Ilyce Glink's Blog

Welcome to Ilyce Glink's blog! Here you'll find Ilyce's latest insights on personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer issues. Come back often for timely and interesting posts on a wide variety of topics.

Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase By 33 Percent in 2008

Earlier this week the American Bankruptcy Institute announced the 2008 year-end total number of consumer bankruptcy filings: 1,064,927.

In 2007, 801,840 bankruptcy filings were made.

"Consumers are under great financial stress, with no immediate end in sight," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect the upward spike in personal bankruptcies to continue in 2009."

The number of consumer bankruptcies filed in December 2008 declined 15 percent compared with November 2008. Chapter 13 cases filed in December were at 32 percent, down from the number filed in November. Chapter 13 allows consumers to obtain payment plans to pay down debt and it may be a way to keep a home.

The number of bankruptcies filed is one economic indicator that we can look at the gauge the health of the American economy. Usually, when the economy is in trouble, bankruptcy attorneys and the corporate turnaround industry see their work and income increase.

Labels: 2008, Bankruptcy, consumers

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 10:53 AM 0 comments

More Than 100,000 Consumer Bankruptcies Filed in October

Labels: ABI, Bankruptcy, consumers

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 9:31 AM 0 comments

Consumer Bankruptcies Rise Nearly 30 Percent

The number of consumer bankruptcies filed in September rose 28.6 percent compared with a a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. More than 88,000 consumer bankruptcy filings were made in September. ABI says the number declined 8 percent from August. The percentage of Chapter 13 cases, where consumers can often work out terms to keep their homes, was 33.5 percent for September.

"The continued rise in personal bankruptcies reflects high consumer debt, made worse by energy costs and the weak housing market, trapping many households in homes they can neither afford or sell," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect consumer bankruptcies to exceed 1.1 million new cases by year end."

Labels: Bankruptcy, consumers

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 9:45 AM 1 comments

Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Rise By Nearly 30 Percent

During the first half of 2008, ending June 30, the number of consumer bankruptcies filed rose by 28.8 percent compared with the first half of 2007, reports the American Bankruptcy Institute.

There were 503,749 consumer bankruptcies filed in first half 2008; in first half 2007 there were 391,105 consumer bankruptcies filed.

"The continued rise in bankruptcies to their highest levels since Congress changed the law points to the growing strain on family budgets," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect this trend to continue through the end of the year, with cases surging past 1 million by year end."

More consumers filed for Chapter 7 protection (liquidation and discharge of unsecured debt such as credit card debt) as opposed to Chapter 13 protection, which may enable the filer to keep his or her home.

Business bankruptcy filings increased by 42 percent during the same time period.

If you're weighing bankruptcy as an option you may first want to contact a credit counselor: http://www.nfcc.org/

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Labels: Bankruptcy, consumers, credit cards

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 10:59 AM 0 comments

Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase by 48 Percent in One Year

While in grad school, I covered the bankruptcy beat for about six months. It was during the time when there was excess liquidity, or cash, in most markets - the stock market, real estate market and so on. And many of the bankruptcy professionals I talked to said that their business improves when the economy declines. Many of them seemed to be really available for interviews. So I imagine now they're starting to get really busy.

Anyway, consumer bankruptcies rose 48 percent in July from a year earlier. They were up nearly 14 percent from June of this year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. In July, 94,124 consumer bankruptcies were filed. Many (32.5 percent) of them were Chapter 13 filings, which allows the consumer to work out a payment plan and often keep his or her home.

"The most recent uptick in bankruptcy filings reflects growing stress on the household finances of U.S. families," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect bankruptcies to continue to surge past 1 million new cases by year end."

Labels: Bankruptcy, consumers, debtors, debts

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 3:00 PM 1 comments

UPS Warns of Virus E-mail

The United Parcel Service, or UPS, warns that there's a fraudulent e-mail being sent out that tells customers a package could not be delivered. The e-mail has an attachment that's a virus.

UPS states they rarely send out e-mails with attachments and that if you receive such an email you should delete it and not open the attachment.

If you have a question about whether to trust the e-mail, contact customerservice@ups.com.

Labels: consumers, e-mail, e-mail virus, UPS

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 12:55 PM 0 comments

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