disdain—despite the fact that my work experience is far greater than theirs.” According to AARP, in total, unemployment for older Americans—those over 55—rose by 331 percent over the last ten years. At the same time, age-discrimination complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office have been higher since the current recession began than in any two-year period prior.

In short, times are tough, with everyone from the nation’s oldest citizens to recent college grads looking for a way to make ends meet. Instead of supplementing income by turning to your retirement funds or savings, borrowing cash from friends and family, running up credit cards, or even missing medical visits, the lesson may be that it’s finally time to clean your fiscal slate with the financial freedom of bankruptcy.

In fact, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help any unemployment person to conquer their creditors and face their financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 8:20 am

In a move that, as The New York Times described it, “will affect most American corporations,” the Labor Department has announced its latest mandates for company compliance with plans to end wage violations, increase workplace safety and adhere to equal employment laws.

As The New York Times’ Steve Greenhouse reported, “The effort, aimed in part at reducing the incidence of employers not paying overtime and improperly classifying workers as independent contractors, will require them to document many of their decisions and share that information with their workers and the government. In announcing the department’s intentions on Thursday, Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris said his department wanted to foster a culture of compliance among employers to replace what he described as a ‘catch me if you can’ system in which too many companies violated employment laws.”

Within these broader strategies for corporate compliance is the potential for added protections for employees considering the benefits of bankruptcy.

The broader strokes of this literal “work-in-progress” are two-fold:

(1) Workplace Safety. New Labor Department rules would require employers to stop “planning” and start “doing,” by developing formal policies for eliminating safety and security hazards in the workplace and directly engaging in these plans in order to evaluate their effectiveness.

(2) Worker Classification. In this effort, the Labor Department is targeting companies who avoid paying workers their due overtime pay and improperly classifying employees to avoid providing proper benefits. In doing so, these changes will require these same companies to document these classifications, providing written explanations of the reasons behind that classification and sharing those explanations with workers and government agencies.

Like clockwork, business interest groups are fighting these Labor Department plans, arguing the new rules mean new burdens on already beleaguered employers without “necessarily improving compliance with labor laws.”  And with these proposed changes still in the development stages—giving big business another opportunity to attack the finalized plans—experts say it’s likely to be a year before the changes can be implemented.

Despite these challenges, as Greenhouse reports, “Department officials say they hope the plan will greatly reduce problems in industries with widespread wage violations, like restaurants and discount retailing, and those with widespread safety violations, like coal mining and construction.”

Labor Department Benefits and Bankruptcy. In addition to activating more transparent corporate compliance of internal safety practices and classification policies, this new plan may also extend to employment law protections, reinvigorating enforcement of workplace anti-discrimination policies aimed at protecting employees who have bad credit or are bankruptcy bound. Currently, federal bankruptcy law contains some provisions which prevent unfair treatment of employees who have filed for bankruptcy.

While some employers can run a credit check on prospective employees, under federal law, these same companies must actually get written permission from applicants in order to run their credit check. In the meantime, consumer advocacy groups are showing their support for legislative bans on these types of credit checks, pointing out that credit reports can also contain inaccurate information.

While credit checks are sometimes used in the hiring process, your decision to file bankruptcy should never affect your employment status with an employer.

Until these worker-friendly benefits are in place, consulting with a qualified bankruptcy attorney when facing concerns about your bankruptcy impacting your employment, could be your next, best step.

A qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist jobless and employed citizens with even the worst credit histories to conquer their fears of losing it all.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, May 18, 2010 @ 10:17 am

Just two months ago, the Obama administration reworked its troubled $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan. The revamped Home Affordable Modification Program (or HAMP), put into play an attempt to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis, targeting homeowners who were unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (owing more on their loans than their homes are worth).

While only 170,000 homeowners to that point had completed loan modifications under the President’s plan—out of 1.1 million who began the government’s HAMP last year—the current effort was designed to help a total of three million to four million homeowners avoid foreclosure by the end of 2012.

But new data released this week shows that more than twice as many homeowners were kicked out of HAMP just last month as were granted permanent relief.

According to The Huffington Post’s translation of the data by reporter Shahien Nasiripour,  “More than 123,000 homeowners were bounced from the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program in April versus about 60,000 who were offered five-year plans of lowered monthly payments. This is the first month since the administration started reporting cancellation figures that the number of canceled modifications outpaced the number of new permanent modification offers. The number of canceled modifications skyrocketed 82 percent in April compared to March.”

The data shows that more homeowners were booted from the program in April, merely one month after the new “improvements,” than there were new permanent and trial modifications combined. According to the Treasury Department, cancellations were approximately 27 percent higher than the number of new trial and permanent modifications.

“I think it’s great to take these numbers in context… with the broad efforts to stabilize the housing market,” David Stevens, chief of the Federal Housing Administration told The Huffington Post, pointing out that home prices and the number of new foreclosures have started to level out with news of the economic recovery. Steves credited President Obama’s continued support of keeping interest rates down with more homeowners being able to refinance their mortgages into lower rates, as well as lower payments, and less folks in the throes of foreclosure.  In the meantime, trial modifications have been offered to more than 1.2 million homeowners during the program’s year-long run.

“You know, while enabling eligible homeowners to modify their mortgages is vital to addressing the housing crisis with HAMP, it’s also extremely important to keep this in context that this is just one part of the administration’s comprehensive approach to assisting homeowners and stabilizing the housing market,” said Stevens.

“We don’t claim that the housing market is totally out of the woods, but it’s certainly showing signs of stabilizing,” Herbert M. Allison Jr., assistant secretary for financial stability at the Treasury Department reported to HuffPost.  Allison cautioned that “perhaps” more mortgage holders would be kicked out of HAMP before it gets better, allowing new rules to level the current home ownership playing field.

As American homeowners search for more immediate and steady mortgage help, many are turning to bankruptcy to stop their impending foreclosure and other creditor actions. If you too have been effected by foreclosure, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. In the same day.

Long the route taken by banks to seize cars from owners who, for one reason or another, could no longer make the payments, repossession is now a strategy being used by mortgage lenders across the country.

While car repos are often done surreptitiously under the cover of night by shadows darting in and out of garage-mounted motion lights, those sent to take back your home come in the light of day. In suit and tie with hands crossed, they appear on doorsteps like harbingers of future financial doom. It’s a doorbell ring that will often be the last one a family hears in their home.

Joseph Laubinger is a home taker. He comes to settle the final details for exiting the home in a legal but relatively hassle-free way. “Here is your check,” he may say. “Now, can I have your keys?”

Banks employ Mr. Laubinger to run the middle ground between forgiveness periods and foreclosure. In other words, after everything has been said and every step taken before the inevitable, he shows up to smooth things over.

However, he doesn’t just come to hold the door open while you and some friends carry boxes of china out the curb. He is often sent in the early stages to talk to families about their options and to explore early alternatives before things escalate. When sitting at the kitchen table, he often gets the same question. “People ask me how much time they have left,” he said.

And he has been getting that question a lot lately.

Currently in America, more than four million households nationwide are “severely” delinquent in their mortgages. Industry experts report that the first quarter of 2010 has seen more mortgage failures than at any other time during “the crisis.” Close to 250,000 homes have been taken over by their lenders since the start of the year. Laubinger’s job is to make the exit process a bit easier for everyone.

Foreclosure is an expensive option for banks—and they don’t like it. Families that meet people like Laubinger don’t have to accept his offer, but as one might imagine, it’s often a hard one to refuse.

Many homeowners are becoming more brazen in the defense of their homes. They know there is no legal grounds on which they can be evicted until the foreclosure process is made formal. Thus—out of spite in most case—people can hang around just to tick off their mortgage lender.

In the majority of cases, bankruptcy can save a debt-stricken family’s home. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the mortgage lender must accept the terms of a 5 year repayment plan. By also getting rid of your unsecured debt, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can put you in a better position to succeed after bankruptcy.

Laubinger’s company is expanding rather rapidly. He has moved tables and chairs into his garage as a makeshift office to train a couple of new employees. He currently roams the Midwest, working for Fannie Mae (the government) and regional banks. But don’t think he, or folks like him, won’t be making headway to North Carolina in the near future. Just listen for the doorbell.

If you’re behind on your mortgage, call the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt today. In North Carolina, call 1-800-899-1414 for a free initial debt consultation or visit www.billsbills.com for more information.

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Published Sunday, May 9, 2010 @ 8:28 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, in the weeks following this tax season’s deadline, important financial news abounds for many cash-strapped citizens and the struggling states they live in.

Looking for good news amid the bad? Take a gander at the latest economic outlook and what it might mean for you.

Our Great Recession Continues (Or Not)
Last week, the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a group responsible for determining official start and end dates for recessions based on analysis of financial indicators, announced that it cannot yet officially declare an end to the recession. The report indicates that, though many economic indicators have improved in recent months (including mortgage defaults, hiring and retail sales), it is still too soon to say whether or not the recession has come to a close. But the news isn’t all bad….In contrast, one member of the committee disagreed with the  final decision, issuing a memo citing the following two indicators as primary reasons why he believes the recession has already ended, including the fact that Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of our country’s overall economic output in a given year, has reportedly improved since June of 2009; and that Real Gross Domestic Income (GDI) has also apparently improved.

To corroborate this evidence, The Huffington Post reported this week, that 70% of those recently surveyed by The National Association for Business Economics believe real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will “grow by more than two percent this year, up from 61 percent who said the same in January. Twenty-four percent are predicting real GDP will grow by more than 3 percent in 2010, up from 14 percent earlier this year. ‘Industry demand moved higher compared to results in the January 2010 report, pointing to stronger growth in 2010,’ said William Strauss, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. ‘After more than two years of job losses, job creation increased in the first quarter of 2010, suggesting a better outlook for hiring over the next six months.’ The NABE forecast…shows fewer jobs are being shed, more are being created and more companies are making money.”

Hiring Up, and Congress Extends Unemployment Benefits
Similarly, HuffPost revealed that recent hiring growth is said to be at its fastest pace in 10 months.  “American employers in March added 162,000 jobs, the most in three years. Wages and salaries also are improving. Respondents reporting higher pay more than doubled to 26 percent, while those reporting a decline in wages slipped to 6 percent from 7 percent in January. The net reading for wages and salaries – planned increases minus planned cuts – was 20, the highest reading since January 2008. Higher salaries would bode well for the recovery, since consumer spending accounts for as much as 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.”
Despite the increase in hiring, unemployment remains close to 10 percent, meaning that millions of American families may not feel the recession’s end for a while. But everything’s not lost for families suffering from extended joblessness. According to the New York Times the Senate has voted 60 – 40 in favor of extending unemployment benefits. Were it to pass both houses of Congress, the measure would apparently cost approximately $18 billion—a hefty stumbling block for fiscally-conservative Senate Republicans.

Tax Time 2010 Was One of the Best It’s Been

According to Newsweek, we’ll “look back on April 15, 2010, as the day we got of cheaply.”  Due to a staggering national budget deficit and an aging American populace living off (and depleting) Social Security, all signs point to tax increases on the horizon—another good news/bad news scenario that should have us enjoying the “good times,” while we can.

If the financial news from your household is less than good, it may be time to turn to bankruptcy. If you, and your family, have been effected by the economy and are wondering how to get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Friday, May 7, 2010 @ 8:06 am

Facing everything from retirement woes to cash-strapped kids, it has been well-reported that older Americans are some of the hardest hit by a lingering recession and rising health care costs.
And now, according The Huffington Post’s Laura Bassett, things just got a little worse for mature Americans looking for work. The reporter blogged in her article “Older Jobseekers Face An Uphill Climb” about the staggering 2 million unemployed people in the U.S. who are over the age of 55.

The “Uphill Climb” of Unemployment

“Although the unemployment rate for people 55 and older dropped from 7.1 to 6.9 percent in March, the AARP Public Policy Institute reported that the average duration of unemployment for older jobseekers was almost three weeks longer in March than it had been in February, and was substantially higher than the 31.1 weeks for the unemployed under age 55,” reported Bassett.

Deborah Russell, director of workforce issues for AARP, told Bassett that “older jobseekers are facing a number of challenges that their younger counterparts are not. ‘Many older unemployed people we’ve talked to have found themselves unemployed for the first time in a really long time,” Russell said. “The job search process has changed significantly. Jobs are now being posted online instead of in newspapers, so you have to post your resumé online, and that’s a challenge for older job seekers. And let’s not forget that there continues to be bias out there with respect to the capabilities of older workers.’”

In fact, according to the latest statistics released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “more than 45,000 charges of age discrimination were filed in 2008 and 2009, up from about 30,000 in 1999 and 2000.” What’s more, these surprisingly numbers don’t include the many cases in which mature citizens were immediately disregarded because of their age during the interview process.

This discrimination is compounded by other sources of this modern, yet mature, financial meltdown, including:

Retirements on Hold
The stock market meltdown of 2008 continues to stifle retirement and other investment savings, and, in today’s job market, returning to full-time work as a retiree is no longer a dependable option.  As a result, devastating debt burdens pile up quickly for jobless seniors no longer receiving regular income.
Humbling Health Care Costs
Even with recent health reforms, the combination of ailments of aging and present drug costs creates a perfect storm of ballooning bills for seniors already facing inflated prices.

Multiple Mortgages and High Home Equity Loans

Merely refinancing during the real estate boom can now mean massive mortgage debts for aging Americans suffering from depleted resources in this abysmal housing and job market. 

