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Christmas credit can lead to bankruptcy in the new year

Season’s greetings and all that corporate nonsense, at least they are until the bills start rolling in over the New Year. It has become commonplace to see most Americans overspending during the holiday season and this year was no different. It’s hard not to when we’re bombarded with TV, newspaper, and radio commercials to share incredible deals that aren’t available any other time of the year. Corporate America does a good job of enticing Americans to buy things they can’t afford. If it wasn’t for credit cards, they wouldn’t have any games to play. Most Americans these days are broke or close to it. If all your creditors had to be paid today, almost all of them would file for bankruptcy.

Since the economic downturn of 2007, the US has not seen any kind of recovery that the mainstream media continues to report on. The numbers just don’t add up. The Fed continues to print $85 billion a month with quantitative easing to keep interest rates for corporate America at 0%. Main St., America is not benefiting from any of these Federal Reserve policies, only the big banks and financial institutions. The rich get rich and the poor get ready to file for bankruptcy. It has become a greater divide between rich and poor with the middle class almost completely evaporating into thin air. Jobs leave and don’t come back. The real estate market has seen a boost recently, but when you look at the actual numbers with first-time buyers and people financing their homes, you’ll see that the majority of homes sold went to investors and cash buyers.

A recent study came out saying that every American is three weeks away from filing for bankruptcy. The way they arrived at this statistic is by looking at average debt ratios and cost of living. The average American has $16,000 in credit card debt and only earns $35,000 a year. Just add his living expenses and this person is three weeks away from filing for bankruptcy. It’s sad, but it makes sense. What happened to the old days when it was more about the idea than the cost of a gift? People used to spend time looking for the perfect gift that was within their budget and would get their family member excited on Christmas morning. Now it’s cubic dollars, if it doesn’t cost a lot it can’t be good, at least that’s what corporate America wants you to believe. And that’s why many Americans will turn to a bankruptcy attorney for their New Year’s resolution. I think people in this situation shouldn’t feel bad about filing for bankruptcy. In today’s media-driven world, it’s nearly impossible not to get caught up in the buy now, pay later lifestyle. There is also culpability for these creditors. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t pay their bills, but they’re not the only ones responsible for the debt situation they’ve gotten themselves into. As the government continues to crack down on legislation that benefits big banks and corporations, people should take advantage of our bankruptcy laws before they are no longer available to them.

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