Bouncing Checks: 4 Ways to Make Bankruptcy Easier to Manage

Bankruptcy can have a profound effect on your finances both now and over the next several years. While it may help you get out of debt, it can also make it harder to get credit for the two to three years that follow. 

The bankruptcy will also stay on your credit report for up to 10 years. What steps can you take to best manage bankruptcy?

Know Your Rights

It is important that you learn as much as possible about your rights as it relates to filing for bankruptcy. During a bankruptcy case, creditors are generally unable to contact you or move forward with a repossession or a foreclosure. 

If you get any demand for payment from a creditor, contact your attorney, the case trustee or the bankruptcy court immediately. Doing so may prevent you from making payments or otherwise enduring harassment that you don't need to go through.

Know What Type of Bankruptcy to File For

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is ideal for those who have unsecured debts and few assets. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is best for those with secured debts or debts that can't be discharged. 

Professionals, like those at Demers Gagnier Inc., may be able to help you understand your options and which type of protection from creditors is right for you.

Know the Requirements before You File

When you file for bankruptcy, you will be required to provide information about your income, assets and liabilities. 

You will also be required to go through credit counseling within 180 days of filing. Taking the process seriously and providing any information asked of you in a timely manner may prevent your case from being dismissed or rejected.

Stick to the Repayment Plan

If you file for reorganization bankruptcy, you will be required to make payments on some or all debts for three to five years. Payments will be made according to a plan that is approved by the bankruptcy court. 

Making your plan payments as required may avoid challenges from creditors or other problems that could result in your case being dismissed. If you have trouble making payments, get in touch with the case trustee as soon as possible.

`Bankruptcy is ideally a last resort for dealing with debt after all other options have been exhausted. However, when done correctly, bankruptcy may help you get a handle on your finances both today and in the long run. 

If you are thinking about filing, make sure to do so with the help of an attorney or financial adviser to make it easier to manage the process.

Injured Income: How To Cover Your Bases When You Can't Work

Injuries can and do happen to people from time to time. After all, car accidents, slip and fall events, workplace injuries and more are relatively common. 

When you are seriously injured, you may require several weeks or more of rest and therapy to fully recover from the event. During this period of time, you may be unable to work and earn a living. 

However, you still have regular bills to pay, and you may also have a growing pile of medical bills related to the accident. Are you wondering how you can continue to pay for your expenses when you cannot work? 

These ideas may help you to make ends meet until you can return to work.

File a Workplace Insurance Claim

If your accident occurred at work, you may be able to file a workplace insurance claim through your employer. 

This type of insurance may pay for your medical expenses, and it may also compensate you for lost wages. With this compensation, you can pay your bills on time. This enables you to stay off of your feet so that you can recover more quickly.

Use Your Disability Insurance

You may have disability insurance through your employer, or you may have purchased it on your own. Disability insurance may also provide you with compensation for lost wages and medical bills related to the accident. 

With this type of insurance, the injury may not need to be work-related. For example, you may have slipped off of a ladder while working on a home repair project, and a disability insurance claim may be filed.

Consider a Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you were injured because of the actions or negligence of another person or because of a company, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. You can speak with a personal injury lawyer firm like Bennett & Sharp PLLC about your legal rights and options as a first step. 

Through a civil lawsuit, you may be able to recoup money that can be used to pay your medical bills and other bills while you recover.

With some accidents, you may not have any choice other than to use your savings account balance or credit cards to make ends meet while you recuperate. 

`However, in many cases, individuals can seek compensation for lost wages, medical expenses and more related to their accident. Consider how one or more of these options may apply to you, and seek the compensation you need to get through this rough time in your life.

Protect Your Home from Flooding

Although most of us worry about fires and earthquakes when it comes to homeowner’s insurance, the truth is that most home repair expenses are incurred from flooding. 

Whether you’re in the deserts of the southwest, or at risk of hurricane season on the eastern seaboard, you need to take some precautions to guard your home from flooding.

This year, especially, people throughout the country are finding themselves worried about rainstorm flooding, especially in areas like California where record-breaking rainfall has caused problems in residences and community infrastructure alike. 

Drains and gutters

This is one of the things you can do for your home that will have the biggest impact on protecting your home from water damage. Ensure that your gutters are clear and free of debris, to prevent buildup. 

If you have a buildup of garbage and dead leaves in your gutters, water is more likely to pool up because it doesn’t have anywhere to drain to. You should also consider installing one way valves into your drainage pipes, to prevent backup in your sewage and water coming into the house. 

Keep water from getting in where it doesn’t belong

Flooding happens when you can’t prevent the water from entering your home in the first place. If you don’t have anything in place to block water from coming in when there’s an exceptional amount of rainfall, then you’ll have to play offense to get the water out. 

A common place for water to leak into your home is through your garage. This article has some great tips for preventing leaks into your garage. Of course, the garage door is not the only place that tends to collect leaks and flooding. 




Apply weatherstripping and door jambs throughout your house in order to prevent leaking. Build awnings and check the roof. Check the rain gutters and install trenches in order to lead excess water away. 

Don’t introduce unnecessary water

When most people think of their home flooding, they assume it will be from natural causes outside of their control. But most homes that experience minor or small floods actually happen because of water from inside the home. 

This can be from not operating your washing machine or dishwasher correctly, causing excess water to leak out. Or it could be from not having your sprinkler system installed correctly. We’ve all seen someone’s sprinklers set up incorrectly and essentially watering their driveway instead of their lawn. 