Peak Predatory Lending

Seniors are often targeted for payday loans and foreclosure scams that take advantage of their traditional desire to pay off their debts—albeit now at unmanageable and exploitative rates.

Worse-Off Offspring
Kids today…from college-age to middle age, are also struggling, putting aging parents in a precarious position to aid their offspring at, quite literally, their own expense. Add that with the high costs of college, and there’s little left in senior nest eggs.

So, if you’re an older American who’s been effected by the economy,  and are now considering new ways out from underneath ever-increasing debt, and get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost. The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, May 5, 2010 @ 8:25 am

Even the briefest of hospital stays can result in bills just big enough to tilt a person already precariously balancing their finances over the edge and into a long-term financial abyss. The problem with being able to afford medical care is enough to make many Americans wait until circumstances become dire before heading to the emergency room. Even the well-insured become cautious about co-pays and premium increases.

For college student Samantha Palmer, a one-day lapse in insurance coverage led to a medical debt hassle requiring legal assistance. In the midst of switching medical insurance providers, Palmer found herself suddenly in pain on the one day she was without insurance. Rushed to the hospital, she was diagnosed with a sudden onset of colitis, an inflammation of the colon.

After six hours in the hospital, she left with a bill that on average, charged her more than $1,000 per hour. When her parents saw the $6,662 colitis treatment invoice, they felt a little inflammation in that region as well. “The bill came and I went nuts,” said Samantha’s father Glen.

An in-depth examination of the bill found a number of red flags and questionable charges worthy of dispute. So the Palmers contacted Medical Cost Advocate, an organization that specializes in scrutinizing hospital bills for further verification of their suspicions.

The group is in business for the very purpose of helping people understand why hospitals charge so much and to sometimes show that billing errors are often the cause of people over-paying by thousands.

In a recent speech, the President recently called out the medical community’s reputation for administrative failures and poorly-managed facilities. In Los Angeles, some hospitals are going to begin experimenting with lump-sum pricing because of the ongoing discrepancies in how much certain procedures and processes cost from hospital to hospital.

Starting in August, many of the most reputable medical facilities in southern California are going to try the new billing methods, which, if successful, may offer a glimpse into the future of medical spending.

In the meantime, there are number of costly items to which special attention should be paid when the bill arrives. Namely:

• Repetitive entries for the same procedure, like lab work. In many cases, these may be necessary if tests are inconclusive but sometimes the presence of redundant items could simply be a software error.
• Miscellaneous charges. The vaguely-titled line items could be simply be a collection of very minor items that could have been unnecessary, mistakes in procedure that needed to be done over or add-ons the hospital may be trying to hide. In the case of Samantha Palmer, this category accounted for the use of a television and printing her paperwork.
• Non-itemized Emergency room charges. Even if your condition only required use of a single machine within the ER department, sometimes hospitals will charge for use of the entire facility, as if its doctors were assigned to you for an extended stay.

Medical bill support organizations can help you understand your bill and negotiate settlements for items that may have been found to be excessive or have avenues for reduction.

The fact that a separate industry exists to help the sick understand their medical bills should be all the evidence needed that major change is critical to reducing the tremendous amount of medical debt plaguing our country.

If you’re stuck footing the bills that your insurance won’t pay, consider filing for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy will get rid of your unsecured debt, and put you and your family back in control. In North Carolina, call the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt for your free initial debt consultation. 1-800-899-1414

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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. Sales at some restaurants have risen in the last few months, and the industry has hired thousands of additional workers.  “There’s no question about this,” said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks sales at 47 restaurant chains with a total of 103,000 outlets. ‘There’s a recovery going on.’ Mr. Balzer said that March sales at restaurants open for at least a year were up 1 percent compared with March of last year. While that might not seem like much, it broke a string of 10 months of negative sales. He cautioned that while the sales trends were uneven across the industry, almost half the chains he tracks — mostly fast-food and family dining restaurants like Denny’s — had begun showing gains. Still, many restaurant owners and executives said they expected the rebound to be slow and halting.  ‘Right now, we’re starting to see a few more people come in,’ said Larry Reinstein, chief executive of Fresh City, a chain that sells sandwiches, salads, burritos and stir fry dishes at 18 outlets in the Northeast. But he quickly added, ‘The typical consumer is still cautious of what they’re spending.’

Because restaurants remain consumer-driven pursuits, industry executives are looking at the nation’s staggering overall employment as another indicator of how much this contraction really means. Obviously, if people remain unemployed, they’ll be eating out less…and that means the restaurant industry will remain cautious, if not cautiously optimistic.

Fortunately, this optimism extends to hiring practices, as restaurant owners bring on more employees now than at any time during the recession.  As Neuman reported, “In the first three months of 2010, the restaurant and food service industry added 42,500 jobs, adjusted for typical seasonal hiring patterns, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Even with this hiring trend, the restaurant industry appears to be merely “re-loading,” still with overall 251,000 fewer jobs now than it did in December 2007, around the time our “Great Recession” started.

Neuman found that among fast-food restaurant chains, local favorite Sonic took some meteoric hits during the extended economic downturn. “The drive-in burger chain, known for its roller-skating car hops, said sales at its approximately 3,500 stores declined 13 percent from December through February, compared with the same period a year ago. The chain said the drop was partly caused by harsh winter weather, but the ailing economy also played a major role. Buddy McClain, who owns 71 Sonic stores in the South, said that while sales were not growing, they had finally stopped falling in March at his Mississippi and Alabama outlets.”

“Everybody’s working harder and making less money, which is not what we call the American way,’ Mr. McClain told Neuman, who has owned Sonic franchises for 32 years. “We’ve been through four so-called recessions since I’ve been in Sonic, and nothing has been near to this.”

If you have been effected by the economy like so many business owners, or are facing unemployment like so many Americans, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, April 28, 2010 @ 8:23 am

While millions of struggling Americans still working hard to find meaningful employment might disagree, economists are heartened about prospects for growth this year as industries increasingly report better profits and add new jobs, though they still expect the recovery to remain slow, a new survey shows.

As The Huffington Post reported this week, 70% of those recently surveyed by The National Association for Business Economics believe real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—the measure of our country’s overall economic output— will “grow by more than two percent this year, up from 61 percent who said the same in January. Twenty-four percent are predicting real GDP will grow by more than 3 percent in 2010, up from 14 percent earlier this year. ‘Industry demand moved higher compared to results in the January 2010 report, pointing to stronger growth in 2010,’ said William Strauss, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. ‘After more than two years of job losses, job creation increased in the first quarter of 2010, suggesting a better outlook for hiring over the next six months.’ The NABE forecast…shows fewer jobs are being shed, more are being created and more companies are making money.”

Similarly, HuffPost said that recent growth is said to be at its fastest pace in 10 months.  “American employers March added 162,000 jobs, the most in three years. Wages and salaries also are improving. Respondents reporting higher pay more than doubled to 26 percent, while those reporting a decline in wages slipped to 6 percent from 7 percent in January. The net reading for wages and salaries – planned increases minus planned cuts – was 20, the highest reading since January 2008. Higher salaries would bode well for the recovery, since consumer spending accounts for as much as 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.”

More jobs and higher wages were met by rise in bankruptcy rates last month. In fact, March 2010 marked the highest amount of personal and commercial bankruptcies since 2005. According to data compiled by the Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, there were 158,141 bankruptcies petitions filed this past month—an increase of 20 percent from March 2009.
Thus far, these figures represent the highest number of reported Chapter 7 bankruptcies since 2005, when new laws, including the “means test,” caused a dramatic reduction in bankruptcy cases.

With jobs and wages rebounding in 2010, the record filings are being attributed to the lingering housing crisis, responsible for millions of underwater mortgages, in which the homeowner owes more than the home is now worth. As has been well reported, many are simply allowing banks to foreclose on their houses and filing Chapter 7 in the process, considered the quickest and most common of all bankruptcy, especially for allowing one to “walk away,” from looming debt.  Many are using recent tax returns to sweeten the deal, paying experienced attorneys to help them begin on a path to more a healthy financial future.

If you have been effected by the economy and are wondering how to get back on track, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

Since the Great Recession began in 2007, small businesses across the country have been squeezed.  Exacerbated by the flagging economy, small business owners everywhere are not only facing high employee health care costs and lagging consumer and commercial spending, but also fewer credit options. And 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. And because small business accounts for some 65% of employment in a nation already facing off-the-charts job losses, any squeeze on small firms is a serious matter—with last year’s disconcerting lending figures illustrating just how serious—for the long haul.

As The Huffington Post reports in their recent article, “Small Business in Debt Rescued by Loyal Customers,” the small businesses situated in the tiny town of Point Lookout, on Long Island, are no exception. “Like many small towns, Point Lookout is served by family-run businesses that struggle to compete with chain stores and suppliers. In the recession this struggle becomes even harder. Point Lookout’s Merola’s grocery store found itself deeply in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy, despite being beloved by town residents.”

HuffPost refers to a recent The New York Times article featuring one such town resident named Dana Conklin, who stepped in to save the struggling grocery store. Conklin, a loyal Merola customer and Point Lookout native, “suggested a one-time fund-raising drive so that customers could help pay the bills and keep the store going until business picked up in the spring and summer. And one by one, customers trooped in with checks or mailed them in — at last notice, more than 150 of them covering almost half of the store’s $100,000 debt to the supplier.”

While these altruistic acts show the unique importance of small business in tiny hamlets like Point Lookout, NY, many small businesses haven’t been so lucky, with many “overhauling their practices to get a leg up in the recession.” For the family-run Merola grocery store, that means operating “smater and tougher — probably fewer jobs for local kids, employees paying for part of their health care, and the market aggressively seeking new niches, like, say, delivering food to people on the beach.”Regardless of changes the business itself makes, as The Huffington Post rightly points out, “customer loyalty and commitment will be an invaluable asset in the fight.”

And based on last year’s anemic lending figures and the continuing trend of evaporating loans for small business, many mom and pop endeavors are also seeking shelter through the benefits of bankruptcy. The truth remains, if you are no longer able to sustain or expand your business in your current financial situation, filing for bankruptcy may be your best bet. And, in this case, the best move a beleaguered small business owner can make is to consult an experienced bankruptcy attorney who specializes in small business cases. Skilled bankruptcy attorneys like those at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt can get to work early, navigate any uncertain waters of bankruptcy court and work in your best interests during the duration of your small business bankruptcy. The attorneys at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Saturday, April 17, 2010 @ 6:32 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, we’re finding that tax time is also yielding it’s own set of challenges for some cash-strapped citizens and the struggling states who owe them.

Today, many cash-strapped states such as North Carolina, Alabama and Hawaii have delayed issuing income tax refunds to individuals and businesses; Kansas has suggested similar delays, while Iowa has slowed down the process because it doesn’t have enough employees to process the refunds more quickly.  Further, New York, has considered following the lead of its fellow states by stalling their own state income tax refunds.

“States typically do this when they are tight and they don’t have a budget in place,” Karla Dennis, CEO of Cohesive, a nationwide tax preparation firm, recently told CNBC.  As the business network reported, “things are dire at many states: forty-one states are expected to have mid-year budget gaps totaling $37.7 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Delaying the refund, Dennis says, ‘gives the state funds to work with in the interim to fill a gap in their revenues.’”

While some may question the legality of holding taxpayer dollars, these delays appear to be above board—at least for now.  As CNBC noted, “Hawaii’s Department of Taxation announced last month that it will delay income tax refunds until July 1, when processing and payments will resume on a “first-in-first-out basis,” according to a news release. The state is delaying the funds to alleviate a $721 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. Under Hawaiian law, processing refunds must be done 90 days after the April 20 due day (or later if a return is filed after the due date). After that, the actual payment must be made within 45 days or interest has to be paid on the refund. Most states have similar laws about when interest kicks in, but they differ from state to state, said Scott Clark a tax attorney and partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.”

Unfortunately, North Carolina citizens face a similar situation. “The state’s Department of Revenue posted a note on its website stating that the ‘state continues to feel the effects of the slow economy, and the department is managing the distribution of refunds as a result.’”

This is the second time in as many years that North Carolinians have suffered the ‘wait and see’ for their state refunds. “Refund payments were slow to be processed in North Carolina last year too, the only difference now is that the department is keeping mum on when taxpayers might expect to receive their refunds. Last year, deadlines weren’t met. ‘We ended up not being right and people got even more upset,’ said Thomas Beam, a spokesperson at the North Carolina’s Department of Revenue. He says besides managing funds, other factors—such as wrong addresses, social security numbers or not attaching the right forms—can further slow down payments. The state continues to release refunds at a slower pace, and updates how much they’ve processed on the site regularly. As of late February, 727,282 refunds were processed in North Carolina totaling over $500 million.”

Experts say that more states may follow suit in delaying state income tax refunds as it becomes more and more clear—with little in their coffers—that they have little other recourse but told hold back. This is little solace for families facing financial struggles and dependent on this annual economic infusion.  “It’s essentially an involuntary no interest loan from the taxpayer,” Ivan Kenneally, an assistant professor of political science at the Rochester Institute of Technology told CNBC.

