Do you have kids? Do you have plans for your kids to go to college one day? Have you looked at how much college is going to cost you for just one kid? College is a big investment, but it is a good one. If you begin planning for this huge expense when your kids are young, you won't take much of a hit when the day comes that your teen packs his or her bags and heads off to start a new life at school. This blog will provide you with several ideas and tips that can help you find ways to plan for your kids' college tuition.
If your finances are best described as "a mess" and you are struggling to pay bills, then you might be considering filing for bankruptcy. But while filing for bankruptcy may seem like an easy way to hit reset on your financial life, it is a very long and involved process that will negatively impact your credit score for many years. If there is a way you can possibly get your finances in order and avoid bankruptcy, it's usually wise to do so. In that light, here are two big steps you should take before resorting to bankruptcy.
List all of your debts.
Before you file for bankruptcy, it's important to go through all of your paperwork and list out all of the debts that you owe. Include everything -- from student loans to credit card debts. List the amount you owe on each loan, and if you do not know exactly how much you owe, call up the lender and ask.
The reason why this is important is because, contrary to popular belief, filing for bankruptcy does not erase all debts. Only certain debts can be discharged during bankruptcy, so if your debts are the type that can't be discharged, filing bankruptcy won't be very helpful anyways.
Debts that cannot be discharged include:
Many people assume they will file bankruptcy to get them out of student loan debt, but in fact, student loan debt cannot be discharged.
Meet with a financial advisor.
There's a possibility that you are making enough money to pay all of your bills each month, but that you are not very organized in your spending—and therefore are not getting around to paying everything. Meet with a financial advisor, and ask them to go through your expenses and earnings with you. They can try to create a budget for you and determine if it's possible to keep paying on your debts rather than filing bankruptcy. You might find that your money goes further than you think, and that you just need to make a few modifications to your spending habits or the dates that you pay certain bills.
If you're struggling to pay your bills, don't file bankruptcy without giving it a lot of thought. Make sure your debts are dischargable, and meet with financial services to see whether changes in spending might be all you need.
Share25 July 2017
