New Laws Rock the Debt Settlement World

New Laws Rock the Debt Settlement World

Are you currently or considering working with a debt settlement company? Here is some important information about upcoming legislation you need to be aware of written by Garrett Driscoll of Debt Eagle and published courtesy of Personal Finance By The Book.

Build your team.

I read lots of financial books, enjoy discussing various strategies, and can spend hours fiddling with spread sheets but there are certain aspects of finances I tend to steer away from.  Why?

They're boring!

Why I don't always agree with the experts.

There will be times in this blog that it may seem like I'm not in line with the experts in the field.  The reason is very simple.  Experts are paid by someone and because of that they are going to represent someone else's agenda even if you are paying them.

Consider this:

• It was experts that made all the subprime loans that resulted in the morgage bubble that broke.
• It was the experts who encouraged Americans to invest their money in the mutuals funds and now  hard working people I know have lost their retirement funds.
• It was the experts who encouraged customers to get multiple credit cards and are now garnishing their wages.
• Need I continue?

So who do we turn to?  There are basic financial principles that have stood the test of time and are most commonly known by those over 65.  They are the ones who have made it through the great depression and have rebuilt our society in a way that allowed all to prosper who were willing to apply these principles and work hard.

Thankfully, they have shared this information in many ways.  We just have to seek it out.  It's still there.  Like gold that has to be mined.  We need to watch, learn, and question.  They may not tell us the answers in the quick, attractive, catchy slogans we see in the commercials but they will tell us if we are willing to listen.

Think of your grandparents.  Some of the things that they might have said are:

• Work hard.
• Stay out of debt
• Close the door, you're letting the heat out.
• No, it costs too much.
• We can't waste this.
• Don't be in such a hurry.
• A stitch in time saves nine.
• Don't forget your offering for church.
• If you're cold, put on a sweater.
• Save something for a rainy day.
• Why pay someone if you can do it yourself?

 Should we seek out the knowledge of experts and financial professionals?  Of course, but, if what they are saying contratdicts the basic principles that our grandparents have taught us we need to get more information and think carefully before we jump in to a decision.  Remember, all professionals are there to make money.  Your money.

In The Trenches - Brainstorming - Ideas, Input, Advice

The 80’s were a great time to be a woman in the corporate world. One of the things that made it special was that there was a big emphasis to move away from the manager knows it all thinking to involving people at all levels to participate in finding improvements and solutions to the challenges that we faced. One of the popular strategies that was introduced was Brainstorming.


The facilitator would stand at the white board and write while the group would fire off things that popped into their minds pertaining to the topic. No idea was classified as bad or good in this initial list because sometimes a bad idea when presented would get someone else to think of a better idea. It was all part of getting creative and looking at situations with new eyes. By the way, we had NO problems – we had either challenges or opportunities. Because we approached things that way we came up with some ideas that were not just good, they were great!