Help Bankruptcy Blog

Filing for bankruptcy is a difficult decision that requires careful consideration and weighing of all options. While once thought of as a taboo, now the practice is much more commonplace. A record-breaking two million Americans filed for bankruptcy last year.

If you decide to file for bankruptcy, you’ll want to have some idea about bankruptcy court, bankruptcy court procedures, who you’ll be interacting with, such as the bankruptcy lawyer and the trustee and what role each of them plays in the entire bankruptcy process. As bankruptcy law changes are plentiful, you will want to seek out the best resources to stay well informed.

Regardless of whether you file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, your case will be assigned a trustee. The trustee is the court appointed official of the Bankruptcy Estate who evaluates all your assets and administers the debtors bankruptcy estate.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustees are appointed by United States trustees. While United States trustees are government employees, Chapter 7 and 13 trustees are generally lawyers and accountants. Note that the trustee assigned to your case represents your creditors (not you) and is looking out for their best interests.

Trustees appointed to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case usually have a more limited role than they do in Chapter 13 cases. First, your Chapter 7 trustee will be present at creditors’ meetings and ensure everything is going smoothly with your case. This meeting is typically called a “341 meeting” because section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires that the debtor attend this meeting so that creditors can question the debtor about debts and property.

A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy trustee will look at your list of assets (if you have any) to determine what assets are exempt from the bankruptcy proceedings. If you have non-exempt assets, your trustee will supervise the process of selling them and distributing the proceeds equally among your creditors according to the scheme of priorities in the Bankruptcy Code (these establish in which order debts must be repaid). The trustee also looks for fraud or abuse either by the debtor or the creditors. In some cases, he may have parts of the claims dismissed.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee is also in charge of reviewing your repayment plan and ensuring you have no difficulties following that plan. You will forward each month’s payment to him and he will distribute the funds among your creditors. Unlike with Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can usually keep your assets in Chapter 13 since you’ll be repaying your debts either in full or part.

Ultimately, it’s important to keep in mind that the bankruptcy trustee wants to recoup as much money as possible for the creditors. Trustees who work on Chapter 13 bankruptcies earn a percentage of the money collected during the case.

Your Bankruptcy legal advisor should be able to respond to any questions and address any concerns you may have about the bankruptcy trustee as well as working with the trustee and going through the entire bankruptcy process.

Trading stock picks is a difficult concept to master unless a person can master the basics that Wall Street gurus use everyday in order to pick the best stocks. This concept is known as fundamental analysis. For those who are investing in the stock market and do not know what fundamental analysis is, they may have issues making money in the stock trading business. However, a basic understanding of this idea is needed in order to make money.

By understanding the basics of fundamental analysis an individual can begin to make money quicker when trading stock picks. A source that many refer to when understanding this concept is Ken Little. Mr. Little is a well known author of several financial books, and he can provide great insight into fundamental analysis. According to Mr. Little, “Fundamental analysis is the process of looking at a business at the basic or fundamental financial level.” The main thing to look at is certain key ratios of the business one wishes to invest in.

The main tools that fundamental analysis uses to do stock trading stock picks are earnings, growth, and value in the market. Earnings of a company are very important, however, they do not tell how the market sees the stock. In order to see exactly the full value of a stock, certain tools are needed to calculate the ratios such as earnings to price and price to sales. These calculations can help one decide if the stock is worth picking. But, professional trading sites such as cnnmoney.com and MSN MoneyCentral.com have already done the calculations. This makes trading stock picks even easier.

Trading stock picks can be fairly simple if one understands the basics. Research will be needed before beginning to invest in the stock market, and the first concept to learn about will be fundamental analysis and how this can help an individual make more money. A good place to start is Ken Little and his many books on how to make money in the stock market. The research on how trading stock picks can make money may take time, but in the end, the payoff will be great.

We are facing a global energy crisis that is continuing to get worse every day. The problem is multi-faceted. On one hand, we are depleting our supply of non-renewable resources. These resources cannot be replaced and when they are gone, we will have to rely on other sources of energy. Because of simple supply and demand economics, as the supply of these resources go down, their prices will go up. We are already experiencing the pains of increasing energy costs and this problem will continue to get worse. Pollution is another problem that is caused by using non-renewable resources. All of these problems can be helped by developing and using green energy.

We can all help the energy crisis by doing some simple things to conserve our natural resources. We can help conserve natural resources by recycling instead of throwing things away. This means not throwing away plastic bottles, cans, and other things that are made from natural resources. Another thing we can do is conserve energy. That means doing little things like turning the lights off when you leave a room, turn off the television when you aren’t watching it, use a programmable thermostat so you don’t waste heat or air conditioning when you aren’t home, and a ton of other things to stop wasting resources. Car pooling is another way to save gas and money. All of these simple things can help conserve our natural resources and help the energy crisis we are facing.

Green energy is another thing that can help reduce our dependence on non-renewable resources. There are several things that commonly produce green energy including solar energy, wind energy, and water energy. You can take advantage of some or all of these things in your own home. You can learn more about alternative solar energy and other green energy options at the Alternative Energy Sources Blog.

One source of renewable energy that is commonly used is solar energy. There are many ways you can use the sun to save energy. A simple use of solar energy is letting the sun heat your house through your windows. All you have to do is make sure your blinds or curtains are open when you want the sun to heat your house and closed when you want to keep the heat out. You can also use the sun to heat your water. Solar powered water heaters can be used to heat your water and substantially reduce the amount of energy you use to heat water. Solar energy can also be used to create electricity to power your house by mounting electricity producing solar panels in the sun. If you use these solar energy devices, you can substantially reduce the amount of money you spend every month on energy. In addition to saving money, you can also help to save the planet.

