Excessive Credit-card debt is very common in New York bankruptcy. In fact, in 2016 in the Eastern District of New York, which includes all Brooklyn bankruptcy cases, the average debtor owed tens of thousands of dollars in unsecured debts. (Information from “Who Are Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Debtors?“) The question is, what are the main reasons …
Study: ‘Making Ends Meet’ Most Common Cause of Credit-Card Debt Read More »
Now that it’s 2018, Americans are (or at least should be) thinking about paying their 2017 taxes by April. It’s becoming more common to pay taxes electronically, especially by credit card over the Internet where the process is straightforward, doesn’t require envelopes, and doesn’t cost money for postage. For many, these credit-card bills are repaid …
What Happens to Credit-Card Debt Used to Pay Taxes in Bankruptcy? Read More »
In mid-August The Washington Post ran an article in its business section warning of the perils of consumer debt returning to record high levels. “Haven’t we learned?” it moans. The better question is, “So what?” It appears the author has not learned that population growth, higher incomes, different debt compositions, and low interest rates should …
Record Consumer Debt Coincides with Higher Credit-Card Delinquencies Read More »
Debtors in New York bankruptcy sometimes misunderstand the difference between paying a prepetition debt that they intend to discharge and paying their regular bills while in bankruptcy. The difference is important because debtors can stop paying some debts in bankruptcy, but neglecting the wrong debt can result in the same consequences as though the bankruptcy …
Prepetition Debts and Paying Bills in Bankruptcy Read More »
People with teetering finances frequently seek alternatives to New York bankruptcy. It seems to be a sensible thing to do, but wherever there are people who need to make quick money, there will be others who will sell them what they want to hear—and nothing else. One example you may have heard of is multi-level-marketing …
Bankruptcy: Safer Than a Multi-Level-Marketing Company Read More »
In the last few years you may have heard something in the news that has not happened for a while: The Federal Reserve is gently raising its target interest rate, the effective “federal funds rate.” The Fed held this rate at about zero from late 2007 until the end of 2015, but fearing an overheating …
How Do Fed Rate Hikes Affect Debtors and Bankruptcy Filings? Read More »
New Yorkers traveling out of state may have experienced retailers offering higher prices for transactions paid by credit cards rather than cash or checks. New York bans the practice, so it’s much more common to see merchants declining credit-card transactions for purchases under $10. However, credit-card surcharges may be coming to New York thanks in …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds New York Credit-Card Surcharges Are Free Speech Read More »
At about the same time the Federal Reserve Bank of New York discussed a study about how debtors prioritize debts when money is tight, another Federal Reserve branch, in Boston, published a paper asking whether unemployment leads to increased credit-card use. The short answer is a surprising no. It turns out that rather than run …
Study: People Stay Away From Credit Cards When Unemployed Read More »
When debtors have too few funds to pay too many debts, they don’t try to distribute their money among all their debts. Rather, they prioritize some debts over others. The insight, courtesy of a blog post at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Web site, can help debtors and New York bankruptcy lawyers determine …
A couple years ago, I wrote about four ways identity theft could lead to New York bankruptcy. The notable candidates were theft of Social Security and credit card information. Now The New York Times has thought of a new type of identity theft: cell phone numbers. According to the article, landlines are rapidly going the …
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