Bankruptcy
Amendments to Bankruptcy Legislation
You may or may not have heard, but the Federal Government has recently proposed a number of changes to the laws relating to bankruptcy. On the 25th of August, Attorney-General, Robert McCelland, released the Bankruptcy Ammendment Legislation 2009. According to an official press-release, the bill “seeks to modernise personal insolvency arrangements by recognising that the majority of bankruptcies relate to consumer debts and involve people with relatively few assets and little income.” In other words, our representatives in Canberra have realized that working Australians, not the “Bonds” and the “Skases,” are the ones most often hit by...
Read MoreBankruptcy Warning Signs
Bankruptcy rarely happens overnight. In fact, there are several clear indications that a person might be headed for for financial strife. Are you headed for bankruptcy? Take a look at these 5 bankruptcy warning signs and see if any apply to you: Always Living Pay-To-Pay Many of our client’s incomes barely cover their monthly expenses. Sound familiar? Living pay-cheque to pay-cheque can lead to serious trouble if you are suddenly laid off or unable to work. Often the only way to pay the bills is to pay on credit, which then leaves less money for living expenses the following month. This scenario can create a cycle of debt, which may then lead to bankruptcy further...
Read MoreDebt Consolidation Loans – A Case Study
In our day-to-day dealings with clients, we are often asked to give advice regarding debt consolidation, or specifically, debt consolidation loans. You may have heard the term mentioned on television, or in discussion with friends and family. So what is a debt consolidation loan? Should you consider applying for one? Sometimes, the best way to explain something is through example. We have provided a short case study to show exactly what a debt consolidation loan is, and how you might benefit from one. Consider the case of Carol… Carol is a 25 year-old retail assistant with $2,500.00 in credit card debt. The debt is spread over three different cards, and each card...
Read MoreDishonour Fee Survey Results
Dishonour fees driving families over the edge Brisbane-based firm Debt Mediators Australia released an “Online Dishonor Fee Survey,” with results indicating that dishonour fees are pushing many Australians into bankruptcy. Two-thirds of survey respondents said that dishonour fees prevented them from making their debt repayments on at least one occasion. It also highlighted how dishonour fees impacted on their capacity to pay bills regularly Debt Mediators Australia senior insolvency consultant Ben Paris was not surprised by the results. “Our clients’ income generally just manages to cover their expenses,” Mr Paris said. “Many have borrowed heavily in...
Read MoreDebt Relief
Debt Relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. Historically, debt was responsible for the creation of indentured servants. Even today, debt is responsible for individuals being sold into sweat shops and sex slavery in certain parts of the world. Debt Relief Historically Debt Relief is mentioned in the Book of Leviticus, in which God counsels Moses and the Israelites to forgive debts in certain cases every Jubilee year. The Jewish Torah states that all debts should be erased every 7 years (which is where we get the 7 year bankruptcy period from) and every 50 years. Islam...
Read MoreDebt Consolidation Loans
There are a wide variety of debt consolidation loans available. Which option is right for you depends on your specific situations. Debt consolidation loans generally involve taking credit card debts at relatively high interest rates and consolidating them into a loan, at a relatively low interest rate. What most people are after when they consolidate debt is a single repayment that is lower than the combined repayments. This increases the amount of income that can be used to fund the cost of living, or be used as extra repayments on the debt. Criticism of Debt Consolidation Loans Debt consolidation loans have received a lot of criticism lately. One concern is...
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