Ok, so why is a bankruptcy lawyer telling you never to go see a bankruptcy lawyer? I'm not telling you to avoid a bankruptcy attorney if you are having serious debt issues. What I am hoping is that you read this posting prior to having any financial issues and change your spending habits now so that your chances of ever having to make an appointment with a bankruptcy attorney decrease. I can tell you that there will not be anything that I write about in this blog posting that you haven't thought of yourself, but the difference between failure and success in this situation is action.
How many times have you heard that it is necessary to do a budget? How many times have you done a budget. Doing a budget is no fun. As I sit here I can admit that I really need to revise my budget, but it is about the last thing I want to do. But, I have seen how beneficial having a budget can be to finances and my ability to save money, so I will revise my budget shortly. Make sure that your budget is realistic. I often have clients tell me that they are spending $250.00 at the grocery store on a family of four. When this happens I ask them where they are shopping because I want to start shopping at that store. The fact is, that unless they are doing a great job with coupons, it is pretty much impossible to feed a family of four on $250.00 per month. This family either does not know what it is spending on food, or they are eating out a lot which explains why they are only spending $250.00 on food. One thing that you must keep in mind when putting together a budget is that it is a document of change. You may have an income that fluctuates due to the amount of hours worked or due to commissions. If this is true, you need to revise your budget every month. Sure, there are a few items that will stay the same...any vehicle payments, house payment, electric bill (this and any gas bill should be on the budget plan so you aren't surprised with an outrageous bill that blows your budget).
When you are putting together your budget is a good time to see where you can trim from your budget. We all spend some money that just doesn't make sense. For example, I don't understand spending a lot of money on cable television, eating out or buying the latest and greatest cell phone. Take a hard look at your budget to see where you can cut, but make sure not to cut so much that it is unrealistic. Leaving yourself $150.00 for gas per month when you and your spouse each drive 30 miles each way to work isn't going to cut it. If the budget is not realistic you will lose interest in it immediately because it is failing you. Don't set yourself up to fail.
If you have set up your budget and found that even after cutting everything you can think of that you are still spending more money than you make then you have one option.....figure out how to bring in more money. I read the other day that during the great depression that more people than ever opened their own businesses. Now, it may not be possible for you to open your own business due to lack of startup funds, lack of an idea of a great product, etc. However, it is always possible to get another job. It always amazes me how many people I meet with cannot fathom the idea of having a second job. Even if you are working part time at a fast food restaurant making an extra $200.00 per week, this is still an extra $866.00 per month, taking into account 52 weeks in a year. This would pay 2 car payments or some people's mortgage. But, if you don't sit down and set up a budget you won't know that you need a second job because you won't know that you are spending more than you make each month.
I cannot stress enough that, even if you are no where near needing to file a bankruptcy at the moment, that it is amazing how job loss, illness, or many other things outside of your control could happen that would put a serious strain on your finances. If you set up a budget and concentrate on saving money now then you will be in a much better situation financially if any of those things happen to you in the future.
Budget to decrease the chances that debt ever brings you to my office. But remember, even if you have always done everything right financially sometimes there are factors outside of our control that cause the need for bankruptcy. It does not mean that you are a bad person. It just means that you do not have enough money to pay your debts and we live in a country where the bankruptcy code allows a way to deal with your debt. If you live in the Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Lebanon, Tipton, Kokomo, or any of the surrounding areas and would like to meet with me for a free, non-judgmental consultation to find out your financial options please click here.
Halcomb Singler, LLP, is a debt relief agency. It helps people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. No attorney-client relationship with the firm of Halcomb Singler, LLP, is created through this blog. Also, please note that Erika Singler is an attorney licensed in Indiana and does not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and should not be relied upon for the circumstances of any individual(s) or businesses.
I appreciate all of the information that you have shared. Thank you for the hard work!
ReplyDelete- bankruptcy lawyer gloucester ma