As a single mother Dana is used to making her income stretch. But with
the rising cost of basic necessities like gas, food and utilities, and her
growing son's needs, her paycheck isn't stretching far enough. After a few
months of unexpected car repair bills, a few medical bills and higher insurance
premiums Dana has gone beyond living paycheck to paycheck and is beginning to
put more of her everyday expenses on her credit card. She hates paying interest
and accumulating debt, but without much fat to trim from her already lean budget
she doesn't see another alternative.
Andrew and Rosa have moved five times in the past six years for
Andrew's work. Moving expenses, combined with living in a higher-cost area and
Rosa not working, caused their bills to quickly outpace their savings. After an
argument with their landlord over needed repairs to their rental home, and faced
with having to pay two years' rent up front, they are beginning to fear that
filing for bankruptcy is their only way to get out of their lease and be able to
move somewhere that they can afford to live.
Kelly knew that things in her marriage had been tense for a while but
she attributed it to a difficult pregnancy and family health issues. What she
didn't know is that her husband had quietly drained their retirement income over
the period of several months to launch a new business. The new business looked
promising at first but it was more than they could manage and nearly 2 years
later they had to close. With no savings and large outstanding bills from
business creditors, Kelly has begun the process of filing for bankruptcy to
protect what they can.
Medical bills, new business failures, moving expenses, the loss of an income
and the rising cost of everyday items… these are just a few of the factors that
millions of people experience, leading them to make hard decisions about how to
manage their income to meet expenses. What stories like Kelly, Dana, Andrew
& Rosa point to is the rapidly increasing rate of people turning to credit
when they didn’t expect to, having more difficulty paying it back than using it,
and finding themselves stretched financially.
Whether you are currently in a period of financial hardship, if you are
overextended financially due to credit card debt or personal loans, if you are
considering bankruptcy or even if you have already filed bankruptcy, you are not
alone. For many, managing financially has become more difficult and as it does,
so do the situations and decisions one has to face.
This piece examines the causes of credit and debt trouble, offers
solutions to reducing and eliminating debt and walks you through what to
consider if you are getting financially close to the edge and considering
bankruptcy, how to protect your home, and how to rebuild or re-establish your
credit. You can either read through the piece sequentially or click on any of
the links below to go straight to the section you’re most interested in.
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