A new study by the Federal Reserve and Columbia University shows that the 2005 bankruptcy “reform” intended to curb perceived, but not necessarily verifiable, abuse of the bankruptcy system has drastically harmed lower income consumers. The law, formally titled the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and ...
Being deep in debt can be scary, but not every instance of significant debt is either a cause for alarm or a reason to consider bankruptcy. For example, if you have a pile of debt but are earning a good income such that you can ...
Many people struggling with their debts and living paycheck to paycheck may have considered bankruptcy but fear they'll lose their home if the file. This leaves them mired in untenable debt with little for an improvement in circumstances. But fear not – in most cases ...
Famous bankruptcies through history are fascinating
Image Source: Flickr user Tim Evanson
We often write here about celebrity bankruptcies, but not because we want to sensationalize the financial problems of famous people. Instead, we look for the lessons that everyone can learn from these ...
Earlier this month, the three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – announced a change to their credit scoring methodologies that will benefit a great many consumers. The agreement also promises to make credit file errors easier to fix. These are some of ...
Being stuck in a circumstance of overwhelming debt can cause you to go through some seriously negative emotional repercussions. Money stress is one of the major sources of marital discord and can be a factor leading to divorce. This can make everything much worse. When ...
President Obama is leading the charge to make student loan debt more manageable for borrowers. With the passage of Pay As You Earn, repayments dropped to as low as 10% of disposable income for many borrowers. And by handing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight ...
When you're struggling to make your mortgage payments and are just getting by, that's hard enough. But it's doubly so when your mortgage lender is cheating you. After a lengthy Department of Justice investigation into the shady tactics of Chase related to homeowner bankruptcy, they ...
If you own a business that's struggling financially and isn't likely to recover without an intervention, bankruptcy may help you regain your footing. Alternately, if your business has faltered to the point that recovery is not possible, bankruptcy can prevent your business failure from ruining ...
One of the major concerns we hear from clients considering bankruptcy relate to their vehicles. Those who have a vehicle that's a recent model and in good shape worry that they might have to give it up if they file Chapter 7 (usually not). Those ...