Jeff Michael: Repair Your Credit and Knock Out Your Debt
I highly recommend this book because I wrote it.
Edie Milligan: Tips from the Top: Targeted Advice from America's Top Money Minds
I have about a dozen entries in this book.
« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
Being a consumer has never been so much fun! I recently received some stuff from Kate Bingaman's online shop at Obsessive Consumption. It's all really great; in fact, we like the T-shirt we got so much we're going to frame it and hang it on the wall. I also have places to hang the postcards, too. If you've haven't checked out Kate's art yet, I urge you to do so; it's thought provoking, relevant, and super hot!
I heard about this story last night; two British banks are going to stop using piggy banks in their ads and stop giving them to children. They're concerned that the use of pigs might offend some Muslims. [link]
Odd: charging interest for lending money is also offensive to Muslims. [Sarcasm] Maybe the banks will offer 0% loans to Islamic borrowers?[/Sarcasm]
The religion and politics of this story aside, piggy banks are good. It is almost never too early to start teaching kids to save. If a kid is old enough to pick up a penny and not immediately swallow it, then that kid is old enough to learn to save. If having it in the shape of a pig bothers you, get something else (mine's shaped like Snoopy's dog house)... but don't miss out on the opportunity to teach your kids as early as possible about responsible money management.
Yesterday, I mentioned that bankruptcy protection is still available, despite hysterical claims to the contrary. I want to back that up by linking to this podcast from the Debt Relief Law Center of New York. The podcast, an audioblog from Jay Fleishman, a very sharp bankruptcy lawyer, offers great debt advice on a regular basis. His Oct. 14 podcast "The Sky Is Not Falling", speaks some real thruths:
You've been hearing all about how the new bankruptcy laws will spell the end of debt relief. Lines are forming around courthouses, and people are camped out all night to make sure their cases are filed on time. The sky is not falling, the world is not ending. Bankruptcy and debt relief will be available when the sun comes up on Monday.
Here's a story from Reuters that's not going to go anywhere.
Of course, merchants hate paying transaction fees, consumers hate credit card fees, and creditors hate it when their profits dip below a zillion percent.
Merchants are suing the major credit processors for anti-trust violations; they argue Visa and MasterCard fix the prices on credit card transaction fees. This is why merchants would rather you use your PIN number than sign a debit card slip as though it were a credit card transaction: it costs them 2% that way. I remember working with a credit union in CA that actively lied to its members to get them to sign the slip rather than use a PIN number. And BofA was doing some kind of sweepstakes where you were entered every time you used your debit card, but not if you used a PIN. So this creditor v. merchant battle has been going on forever, and it'll keep going on.
The only wild card here is Consumer's Union. They'll crush you if you oppose them. So if the anti-creditor movement has any legs at all, it'll be because CU and CFA keep egging it on. And why shouldn't they?
Still, my prediction is, this will turn out to be a non-story. Unfortunately. If we're very, very lucky, some new usury laws will be passed by congress to bring the creditors back down to earth after their bankruptcy reform victory. In the meantime, use your PIN number at the grocery store and pass the transaction costs on to your bank, rather than the retailer.
I saw Tom Blumer's post about this story almost a week ago, and It's been on my mind since.
A French couple with the rough equivalent of 200,000 dollars in debt tried to kill their five children and themselves to escape their debts.
All but one of the children survived, and the couple was sentenced to 15 and 10 years for the death of their 11 year-old daughter. The couple's defense attorney blamed "a materialist society that equates success with the constant amassing of possessions" and the "poisonous charm of revolving credit."
Tom rightly calls this story out, saying the direct moral responsibility for the girl's death lies with the parents. The creditors deserve partial blame, but only for continuing to lend to a couple who had no business being extended 230,000 Euros worth of credt. The creditors shouldn't be repaid a dime of what they lent to these people, and that's their punishment for lending foolishly. But they aren't responsible for the death of this girl.
Nor is "materialistic society." Do these lawyers think the girl would have been better off being born in communist China, where she might have been one of the 40,000,000 girls who have disappeared without a trace?
All of the discussion of this particular story aside, the notion of committing suicide because of debt is a serious issue. Debt is never a justification for suicide, especially not in America. Debtors always have a lot of options available to them, including bankruptcy (even post-BAPCPA, over 90% of those seeking bankruptcy will still be able to get it; let's not get sidetracked here). We have no debtors prisons, and there are several industries' worth of debt relief professionals fighting over who gets to help the indebted.
If you or anyone you know ever has thoughts of suicide because of debt (or for any reason), get professional help immediately. Dial 1-800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433) in the US. Remember, there's no shame in feeling depressed; hundreds of thousands of people struggle with thoughts of suicide, and that hotline has helped over 1.5 million people. They can help you, too.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has published this chronology of data breaches since Feb 15, 2005, and it's simply amazing.
Since the ChoicePoint incident, over 50,000,000 accounts have been compromised. That's 50 million. This reinforces the basic rule: Check your credit report regularly. That may be the only way you'll uncover a case of identity theft against you, because the credit bureaus and creditors sure don't want to reveal when they've allowed your personal information to be compromised. Not if they can avoid it.
