Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

While I'll mourn the sunny weather and homegrown tomatoes, there's one thing I won't miss about summer - high gas prices.

You know it's officially fall when the pinch at the pump hurts a little less. Yesterday it was announced that an average gallon of gas had fallen below $2.50, the first time it's been that low in two months, according to the Associated Press. That's down from approximately $2.70 in July - and actually about a dollar less than last year.

Of course, I realize that saving a few bucks every time we fill up isn't going solve all our money problems. But it's a start. Imagine that you could save $20 a month on gas. Better yet, try carpooling or taking public transportation some days and save even more. Now combine that with a few other budget tweaks. Maybe you could cut out your gym membership, use the library instead of a DVD rental service, trade your land line for your cell phone, stop making impulse buys at the grocery store or vending machine or pack your own lunch instead of eating out. While you're at it, this is the perfect time to kick bad habits like smoking.

These are just a few ideas. Once you get in the habit of looking for little ways to save, I bet you'll be surprised at how many more opportunities you'll notice.

Continue reading "Little Things Add Up Big Time When It Comes to Paying Down Debt" »

When you find the right bankruptcy plan, it can almost seem too good to be true. You can get creditors off your back, prevent foreclosure, gain a realistic way to pay down debts and - if you stick with it - finally find financial freedom.

So what's the problem? Sometimes bankruptcy really is too good to be true. Though it can undoubtedly be a saving grace for folks saddled with debt, it can turn in to a nightmare if you fall into the wrong hands.

We're all aware that Americans carry a lot of debt - about $8,000 on average, to be exact. And some of the less honest among us use that fact to their advantage. A recent study by the Attorney General of New York found that 80 percent of online-based bankruptcy websites were scams. These companies prey upon the desperation of the financially-troubled, take their money and leave them further in debt.

So how do you tell the good companies from the bad? Watch for red flags.

Continue reading "Making Sure Your Bankruptcy Plan Isn't Too Good To Be True " »

In light of growing discontent over their unfair debit card fees, some big banks are considering changing their tune - ever so slightly.

Financial giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America just announced changes to their overdraft protection policies. Though they won't eliminate the controversial program, both banks plan to limit the amount of overdraft fees a customer can rack up per day and allow consumers to choose whether to opt in to the program, which is currently automatic. But will it be enough?

Right now, many people don't even realize they're part of their bank's overdraft protection program - an ironic name, considering it doesn't do much to protect consumers - until they're surprised by overdraft fees on their bank statement. What is overdraft protection? When you overdraw with your debit card, your bank kindly allows the transaction to go through by covering the difference - without telling you about it.

Continue reading "Banks Limit Debit Cards Fees, But Will it Make a Difference?" »

If you knew of a safe, reliable method to achieve financial independence, you wouldn't hesitate to use it, right? I didn't think so. Yet potentially millions of Americans have access to a surefire way to free themselves from debt - and they refuse to consider it. I'm referring to bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is your right as a U.S. citizen. It legally stops creditor actions like foreclosure and repossession. It offers an affordable method of paying off non-mortgage obligations like credit card, medical and IRS debts while freeing up money to pay for your other bills, including your mortgage. What's not to like?

However, many folks treat bankruptcy as a last resort rather than a valid option, worrying that it will damage their credit, prove too difficult to navigate or be viewed as taking the easy way out.

But if you're drowning in debt, it's time to face the facts.

Continue reading "When to Consider Bankruptcy for Debt Relief" »

Forget young and glamorous. Today's career climbers are young and broke.

And I'm not just talking about new graduates. According to a USA Today study, folks from college-age to early 50s have been watching their incomes dwindle since 2000, leaving much of the current workforce poorer than in the 1970s.

It's not all good news for the older workers, either. Though their income is being boosted by social security and pensions, it's also higher because they are increasingly postponing retirement, continuing to work into their golden years - and crowding younger workers from the job market in the process.

For every two steps forward, it seems like we're taking one step back. But despite the news, the job market isn't all doom and gloom. There's still hope.

Continue reading "Young Workers Are Getting Poorer, Study Shows" »

Imagine opening up your bank statement and finding that the $5 lunch you bought with your debit card last week actually cost you $45. Sound outrageous? It is - but it's happening to bank customers across the county.

As more consumers choose to forgo credit and its accompanying interest and fees, banks are finding sneaky new ways to make money - in this case, through overdraft protection. Don't be fooled by its name. Though it sounds helpful, overdraft programs do nothing to protect consumers. All they protect is banks' bottom lines.

Here's how the program works. Let's say you're buying a $5 sandwich. You smartly figure that you'd rather not pay interest on such a small purchase, so you use debit - what should be the equivalent of cash, since it takes the money directly out of your account. But now let's say you don't realize the check you deposited a few days ago hasn't cleared yet - and you overdraw by 50 cents. Rather than decline your card, your bank let's you go ahead and make the purchase. You don't know anything is amiss until you get your monthly bank statement and see lunch that day cost almost 50 bucks in overdraft fees.

Continue reading "Banks Are Making Some Debit Cards More Expensive Than Credit" »

Thousands of struggling homeowners were in for a shock when they received mortgage modifications this year - and their payments went up.

During 2008 and the first three months of 2009, more than a quarter of all modified mortgages went unchanged, according to a recent USA Today article. Even worse, another 27 percent got more expensive because banks rolled late fees, taxes and other costs into the principal.

