november 16, 2009 01:55am

USOBA Conference 09

In order to stay current with the debt settlement industry, our staff attended the recent United States Organization for Bankruptcy Alternatives conference in Dallas, TX.

Among the items discussed were the upcoming changes to federal law regarding credit cards, and how these changes might affect clients' ongoing settlement programs.

There was also a presentation on to the importance of agencies achieving a BSI Certification, which, similar to ISO 9000, audits a companies standards, practices, and organization. Financira completed this certification over the summer, so it was good to discover that we were ahead of the curve.

Posted By: financira

july 10, 2009 08:28am

HR 627-2

What does the new credit card law mean for consumers?

At least on the surface, HR 627 appears to make many changes in the way credit card companies are able to deal with their customers. Among the important changes are:

- Limiting interest rate increases(limited to the end of promotional rates, variable rates and as penalty for late payment)

- Limiting the conditions for charging “over-limit” fees

- Giving consumers more time to pay their monthly bill and changing the terms by which a payment can be deemed “late”(payments that arrive on days when the creditors are closed can no longer be considered late).

- Eliminating the practice of “universal default” where a creditor can penalize you for issues unrelated to their accounts. For example, a client may no longer have their interest rate increase by one creditor because they are having trouble with another. This does not apply for multiple accounts with one company.
- Creditors must also provide more information to their customers about their minimum payments, including both “How long an account will take to be paid in full at the minimum”, as well as “How high would he payment need to be to satisfy the balance in 36 months”. This is an important provision for those considering help with managing their debts, as it will show precisely what they’re up against if by paying on their own.
To know for certain how many these changes will be practical and how many will be strictly “on paper”, we’ll have to wait until the law takes effect. For example, in the case of over-limit fees, a client must be notified if they are going to charge an amount that would exceed their credit limit and given the choice to “opt in” and pay the penalty. However, most accounts that are in “Over-limit” status are made so by fees and interest, which is not clearly addressed. As a whole, the law seems to address several longstanding complaints that struggling consumers have made, which in turn should make managing debt easier.

Posted By: financira

july 01, 2009 03:51am

Setting up a budget

The first step in taking control of your debts is to set up a household budget. You need determine how much you have coming in and how much you spend every month. Once you have it all written down, you can look for necessities, luxuries, and waste.

Necessities are unavoidable expenses. Luxuries are things that are nice to have, but can be lived without, and waste is things that you're paying for but don't use. When times are tough, you'll want to limit luxuries, and you'll always want to eliminate waste. None of that is possible with seeing it on paper first.

Sticking to your budget may only save a few dollars per week, but even a small amount adds up to a lot over the course of a year. And having that savings to draw on in an emergency will reduce a person's dependence on credit.


You can find a good method for determining your budget here.

Posted By: financira