This is exactly what you don’t want. When you set up your sprinkler system for the first time, you’ll want to make sure that you watch it run once to ensure that not only that it’s watering the correct areas of your yard, but that it also doesn’t run longer than necessary. 

Weatherproof the exterior

Even if water doesn’t make its way into the inside of your home, water could still damage the outside of your home. 

To help keep the exterior of your home looking great no matter the weather, one great tip is to make sure you have a good quality exterior coat of paint on your home. 

When you let your paint wear off and get faded, you’re giving water a chance to permeate that paint and cause further damage.

Your paint isn’t the only thing that needs to be protected from water damage, though. Make sure that your fence and all outside decorations are properly weathered to prevent water damage.

Probably the most important part of the exterior of your home to weatherproof? Your roof. Getting a leaky roof is not only annoying, but it can cause damage to the entire interior of your home. 

Depending on the roofing material used when your house was built, it will need to be replaced every 20 to 50 years. When you approach within five years of that, you’ll want to have someone come and inspect your roof and make any necessary repairs to maintain the durability of your roof. 

Be Aware of Groundwater Risks

No matter you are, there is risk of groundwater flooding whenever there are excessive amounts of rainfall. 

Groundwater flooding can be confusing because it seems to come out of nowhere. Sometimes it’s influenced by storms that are happening farther away. 

You can look up information about groundwater flooding risk on your local city planner’s website or office. This article contains more about groundwater flooding, how to prevent it and watch for it. 

An Easy Guide to Understanding Your Credit Report

Credit is a major driving force in today’s economy, giving people the purchasing power that they need to buy a home, start a family, and build a career. 

Landlords, employers, utility companies and more use credit reports when deciding whether an individual is responsible and reliable. A good credit score can open the door to better deals and lower interest rates, but unfortunately, many of us have a less than perfect credit score.

This July, around 12 million people can expect to see a slight bump in credit scores as credit reporting agencies nationwide wipe tax liens and civil judgments from their records. 

However, much of those affected should only expect to experience an improvement of 20 points or less. If you’re looking to improve your credit even further, it’s important first to understand the basics of how credit reporting works.

Finding and Checking Your Credit Report

Keeping an eye on your credit report can help you to stay on top of your finances and improve your overall fiscal health. An unusual credit report can also give you an early indication of fraud or theft, allowing you to nip the problem in the bud. 

Ideally, you should check your credit report on a monthly basis to ensure that all of the information is up-to-date and accurate. A mistake in your report could adversely affect your overall score. You may have to pay a small fee to check your report, or you may be able to access your credit scores for free through your bank.

What the Numbers Mean

FICO scores created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, are one of the most popular measures used by banks and lenders to assess the risk of doing business with a particular person. 

Lenders may also check your VantageScore, which is a measure developed by three major credit bureaus, including Equifax, Experian, or Transunion. Scores are influenced by a number of factors, including:

• Late payments
• Credit utilization rate, or the amount of credit you use versus how much credit you have available
• Number and age of credit accounts
• The types of credit you use

If you keep your account active and pay back your debts on time and in full, you can build up your credit score and enjoy access to lower rates on insurance plans, business loans, mortgages, and more. Credit scores can range anywhere between 0 and 850, with higher scores indicating fiscal responsibility.

Excellent Credit: 720 to 850

Consistently responsible borrowers with a score in this range can get some of the best interest rates when making a purchase. Most lenders require a FICO credit score of over 740 for a low interest rate on a mortgage.

Good Credit: 690 to 720

When most, but not all payments are made on time, a borrower is considered to be fairly reliable. People with credit scores in this range tend to get decent interest rates from banks and lenders.

Problematic Credit: 650 to 690

Credit that dips below 700 begins to raise a red flag for any agency checking a credit report. Borrowers may be denied future credit if they have a history of making late or short payments.

Poor Credit: 350 to 650

A poor score can be the result of anything from bad spending habits to bankruptcy. Lenders will often deny credit to anyone with a score in this range.

No Credit: 0 to 349

People who have no credit history will have a score of zero. Opening a credit account allows individuals to start building their credit up so that in the future, they can make large purchases such as a house or car.

Improving Your Score

If your score is in the low range, over time, you can work to build your credit up again. It’s a good idea to start the process as soon as possible since you never know when you might have to borrow money, move apartments, or switch insurance plans.

How to Improve Your Credit Utilization Rate

Your credit rate indicates how much you’re spending compared to how much credit you have available. Lenders look for a low ratio, meaning that borrowers use less than the amount available to them. By paying off your debts and reducing your spending patterns, you can improve your credit utilization rate, and thus your score.

How to Get a Late Payment Removed from Your Credit Report

If you have a good history with your creditor, then you may be wondering how to get a late payment removed from your credit report. In some cases, it might be as simple as calling them up and requesting that a late payment gets removed as an act of goodwill. 

You may also be able to get it removed by agreeing to set up an automatic payment schedule in the future. If a creditor refuses to remove a late payment, you may be able to dispute the issue or hire the help of a professional credit repair agency.

Many people focus too heavily on the past when it comes to matters related to credit. While it’s true that you can’t change any historic mistakes (such as late payments) that you’ve had problems with, there’s a lot you can do to improve your credit score in the future. 

Knowledge is key, so begin by finding out your current score and then work on the ways described here to start improving your rating bit by bit.