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Many American families rely on two incomes to pay the monthly bills and set a little aside as savings. When one income is unexpectedly reduced or eliminated, the family is thrust immediately into a crisis mode. Often there is not enough money to pay all of the family bills, so touch choices must be made.

The first thing to do is to be realistic and not overreact. It is important to use savings wisely during this time and to safeguard retirement. Spending these funds to maintain your lifestyle is not good financial management, and will have long-term consequences. In most cases a substantial amount of cash and all of your retirement funds can be protected if you need to file bankruptcy. Likewise, most assets are protected during bankruptcy, so it is not necessary to sell assets to pay creditors.

Second, prioritize your spending. This may mean eliminating or reducing certain “luxuries” like premium tv channels or inflated cell phone plans. Creditors must be prioritized also. For instance, it may be more important to pay the car payment instead of a medical bill. If

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Most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases that I handle in my area of Michigan are “no-asset” bankruptcy cases, meaning that, after I  have exempted the filing individual’s personal assets from the bankruptcy estate created by the filing of the bankruptcy petition, there is nothing left available for the Trustee to liquidate (seize and sell off for cash) and distribute to creditors. In fact, the great majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases filed anywhere are “no-asset” cases of this sort.

However, some cases are “asset” cases that do involve a transfer of assets from the filing individual’s ownership to the creditors whose debts he or she is discharging by way of the Chapter 7 Trustee assigned to the case, whose job is to do just that.

Sometimes, however, a filing individual does have more property or more cash assets in their possession than the exemptions in the Bankruptcy Code allow me to protect. (The exemptions

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A Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is primarily used to repay all or some of a person’s debts. It is also known as a debt adjustment case, or a “wage earner’s plan.” Chapter 13 can stop a foreclosure or repossession and allow the individual time to make payments over three to five years, often even over the objection of a creditor.

If you are behind on a mortgage or car loan and is unable to catch up, Chapter 13 bankruptcy will give you time to restructure your debts and sometimes change the interest rates on your loans. Some upside-down vehicle loans can be “crammed down,” meaning the obligation is reduced to the value of the vehicle, and then paid over three to five years. Second or third mortgage debts can also be stripped off, if the amount of the first mortgage is equal to or more than the value of the home.

Chapter 13 differentiates between three types of debts: first, priority debts, including most taxes and child support, must be paid in full. Second, secured debts, debts secured by collateral, must be paid with interest over the life of the plan, or surrendered back to the creditor. Finally, un

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The bikini concept is an interesting marketing tactic, particularly effective at selling or marketing a new concept, product or service.

Bikinis owe their popularity (and notoriety) to the fact that they reveal the suggestive while concealing the vital. The bikini concept is essentially based on this premise and works by revealing information that is interesting, attention grabbing and promising of more to come; but useless by itself. If there is no bikini to cover anything, then theres no thrill of seeing anything anymore. It is like giving away so much that you are left with nothing more to see.

This concept is actually one of the most effective business strategies that you can use in information sales. In relation to the actual bikini model, the same goes with it being a business strategy. Somehow, it works on a psychological level to leave the consumers wanting for more. The bikini concept works this way: say for example you are running a do-it-yourself (DIY) blog, for which you will give sufficient information on how to build, say, a table at home.

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A credit risk, with multiple defaults of old loans is certainly a huge barrier to have some funds from traditional lending institution. When people with less than perfect credit apply for a new loan, lenders quickly reject their applications. However, due to intense competition on the credit market, some lenders are offering you secured and unsecured personal loans despite your credit risk.

But the approval of the loan application will come only after assessing your repayment capacity as you should be able to return the loan you need. Read more…

A publicly traded movie production company turned DVD renter once led by “L.A. Law” actor Corbin Bernsen has filed for bankruptcy in California.

The company, Public Media Works, said its failed effort to jump into the movie-rental kiosk business forced to it file for Chapter 11 protection last week in Riverside, Calif.

That business plan was a marked departure from its previous role as a production company for films Bernsen directed, including “Donna On Demand” and “Car Pool Guy.”

Best known as Arnie Becker in the iconic 1980s law-firm drama, Bernsen was formerly the chief executive of Public Media and as recently as September 2010 held stock in the company and served as a consultant, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Bernsen, who now plays Henry Spencer in the USA Network series “Psych,” stepped away from the top leadership role in 2008 after he sold a portion of the company, SEC filings said.

A representative of Bernsen’s current production company, Team Cherokee Productions, declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Bernsen wasn’t made

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The offer seems simple:  a way to obtain a quick cash loan with a promise to pay principal and interest by a certain date.  One loan is secured by a post-dated check; the other by a car title.  A valuable, needed convenience? A trap that leads to cash being siphoned off income to pay lender instead of other bills? Either way, payday and car title loans are extremely expensive way to rent money for short term use.

Take a look at the details and you decide whether the benefit is worth the cost.

You have a bank account with a low balance, but a payday that’s coming in a week or two.  You could really use a “cash advance” on that payday of, let’s say, $100 and so you go to a payday lender. Here’s how your loan works:

1. You’ll need to show proof that you can cover the check like pay stubs and bank account information.
2. For $100 cash, you write the store a check for about $120 and the store will not cash your check for an agreed upon date in about a week or two.
3. You get $100 in cash and when the store cashes your check upon the agreed date, it keeps the extra $20 as the fee for the loan.

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My latest column for the Christian Science Monitor argues that a slew of budget deadlines will drive policy action this Fall. Case in point, the potential for a government shutdown when the government’s fiscal year ends later this week. I don’t think that’s likely, at least not yet, but such deadlines will be the big thing this fall:

September brings the change of seasons. Football players return to the gridiron. New television programs replace summer reruns. In Washington, legislators gear up for another season of legislative brinkmanship.

What distinguishes such brinkmanship from ordinary legislating? Hard deadlines.

Such deadlines force Congress to address policy issues that might otherwise languish due to partisan differences or legislative inertia.

Last spring, for example, the repeated threat of a government shutdown forced Congress to decide how much to spend on government agencies in fiscal 2011. This summer, the debt limit forced Republicans and Democrats to reach a budget compromise before Aug. 3, the

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Top executives from bankrupt solar energy firm, Solyndra faced House lawmakers on Friday but took the Fifth on numerous occasions as they faced tough questions about the government’s controversial loan guarantee program. Read more…