BANKRUPTCY UPDATES

• Taking Your Credit Score from Bankrupt to Perfect 10 (May 21, 2012)
• Music Storage Website MP3Tunes.com Seeks Bankruptcy Protection (May 22, 2012)
• Book Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Files for Bankruptcy (May 17, 2012)
• Las Vegas Tycoon Lists $500 Million in Debts in Bankruptcy Filing (May 15, 2012)
• Nassau Broadcasting Sells its Assets in Bankruptcy Court (May 22, 2012)

Credit Card Debt Information

Credit cards offer a wide variety of advantages, including the ability to build your credit rating, and the convenience of paying with a small piece of plastic. Unfortunately, these advantages conceal a downside to paying with plastic: the potential to fall into deep debt.

Each year, millions of responsible, hard-working Americans struggle with credit card debt. The good news is that out-of-control credit card debt may be remedied, through efforts such as simple adjustments in your spending habits or more powerful methods like filing for personal bankruptcy.

If your credit card debt is spiraling out of control and you have questions about whether bankruptcy could help you, simply fill out the form below and arrange a free, no-obligation consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.

Reducing Credit Card Debt

Before jumping straight to a discussion of bankruptcy, it may help to first offer some simple credit card debt advice. Specifically, what steps can you take to reduce your credit card debt?

By taking some or all of the following steps, you may be on your way to significantly reducing your credit card debt:

• Eliminate your excess cards. There's no reason to carry 16 pieces of plastic in your wallet or purse. By trimming your number of cards to just a few, you may be able to stay on top of payments and hopefully use your card less.
• Set a monthly budget. Make an estimate of how much money you'll make each month, and don't spend over that amount.
• Ignore the minimum balance. By paying only the minimum balance each month, you can rack up a huge amount of interest. If you are able, pay off your entire balance each month.
• Shop for better interest rates. Credit card companies compete with each other for customers, so take advantage of this competition and hunt for good rates.

In addition to these do-it-yourself methods, a nonprofit debt counseling agency may also offer helpful credit card debt advice. Beware, however, of agencies that charge you large up-front costs, as these agencies may simply be fraudulent.

Filing Bankruptcy May Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt

Of course, the methods listed above are fairly limited, particularly for people who are facing overwhelming credit card debt. Here's how bankruptcy works:

• Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may be able to discharge some or all of your unsecured debts, including credit card debt.
• Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you'll be given an extended timeline in which to make your debts while receiving protections from the bankruptcy court.
• If, at the end of this Chapter 13 repayment period, you've kept up on your payments, some of your debts may simply be discharged.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies have different requirements for filers. To learn about these requirements, read more about filing bankruptcy and talk to a local bankruptcy lawyer today.