In these taxing times, a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help when you find yourself short on cash–whatever the reason.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Friday, April 16, 2010 @ 5:31 pm

When President Obama signed landmark health care legislation into law, it meant unprecedented changes for Americans seeking better medical insurance and facing crushing medical debt. For many, these changes can’t come quickly enough. Even amid surging unemployment and a national housing crisis, health care expenses have quickly become the primary budget buster for millions of beleaguered Americans. According to a Harvard study recently reported in the LA Times, medical bills played a role in 62% of personal bankruptcies filed in 2007, up 7% from 2001. Shockingly, 78% of these filers actually had health insurance.

As these staggering numbers reveal, medical expenses are a primary reason many average people just like you end up filing for bankruptcy. While filing for bankruptcy is never an easy option, sometimes it feels like no amount of insurance appears to fully “insure” that bills will be covered in the event of an unexpected injury or illness. And, as many of you already know, medical bills are rarely small, with any preexisting condition exacerbating even the ability to get paltry coverage for these prior and future physical and mental ills.

So, in this already tough economic environment, what’s the best way to attempt to avoid mounting medical costs?

Employer Plans
Well, if you’re fortunate enough to be employed or considering a new career, your obvious first step is seeking coverage from employer sources.  Inquire about what types of health benefit plans exist for employees like you, including health subsidies, co- or partial payments, health reimbursement and savings accounts, and deductibles. While even the most basic employer plans can be expensive, and all insurance seems to have its limits, they can provide much-needed peace of mind for families facing minor illness and injury.  Also, health care reforms will yield more employee-coverage as employers receive incentives for keeping workers insured; and, at the same time, citizens will have more health care options, driving costs down and providing additional and available coverage.

Health Insurance Transition Plans
If you are currently unemployed like so many, today you currently have the option of coverage while in health insurance transition, such as a COBRA plan. While these plans are normally more costly than employer-based plans, they can provide coverage for up to 18 months after being laid off. In addition, recent health care legislation will mandate uninsured citizens to sign up for more available insurance plans, with the strategy that more buy-in will lower costs and help pay for better health care options in the future.

Parental Coverage and Preexisting Conditions
While some of these positive changes are years away, more immediate reforms mean groups long discriminated against for their age, gender, and health, can now brief a bit easier. In the coming months, parental insurance will be extended to young adults (up to age 26), preventing medical bills from taking young people to the financial brink in an especially unfriendly job market for recent grads. And, one of the more groundbreaking reforms is that insurance companies can no longer use preexisting conditions to deny individual coverage or charge higher rates based on preexisting conditions, gender, or other formerly exacerbating factors. Without preexisting conditions standing in the way, many Americans will now have access to insurance like never before, creating one less barrier to affording the very hefty medical bills that would normally lead directly to bankruptcy.

Medical Bankruptcy
However, as mentioned, some of these reforms are months, if not years away. And many insured and uninsured people need more immediate financial help. If you are suffering from illness, injury and out of control debt, and considering filing a medical-related bankruptcy, it is important to understand that medical bills are considered unsecured debt and can be discharged entirely under Chapter 7. If you are instead filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your medical bills can be significantly reduced with a payment plan over time. In either situation, bankruptcy may be just what you need to help you get back on your financial feet again.

The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button and let these experts smoke out your next best financial steps.

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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. For those keeping count, that’s nearly seven months.

And with each passing month, it becomes more and more clear that finding new jobs isn’t getting any easier, with leading economists speculating that not only is the nearly 10% unemployment rate not likely to fall anytime soon, but also that the actual number of workers seeking full-time jobs is on par to grow. As Matthew Scott reported for AOL’s DailyFinance.com, “in the worst-case scenario, more than 26 million people could be battling each other for the few available jobs.”

A Shift in American Industry Yields No Available Jobs

The reason: a general decline in certain American industrial mainstays such as construction and manufacturing that may never return. Add that to the fact that few industries will likely be in a position to pick up the slack from these hard-hit construction and manufacturing sectors, unable to accept large numbers of new workers in the next few years, with all signs pointing to more unprecedented joblessness during that time.

More facts and figures are against us when you consider that many of the job cuts companies made during the recent economic downturn may remain permanent unless any purported recovery leads to genuine expansion in American industry—not, as Scott reports, “just the moderate 3% to 4% annual growth that has been projected through 2012.” In short, if job cuts become permanent, it could cause real upheaval in some industries, forcing many workers to retrain when they can to find work in different industries where they can.

A Shift in Part-Time to Full Time Yields Few Openings

Even when hiring does begin to pick up, the unemployed have to compete against an unexpected pool of qualified applicants: part timers. As Scott reported, “Employers have been filling full-time schedules with part-time workers until companies feel more confident about their future growth prospects. People in those part-time positions will likely be hired full-time before employers look at other workers.”

Even when part timers become full timers, Scott says, “the 2.5 million workers who are discouraged and have stopped looking for work — and as a result don’t show up in the unemployment statistics — will begin returning to the labor market. Add them to the 14.9 million unemployed already counted and the part-timers, and that’s at least 26.4 million people potentially looking for work. The nation would need double-digit gross domestic product growth to absorb that many workers.”

A Shift in Perception Yields Positive Growth in New Fields

But it’s not all bad news on the homefront. Some predict that within the next eight years, millions of job openings could appear in education, health care, government and nonprofit.

In the meantime, qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist proud, but jobless, citizens just like you to conquer your fears of losing it all. If you are in North Carolina and receiving unemployment benefits, call a bankruptcy attorney today. The upfront fees for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be as low as $338.00. The bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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. Census, also fewer than many economists forecast. Private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007.”

Both public and private sectors felt an uptick in hiring, with temp services adding 40,000 workers; health care generating 7,000 jobs; and hospitality adding 22,000 positions. Even the troubled construction industry added 15,000 positions, with previously mediocre manufacturers another 17,000.

Hiring increases are the latest bellwether that America’s beleaguered economy is currently in recovery—albeit with the caveat that this momentum won’t likely be enough to make a quick dent in the nation’s record unemployment rates.

“It’s just the beginning of a rise in private hiring that will help sustain the recovery,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group told The Huffington Post’s Christopher Rugaber. “They’re not big numbers, but they’re welcome numbers.”

“Welcome numbers” mostly because there are still 15 million Americans out of work, about twice as many as prior to the recession’s beginnings in late 2007. And with more people entering the U.S. work force in March, even with the increases last month, the unemployment rate hasn’t budged.   Plus, it appears the average hourly earnings fell to $22.47 with high unemployment creating just the leverage businesses need to keep down wages. In addition, the number of those out of work for six months or longer increased to 6.5 million, a record high with more than 44 percent of those out of work are long-term unemployed, also a record.

“For those laid off, unemployment is stretching longer and longer and putting severe distress on families,” Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit advocacy group told The HuffPost.

Still, these new job figures show both spending and manufacturing sectors growing faster than they have in five years. As The Huffington Post reported, “Economists are increasingly confident that the nation will avoid a “double-dip” recession, in which growth slows after a short burst at the end of last year.Analysts expect the economy will expand at a roughly 3 percent pace in the current January-to-March quarter. That’s roughly half the 5.6 percent pace seen in the final quarter of last year. Normally, growth in the 3 percent range would be considered respectable. But the nation is emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s. Growth needs to be in the 5 percent range or higher to quickly drive down the unemployment rate. Both the Federal Reserve and Obama administration expect joblessness will remain above 9 percent through the end of this year.”

But it’s not all bad news on the homefront. In addition to manufacturing and construction gains, some predict that within the next eight years, millions of jobs openings could appear in education, health care, government and nonprofit.

In the meantime, qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist proud, but jobless, citizens just like you to conquer your fears of losing it all.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 10:12 am

Exacerbated by the recent “Great Recession,” small business owners everywhere are not only facing lagging consumer and commercial spending and fewer credit options, but also high employee health care costs. While health benefits have been a goal for most employees seeking work, all across our great nation, mom and pop endeavors with even the most solid histories face tremendous financial obstacles in giving their employees the coverage they need. With lack of quality, low-cost health care options for employees being an exacerbating factor in many a recent businesses’ decisions to cut staff and sometimes, close shop, bankruptcy has been the only option for many a small company.

The recent health care legislation with amendments—nearly 2600 pages—leave many unsure of the implications for small businesses needing to employee coverage.

Here are a few fast facts for that can provide a health reform overview to the benefits for beleaguered business owners:

Employer’s Obligation to Provide Insurance

Generally speaking, the new health care legislation does not require an employer to provide insurance for any employee (though starting in 2014, large companies will pay a penalty if a full-time worker gets a public subsidy to buy insurance individually). Nor does it mandate that employers contribute anything toward their employees’ premiums. However, in order to take advantage of new small-business tax credits, a company must pay for at least half of the employees’ premium cost.

Penalties for Not Providing Insurance

With some exceptions, any penalties for not covering employees apply for a business with 50 or more full-time employees. These larger businesses must pay a penalty if at least one full-time employee requires a public subsidy for insurance. When an employee must find his own coverage because the business does not provide any options, the penalty is $2,000 for each full-time employee in the company, albeit with a 30-employee deduction. When the business does offer coverage but it is considered under the legislation to be “unaffordable,” the penalty is $3,000 for every employee taking a subsidy. This specific penalty is capped at the total penalty the company would pay if it did not offer insurance at all.

Small-Business Tax Credits

From 2010 through 2013 a smaller business will receive a tax credit to offset some 35 percent of its insurance costs, provided the business contributes at least half of their employees’ premiums. At the point, the business begins buying insurance through a health insurance exchange, the credit increases to 50 percent.

Health Insurance Exchanges

So, what exactly are health insurance exchanges? In addition to establishing an exchange for individuals to purchase insurance in 2014, states must simultaneously set up a so-called “small-business health options program” by which small employers can purchase insurance. Plans offered on the exchange will have to be standardized for easy comparison and offer minimum levels of benefits established by the bill. Starting in 2017, a state can open exchanges to large employers (101+ employees).

Pre-existing Conditions

Beginning in 2014, people with preexisting conditions will be able to purchase insurance on an exchange. In the meantime, each state will have to create a new, temporary program, such as a high-risk pool, to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The truth remains, if you are no longer able to sustain or expand your business in your current financial situation, filing for bankruptcy may be your best bet. And, in this case, the best move a beleaguered small business owner can make is to consult an experienced bankruptcy attorney who specializes in small business cases. Skilled bankruptcy attorneys like those at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt can get to work early, navigate any uncertain waters of bankruptcy court and work in your best interests during the duration of your small business bankruptcy. The attorneys at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, March 31, 2010 @ 10:02 am

This week, amid groundbreaking health care legislation, many missed the Obama administration’s other big news: a major reworking of its troubled $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan. In an attempt to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis, the newly revamped program targets homeowners who are unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (owing more on their loans than their homes are worth).

While only 170,000 homeowners have completed loan modifications under the President’s plan thus far—out of 1.1 million who began the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program last year—the current effort is designed to help 3 million to 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure by the end of 2012.

Because of HAMP’s track record thus far, the new provisions are to be taken with a grain of salt. However, here’s a basic overview of the new HAMP guidelines.

Borrowers Get Aid in Three Ways
In the coming months, (1) the unemployed can qualify for up to a six month stay on their mortgage payments;  (2) in turn, participating banks will receive financial incentives to reduce mortgage balances for underwater homeowners; and (3) lenders can refinance mortgage loans secured by the Federal Housing Administration.

A Reprieve Specifically for Unemployed Homeowners
In order to give unemployed homeowners more time to find a job, under the new plan if you are jobless and live in their home, have a mortgage of below $729,750 and qualify for unemployment benefits, you will not be required to spend over 31 percent of their monthly income on your mortgage for up to six months. If you find a job during that time, you may qualify for a loan modification that could permanently reduce your payments. If you cannot find a job in that time, lenders will encourage a short sale or deed-in lieu of foreclosure. Keep in mind, however, a short sale or deed-in lieu almost always results in the borrower owing more money after the transaction.

If you are faced with a short sale or deed-in lieu as your only option, it’s best to simply file for bankruptcy and surrender the property. This is the only way to truly wash your hands clean of the leftover debt. Bankruptcy is also less headache-inducing than a short sale. If you couldn’t get your lender to agree to a modification that would pay the lender the full amount of the loan, how hard do you think it will be to get the same lender to accept a lesser amount through a short sale? It’s simply not worth your time to bend over backward for a mortgage lender- call a bankruptcy attorney instead.

Possible Assistance for Underwater Homeowners
While any assistance for underwater homeowners under this plan depends largely on the willingness of mortgage companies to participate, over the next three years, the program will offer expanded incentives to lenders who reduce mortgage payments for borrowers who have mortgage of less than $729,750, owe at least 15 percent more than their home’s current value, but who have also missed no payments and can show they are in financial trouble. Again, this is a carrot with no stick. Lenders have already shown a general unwillingness (or inability) to voluntarily modify loans. We remain skeptical that this additional incentive will really increase any voluntary loan modification.

Doing What You Can to Qualify
To assure you can qualify for government assistance in your time of need, try to adhere to a few basic tenets.

• First, homeowners must not have missed any payments on their home loans.  Largely these modifications anrefinancing agreements are based on the premise that you have not yet defaulted on your mortgage. This good faith effort to stay afloat in your mortgage—even if you’re underwater—might be just what you need to keep your home, and your financial head, above water, in the months and years to come.
• Second, you must live in their home as a primary residence. These programs are for those men and women trying to hold on to a source of shelter; not a vacation or rental property.
• Third, you must provide proof of income (even when you don’t have one). This program targets American citizens who are truly in need of financial assistance (i.e., people struggling because of a lost job or a mortgage that is slowly (or quickly) depleting their monthly income). Proof that you can’t afford your mortgage (i.e., that you’re in financial trouble) is often required before these changes can take place.

