Im sure many of you have heard this pearl of wisdom before, I know I have. But is it really that simple Is it as straightforward as it sounds whats involved in the Bankruptcy process

Well, as somebody who has actually been through the process I can assure you it is anything but simpleand for many people it definitely isnt straightforward.

So whats involved

An appearance before the judge

Most people who go bankrupt have never actually been to court (although people in debt are often made to feel like criminals) and this in itself can be quite a daunting experience. The court hearing itself isnt too bad, provided you treat the judge with respect & courtesy; hell most likely treat you in the same manner.

Questionnaire

The next step is all the form filling. The main form to complete is the Bankruptcy questionnaire which is a very detailed & lengthy document. This is where you detail all your debts, your assets & your current situation you have to be sure that you enter the correct detail on this form, this will play a major part in your interview with an Insolvency examiner (see below).

The Interview from hell

For those of you who can remember the feelings of fear & trepidation you experienced at job interviews Multiply it by 100 and youre close to how you could feel at this interview

Obviously it all depends on which Insolvency examiner is dealing with your case, you may sail through this stage of the process or it may be one of the worst days of your life

Bankruptcy restriction orders / Income payment orders / Loss of assets

Basically, the Insolvency examiner will be looking for reasons why you should be subjected to a Bankruptcy Restriction order (which can mean that the nasty effects of bankruptcy could last for up to 15 years, rather than 12months) or an Income payments order which would mean that a large % of your surplus income would be paid to the Official receiver for a period of 3 years. The examiner will also be looking for assets that you own that could be taken from you.

So, does it still seem as simple as being debt free in 12months?

As you can see, although it is possible to be debt-free in just 12months, there is also a good chance that youll end up losing your assets or with either a Bankruptcy restriction order or an Income payments order around your neck.

So, avoid Bankruptcy, then?

Not necessarily for many people, Bankruptcy is the right solution and if you undertake the process in the right manner, you will be debt-free in 12months, but you must ensure you do everything right ensure you know how to complete the questionnaire correctly know what to say in court & at the interview and know your rights Dont go it alone You could end up in a worse position than youre in now.

For further information, see http://www.thedebtsurvivor.com/personal-debt-solutions/bankruptcy/

Best wishes

Paul Johnson

RAW Entrepreneur Magazine Article featuring Paul

The Debt Survivor

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxteu/Million_Impossible/RawJan09/index.php#/20

This is how the stock market really works:

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them.

The manbought thousands at $10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort.

He further announcedthat he would now buy at $20.

This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms.

The man then increased the offer to buy monkeys for $25 each.

The supply of monkeys disappeared so that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it.

So the man announced that he would now buy monkeys at $50 each!

However, the man said he had to go to the city on some business, and hisassistant would buy monkeys for him.

When the man was gone, the assistant told the villagers:

Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has bought from you.I will sell you all the monkeys in the cage for $35 each. When the man returns from the city, you can sell the monkeys back to him for $50 each. We both make money, and the man will never have to know.

The villagers scraped together all the money they had saved from selling monkeys to the man, and bought all the monkeys in the cage from the assistant for $35 each.

The villagers never saw the man or his assistant again, but they got all their monkeys back!

Ive just received a loan offer through the post;

Apparently, I can borrow between 50 to 800

If I borrow 300 I can pay it back at 10.50per week the total I would pay back is 546

However, the typical interest rate is 272.4%

Sounds like a loan shark doesnt it, but its not Its an offer from Vanquis Bank aimed at people desperate for money for Christmas presents And how convenient that itll take 12months to pay back Just in time for another loan for next Christmas

If this isnt legalised loan sharking I dont know what is

Einstein was right (not for the first time in his life)
about compound interest. It is indeed the most powerful force in the universe.

Unfortunately though, most people are suffering from this
force. A few days ago I posted a blog
entry entitled How long will it take me to pay off my credit cards. This blog
entry used an example of a person with a 5000 credit card making minimum
payments every month.

The result was astounding it would take 69 years (and
20,850 in repayments) to reduce the balance from 5000 to 100

This just shows the power of compound interest being used on
a daily basis by the banks & credit card companies.

However; there are people in the world that use Compound
interest in their favour.

I was recently introduced to a private members Investment club
where they achieve over 45% per annum return on investment. I am still
undertaking my own due diligence prior to working with them but so far the
figures seem to stack up.

