Bankruptcy Attorney Los Angeles

As unemployment rates continue to climb, and many family’s struggle with financial difficulties, filing for bankruptcy looks like a more viable option all the time. However, it’s important to know that not only will filing for bankruptcy seriously damage your credit, it can also affect your ability to make future purchases. If you’ve recently considered filing for bankruptcy, here are a couple of tips to avoid it.

 

  1. Consolidate Debts

Having trouble keeping track of which credit card needs to be paid when? Try contacting your creditors to have them move due dates to the same day. This can help prevent future late fees that only add to existing debt.

  1. Ask you Creditors for Help

At this point you may begin to feel that creditors are the enemy, but the truth is that they may be able to work with you and may also be the only people that can help. Negotiate with your creditors to see if the lenders will lower your interest rate in order to work out a new payment plan.

  1. Inform Creditors that You’re falling Behind

Make sure to call your lenders and creditors before your first late payment. If you’ve come to the realization that you’ve only been making minimum payments and are still getting behind, let your creditors know. They may work with you and forgive a late payment without penalty or even extend the deadline for you.

  1. Refinance!

One alternative to high interest credit card debt is to refinance your home to receive cash. Mortgage is a secured debt, which has a much lower interest rate than most credit cards, by refinancing you can apply secured debt at a low interest rate to pay the high interest unsecured debt that you’ve accumulated.

  1. Live Within Your Means

This might seem like an obvious tip, but the most important step that you can take in maintaining a healthy financial life is to live within your means. Spend less than you earn. Though this may seem like a very difficult lifestyle change, adhering to a sustainable lifestyle is really the most realistic option.

  1. Build an Emergency Fund

An adequate emergency fund should be able to cover about 4-6 months of take home salary. This way, if you were to lose your job, or emergency were to strike, the savings will help cushion the blow from your recent loss of income.

 

If you or one of your loved ones are considering filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy don’t hesitate and contact our offices today. We can help you make the choices that will get you back on your feet as soon as possible. Contact us at 323.426.8300.