While we are hopeful that the foreclosure crisis can be stopped, the reality of the situation is that the government’s program makes lender participation voluntary. That means your lender doesn’t have to work with you! However, a recent decision from the Durham bankruptcy court held that under the current bankruptcy code, some mortgages CAN be modified by the bankruptcy court. To find out if your mortgage might be eligible,contact The Law Firm of John T. Orcutt for a totally FREE consultation at 1-800-899-1414.

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Published Wednesday, March 31, 2010 @ 7:52 am

If the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes can bounce back from bankruptcy, anyone can. Well, any sports franchise, that is.

After more than a year of backdoor dealings, personal vendettas and one of the most back-and-forth bankruptcy fiascoes to burden a modern major sports franchise, the Phoenix Coyotes have made the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Managerially broken and in the financial penalty box for the majority of its existence in Arizona, few gave the desert-based ice hockey team much of a chance to rebound into relevancy, especially after the way its bankruptcy proceedings transpired. Most believed the team would eventually fold or be moved to a more hockey-friendly market.

The hassles all started after the team’s owner tried to enter the team into bankruptcy in an attempt to create the ideal sales position for Canadian billionaire, Jim Balsillie, who is intent on having a third team in Ontario. It became quite obvious that the two were cohorts in the deal; one wanted to rid himself of a financial boat anchor and the other wanted to set sail back east. However, league rules state that a team’s ownership entity cannot file bankruptcy without board approval. So league officials stepped into the bankruptcy proceedings. That’s when things became a real mess.

Prior to the filing, the team was struggling with poor attendance and even worse performance. To put it mildly, it didn’t look good for the NHL’s most risky large-market experiment. Add to that the NHL Board of Commissioner’s general dislike for Balsillie and the Coyotes looked doomed.

After a number of court battles, the league itself won the bid of ownership out of bankruptcy court just before the start of this season. The league installed a new head coach after one-time part owner and coach, Wayne Gretzky, did not have interest in returning to the bench.

Needless to say, the puck has slid in favor of professional hockey’s desert dogs. New coach Dave Tippitt has taken one of the league’s smallest payrolls with little offensive prowess and created a tough-minded testament to the importance of a stout defense. Last year’s young and generally inexperienced shifts were bolstered by solid mid-season veteran pick-ups and a commitment to not letting the other team establish an offensive rhythm.

Now with a dense crowd of loyal fans eager to part with their recession-weakened paychecks howling for victory, the Phoenix Coyotes are more than just another feel good sports story—they’re a darn good hockey club.

Tony Gallagher, sports writer for The Province, a newspaper in British Columbia, believes Tippitt should be considered for league coaching awards, writing that Tippitt’s work ” … should not only earn him coach-of-the-year honours, but may well go down as one of the best single-year coaching jobs of all time.”

However, Tippitt is quick to wave off any real differences between he and the Great One, who captained the team during its formative years. He simply believes the change in focus from young and aggressive to experienced and stout behind the blue line is what’s making the difference.

“This notion that I’m great and Wayne isn’t a good coach is wrong,” says Tippett. “They were just too young last year.”

Whatever the reason for Gretzky’s team not winning, it was probably a good thing he didn’t return. Sometimes, all it takes to return a team to winning is a complete reset. And just like in the financial personal lives of millions of Americans, it seems bankruptcy was the ideal way to start over.

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Published Tuesday, March 30, 2010 @ 4:50 pm

In these tough economic times, many believe the federal government has already launched yet another stimulus program. This one’s called the U.S. Census.

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau takes a demographic snapshot of the American population, determining how many people reside within our nation’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.

Don’t think the census can make a direct economic impact? The numbers don’t seem to lie.

As Nightly Business Report’s Terri Cullen reported in her article The Census as Economic Stimiulus, “Nearly 1.4 million census takers are expected to earn upwards of $15 billion helping to help compile the 2010 census. (Workers are paid an average of $15 an hour for roughly 13 weeks.)” As such, census-related hiring could have an immediate impact on America’s staggering unemployment rates.

As is tradition, following the mass census form mail out, census workers go from door-to-door, house-to-house, to retrieve census information from homes that have yet to mail back the  important demographic information found on census questionnaires. According to Cullen’s article, “the government saves $85 million for every 1 percent of the population that simply mail the forms back — if everyone mailed them back, it would save $1.5 billion. (So far, 34% have been returned.) The census will spend another $340 million on a national ad campaign to explain why the census is important, and urge Americans to complete the form and send it back.”

Due to the current housing crisis affecting every inch of our country, Cullen notes that this year’s census campaign in particular, may provide even more economic kick-backs than it would under normal circumstances. Census Director Robert M. Groves recently shared on his own blog that the unprecedented number of home foreclosures have left thousands of homes vacant. “To be sure these housing units are vacant, we will send census workers to follow-up on these addresses beginning in May,” he wrote. “This inevitably adds to the salary costs of the census.”

Those men and women hired to go door-to-door for the census will make extra money in places like Arizona, Florida and Nevada, considered ground zero for many of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.  For example, in Nevada, Cullen said, “one in every 102 housing units was in foreclosure in February, according to real-estate data provider RealtyTrac Inc. That’s four times the national average. (In Arizona and Florida, it’s one in every 163 homes.)”

While the economic benefits of these census hirings may not be an economic silver bullet for our recent recessionary woes, economists do foresee that the United States economy “will see a bump in consumer spending as a result of this new surge in employment. Still, these jobs are temporary — and so the economic boost will likely prove temporary as well.”

Whether the census jobs are temporary or not, American workers will, as Cullen puts it “take what they can get.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau website, these short-term jobs not only offer good pay, but also flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities. Most positions require a valid driver’s license and use of a vehicle. However, use of public transportation may be authorized in certain areas.

All census takers must be able to speak English, but people who have bilingual skills are needed in communities where a large number of residents primarily speak other languages.

To apply contact your Local Census Office or by calling 1-866-861-2010.

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Published Tuesday, March 30, 2010 @ 9:50 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, rising costs 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.

In part two of this ongoing series, we meet mother of two, Lisa Lewis.

Lewis, who shared her plight with The Huffington Post’s Heather Hollingsworth, worried about how to pay for her son’s school lunches. The 37-year-old works part-time at a Kansas daycare, earning just minimum wage. With her part-time job she attempts to support herself, her unemployed husband, her stepson and her 11th-grade son. “I sometimes cry myself to sleep wondering how I am going to keep my family fed and things like that,” Lewis told Hollingsworth. “I’m making it but barely.”

Fortunately, Lewis qualified government assistance to pay for her youngest son’s meals with her older son already a part of the subsidized lunch program. As Hollingsworth writes, “In the midst of a blistering recession, more families are flocking to the federal program that gives students free or reduced-priced lunches. During the 2008-2009 school year, about 19 million students received free and reduced lunches, which is 895,000 more than the previous year – a jump of nearly 5 percent and that greatly outpaced the overall increase in school enrollment, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Typically, the increases are about 1 to 2 percent each year. To qualify for the mostly federally funded school meal program, a family of four can earn no more than $28,665 for free lunch and $40,793 for reduced-cost lunches of no more than 40 cents. The guidelines are different in Alaska and Hawaii, where families can earn more and still qualify.”

As more and more children qualify for subsidized lunches, many beleaguered school districts are having a tough time providing free or reduced lunches with the money allotted by the federal government. These same districts are siphoning from other areas of their budgets simply to make ends meet for their students.

As Hollingsworth puts it, “For all, it’s a stark example of how the recession is hurting families. And when life is not stable at home, everything changes.” Topeka, Kansas, Superintendent Mike Mathes, told Hollingsworth that one of the most heartbreaking stories he has come across is 11 students from three families crowded into a rental home and a trailer parked outside. “The number one priority in those kids’ lives isn’t school, it’s surviving,” Mathes said.

For families like these in Kansas, it’s all about riding out their own Great Recession.

If you’ve been effected by the economy and are wondering how to put food on the table—at home or otherwise—knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Monday, March 29, 2010 @ 7:47 am

Dear Consumers,

Just kidding.

Yours,
LifeLock

To follow up on a recent post about the overzealous marketing of credit report monitoring services, we bring you the latest in what can now be called a disturbing trend in financial fear-marketing.

LifeLock , the company that boasted their monthly fee-based privacy system could thwart even the Impossible Missions Force from seizing your identity or accessing your credit is now on the hook for $12 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for … wait for it … misleading consumers about the nature of its products.

You can’t make this stuff up.

From the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt. Call today for a free and confidential debt consolidation. 1-800-899-1414.

Not long ago, LifeLock had mobile billboards plastered with its CEO’s social security number parading through major metropolitan areas and were blistering radio and television channels with endless pronouncements about the strength of their identity monitoring products. The ads were extremely effective.

The company managed to positively boost its product without literally telling you to run under the bed and hide from all the identity thieves lurking inside your computer and around your trash cans. The understated importance of the CEO’s claim made one think, “Man, I better do something or I’ll be a victim.” Life insurance salesmen were taking copious notes.

The company is also settling with more than 30 states, including North Carolina. In a written statement, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz summarized the issue, “While LifeLock promised consumers complete protection against all types of identity theft, in truth, the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it.”

Ouch.

The settlement contains language that orders the company to immediately cease making claims that its service can absolutely prevent identity theft and make customer information useless to identity thieves.

The company also has to agree to—this is toughest part of the settlement—protect its customers’ information. Apparently, the FTC investigation uncovered that once under the watch of LifeLock employees, the privacy of customer information was neglected.

According to the FTC, the most misleading component of the company’s marketing plan was the claim it can stop all forms of identity theft. The truth is that it can only prevent a very specific type of theft that is found in a minority of cases.

Very much like keeping track of your credit, you can monitor fraud quite easily on your own. If you have credit cards, you can arrange a number of alerts that pertain to spending habits and frequency. Your bank can do the same for your debit card as well.

This post is not meant to minimize the impact of identity theft. It is certainly a very painful and common type of crime that has lead many people to bankruptcy court. And in many cases, even the most diligent purveyors of their finances have been become victim. However, it is unfortunate that today, in the age of the Great Recession, we have to be as equally watchful of the those who come to us with help, regardless of how often they are put in front of us as heroes.

The LifeLock case has rendered the company’s advertising plan somewhat mute. In response, you may have noticed a few other industry players fighting for the competitive space. LifeLock did right by their investors by placing a very positive spin on the settlement, calling it a step forward for consumers.

Todd Davis, LifeLock CEO, remained front and center in the case, saying, “We welcome federal and state efforts to regulate our industry, because doing so helps to protect consumers from the risks of identity theft.”

Mr. Davis, who else should we be worried about?

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Published Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @ 12:59 pm

There was very important bill passed this week in Washington.

No, not that one.

Attached to the monumental health care bill was a significant alteration to the way student loans are handled by the government.

We have covered this topic several times here on the blog (use the search tool), which is critical to those considering bankruptcy because as of now, outside of very special and rarely granted conditions, student loans are not allowed to be discharged.

Arguments have mounted recently about the role private banks have in backing federal student loans. The primary issue is that the government guarantees close to 90 percent return for the private lender who funds the loan. Currently, this is the most popular way Americans pay for college. During the current 2009-10 school year, banks loaned $67 billion that is federally-backed.

The new legislation will turn the tables on private lenders, primarily Sallie Mae, and allow the U.S. government to loan directly to students.

Starting this summer, the bill outlines $500 billion in straight-to-student loans within the first 10 years, drastically increasing the current rate of direct loans. The most common federally-backed loans are Stafford Loans.

Naturally, backers of the private companies’ continued role in the student loan business are citing the move as the proverbial decapitation of their business.

An analyst with a spending research firm in Washington, Teddy Downey of Concept Capital Washington Research, made it clear to the government what the new rules would do to private lenders. “This is bad for Sallie Mae, as it will now be out of the origination business … there is zero chance for student lenders to stay in that business.”

The current law allows private lenders to collect billions on the interest collected from the difference between the rate at which the government provides them the capital and the rate at which they lend it. Additionally, the entire process has gone largely unregulated, allowing private lenders to also issue their own loans.

The proposal is estimated to preserve close to $61 billion in the federal budget over the next decade. A large portion of that figure will flow into Pell Grants, the ubiquitous student loan that has sent millions of Americans to post-secondary education. Because of the recession, college classrooms nationwide need more desks than ever before, seriously impacting the fiscal stability of the Pell program.

The Pell Grant is directly targeted at lower-income and middle-class students and thus, they will benefit tremendously from the new measure. This is especially good news for those who have recently come out of bankruptcy, as it helps provide yet another avenue toward personal re-invention through education, job training and career development.

Proponents of the law are citing stats that show a major cut in loan funding if it is not passed. Supporters are saying that eight million students would feel the impact of a 60 percent decrease in Pell funding and that by 2011, 600,000 students would lose their Pell Grant, forcing them to quickly find another source for college money.

The Obama Administration has set goals for college graduation in America and it appears this is firmly placed rung on the ladder toward that accomplishment. Some financial aid experts are not sure it will help the country get much higher though.

“This bill is not as good as it originally was,” said Mark Kantrowitz, who publishes FinAid.org. “It is difficult to see how President Obama will be able to meet his college graduation goals.”