Uncle Sam's $75 billion initiative to stop foreclosures by encouraging modifications means well, but it's missing the point. Most modifications involve banks reducing interest rates. But by lowering rates, there is no guarantee that payments will decrease - especially not when fees are factored in. With cash tight and unemployment on the rise, homeowners need lower payments - period.

Fortunately, there's a way to make it possible - and it doesn't require working with a lender.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Can Be More Effective Than Mortgage Modifications" »

Earlier this year, a poll found that 32 percent of Americans believe spending less has become their normal, permanent behavior.

Cheap chains like McDonald's, Wal-Mart and dollar stores have been thriving. There's even been talk that our generation will be penny-pinchers just like our grandparents and great-grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. If there's a silver lining to the recession, it's that saving money is cool again.

So with this newfound respect for frugality, you'd think most of us would be out of financial trouble by now. But it's not that easy. Yes, buying less - and buying cheaper - certainly helps your wallet. But if you're dealing with a lot of debt, simply spending money isn't going to be enough. You're going to have to spend smarter.

Continue reading "Saving Isn't Just About Spending Less, It's About Spending Smarter" »

Move over, baseball. Watching home values seems to be the new American pastime - at least where I live.

Just like a sports fan knows all the scores and stats, my friends know every time a nearby house goes for sale - and for how much. They check Zillow.com constantly to see if their homes have dropped or gained value. They grab the real estate section of the paper first-thing every morning. If prices haven't changed, they're happy; if they've gone down, they're sad.

I can sympathize with their obsession. Home values in my state spent the last couple decades skyrocketing. And then the bottom fell out of the market a few years ago. People who bought at "the wrong time" got burned - some saw their homes' values fall to nearly half the price of their mortgage. But where they see a loss, I see potential.

You see, home values are a lot more like the stock market than a sports game. How? Because prices are meaningless until you sell.

Continue reading "Why Finances Are More Important Than Home Prices" »

Mortgage rates are falling again. Home values are ever so slowly edging higher. A growing number of buyers are trying (some successfully, some not) to get into the market.

The market is changing and homeowners stand to take advantage - but only if they act fast.

On average, the rate for a 30-year home loan is just over 5 percent (the record set this spring is 4.78 percent). So how did rates get so low? Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve began purchasing more than $1 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, driving interest rates down in the process. But here's the catch: the money is expected to run out by the end of the year. Rates will not remain this low forever.

Mortgage rates may rise and fall - debt, on the other hand, will only continue to rise unless you do something about it. It won't matter if you get a break on your home loan, if you get a raise at work, if you receive an inheritance - your debts will eat up your windfall eventually. If you want to take full advantage of today's rates, it's time to free yourself from the shackles of your debt.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Is a Better Way to Take Advantage of Falling Mortgage Rates" »

Forbes.com just came out with its annual list of the most stressful places to live and Atlanta is smack-dab in the middle, thanks to a 25% drop in home values and a 10.7% unemployment rate - a whole percentage point more than the national average.

It's not exactly bad news (hey, we could be at the number-one slot like Chicago), but it isn't good news either. In my opinion, anywhere where people are losing their homes to foreclosure, their jobs to layoffs and their quality of life to the recession is too dang stressful.

But you know what? Regardless of what city - or town - you call home, you have the power to control your stress level. Yes, I realize you can't control all the events in your life - and sometimes job loss, medical emergencies, divorce or other unexpected circumstances take a toll on our finances. But how you handle these events is up to you.

Take your debt, for instance.

Continue reading "Atlanta Economy Helps City Earn Place on 'Most Stressful' List" »

Labor Day was developed to honor the American worker - but I think I can speak for most of us when I say the American worker is feeling pretty underappreciated right now.

Unemployment is at the highest rate in decades. Layoffs are a constant worry. And for those of us lucky enough to be somewhat securely employed, we haven't seen a raise in many months - maybe even years. It doesn't look like things are changing anytime soon. While labor productivity recently grew by the highest rate in six years, employers simply can't afford to reward hardworking employees. Rather, they're putting that savings back into their struggling businesses.

In the meantime, the cost of living is rising, credit card rates as going up and our debt is growing. For many of us, it isn't just about having more money. It's about affording the mortgage. It's about escaping from creditor harassment. It's about our livelihood. If you're in danger of losing your house or personal property because you don't earn enough to make ends meet, you don't have time to wait around for your boss to feel generous. Why not authorize your own raise?

Continue reading "Celebrate Labor Day By Giving Yourself a Raise" »

Remember those Magic Eye pictures? On the surface, they looked like a bunch of colored dots. But once you let your eyes adjust, you could finally see the scene hidden inside. You could finally see the whole picture.

Well, the foreclosure crisis is turning out to be a lot like those images. On the most obvious level, the problem appears to be that people are losing their homes because their mortgage payments are too high. Fittingly, the government is handling the problem by encouraging banks to modify loan terms - in theory, this would make house payments more affordable.

But it's not working. Foreclosures are still on the rise. It doesn't make any sense - until you discover that the whole picture is a lot more complex. It's not just that homeowners are struggling to pay the mortgage. It's that they're struggling to pay the mortgage...and the credit card bills and the medical expenses and the tax debts.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Can Stop Foreclosure By Addressing Other Debts" »