Debt solution company, ClearDebt, believes todays government personal insolvency figures reflect a worsening in peoples ability to repay debt.
Commenting, ClearDebt CEO, David Mond, said:
The 6% increase in bankruptcies and debt relief orders between the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 indicates, we believe, a worsening in the circumstances of many indebted individuals and that some are giving up all hope of repaying their debts and electing to become insolvent instead. This is backed up by our experience, where ClearDebt has seen a small increase in the numbers of people in debt management plans where we have actually recommended bankruptcy instead, but our clients resist such advice.
Whilst, year on year, personal insolvencies are down, I dont believe that fee-charging debt resolution companies, like ClearDebt, are seeing a fall in demand for our services.
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ClearDebt welcomes the report on Debt Management and other consumer credit matters issued today by the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee and endorses the comments made on it by Debt Resolution Forums chairman, and CEO of ClearDebt, David Mond, who said:
This report is published at a time of great change in debt resolution, with new guidance from the OFT expected shortly, with changes in funding and access to debt advice being put forward by the Money Advice Service and with the possibility of the development of a protocol compliant or regulated debt management plan being put forward by the Insolvency Service.
Little of this has been taken fully into account by the committee’s report.
However, the DRF welcomes a number of the committee’s recommendations, including powers for regulators to ban harmful products and a fast track procedure to suspend credit licences. The
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You have two options to consolidate and reduce your debt if you dont own a home.
First, you can use the services of a debt consolidation agency. They will negotiate lower interest rates and smaller payments.
The other option is to take out a personal loan and pay off your debt.
The best option depends on your financial situation.
Debt Consolidation Agency
, also called credit counseling, offer many credit
services. Their primary job is to help you pay your debt and bills by negotiating lower rates and payments with creditors. If you
have bad credit or on the verge of bankruptcy, this service might be your best choice.
You arent charged any fees by these
agencies since they are funded by financial companies.
Financial companies dont want to see you declare bankruptcy and not pay them back, so they are willing to set up alternative
payment plans.
Besides consolidating and reducing your debt, you can work with credit counselors to improve your credit.
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It’s been a rough few years for American retirees, but they are feeling more financially secure according to a study by Society of Actuaries, LIMRA and the International Foundation for Retirement Education. The latest part of this series of studies looked at financial recovery among retirees, polling 461 of them. The most recent responses show that fewer retirees are feeling less financially secure now then they did when they first entered retirement.
In 2008 when the first study was done, just one in five retirees felt less financially secure then when they first retired. But that number dropped over the last few years and is starting to make its way back up. Retirees are focusing on paying down their debt more and more with 46 percent saying they have no debt. In 2008 that number was at 38 percent. One problem that is appearing is the lack of forecasting being done by retirees. A
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According to Trulia’s Summer 2011 Rent vs. Buy Index, homeownership is less costly than renting in 74 percent of major U.S. cities. Trulia compared the cost of buying and renting a two-bedroom apartment, condominium or townhouse in the 50 American cities with the largest population.
The top five cities in which buying is cheaper than renting are Las Vegas; Detroit; Mesa, Ariz.; Fresno, Calif.; and Arlington, Texas. Renting is the better deal in New York City; Fort Worth, Texas; Omaha, Neb.; Seattle; and San Francisco.
Low mortgage rates, lower home prices and plenty of homes on the market have tipped the scale toward buying in many areas. A shortage of rental properties and higher demand for rentals has added to their cost.
Consider the following factors when making your personal decision about buying or renting:
How long am I going to stay in this location?
Even if buying is cheaper in your area, you should plan on staying in a home for at least five years before selling in order to recoup the costs of the purchase and build equity.
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Ive been reading Rich Dads Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money, by Robert Kiyosaki and while I like the general gist of the book (especially the first half), he rubs me wrong way in several places. One of these is in his use of math to support his opinions on real estate.
Much of the second half of the book focuses on real estate as a means to grow wealth, but he does make an important distinction between speculating for growth or flipping a house, and buying property as an investment. In other words, he espouses buying real estate for the purpose of renting it out and creating a cash flow, not hoping for the market to rise and create capital gains. Im not really interested in becoming a renter, but his approach makes a lot of sense to me, especially with the current economy, housing market and demographic changes.
Where I have problems is when he gets into things like OPM (Other Peoples Money).
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