However, isn’t just a few more still a good thing?

If you are in North Carolina and struggling to stay on top of your student loans, contact the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt. Student Loans are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, but a Chapter 13 will put your loans in deferral status, allowing you to discharge your other unsecured debt and giving much-deserved breathing room while you position yourself to make your next career move. Offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville, Durham and Wilson. Call today. 1-800-899-1414.

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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. Even when you do, it’s probably some automated response promising that “one of our professionals will soon be in touch.” Heard that one before? Every job that seems like a great match just restarts the cycle.

Add to that a boiling personal financial crisis and the job search can seem like a completely fruitless effort. No doubt, it’s tough out there.

What’s making matters worse for this job market is that it is occurring during such a heated political climate. Washington is divided and everyone seems on edge, especially when discussions involve companies or parts of the country that have received stimulus, or “bailout” money. Everyone wants a piece. Or heck, we just want to know it’s helping.

Well, we came across a helpful blog called My Bank Tracker (mybanktracker.com) that outlines some useful tips on how to locate where stimulus money is creating jobs. If you think you can afford a relocation or even if you have the ability to relocate temporarily for work, following the stimulus money could be useful.

The site advises readers to take full advantage of the government’s Web site established to record the use of the stimulus funds. If you visit www.recovery.gov, you can track down recipients of the money, as it contains an large database on grants and funding awards. Then, narrow it down by state. See what North Carolina has to offer. For example, the LED lighting company, CREE, was given a $39 million in stimulus money to create “green” jobs and manufacturing positions. To date, they have hired 375 people.

The most simple way to locate potential employment is under the “Opportunities” menu on the government site. There is a direct link to jobs that allows you to search by phrase and job type, for example, “marketing jobs in Washington DC” or Electrical work in Omaha NE.” Hey, if you have a cousin in an area that’s hiring, it could work for a while.

You can also look under USAjobs.gov for work that is backed by the Recovery Act. However, it is important to note that this site highlights government and public service jobs. Nevertheless, the federal government has been known to pay well, offer great benefits and provide terrific job security. So it’s certainly worth a shot.

As we mentioned, politics have been hampering employment aid. Last week, as we discussed here, it took days of political grandstanding to pass a $140 million bill that would extend unemployment benefits. It’s passing offers the unemployment and potentially bankrupt a small cushion.

Unemployment is directly related to debt problems and thus, the tremendous increase in personal bankruptcies. Maybe, in a couple more years (we don’t want to sound bleak) when unemployment is back at reasonable levels, the government can fund more training programs or maybe use stimulus money to support proactive job growth efforts so we don’t have assemble the dike during the flood.

Look, we want to help as many clients as we can. We just wish there was more we could do before they call us. Good luck, stay positive and call us- we can get rid of your debt while you look for a job, and give your family some well-deserved relief from relentless creditor calls. Call today to set up a free debt consultation- 1-800-899-1414. Convenient offices in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville and Wilson.

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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.

In a recent McClatchy article entitled “Too small to succeed? Firms still can’t get loans they need,” small businees owners—from California to the Carolinas—share their personal struggles behind the credit crunch.

“Jim Collins, co-owner with his wife Arlene of Quantum Energy Solutions, has been in business in Sacramento, California, since 1974. He has a $50,000 line of credit, backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, through US Bank, owned by US Bancorp. He has a solid credit history and $30,000 in untapped credit. Yet when Collins approached the bank about borrowing at least $500,000 to expand his 12-employee firm — which retrofits buildings with energy efficient technologies — he was rebuffed, told that his company lacks resources and collateral. US Bancorp declined comment. Collins, 70, can’t get the money he needs to hire five additional workers and ramp up marketing, even as the Obama administration promotes the “green jobs” of the future. ‘The credit crunch is still there. It really impedes our ability to grow,” he said. “I’d put five more people to work tomorrow.’”

Because small business accounts for some 65% of employment in a nation already facing off-the-charts job losses, any squeeze on small firms is a serious matter—with last year’s disconcerting lending figures illustrating just how serious—for the long haul.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the United States economy made 7.4 percent fewer loans in 2009, the largest lending drop since 1942 and marking an estimated $1.5 trillion lending deficit. As McClatchy reports, “corporations are issuing bonds again, and large companies have access to bank loans, but it’s still an uphill climb for the little guy. ‘There’s a big gap in access to credit for small firms now, and it’s a huge problem,’ Karen Mills, the head of the Small Business Administration, told McClatchy. ‘We have a sense that the banks are not back to lending the way that they need to be, going forward.’”

Another victim of the credit crunch—this time on the East Coast—is North Carolina’s Bob Kingery, co-founder of Southern Energy Management in Morrisville, NC. While Kingery’s firm normally makes a good living installing solar photovoltaic panels for businesses throughout the Southeast, “in the past two years, about 15 projects have been scratched or delayed indefinitely as customers scramble for financing options. The tight credit market has tied up about $30 million in business, Kingery calculates.”

Based on last year’s anemic lending figures and the continuing trend of evaporating loans for small business, many mom and pop endeavors are seeking shelter through the benefits of bankruptcy.

The truth remains, if you are no longer able to sustain or expand your business in your current financial situation, filing for bankruptcy may be your best bet. And, in this case, the best move a beleaguered small business owner can make is to consult an experienced bankruptcy attorney who specializes in small business cases. Skilled bankruptcy attorneys like those at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt can get to work early, navigate any uncertain waters of bankruptcy court and work in your best interests during the duration of your small business bankruptcy. The attorneys at The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Saturday, March 6, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

While lack of confidence in the recent economic recovery led employers to shed an unanticipated 85,000 jobs in December 2009—even as many long-time unemployed Americans gave up looking for work to keep the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent—the qualification dates for existing tiers of unemployment benefits were extended for an additional two months.

But that two-month bump in benefits will expire at the end of February 2010, leaving millions of average Americans bewildered and without any money coming in their coffers.  Now, without Congressional action to extend these benefits, this latest look at the state of unemployment means an unprecedented number of jobless workers will lose their benefits and be ineligible to get more by June 2010.

In fact, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a new report last week about this very long-term unemployment crisis, revealing that:

“1.2 million jobless workers will become ineligible for federal unemployment benefits in March unless Congress extends the unemployment safety net programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). By June, this number will swell to nearly 5 million unemployed workers nationally who will be left without any jobless benefits….Currently, 5.6 million people are accessing one of the federal extensions (34-53 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation; 13-20 weeks of Extended Benefits, a program normally funded 50 percent by the states).”

Of the nearly 1.2 million workers facing a cut off of benefits in March alone: “380,000 workers will exhaust their 26 weeks of state benefits without accessing the temporary EUC extension program or the permanent federal program of Extended Benefits. Another 814,000 workers will not be eligible to continue receiving EUC past their current tier of benefits.”

“’Congress must swiftly act to maintain the lifeline for millions of jobless Americans caught in the
undertow of record long-term unemployment in this ongoing downturn,’ said Christine Owens, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project. ‘At the end of last year, Congress wisely agreed that our hardest hit workers and our economy were not yet out of the woods, and reauthorized the jobless benefits and health care subsidies from the ARRA. It is critical for Congress to renew these unemployment provisions through the end of the year before its Presidents Day recess for the millions workers again facing the end of the line—and to avoid missing the boat on this timely and effective economic jolt.’”

Under intense pressure from the public, Congress is currently considering a qualifying unemployment benefits extension period of another three months.  But for many, remaining jobless, even with an added lineup of benefits, is no consolation. As one in 10 Americans remain unable to find work and President Obama has established job creation as his “number one focus” this year, according to some economists, the legislative proposals being seriously discussed in Washington don’t even come close to addressing the problem.

As a result, many are taking things into their own hands to address their financial woes and take back their fiscal freedoms to make a fresh start through bankruptcy.

In fact, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help any unemployment person to conquer your creditors and face their financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Saturday, March 6, 2010 @ 8:59 am

Just when the credit card industry thought it was safe in Washington, Uncle Sam has decided to keep them over his knee for a few last good swats of discipline in the form of tighter regulations on late fees.

For many who struggle with credit cards, the problem is not always uncontrollable spending—it’s the fees. Late fees, annual fees and over the limit fees can pile up faster than Feburary snow in Minnesota, pushing customers over the edge into an avalanche of additional credit problems.

However, earlier this week the Federal Reserve proposed new limits on how credit card companies apply penalty fees for things like missing a deadline or going over the limit.

The proposal suggests that these new restrictions go into effect in late summer 2010. Earlier provisions in the credit card bill began last May and were phased in over time. The introduction of this latest component of the bill may signal to the credit card companies that they are now an ongoing target in the sights of pro-consumer members of the House and Senate.

The Fed is concerned with the fact that a $5 surpassing of one’s credit limit triggers a charge of $40. The new law is recommending that the penalty be more closely aligned with the dollar amount in question. More clearly, if you spend $5 over the limit, that will be your penalty.

One thing to consider is what impact this will have on those who consistently teeter on the edge of their limit. By lessening the consequences, is there a risk more people will no longer fear the penalties? A penalty needs to send a message.

Other facets of the proposed action include a limit on late payment penalties to only the amount of the cardholder’s current minimum payment. Thus, the $39 late fee average that so many of us see from month to month would be a thing of the past.

One of the more important components addresses multiple fees for a single action. For example, if you are late and over your limit, you can only be assessed one fee. The beauty in this part is that it will include the fees that some banks are now charging for not using your card, called an inactivity fee.

Still, there are some aspects of the bill that may warrant additional debate. It does not prohibit the application of a $39 late fee for someone who has a $70 minimum payment. The new laws that just became active include six month interest rate increase reviews that require banks to review, six months after they increased your interest rate, if the reason for the increase is still valid. However, they can also consider current market conditions, which may lead to reasoning on why the rate should remain higher.

A lot of our readers struggle with credit card debt, which has carved out a deep niche in the financial struggles of us Americans. Thankfully, some of these laws may lessen the credit card companies’ role in our financial problems. The rest of it though, is up to us.

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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.

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.

In part one of this ongoing series, we meet GM autoworker Michael Hanley.

Hanley, who recently shared his plight with The Huffington Post’s Sharon Cohen, is known to commute 530 miles in a day, from his home in the rolling hills of Wisconsin to his job in Kansas—all to keep a paycheck rolling in. As Cohen reminds us, “It’s one heck of a haul:” more than 1,000 miles roundtrip, 16-plus hours of driving, every week. “I like to say I gave up an eight-minute commute for an eight-hour commute,” he tells Cohen wearily.

Hanley’s commute is representative of not only one man’s tough choices in a tougher job market, it reveals the near-death of the American auto industry as a whole.

After his GM plant shut down a little over a year ago, Hanley could’ve chosen to stay close to home, and his family and search for an autoworker’s salary ($28 an hour) in his Wisconsin county “where more than 40 percent of its manufacturing jobs disappeared from 2006 to 2009.”  Instead the 23-year veteran of the auto industry chose to hang on to a better GM paycheck and his family’s health insurance, following the job to Fairfax, Kansas.

Even before his factory went idle, Hanley took steps to make himself a stronger candidate in a shrinking employment market, getting the college credits he needed to complete his accounting degree. But when Kansas came calling, along with the health insurance to keep his wife on chemotherapy, Hanley “didn’t hesitate. Auto work these days is like playing musical chairs. You grab an opening where you can.”

“There’s no way I could possibly go through one treatment without him having insurance,” Hanley’s wife told HuffPost.

Balancing his family’s financial security at his coveted job and the lonely existence of being away from home is hopefully a temporary sacrifice for Hanley. He plans to commute for an additional 18 months, at which point he turns 50 and hopes there will be a retirement package waiting.

“There are those people who worked there who have lost something they thought would be around forever and provided them with a real good lifestyle,” he adds.

For Hanley, it’s all about riding out his own Great Recession.

If you’ve been driven out of your job and are in serious debt, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you to conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future beyond our own “Great Recession.”  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

Are you angry at banks that are supposedly too big to fail? But you haven’t withdrawn your money because you think your account is too small to matter?

Well, one media matriarch has some alternative advice. 

Started by Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post is an American news website and aggregator for a host of blogs, columns, stories and moderated comments. The site, through its founder, is now taking a stand against America’s oversized financial institutions—from JP Morgan to Bank of America—and urging you to do the same.

HuffPost’s “Move Your Money” campaign urges you—the bank customer—to withdraw your money out of the big banks and into smaller community-oriented ones.  The reason is simple: a post-recessionary payback of another color. Huffington argues that following their bailout these same big banks have done nothing to help small business or to drive lending to the average American. As a result, the economy can’t thrive nor begin producing the much-needed jobs so many taxpayers—who footed the bill for said bailout—so desperately need. And she’s hoping we’re not going to take it anymore.

And she’s not alone in her gripes with the banking industry.

Robert Johnson of the progressive think tank the Roosevelt Institute helped craft the “Move Your Money” campaign. “All of us collectively do have money and when we move our money, we’re voting with a different currency, and one that businesses pay attention to,” he said to CBS News’s Jim Axelrod.

By entering your zip code into the Move Your Money website, a list of nearby small banks pops up all of which have received a rating of ‘B” or better by independent reviewers.

According to the Independent Community Bankers of America, community banks “focus attention on the needs of local families, businesses, and farmers” and “channel most of their loans to the neighborhoods where their depositors live and work, helping to keep local communities vibrant and growing.”

