Every business owner, from the “Mom & Pop” restaurant to the Franchise Owner has to wear many “hats”. The most important “hat” to wear is that of the Chief Financial Officer. Even if you are just a sole proprietor, you have to keep your finances
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Archives for Consumer and Financial News
Credit Unions- Angels or Devils?
For many people, their local credit union is their savior. People can join credit unions because of where they work, or if they served in the U.S. Military, or for other reasons. Credit Unions offer many advantages, such as lower interest rates, and personal service.
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An Inspiring Story: Homeless to Hopeful, and Financially Stable
So many people are living paycheck-to-paycheck, it is easy to just make a generalization that it is just plain expensive to make ends meet and to live and support a family. If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, you might as well just throw up your hands,
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Women and Money– Don’t be Left in the Dark!
A large percentage of my clients are single women. And, many of the women have very little knowledge about their own finances. There are many reasons for their lack of knowledge. Sometimes, if they were married before, their husband “took care of” all the finances.
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Entrepreneurs’ Common Money Mistakes to Avoid
Are you a contractor, builder, cabbie, realtor, mortgage broker, beautician, or barber? Do you run a restaurant or professional practice such as a dental, law or medical office. Then, you are an entrepreneur. That’s a fancy word, and, you are working for yourself, acting as
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Here’s One Easy New Years’ Resolution for your Money
I could give you many lists of things to do with your money in the New Year. I could also rattle off lists of different ways to track your spending. Those are all great, wonderful ways to get a handle on your financial life. You
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What to do to help Your Credit Score After Bankruptcy- Send Your Discharge Order to the 3 Major Credit Bureaus.
For so many years, you’ve been working to keep your credit score high. If you end up having to file for bankruptcy protection, there are ways to help increase your score, and to have the credit report accurately reflect the bankruptcy. Why would you want
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House Sold Short in 2014? You may get a tax break!
In 2013, the U.S. Congress extended the tax break for people who sold their houses at short sales, or gave up their houses, and were forgiven the balance of the loan. But, so far, in 2014, they let that tax relief expire. See my blog
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Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act in Illinois
A while back, I wrote about Debt Settlement, and whether it was a good way to avoid bankruptcy. Most people don’t want to file bankruptcy, and try many different things to avoid bankruptcy. Debt Settlement, in certain circumstances, can help. There are pitfalls. I mentioned
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Your HAMP Mortgage Payments May Bounce Up Soon in Illinois and Across the US
Back in 2009, the US Government announced the HAMP Program, Home Affordable Modification Program. The first group of homeowners started getting modifications, and many of those loan modifications had an “interest only” time period, usually 5 years. Now, the 5 years is coming up, and
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