Do you feel lost in your student loan debt? Don’t worry you are not alone. It’s easy to push them to the back burner when you are trying to cover other bills like rent, health insurance, car payments, etc.

Student loans can get you into a quick financial hole, even if they don’t seem as important as other bills you are paying. Getting behind on payments toward your defaulted… Continue reading

Do you find yourself wondering who else has been in your position? Who else has suffered through overwhelming amounts of debt and been left needing protection from foreclosure, a solution to credit card debt, and a hiding place from the repo man? You may be surprised to see the celebrity names in the news this year for bankruptcy—and even more surprised to hear about the big companies who also needed to wipe their slate clean with bankruptcy. Continue reading

Christmas is a great time for spending time with family and friends—and spending money on gifts for them. The cost of Christmas seems to only get bigger as the years go by. While credit card companies may have made it easier to spend more money, they’ve also made us dread the bills we get in January. So, for the sake of 2010, here are some tips on saving a few bucks that I’ve gathered after spending 15 holiday seasons working as a St. Louis Missouri and Illinois Bankruptcy attorney. Continue reading

Why is it that people wait to make a move when they are under overwhelming amounts of debt? It is often hard to tell. When you are being harassed by creditors over the phone, suffering from wage garnishments, and suffering under a pile of overdue bill notices, sometimes you just want to give up. But, sticking your head in the sand won’t change your situation. In fact, waiting to do something about your debt can only make your situation worse. Continue reading

Papers like the Post-Dispatch and the News-Democrat have been riddled with stories about St. Louis based cable company Charter Communications throughout its bankruptcy. And now it seems that Charter has finally emerged from bankruptcy. They have cut their staggering $21.7 billion worth of debt by $8 billion. How did they get so far into debt? The same way millions of Americans are still getting into financial trouble: they were unable to get refinancing. Continue reading

The 55 and older crowd has been experiencing an increase in bankruptcy filings—and it’s no surprise. Bankruptcy can provide protection for many kinds of people experiencing debt but it has some special considerations for senior citizens. Many retirement accounts, including IRAs, are usually 100% protected, depending on your state. That does not, however, mean that you can dump large sums of money into a retirement account right away. In… Continue reading

Having trouble developing a budget? You’re not alone. Millions of Americans try to handle their finances without listing their expenses—and get into trouble. A budget helps you establish your options, see what exactly you are spending money on, and see what you will be able to afford.

Start with a list of your total income. Include income from your job after taxes, alimony, child support, benefits, pensions, etc. Any… Continue reading

Clients often seem more panicked when a collector threatens to ruin their credit. My 15 years of experience has taught me that it is mostly creditors that bother with reporting you to the credit bureau. By the time you are threatened about ruining your credit by a collector, you have probably already been reported. Therefore, it is important to not let this threat make you change your list of priorities… Continue reading