While many of these smaller banks provide a more personal touch to your banking experience, they too have fallen victim to this decade’s Great Recession, with hundreds closing in the past several years. As such, any movement of money should come with some research that your new, smaller bank has some staying power.

Move Your Money recommends that you stop in and see what they’re about. Talk to an employee to see what services they offer and how they treat you. For some tips and questions to ask visit Solari or see this article from the Dallas Morning News. You can also use FindABetterBank to calculate annual fees based on how you bank (note: their list of banks is incomplete).

If you truly are without any money to move—and your assets, in the bank or otherwise, are less than your debts—your gripe may be with your creditors, which, in many cases, are the same bailed-out banks targeted in the Move Your Money campaign.

Well, you too have the power to take back your money.

In fact, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you conquer these creditors and wipe away your debts, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, March 3, 2010 @ 8:10 am

As all American’s attempt to make their way out of their own Great Recessions, there is an old joke about the difference between a recession and a depression that goes something like this: “A recession is when your neighbor is out of work. A depression is when you are out of work.”

Well, the unemployed just got a whole new reason to feel depressed post-national recession.

Now, potential employers throughout the country are beginning to hold credit histories against already underworked and overwrought applicants. In fact, according to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resources Management, some sixty percent of employers said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with fewer than 42 percent in 2006.

While employers say these types of credit checks provide invaluable information about a job applicant’s “honesty and sense of responsibility,” according to The Huffington Post, lawmakers in at least 16 states—from South Carolina to Oregon—have proposed “outlawing most credit checks, saying the practice traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.”

One such anti-credit check lawmaker is Wisconsin Rep. Kim Hixson. He drafted a bill in his state shortly after hearing from constituents who have continually struggled to find work. “If somebody is trying to get a job as a truck driver or a trainer in a gym, what does your credit history have to do with your ability to do that job?” Hixson told HuffPost.

Under federal law, these same prospective employers must actually get written permission from applicants in order to run their credit check. Unfortunately, even with these protections in place, many desperate job seekers don’t feel they are in any position to refuse a potential employer’s requests.

Most of the state bills being proposed in 2010 prevent employers from using credit reports when hiring for most positions. According to The Huffington Post’s Kathleen Miller, “The laws contain exceptions in cases where such information could be relevant to the job – for example, if the person is applying to work in a bank or an accounts-payable office.”

Based on a 2008 survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), employers and other credit check advocates argue that the two most common red flags for employees who commit workplace fraud are “living beyond their means and having difficulty meeting financial obligations.” The ACFE report also estimated that U.S. employers lost $994 billion to workplace fraud in 2008.

But in these tough financial times, many believe the economy can’t afford the credit checks.

“We are in the great recession and this creates a vicious cycle,” said Maryland Delegate Kirill Reznik, who drafted a similar bill being considered in his state.  “People lose their jobs, that naturally precipitates them getting behind on bills, their credit scores go down, they are trying to find a job to pay off the bills, and employers won’t hire them because of their credit score.”

In the meantime, consumer advocacy groups are showing their support for legislative bans on these types of credit checks, pointing out that credit reports can also contain inaccurate information.

A qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist jobless citizens with even the worst credit histories to conquer their fears of losing it all.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Tuesday, March 2, 2010 @ 11:52 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, we’re finding that tax time is also yielding it’s own set of challenges for some cash-strapped citizens.

In his recent New York Times article, “Paying the Price for Survival Tactics,” Charles Delafuente reports on how the I.R.S. treats many kinds of written-off debts, some distressed home sales, and many emergency withdrawals from retirement accounts as taxable income.

Debt Forgiven By A Lender
In his timely piece, Delafuente introduces the concept of “phantom income:” an amount a lender forgives but for which the debtor still owes tax. In your case, this taxable amount becomes essentially the difference between what the lender would have received from you and what it will receive under your new agreement. As Delafuente explains, “These taxes are imposed even if only the interest rate, not the amount of principal, is reduced. That happens, for example, to consumers who renegotiate credit card debt. A lender is supposed to issue a 1099-C form reporting forgiven debt, but that doesn’t always happen if the principal is not reduced.”

As is normally true in the tax world, there are exceptions to the forgiven-debt rule. Keep in mind, forgiven debt is not taxable income if it is discharged by bankruptcy, or if you are considered insolvent—whereby your liabilities exceed the fair market value of your assets—when the debt is forgiven.

Mortgage Debt
While recent bailout measures enacted to help homeowners generally won’t trigger the forgiven-debt tax on a principal home, “foreclosures, short sales and other loss-of-home scenarios could bring on capital gains tax.” For example, if your home is worth significantly more than a mortgage and is repossessed and sold by the lender, you are entitled to the difference. As Delafuente explains, “The difference is a taxable profit, which will cause a capital gain. Fortunately for the masses, the first $500,000 on gains on a main home for couples ($250,000 for single taxpayers) may be covered by a tax exclusion. Further, nonrecourse mortgages, in which the lender can’t touch any assets other than the property, generally don’t cause such a gain.”

Retirement Withdrawals
Aside from your mortgage, if you withdraw money prematurely from their retirement accounts because of a job loss or a reduction in hours, you will also face extra taxes.  Holders of traditional I.R.A.’s and I.R.A. rollover accounts must pay 10 percent of any amount withdrawn before they reach 59 1/2 as a penalty on top of the traditional taxes on money taken out, which must be paid regardless of your age.

If you have a Roth I.R.A., you’ll face different rules. Your contributions—but not the account earnings—can be withdrawn without penalty after five years.

If you have an employer-sponsored plan, like 401(k)s and 403(b)s, you face yet another set of rules. For you, withdrawals are penalty-free if you left the employer that set up your plan after you turned 55. However, money rolled over to an I.R.A. from a former employer’s plan is subject to the 59 1/2-age rule.

Most 401(k) and 403(b) plans do not allow current employees to make withdrawals; instead they often have loan provisions. But another tax nightmare occurs if you have an outstanding loan and lose your job. In that case, you must repay the loan quickly or have the balance treated as a withdrawal, making it subject to tax and to the 10 percent penalty if you’re under 55, unless an equal-payment plan is used.

But remember, before borrowing from your retirement accounts, one of the best debt forgiveness plans comes from a personal bankruptcy. In these taxing times, a qualified bankruptcy attorney can help you conquer your fears before losing it all.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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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.

In the new year, the unemployment rate has, in fact, dropped incrementally from its staggering 10 percent highs in December 2009 to 9.7 percent, a small diminishment in the stats that some say exists because the long-term unemployed—the men and women out of work more than six months—have simply stopped looking for work. For these “long-termers,” making up some 40 percent of those collecting unemployment, these tiny changes in stats are far from comforting.

“These people, when you look at their unemployment rate, it’s just off the charts,” Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute told CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone. “It’s very different from earlier patterns that we’ve seen in recessions.”

“For those who once worked in the auto industry, housing and manufacturing, new jobs could be a long time coming,” Achuthan adds, pointing out that, “Ten years ago, we had 18 million or so people in manufacturing; now, it’s a little over 10 million. So you have 8 million jobs gone and there not coming back, ever.”

In this case, the proof is largely in the pudding, as average Americans struggle to transition from job to job in this era of perpetual unemployment. Hammering this point home, CBS’s Blackstone also spoke with Kelley Novak, who used to own a restaurant in Napa, California, called the No Bad Day Café. In the months since Novak was forced from the restaurant business by falling revenues, she has been trying what is becoming a recession-worthy recipe: cooking up new ways to keep money flowing in at a time when finding a job seems impossible. Now she’s trying to feed folks on a diminished scale via a small catering business. “It’ hard,” she says, “because there’s nothing available and, you know, you just have to get creative.”

As is the case for many small businesses, the economic downturn hit her homegrown eatery especially hard. “We were down 30 percent like everybody else,” Novak told CBS. Not only did she have to close her California restaurant, but Novak was forced to lay off all of her employees. “It was sad. It was really sad,” Novak recalls.

With California’s unemployment pushing over 12 percent, Novak understands it may be a long time before the six people who used to work at the No Bad Day Café can, as Blackstone put it: have “ a good day.” Blackstone found, “Many more may have to follow Novak’s lead and find something they can do themselves – even though launching her catering business has been daunting, especially since she’s doing it on her own. ‘It’s just really frightening,’ says Novak. “But giving up is no answer.”

Novak is right. And another key to rebounding in a recession is knowing who can help. Extended unemployment is not only frightening, but can be fiscally devastating: draining savings, busting budgets, and leaving many bankruptcy bound.

A qualified bankruptcy attorney can assist proud, but jobless, citizens just like you to conquer your fears of losing it all.  Specifically, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Monday, March 1, 2010 @ 11:15 am

Overworked? Underpaid? Join the Club: The Middle Class

This week, a money-themed CBS Sunday Morning featured Cary, North Carolina’s SAS, a business software company–featuring subsidized on-site daycare, gyms, and health care–as an example of a corporate aberration in the these tough economic times. As CBS reporter Jim Axelrod pointed out in his cover story “The Great American Paycheck Squeeze,” the reality is, “for more and more Americans in these recessionary times, SAS might as well be Disney World. The fact is, most workers feel overworked, under-appreciated and–most of all–under-paid.”

What’s your work experience in this decade of decline? Overworked? Underpaid? Or just happy to be here? Regardless, it’s a tough time to be almost anyone in the work force.

“We’re living through one of the worst times for wage growth ever,” Larry Mishel, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit Washington think tank told CBS. “From 2002 to 2007, the hourly compensation of a typical college graduate or a typical high school graduate went up zero – didn’t grow at all.”

Mishel says for most American workers, wages haven’t been keeping up with productivity for some 40 years.

“If you’re in manufacturing, there’s pressure from overseas,” he said. “We’ve weakened the ability to have and keep a union, we’ve introduced privatization, we have a much lower minimum wage, in many industries, we’ve deregulated them.”

And then enter this decade’s Great Recession, marked by rising foreclosure rates, escalating health care costs, recent credit card company schemes and unprecedented unemployment.
“We’ve seen the steepest and longest rise in unemployment since the Great Depression,” Mishel told CBS’s Axelrod. “This has a tremendous downward pressure on wages. Employers have all the leverage; they don’t have to give you more money to get you accept a job.

“In a Great Recession, you don’t have songs that say, ‘Take this job and shove it!’” Mishel said.

Specifically, the economist points to the fact that from the 1940s until around 1970, “as workers became more productive, their salaries grew accordingly. But around 1970, things changed, and for the next four decades, as productivity skyrocketed 70%, hourly wages hardly budged, rising a mere four percent.”

And what happened to all of those profits?  Mishel points to the upper echelon of business leadership. “Between 1989 and 2007, before the Great Recession, of all the income growth that was generated, the bottom 90 percent [of Americans] got only 15 percent of it. The upper one percent got 55 percent. And the upper tenth of the upper one percent, the one out of 1,000 households, got about a third of all the income growth.”

In other words, a third of all income growth went to one tenth of one percent of people, leaving the middle class with little to show for all of the country’s purported economic growth.

“We know that CEOs in large companies make 270 times that of a typical worker,” Mishel said. “It used to be around 20 times, 30 times, back in the ’60s and ’70s. Now the fact is, you don’t have to pay someone that much to get out of bed and go to work and be productive.”

The economist also challenged anyone who says we’re actually better off now than 40 years ago. “It’s really a low threshold to say families are a little better off than 30 years ago, when the pie grew by 70%,” Mishel said. “They should be far better off.”

Which brings us back to the story of SAS, and what co-founder and CEO Jim Goodnight is trying to do: redefine the concept of “fair wage.”

“You know, I always use the phrase, ’95 percent of my assets drive out the front gate every night, and it’s my job to bring ‘em back,’” Goodnight said to CBS.

And for anyone trying to grow a business in this economy, Goodnight’s view is that these fringe benefits are just “the smart thing to do.”

“The point of the benefits is to keep people,” said Goodnight. “And if you keep people and make your people happy, they’re going to make your customers happy. And if your customers are happy, they’re going to make the company happy. So, it’s sort of a triangle there that you have to always keep in mind.”

So, if you’re reading this and wishing you too could work for SAS, take heart. Even in these tough economic times, the company is hiring. But apply now . . . not surprisingly last year SAS received nearly 40,000 resumes.

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Published Thursday, February 25, 2010 @ 3:09 pm

While many economists argue that the economy is steadily rebounding, whether you’re in a recession or recovery seems to largely depend on where you live, if you have a job, if you can pay your bills, or if you still have your home.

The Huffington Post reported this week that facing an economic meltdown in their personal lives, many formerly middle-class families have had to find “creative ways to cope with the sudden loss of their jobs and homes.” In her article, “Rattlesnake for Breakfast, Wedding rings on Craigslist: Families Cope With Falling Out of the Middle Class,” Laura Bassett describes how the American dream, for many, has turned into a surreal nightmare.

Take Arkansas’s Jeff Falk, 51, for example. After losing his family business selling auto parts, and finding himself no longer able to afford the house he had built for his family, his wife Jill, and their two boys, ages 3 and 8, packed their 40-foot camper and headed to Arizona for the winter.

“Jill found a part-time job waiting tables, and Jeff found occasional work repairing old boats, but they struggled to feed and home-school their young boys. Occasionally, Falk says, he feeds his children rattlesnake that he caught near his camper. While Falk, his wife and his children have managed to stay positive throughout their financial hardships, he says the hardest part of falling out of the middle class is losing the respect of those around him. ‘There are two kinds of people,’ he said. ‘Those that turn and look the other way and don’t even wanna look at you, and those that reach out and help you, and it seems like there’s no in-between.’”