This USA Today story says that credit card companies are backing off from Universal Default.
I've been fighting UD on this blog from the beginning, even before the old media picked up on the story, and I was by no means the first. Paul Richard of the ICFE was ahead of me in calling out the creditors for this odious practice.
Some good news in this story is that there are 3 pending laws in Congress that would ban universal default; the creditors say that isn't the reason they're changing their policies, nor are they backing off from the practice because of consumer complaints. "Increased competition" is the reason they offer for this positive move.
I believe them. I don't think consumers were as outraged as they could (or should) have been about universal default, and BK reform proves that the creditors shouldn't be scared of lawmakers. No, competition probably really is the reason they're abandoning the nefarious practice of universal default. The market wins this one.
Still, I like that congress is turning its attention to the more odious practices of the creditors. Like I said, they got the BK reform they wanted, so now it's time to start changing the way they do business. Quitting universal default is encouraging, and I hope it's just the beginning.
Darrien Nayz' recent comments about a Georgia BK judge are significant, and I want to put them here on the main page:
(Once again, sorry for the non-topical post) Activist judges strikes again. This time in Georgia where the head BK judge ruled sua sponte (which means "on its own" rather than part of a "case & controversy", which happens to be a constitutional requirement imposed on the Judicial branch) that certain provision of the new BK law doesn't apply to BK attorneys. See:.pdf link
http://www.gasd.uscourts.gov/usbc/LWDOrder.pdfWOW! I guess the constitution doesn't mean a whole lot to this Judge. In the interest of fairness, I could be wrong since i haven't researched every piece of precedent in this area. Interesting nonetheless.
I don't think he'll be the only one: this story tells of a judge in Mississippi who isn't impressed by the new law. Specifically, he thinks the new law will hurt the practice of Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Chapter 13s are popular in the South, so it's no coincidence this is coming from a judge in MS.
Here is a link to Jakob Nielsen's list of top 10 Design Mistakes when it comes to weblog usability.
I wanted to examine my own blog in light of these principles.
1. No Author Biographies
I think I'm okay here. Nielen's basic point is "It's a simple matter of trust. Anonymous writings have less credence than something that's signed." The more I thought about that, the more troubled I am by commenters who come one here anonymously to bash one part of the industry or another. I put my name out there, I'm not hiding. Commenters who make anonymous, false attacks are becoming less welcome here. If you post on here asking for advice about your own debt situation, you're free to do so anonymously. But if you're making attacks that are unfounded, hiding your identity shows how worthless your claims are.
2. No Author Photo
I'm just not pretty enough to put my photo up on the blog. I think a person could find it by navigating around, but I'm just not sure I want my picture up here. Have to think about this one.
3. Nondescript Posting Titles
I don't do a great job at this one, I'm afraid. I'll have to try to get better. But my blog has a limited audience, so I think a lot of readers get what's going on. Still, I need to improve on this.
4. Links Don't Say Where They Go
I try to do this when I post. I hope it's clear where I'm sending you when I'm linking to other sites.
5. Classic Hits are Buried
I don't refer back to old posts all that often. Sometimes, when I called something a year ago and it turns out I am right, I'll point back to it as a brag. But that's pretty tacky, and I'm not usually proud of it. So much of my content is time-sensitive that a lot of it gets dated. I'm not sure it would be a huge benefit to have a set of links to "classic" posts. But I probably should link to old posts more often when I refer to subjects I've covered before.
6. The Calendar is the Only Navigation
Typepad takes care of this.
7. Irregular Publishing Frequency.
Guilty as charged. I've been so busy the last week (and will continue to be for the next few, at least) that I've slumped off on posting. Normally, I try to post a minimum of 5 times per week. I need to get back to that.
8. Mixing Topics
I try to stick to my main topics as much as possible. (The debt recovery industry and debt relief in general.) I think I get sidetracked too much into discussing the industry itself rather than posting more information on how to help consumers directly. I'll aim to fix that.
9. Forgetting That You Write For Your Future Boss
Maybe this is why people post anonymously. I'm sure there are a few things on here that I wouldn't want my future boss to read, but there are over 250 posts to sort through, and I stand behind almost all of them. I hope I haven't written my way out of any future jobs, though I know for certain I've hurt my book sales by not following the media herd on a couple of issues. Oh well.
10. Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service
I'm totally busted. Let this blog be a cautionary tale for aspiring bloggers everywhere: I'm stuck with typepad now, whether I like it or not (and I like it so far, but who knows how I'll feel in six months). I just hope they don't start forcing pop-ups and junk on my readers.
Here's the first intelligent article I've read about bankruptcy reform. To me, it dispels the myth that credit counselors will not be able to handle the increased traffic from potential bankruptcy filers, and the list of counseling services at the end of the article destroys the myth that bankruptcy filers are being handed off to a "corrupt and unregulated" industry. Every counseling agency listed here is on the level, and they've been vetted by the US DOJs Trustees. Since BAPCA is now the law of the land, it's a good thing some reporters have started to actually help readers understand what their next move should be, rather than simply predicting DOOOOMMMM.
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