Archive for January, 2008

The Truth Behind Bankruptcy - The Laws Have Changed

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

It isn’t bad enough that you have spent the last several months or years running from or hiding from collector and their abuse and or law suits, but now your faced with an even tougher decision. Should I file for bankruptcy?

There are several things to consider, and these consideration must be made bast on fact. In order to see the facts for yourself, do not take the word of any company or private attorney. Get the fact yourself from the Federal Trade Commissions Website at FTC.gov. You will find it interesting that even our Federal Government forces us to use the very company that is funded by the banks we owe, CCCS. New requirements for full debt relief under chapter 7 bankruptcy from 2005 are quite clear. Some of these requirements are as follows:

“The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 opened a new era: Consumers who plan to file for bankruptcy protection now must get credit counseling from a government-approved organization within six months before they file.

The Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee (UST) Program oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, including approving organizations to provide the mandatory credit counseling. Only organizations that appear on the UST’s approved list may provide the required counseling. “

Counseling and Education Requirements

As a rule, pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and pre-discharge debtor education may not be provided at the same time. Credit counseling must take place before you file for bankruptcy; debtor education must take place after you file.

In general, you must file a certificate of credit counseling completion when you file for bankruptcy, and evidence of completion of debtor education after you file for bankruptcy - but before your debts are discharged.

Pre-bankruptcy Counseling A pre-bankruptcy counseling session with an approved credit counseling organization should include an evaluation of your personal financial situation, a discussion of alternatives to bankruptcy, and a personal budget plan.

Post-Filing Debtor Education A debtor education course by an approved provider should include information on developing a budget, managing money, using credit wisely, and other resources. Like pre-filing counseling, debtor education may be provided in person, on the phone, or online. The debtor education session might last longer than the pre-filing counseling - about two hours - and the typical fee is between $50 and $100.

Important Questions to Ask When Choosing a Credit Counselor

  • What services do you offer?
  • Will you help me develop a plan for avoiding problems in the future?
  • What are your fees?
  • What if I can’t afford to pay your fees?
  • What qualifications do your counselors have? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? What training do they receive?
  • What do you do to keep information about me (including my address, phone number, and financial information) confidential and secure?
  • How are your employees paid? Are they paid more if I sign up for certain services, if I pay a fee, or if I make a contribution to your organization?

To make this nightmare even worse, should you leave out an asset or make an honest mistake, you can be charged with bankruptcy fraud.In most cases, CCCS will file a request for a contribution or portion of your payment from the creditor each and every time you make a payment in any program they offer, in addition to what they charge you.

It is strongly recomended you avoid Bankruptcy when you can to avoid disaster at work , home, personal finances, depression and a public record for your entire life. Though a bankruptcy will get removed from your credit after 7 or 10 years, it is still a pubilc record that is there for life.

To learn other options you should consider talking with an IAPDA Certifed Debt Arbitrator either before or after talking a Bankruptcy attorney. If your a Texas Consumer there is little chance you should file or even consider Bankruptcy.

Tom Bates,CDA
CEO,President
Absolute Debt Solutions, Inc.
http://www.absolutedebtsolutions.com

Discover What It Takes To Make Good Money With Affiliate Marketing

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

When people think of affiliate marketing, generally, they don’t think about the main way you make the money. One thought is that all you have to do is sign up with an affiliate company and the money will start coming in. If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, there isn’t any type of money maker out there like that.

Affiliate marketing is about being passionate about something and promoting it. Trying to sell something you aren’t passionate about will not work. You must have an interest in it or no one will ever believe you or trust you. There are a small handful of people who could do this, but they are already very smart marketers and like to sell. Most people just getting started in affiliate marketing are not that advanced.

When you first get started marketing, you must realize that you have to sell to a list. If you don’t have one, you will not make sales. It’s all about the list in marketing. You must develop relationships with your prospects and market to the right people. People who are looking for your particular product. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

If you don’t know the first thing about marketing, you owe it to yourself to get educated. One of the first and most important things to learn is how to narrow down a niche. If your niche is too wide and covers a vast number of people, you may not do well. Work on finding the best niche out there with the smallest amount of competition to start.

When choosing a niche, it is a good idea to choose something that you would use yourself. This will make it easier to sell. When you already have a good list of people to market to, you will know what they like and are looking for. What types of products or programs will bring value to your prospects? These are what you should be marketing.

First and foremost, if you don’t even have a list, you must build one before doing anything else. To build this list, you can use a web site that has an opt in, or write a blog with an RSS feed..

The most important part about affiliate marketing, I believe, is that you market something you are passionate about. This is something that will shine through in your marketing approach. Be honest and genuine. This will get you the results you want.

Patrick Godknecht an online marketing expert who wants to share his secrets with the world. To find out more…

Patrick Godknecht

Medifast Diet Success - How To Be Successful With The Medifast Diet

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Many people have successfully used this program and have lost the excess weight and are fit today. In this present website we shall deal with the details regarding this unique diet plan, the various plans available and how does it work. However, before we embark on understanding in detail this special diet Plan, it is important to understand what Medifast Diet is all about.

Medifast has been a household name in weight loss for many years with its initial low calorie meal replacements that were used under the physician’s advice. However, recently the Medifast Diet, especially its 5 and 1 plan has found resurgence with people wanting to lose weight as this has proved more effective than other diet programs. The Medifast Diet is the only diet plan that has been studied under clinical conditions. A study organized by John Hopkins University on a sample of about 1100 to 1300 people revealed that the 15 subjects that were able to complete the diet plan lost a total average of 45 pounds with some individuals losing about 65 pounds! The subjects that were selected had type 2 diabetes and were highly obese. The study revealed that these subjects not only lost weight but were also able to reduce the amount of insulin required and in some cases they stopped using it totally.

So what is this Medifast Diet? This is a controlled weight loss program that uses low calorie meal replacement diets as a way to lose excess weight and maintain fitness. There are various plans and diet routines available for different people. Medifast offers diet plans for men, women, people suffering from diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and many such different situations. The Medifast Diet plan can be tailor made to suit individual needs and abilities. It combines proper diet with adequate exercise to achieve desired results. Medifast Diet is the only diet program that does not believe in starving individual, instead it believes that one should eat smaller portions of meals every 2 to 3 hours in a day. The basic Medifast Diet Plan consists of two basic types of plan, the Complete meal replacement plan and the 5 and 1 meal replacement plan. The Complete Meal Replacement Plan is for those individuals who want to lose a lot of weight and want to avoid regular food. This Plan should be tried under doctor’s advice and supervision. The other Plan, which is very popular, is the 5 and 1 Meal Replacement Plan, which consists of 5 low calorie supplements and 1 regular meal consisting of lean meat and vegetables.

We now come to the next important question, what are these meal replacement products used in this diet plan. It consists of products that need to be mixed with water and either refrigerated or put in the microwave. Medifast Diet has traditionally laid stress on liquid low calorie diets in the form of shakes that have been used to lose weight. It is a complete diet plan that believes in reduction and continued maintenance of the reduced weight.

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