The Falk family isn’t alone. Bassett also found Illinois’s Stephen Mooney.  Laid off in 2008 from a job he had held for 10 years, his severance pay ran out a few, short months later, leaving he and his wife Marianne unable to pay their bills.

“’Our gas was shut off,’” Mooney told HuffPost. ‘We were taking showers with water that we would heat up in the rice cooker and microwave. It was very depressing. Going to a job interview, you may be wearing a shirt and suit, but you don’t feel clean. I looked unkempt all the time, and corporate America’s not an easy place. There were some places where I knew I didn’t have a job as soon as they saw me sitting in the lobby.’ To make matters worse, the Mooneys’ house was recently foreclosed, and they have been asked to leave by March 1. ‘I don’t know how we put all the pieces back together,’ Mooney said. ‘Where do we live? Where does all our stuff go? It’s going to be very strange.’”

As Bassett reports, many families are making similarly difficult decisions just to stay afloat.

Kimberly Rios of Maryland sold her wedding ring on Craigslist last weekend just to cover utility bills.  “‘This is no joke, please be a serious buyer,’ Rios wrote in her ad. ‘It is too cold for us to be without electric and heat so if you have been looking consider my deal.’ She told HuffPost that she sold the ring on Valentine’s Day. She is trying to decide whether to use the money to pay for a few weeks of electricity or to buy a cheap car so that she and her family of six will have a place to go when the foreclosure happens.”

In spite of it all, Rios remains positive about her family’s future: “At least we have each other.”

Unfortunately, in this new era of financial insecurityy, stories like these are common in articles, reports and blogs all across the World Wide Web. Fortunately, no matter how dire your financial situation and how extreme your sacrifice, you can find strength in the numbers of families—all across the country—facing the same tough choices.

Yet, even if major sacrifices just aren’t enough to keep you afloat, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 @ 1:03 pm

While the current economic forecast is considered less dismal than in past months, the Federal Reserve released a forecast this week predicting unemployment will stay high over the next two years—noting that recession-scarred employers are likely to stay conservative in their hiring practices even as recession-scarred citizens continue their search for a dwindling number of jobs.

According to The Huffington Post, in the Fed’s late January meeting, the central banking system left rates at a record low—near zero—“to help nurture the recovery and drive down unemployment. And it pledged to hold rates at ‘exceptionally low’ levels for an ‘extended period.’ Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in remarks last week, suggested the Fed is still months away from raising rates and draining money out of the financial system. The recovery is still fragile and unemployment, now at 9.7 percent, is high. In its economic forecast, Fed policymakers said it will take “some time” for the economy and the jobs market to get back to normal. They did not spell out how long that would be. Previously, they suggested it could take five or six years for economic conditions to return to full health. A ‘sizable minority,’ though, said they thought it could take more than five or six years for the economy and the job market to return to normal. The Fed said the unemployment rate this year could hover between 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent and between 8.2 percent and 8.5 percent next year. By 2012, the rate will range between 6.6 percent and 7.5 percent, it predicted.”

These forecasts have apparently changed very little from the projections released by the Fed towards the end of 2009. However, what is noteworthy is the fact that these numbers suggest unemployment will remain higher than normal unemployment rates (between 5.5 percent and 6 percent) just as the country heads into this year’s midterm congressional elections and the 2012 presidential election. Unless things change dramatically soon, this is bad news for incumbent members of Congress, and possibly the current administration, and bodes well for newcomers to the political scene willing to challenge their tenured counterparts on “The Economy, stupid.”

As the Huff Post reports, “Fed policymakers ‘expect that the pace of the economic recovery will be restrained by household and business uncertainty, only gradual improvement in labor market conditions and a slow easing of credit conditions in the banking sector,’ according to the forecast.

Against that backdrop, the Fed expects the economy will grow between 2.8 percent and 3.5 percent this year. Growth will pick up to between 3.4 percent and 4.5 percent next year and log similar growth in 2012. The economy would need to grow by at least 5 percent a year to make a dent in the unemployment rate, analysts say.”

Further forecasts into the Fed’s view of (and moves in) the current “up and down” economy, as well as its strategy for curtailing stimulus money, will likely come at next week’s House Financial Services Committee hearing. Wednesday’s meeting will feature Chairman Bernanke delivering the Fed’s twice-a-year economic report to Congress—a report that will likely show growth, just not enough for the millions of unemployed Americans.

Every week bankruptcy attorneys continue to meet with dozens of people in financial distress due to these very employment woes.  In each case, these same unemployed people, having heard no signs of relief from the government, come into law offices feeling hopeless and at the end of their rope, perceiving no alternatives to their continuing fiscal problems.  Almost every time, however, it seems when these same clients leave these offices, they finally feel some sense of relief for the first time since the job recession started; they are reassured that the bankruptcy laws and the bankruptcy system offers them the possibility of a new start—at an affordable cost—and with it a financially viable and secure future. In short, bankruptcy relief ends worry and stress for many jobless Americans living on the financial brink.

For reliable bankruptcy advice that you can trust, contact The Law Firm of John T. Orcutt. And to find out more about your bankruptcy options, visit The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt’s “Things to See and Hear” information.

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Published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 @ 11:56 am

In his February 20, 2010, article “Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs,” The New York Times’ Peter S. Goodman paints a dour portrait of what he calls “the new poor” — “people long accustomed to the comforts of middle-class life who are now relying on public assistance for the first time in their lives — potentially for years to come.”

With little good news for the millions of Americans who remain out of work, out of savings and at the end of their unemployment benefits, Goodman points to holes in America’s social safety net, built for short-term gaps between jobs, further strained in an unprecedented economic environment where work may be scarce for years, even as the American economy shows signs of a rebound.

“Every downturn pushes some people out of the middle class before the economy resumes expanding. Most recover. Many prosper. But some economists worry that this time could be different. An unusual constellation of forces — some embedded in the modern-day economy, others unique to this wrenching recession — might make it especially difficult for those out of work to find their way back to their middle-class lives.

Labor experts say the economy needs 100,000 new jobs a month just to absorb entrants to the labor force. With more than 15 million people officially jobless, even a vigorous recovery is likely to leave an enormous number out of work for years.

Some labor experts note that severe economic downturns are generally followed by powerful expansions, suggesting that aggressive hiring will soon resume. But doubts remain about whether such hiring can last long enough to absorb anywhere close to the millions of unemployed.”

Goodman cites a confluence of unfortunate financial factors—products of both our modern economy paired with the recent recession—as the reason it is now so challenging for the unemployed to “find their way back to their middle-class lives.”

First, there’s a scarcity of jobs. Fewer unions to protect full and temporary employees, the export of formerly American factory and white-collar jobs to overseas competitors, and an upsurge of innovation and automation, have all contributed to a smaller U.S. job pool for millions looking for work.

“Additionally, America has fewer protections for its beleaguered workforce. “Some poverty experts say the broader social safety net is not up to cushioning the impact of the worst downturn since the Great Depression,” writes Goodman. “Social services are less extensive than during the last period of double-digit unemployment, in the early 1980s.”

And then there are the millions of American households, that, due to the employment meltdown, have gone from two incomes, to none. Languishing in a “desert of joblessness,” many families, previously able to simply bounce back after a job loss, pay cut, or disability—are now finding themselves using food banks, charitable giving, and facing homelessness.

While recent reports of the nation’s financial future remain nothing short of bleak, the good news remains that through bankruptcy laws, Americans facing unemployment can take their future into their own hands, stop drowning in health care, consumer and mortgage debt, and begin on the road to a more viable financial future.

Even if major sacrifices just aren’t enough to keep you afloat, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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Published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 @ 9:50 am

We sure do like to shop in America.

Despite the rise of Internet browsing, there are still few environments more attractive to a modern-day capitalist than a shopping mall during the holidays. Even in down-times, like the last two major holiday periods, just about any mall appears packed with people as diverse as the brand names on the bags that dangle from their wrists. Despite two years of serious recession, it’s still hard to find a place to park.

So, as we try figure out who exactly is being pained by the Great Recession when we visit a mall (we know who is), the bigger question that looms is about on how on earth can the owner of one of these Great Pyramids of commerce can possibly go bankrupt? Well, it happens, and it did last year to General Growth Properties, one of the nation’s largest owners of malls and retail centers.

As we previously reported last year on this blog, the publicly-traded REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) that had owned part or all of more than 200 shopping centers in almost every state, needed to restructure $27 billion in debt and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy to help with the process. The company owns properties in North Carolina, including Durham’s The Streets at Southpoint and Valley Hills Mall in Hickory.

The company actually did not file a pre-packaged bankruptcy like so many other large companies have done during the last number of months. Since it has filed, the company has been courted by a number of buyers and as they get closer to exiting, the suitors are lining up.

In order to exit bankruptcy alone, General Growth needs to convince bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper that they can pay off nearly $7 billion in unsecured debt. They would plan to do that with a good portion of it coming from stock. Problem is, their stock price may not be sufficient.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company’s best strategy to exit alone will be to convince Judge Gropper that creditors’ acceptance of stock would be a reasonable settlement. That of course also depends on to what extent General Growth can convince their creditors that its stock is valuable enough.

In the last several days, competitors to General Growth, like Simon Properties, the nation’s largest mall owner, has caught wind of the company’s challenges and like any other understanding, cash-rich corporate entity who smells blood, submitted their own takeover bid.

Simon has put a $10 billion bid on the table that includes the creditors’ payoff in cash, a much preferred currency than the stock of a company in bankruptcy. Thus, the Simon plan is winning over critical parties to the transaction. General Growth’s board, not surprisingly, is not overly thrilled.

General Growth ultimately is hoping for a old fashioned bidding war over its assets. Enter Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., which announced it will outbid Simon and allow General Growth to exit bankruptcy on its own. Brookfield would become the company’s largest shareholder, despite just exiting bankruptcy itself. Based in Canada, Brookfield publishes Reader’s Digest and already owns a significant amount of General Growth stock.

Other potential bidders for the mall owner include Westfield Group and Vornado Realty Trust. If no bids get the approval of the court, a hearing will occur in which General Growth will need to convince Judge Gropper that they should be allowed to continue conceptualizing a reorganization plan, at which point the story will begin to get quite a bit longer.

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Published Saturday, February 13, 2010 @ 1:09 pm

In what can be considered the best example of the current state of the nation’s commercial real estate industry, the largest residential real estate investment in United States history is facing bankruptcy. As a result, the current owners of the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village are handing the property over to its primary financial backers after the recession and overall plunge in global real estate values decimated the complex’s value to a third of where it was upon its 2006 purchase.

Bought for $5.4 billion by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock Realty, the largely middle-class development in New York city housed 11,227 apartments and provided homes to close to 25,000 individuals, a population larger than many small cities. The entire development actually consists of two separate apartment complexes.

Originally built to house soldiers returning from World War II, it is now estimated to be worth around $1.8 billion.

The owners chased down the massive deal at the absolute height of the real estate bubble, eager to undergo massive renovations to convert it to higher-end units and change the neighborhood’s reputation as a run-of-the-mill urban New York City address into a live and play destination.

They also fought hard to assess tenants for additional funds through rent increases and projected they could turn portions of the area into luxury condos.

However, tenants were quick to protest what would amount to a $200 million door-to-door collection when all was said and done. A New York State judge sided with the residents when the issue made it to court, leveling the owners’ redevelopment plans. The pending economic crash did not exactly help their cause, either.

Since November of last year, the group has been working to restructure close to $3 billion in outstanding loans.

The critical breaking point for the partnership, which is exactly what continues to erode the stability of our nation’s commercial real estate industry, was their inability to make their most recent loan payment of $16 million. With credit no longer readily available, owners of commercial property are collectively facing billions in expiring mortgage loans with no way to refinance.

Commercial landlords are doing everything possible to lure and keep tenants in their buildings. Rents have dropped substantially and months of free rent are handed out with little negotiation as high-end office property owners are watching their rent rolls shrink. Larger commercial real estate companies and ownership groups are filing bankruptcy, laying off brokers and shopping mergers as the United State government scrambles to prevent what many on Wall Street are calling “the other shoe” from dropping on our already trembling economy.

With the announcement of the Stuyvesant/Cooper complex’s trouble, the commercial real estate industry has sustained another serious blow across the chin. You can only hang on the ropes for so long.

The lenders on the property, a group that includes The Church of England and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (as if they could use another reason to worry about money), now have to figure out the best way to handle one of the nation’s most massive housing developments. One option, of course, is foreclosure.

Many in the industry challenged the purchase as a major risk, given the difficulty of dislodging rent control standards in New York and the fact that high cost of the property left little room for error. Since income property is essentially the purchase of a revenue stream—rent—its value falls when tenants are not able to provide that revenue. Plus, when the tenants won the case against the rent increases, the coffin nails met even less resistance.

Brought to you by the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt. Call today for your free debt consultation. If you’re in North Carolina, call 1-800-899-1414. Durham, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilson offices.

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Published Saturday, February 13, 2010 @ 8:08 am

In this era of extreme homeowner hardship, mounting medical bills, and surging unemployment, most people use their credit cards—for better or for worse—just to get by. But, as everyone knows, there’s a price to pay for playing with plastic, including, over recent years, soaring interest rates, diminishing card disclosures, and a general lack of lender and credit card company transparency.