Wind energy is another form of green energy that is becoming really popular. In many areas of the country, you can see windmill farms going up to harvest wind energy. You can also purchase smaller wind mills to use at your house to create electricity. While harnessing wind energy probably isn’t as wide spread as solar energy yet, they are becoming more popular and will continue to provide energy as long as the wind blows.

Another form of renewable energy people have used for centuries is water power. While this isn’t really practical for home use, it can be used on a larger scale to create electricity for thousands of homes. Just like other sources of renewable energy, once a dam is built and a water powered generator is built, it will continue to create green energy for a very long time without using non-renewable resources.

Many people would like to use renewable resources to power their home, but do not have the space or the ability to create their own green energy. If this is the case for you, don’t worry. Buying green energy is just as good as creating it. Green energy options are now being offered by many energy companies. When you choose this option, your energy company will invest in wind, water, or solar energy which means they will use less non-renewable resources. You are contributing to saving the environment in this way. One company that has a green energy option is Ambit Energy. If you live in Texas or New York, you can get Cheap Electricity and save the planet by using renewable energy.

These are just a few ways to save energy, the environment, money, and non-renewable resources. As we move forward, it will be critical that we are all do things to help save our resources for future generations.

If you love watching the equity markets, the last few weeks have afforded quite the entertainment. Between still another investment bank failure, rising commodity prices and lower housing prices, its been a challenge to make money in this market. While its easy to say go long or go short, the wild price swings in the markets made it downright challenging trying to make a few dollars. Shares would move up 1%, then down 1.5% then rocket back up again - all in the same day.

So what is a trader to do?

It doesn’t matter if you trade penny stocks, look for a “safe” mutual fund at the mutual fund store, or are just looking to protect your capital, you need a plan.

There are really 3 choices in front of you. Depending on the depth of your pockets, how long until you’ll need the money and the degree of risk, one of these situations will fit you perfectly. However, there is a cost.

First choice: Go long…

The markets have always gone up. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer. And sometimes, it you will hit major lows before making newer highs. It all depends on perspective. If you bought shares in some high flyers during the late 1990’s and held, you’re probably still in a loss position. If you bought in 1995, you’re probably still sitting pretty, despite the very high levels of 2000. Will this time be different? Who knows. When the stock market crashed in 1929, it took over 15 years to get back to that level. If you have time on your side, going long works.

Second choice: Go short…

We’re in a bear market. Don’t confuse a move up with the end of a bear market. Most often, its just a signal to go short again. I like ETF’s like DXD, QID and SDS, since they allow me to go short, by going long since they act inversely to the market they are following. Keep in mind that they are designed to provide twice the inverse return of the markets they are following. If the Dow Jones moves lower by 1%, DXD will move higher by about 2%. Conversely, if the Dow moves up by 1%, this etf will move lower by 2%. Its not out of the question to see these ETFs move direction by 5-10% a week. Great if you’re in position when the trend is moving higher, catastrophic if the market is moving lower.

On other thing to keep in mind about ETFs: You can lose money, even when you break even. For example, lets say DXD moves down by 10% this week, and recovers 10% the following week. You would think you’d be even. You’d be wrong. If DXD is trading at $100, and loses 10% of its value, its worth $90. When it moves up by 10%, it moves to $99 - 1% short of break even.

Your third choice: Keep your cash

Yeah, its not as sexy and thrilling as trading, but right now, its the smartest thing you can do. The stock market will be around for awhile. Its better to keep the powder dry and when the market gains some footing, you’ll be ready to make like a bandit. Remember, we wont hit a bottom, until everyone gives up on the stock market. Without capitulation, we’ll see many more bear traps. Play it smart, and be ready to pounce when the time is right.

Is There Credit After Bankruptcy?

If you are in the position where you are considering whether or not to file bankruptcy, you are probably thinking about your future credit options. Bankruptcy should be your last option when you are in debt, as you will find that your credit takes an even bigger hit when you file. However, this does not mean that you won’t get the chance to start over again once you file and get everything squared away. Always find professional help to hear all of your options, but if bankruptcy is all that you can do, you should know your financial world is not completely dead to you in the future. There is credit after bankruptcy.

There are some companies that will extend you credit after bankruptcy for the simple reason that they know you need it, and they also know there is an extended time between filing and when you might be able to file again. That means early on they know they have a better chance of getting their money out of you because you will not be able to turn around and file again if you default. They know you are a risk, however, and that means any credit after bankruptcy that you get will have a higher interest rate and higher penalties on late or missing payments.

You may even find that some of the companies that just lost out to you will try to offer your credit after bankruptcy. This happens when your debt is discharged and you are no longer in their system. Some companies are so large that they don’t keep track of these old debts that have been written off, and you could be anyone to them. The same rules will apply with this credit after bankruptcy. You will pay more for the privilege of having credit through them, even if they don’t remember that you have already been a customer.

When you are looking for credit after bankruptcy, remember that you have to use your head. You filed bankruptcy because your credit was bad, and you had no way to reasonably pay off all of your debts. If you have filed, you may not be in a better position, and getting credit directly after bankruptcy could put you back in the hole sooner than you think. It doesn’t make any sense to file and then put yourself right back where you started. Think about things before you do them, and make sure you know you are in a better financial position before you attempt any type of credit situation. If you need to, get help with budget, spending habits, and how to save your money for the future. Consumer credit counseling is always a smart idea in these cases.

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