So, I decided to do a few calculations just to illustrate
the power of compound interest and the results were amazing

For example; if you were to invest 500 per month (many
people that I speak to about their debts pay more than this each month in
credit card interest alone) in a fund that grew at 45% per annum, in a 10year
period you would have invested 60,000

This 60,000 will grow over this 10year period to a
staggering 1,133,000 (over 1million)

So, if you could find a way to reduce your monthly outgoings
by 500 and then find an investment vehicle to invest the money saved into In
10years, youd be a millionaire

As I said earlier Einstein was definitely right, Compound
interest is the most powerful force in the universe

With stricter lending conditions and banks reluctant to let us borrow money, many people are in desperate need of some debt advice that can alleviate their debt management issues.
Professional solutions
Professional debt solutions such as Individual Voluntary Arrangements
(IVAs), Debt Management Plans (DMPs) and Trust Deeds do not involve
borrowing more money and do not require you to pass a credit check.
This means that you no longer have to go further into the red each
month and can get out of debt
for good. All of these allow people who are struggling to maintain the
payments on their unsecured balances (personal loans, catalogues, store
cards and credit card debts etc) to regain control of their finances
whilst still repaying all, or a proportion, of the amount that they
owe.
Informal professional solutions (like a Debt Management Plan DMP)
work by gathering all unsecured balances into one single monthly
payment which is paid to the debt help provider thereby simplifying finances, as only one payment needs to be made each month.
The provider then distributes this payment between creditors on a pro
rata basis, so the more that a creditor is owed the more of the monthly
payment they will receive. Reputable providers will also negotiate to try and have
interest and charges reduced or frozen, which reduces the total amount
owed.
A DMP is classed as an informal
arrangement as there are no contracts involved so you have the ability
to use this solution as-and-when-required. There is also flexibility
with payments on a DMP, as the amount you pay is dependent on your
affordability you only pay how much you can realistically afford once
priority payments like your mortgage/rent, council tax, food, travel
etc have been accounted for.
More formal debt solutions, such as an IVA
or Trust Deed, also enable multiple unsecured balances to be repaid but
involve a contract. The agreement protects you from creditors changing
their payment demands or from the terms of the agreement being changed.
The insolvency practitioner can provide support and IVA advice
or guidance throughout the term of your IVA or Trust Deed. IVAs and
Trust Deeds are repaid over fixed periods of time. With an IVA this is
generally within a five year period, whereas with a Trust Deed it is
typically over three years.
One of the most appealing benefits of a more formal solution is that
they allow a proportion of the debt to be written off after the term
has been satisfied this means that any remaining unsecured debt is
written off and you can walk away debt free.
Professional debt solutions like those listed above can be used by
overstretched individuals to prevent bankruptcy and are generally
offered following some impartial advice from a reputable debt help
organisation.

Source: Daily Express (Your Money)

Kerry Katonas bankrupt status will not be lifted for the foreseeable future, it has been claimed.

According to The Mirror,
the reality TV star had hoped that her financial woes would end this
month, but has been hit with a new setback after the Insolvency Service
won a bid to have her planned discharge suspended indefinitely on
July 14.

Katona was declared bankrupt at Londons High Court in August 2008 after she failed to pay the remaining 82,000 of a 417,000 tax bill.

It
has now been alleged that the status could remain in place until next
year, meaning that the ex-singer will continue to make regular payments
to her creditors.

Though it would not comment specifically on
Katonas case, the Insolvency Service confirmed: For a bankrupt to
have their discharge suspended, something serious would have had to
have been brought to our attention.

Many people still think that Bankruptcy is an easy way out Go
Bankrupt draw a line in the sand and in 12months time, start
again

It isnt really that easy

If youre contemplating bankruptcy, get some quality advice before you make your move

As I do each day, Ive just been trawling through the national media (on-line of course I dont buy every paper every day Im daft, but not that daft)
How on earth can anybody make an informed judgement about the Recession & the UK economy with headlines such as these;
Lehman Bros files for Bankruptcy

Business confidence signals end of recession

Its a bit like playing Good news / Bad news but on much larger scale

My opinion is that nobody really knows whether were coming out of this recession or not (well, apart from the members of the Bilderberg group but thats a completely different topic altogether)
The only thing we can do is look after ourselves & follow Doris Days advice Que sera, sera Whatever will be, will be (I speak Spanish & this actually means what will be, will be but a little bit of artitistic licence never hurt anybody).
If you need any help with your financial situation, send me an email with the brief details or just give me a call.

All the best!
Paul