Well, now a hint of positive consumer news is just on the horizon. In addition to a few provisions enacted in August 2009 signifying a new era of consumer protection law, as of February 22, 2010, even more sweeping changes are set to occur in an effort to right several of the most basic wrongs credit card companies have increasingly imposed upon card holders.

The all-new Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act), signed into law by President Obama on May 22, 2009, is poised to protect consumers from unexpected and massive changes to their credit card terms—terms that have previously led to financial hardship for an overwhelming amount of American families.

As of February 22, 2010, major changes include:

Death to the “Default Clause”
Credit card issuers will be unable to increase interest rates on existing credit card balances unless you, as borrower, are a minimum of 60 days late on your card account. This provision eliminates the universal “default clause” whereby card companies could simply your increase interest rates and fees based on defaults on other debts.

Clear and Present Disclosure &  Standard Promotional Periods
Credit card companies must provide clear disclosure of account terms before you open a credit card account. Additionally, if the account is pitched with a promotional interest rate period, that rate must last a minimum of six months.

Interest Rates Remain In Check
Issuers cannot raise interest rates on your new credit cards during the first year of your account, unless the you are 60 days late on a credit card payment.

Overcoming Over Limit Fees
Credit card issuers cannot charge over-limit fees without your prior consent to accept and process over-limit transactions. If your consent is obtained, the card issuer cannot then charge more than one over-limit fee per billing cycle. Also, the issuer may not charge an over-limit fee if interest charges or fees are the reason the account is over its limit.

Packing Up Those Penalties
Credit card issuers must not charge penalties for receipt of payments by mail, phone, electronic transfer, or any other method, unless the payment is processed through an expedited service processor.

Avoids Taking Advantage of Younger Borrowers
These new rules make it much more difficult for credit card companies to target and issue cards to borrowers under age 21 without a co-signer, unless it is shown that the borrower has sufficient income to repay the card amount.

Atone for the Holidays
If an account due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the credit card company is forbidden from penalizing payments that are received on the following business day. In addition, any account payments received by 5 PM must be credited to the same day.

Down with Double Billing
Some credit card companies have used the previous month’s balance to calculate interest charges for the current month. These provisions forbid this type of “double-cycle billing.”

Payment Where Payment is Due
Card companies are required to apply any payment above your minimum amount due to your highest interest balance first.

Subprime Bargain
At the time the account is opened, subprime credit cards will have fee limits totaling 25% or less of the credit limit.

Disclosure Is In Demand
Credit card issuers must provide a written explanation of how long it will take to pay off your card’s existing balance and the total cost in interest fees if you pay only the minimum amount due, as well as the total cost in interest to pay off the balance within 3 years.

Terms You Can Live By
Credit card companies must also make account terms and cardholder agreements available to you online.

While provisions like these mark a major victory for consumer protection, this major overhaul is causing some unpredicted aftereffects, including demanding credit approval checks, a reduction in credit card limits, and, in some cases, the sudden closure of these cards by your cardholder.

Despite any good news, if credit card debt and demands have still got you down, an experienced bankruptcy attorney can be a useful resource. Visit the website of The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt for the latest advice and up-to-date information for creating a better financial future.

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Published Friday, February 12, 2010 @ 10:44 pm

He said he’d be back. He just didn’t know it would be as the result of a bankruptcy.

In a southern California bankruptcy court this week, a U.S. judge granted ownership of “The Terminator” movie franchise to a California-based hedge fund called Pacificor, LLC.

Halcyon Holding, the previous rights holder of the film series about an apocalyptic time traveling, hell-bent-on-assassination cyborg lost the right to assemble more killer robots last summer when it had to file for bankruptcy.

As we have discussed in other bankruptcy news posts, movie rights can be worth a lot of money if handled correctly. Some people have made generational fortunes by holding the rights to just a single Hollywood character. George Lucas, for example, passed on a studio paycheck for his “Star Wars” films in exchange for the rights to the characters and creatures in his far, far away galaxy. Today, Lucas makes money than the President every time Verizon advertises its “Droid” phone.

The bankruptcy judge granted rights to Pacificor because he felt it would best serve the previous owner’s creditors.

However, for a Hollywood-area judge, the ruling was somewhat vexing to the region’s more film-friendly bidders, like Lions Gate Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. Both studios, which bid as a team on the rights, would be able to more quickly turn the franchise around and make money from it.

The fear of a purely corporate entity possessing the rights to a popular science-fiction franchise will not take long to permeate the fan boy message boards and tabloids. Without question, the company will market its new robot toy to several studios for the eventual production of a follow-up to 2007′s “Terminator Salvation.” And why not? It made almost $400 million.

But here’s the problem: they will do what every non-industry executive producer does.

That is, they’ll sell the idea to the studio with best track record of successful third-party licensing deals- companies that make video games, lunchboxes and t-shirts for cats. They will completely take over the production process with cost-cutting measures like MTV video directors and casting rejects from failed UPN pilots; and then show up on opening weekend with a deposit envelope from the local branch of their bank.

In the process, production difficulties will stigmatize the film, script leaks will happen, buzz will dissipate into movie fan site rants and pans and the franchise will implode not unlike most of the people in the film. And then a Pacificor intern in charge of the franchise will negotiate the rights to a failed screenwriter working at soon-to-close coffee shop on Vine for $50.00 and an free extra shot of caramel in his double-tall. That’s just how it happens.

The hedge fund, which backed Halycon for its purchase of the rights, beat a Columbia and Lions Gate joint bid of $35 million, which also included a couple of million bucks for each of the potential sixth and seventh films. However, a fifth one needs to be made before that can happen. Pacificor won with a bid of $38 million.

The deal happened as part of a credit bid, which is a common process in a bankruptcy auction. The process involves the creditors willingness to forgive the debt in return for ownership or control of a product or in this case, a movie franchise.

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Published Friday, February 12, 2010 @ 5:44 pm

The Making Home Affordable program was designed to be the savior of the crashing real estate economy. People nationwide were taking solace in the President’s effort to save our homes and lead us through the worst economic situation our country has faced in almost 100 years. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure due to the bubble bursting on a plague of poorly schemed sub-prime mortgages rejoiced in what seemed to be a cooperative effort on the part of the a supportive new Washington administration and the Wall Street.

Unfortunately, the program has landed far from expectations. The foreclosure rate has seen only minor blips in decline and it has become difficult to hear government officials even address the existence of the program, unless to defend it. Additional programs have been introduced to support it but larger menu items are being devoured by the House and Senate and the status of homeowners has been given a backseat. Meanwhile, the numbers of properties in foreclosure and pre-foreclosure continue to grow.

Accepted into the trial HAMP modification program for six months, Bert Carvajal of south Florida was eventually denied full participation in the President’s program. He was also deemed ineligible for any assistance from his lender, JPMorgan Chase. His situation is no different than that of most Americans in trouble with their mortgage. His construction management income was sapped by a declining housing market and he simply fell behind on the payments that keep a roof over his family. He is now behind on property taxes too, so he owes his bank and the county.

Mr. Carvajal’s best option may be to soon file bankruptcy. In Chapter 13, he can catch up on the missed mortgage payments, and pay back the property taxes over a period of up to 5 years.

Jag Bhangu was also recently denied a mortgage modification because he still has equity in his home. However, that doesn’t mean he can afford to pay for it. And, given his position as a mortgage consultant, one would think the bank would by sympathetic to his situation of lost income. In the last couple of years, his income dropped 70 percent from where it was when he was approved for the loan.

Bhangu was granted a trial modification under Obama’s plan for nine months but then declined for permanent adjustment. He continues to speak with people at CitiGroup about another modification but he is not hopeful that it will happen.

If you’re getting the runaround from your mortgage lender, talk to a bankruptcy attorney today to discuss how a Chapter 13 can help you and your family hold on to your most precious asset- your home. Call today. In North Carolina, contact the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt for a free initial debt consultation. 1-800-899-1414. Or visit www.billsbills.com and fill out our debt questionnaire. With offices in Raleigh, Durham, Wilson and Fayetteville, help is just a phone call away.

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Published Tuesday, February 9, 2010 @ 6:25 pm

Very few people set out to open a credit card account intent on not paying off the balance.  Those who do are assumed to be criminals, usually identity thieves or some other sort of con artist.

Credit card debt, and all other forms of long term financial drain that lead good people into the need to file bankruptcy, is very often caused by a setback of some kind, like illness or job loss.  And if recent unemployment predictions are on track, we can expect the bankruptcy rate to continue to climb.

The News & Observer published an Associated Press report about the impact job losses are having across the country. The piece also warned of a dire future.

On February 5, the Labor Department will release its January unemployment numbers. Industry analysts expect to read that an additional 800,000 positions have been lost since March of last year. That’s almost 1,000,000 more people out of work. In total, we can blame the loss of almost 8 million jobs on the Great Recession.

The Labor Department’s report will also illustrate the theory that another four years of healthy fiscal growth will be needed to return to the country’s employment figures to stable.

Job reports are notoriously vague, as the report will demonstrate that 5,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. For some, that signifies a positive sign. As does the rise of gross domestic product statistics, which show that this critical metric has climbed for the second quarter in a row.

Nevertheless, that small number is not enough to prevent the national unemployment rate from experiencing a slight increase. When the numbers come out, which are based on unemployment insurance tax figures turned in to state governments by companies, most are expecting to see 10.1 percent of the country’s workforce out of job.

As our economy becomes ever more global and harder to track, the further out of touch those making the important decisions about our country’s financial health become with the everyday workforce. All the statistics, theories and Wall Street rallies do not mean anything to the unemployed parents of four children.

Whether it’s out of fear of new taxes, the expiration of existing tax programs, health care requirements or lack of credit to fuel growth, the fact remains that companies are simply not hiring. Stimulus projects designed to spark growth, like home buyer tax credits, are soon to expire and creating the fear that the faint signs of recovery will dissipate.

Signs of productivity increases can be attributed in part to business practices designed to get more out of fewer employees. It helps that those still holding a job are willing to do more to protect it, now that the realization of the recession has become clear to everybody, not just line workers and cubicle drones.

So what does all this mean for bankruptcy rates? Quite a bit actually. It isn’t difficult to connect the sudden loss of income with the inability to pay bills. Today’s conditions are making it worse though. At one time, jobs were easily found, shortening the time frame a person was without income. In that window of unemployment, people could get by on savings or available credit. With credit limits being reduced, loans hard to come by and savings at all time lows, the need to file for legal protection becomes necessary sooner than ever.

If you are out of work and see the window of financial viability starting to close, maybe it’s time to call the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt at 1-800-899-1414 to explore some options.  Bankruptcy might just be your best way “Out of the Red and Back in the Black.”

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Published Tuesday, February 9, 2010 @ 11:14 am

You know your creditors: those nice folks who gave you something you wanted — goods, services, or money — in exchange for your promise to pay them back at a later date.  But those same nice folks can turn nasty when you can’t or won’t pay back your debts, hiring collection agencies to hound you every chance they get.  So, in these unfriendly economic times, what can you do when your creditors come calling? Can you keep bill collectors at bay? How should you conquer your collection fears and fight back?

Believe it or not, laws do exist at both the state and federal level to protect average Americans like you and me from harassing debt collectors.  That’s right:  between the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, many of the actions that debt collectors take for creditors are strictly prohibited.

No one knows that better than Craig Cunningham. As the Dallas Observer reported, the Texas resident understand exactly how to get creditors off his back. Craig sues them.

According to the Dallas Observer, “While most Americans with unpaid bills dread the collector’s call, Cunningham sees them as lucrative opportunities. Many collection and credit card companies, intentionally or not, violate little-known consumer rights laws, and Cunningham’s favorite pastime is catching them doing so and then suing them. In fact, it’s a profitable side job.”

After amassing over $100,000 in debt and becoming the target of creditor calls, this so-called “man with a plan” hired a lawyer from whom he learned the ins and outs of consumer rights. Using this knowledge, he taped creditor calls and saved their repeated and aggressive correspondence as evidence for eventual lawsuits against these same various debt collectors found to be violating national or state consumer protection law. From there, several court settlements followed providing Cunningham with a boon for his new “business.”

“Most collection agencies, it seems, prefer out-of-court settlements (which often involve a statutory fine) to taking a case to trial, since settlements save them money. The Observer notes that Cunningham has thus far earned $20,000 from suits against law-breaking collectors.”

Cunningham’s “collection baiting” turns their aggressive attempts to retrieve creditor’s money into a “financial liability” by hiding behind consumer rights and protections laws. These laws prohibit creditors from performing what might, in this economy, seem normal behaviors, including:

• Calling you repeatedly with intent to annoy or harass;
• Calling you outside of certain morning and evening hours;
• Contacting you directly when you have indicated that you have legal representation;
• Contacting you using certain types of media; and
• Lying about their ability to take legal action against you to collect on a debt.

While many consumers are unaware of their rights against these types of creditors, as in all cases, knowledge is power. For information about your consumer protections, learn more about the  Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (PDF).

And if you’re facing creditors, don’t forget that bankruptcy can be the most reliable way–to avoid the creditor crunch.

In fact, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney can also help you conquer your creditors and face your financial fears, yielding the right kinds of support, information and insights—at a low cost— for a viable and secure future.  The bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to 1-800-899-1414, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.

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