This edition of the important foreclosure and personal finance-related facts that are occasionally discussed on this blog will focus on the banking system and writing, cashing, and honoring of checks used by consumers to make payments. Banks must follow specific rules and guidelines if they fail to honor a check that is presented to them for payment, including what can be done if the account on which the check is drawn has insufficient funds.

A bank's refusal to honor a check is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code. Section 4-402 has to do with banks which wrongfully fail to honor a good check that is properly payable. In essence, banks are required to make payments on checks that are properly payable, and any refusal to do so is a violation of the code which makes the bank liable to the consumer. In some of these cases, courts have even awarded the consumers with damages for mental suffering and loss of reputation when a good check was refused by a bank.

In general, banks refuse to honor checks when there are not sufficient funds in the account. This should not be a surprise to anyone with any experience of the banking system. Banks are also not required to cash checks that are over six months old, although many will do so for customers. But a check that is over six months old is referred to as a stale check by the banking system.

Consumers who fail to properly present a check to a bank and are refused payment is another somewhat common phenomenon in the banking world. For example, if a person who a check was made out to goes to the original bank to cash the check but is not a customer of that bank, the policies may require the consumer to present identification or provide fingerprints before being able to cash the check. If the presenter of the check does not comply with these requests, the bank may refuse to honor the check. However, this does not count as a wrongful failure to honor, in most instances.

Many consumers now have bank accounts which offer some sort of overdraft protection. This is basically a pre-approved line of credit that the bank extends to the customer in order to meet any short-term needs that may come about as a result of an overdraft. The check does not bounce, even though the account does not have sufficient funds in order to honor the full amount of the check. In return for this extension of funds, the bank most often imposes an immediate fee on the account, which the customer must pay back.

In cases where a banking customer has overdraft protection on his or her account, a check is presented to the bank which does not have sufficient funds to cover, and the bank refuses to honor the check, there is a clear case of the wrongful dishonor of the payment. Overdraft protection that the consumer agrees to put on his account and agrees to pay the fees for will create the liability on the part of the bank to honor payment of the bad check and impose the charge, rather than just not accept the check.

Finally, banks are now required by federal regulations to disclose to their customers if they have been charged overdraft fees. These disclosure must be made on the periodic statements (usually monthly for most banking consumers) that financial institutions send, and include any overdraft and returned check fees that have been charged to the account. This change or reporting for the banks went into effect January 1, 2010.

Especially for homeowners facing financial trouble from numerous fronts, knowing they have a stable bank that will properly honor their checks is vital. When a bank improperly dishonors payment of a check, it can cause the customers extra money in fees imposed by the bank and the merchant that attempted to cash the check. In the case of paying a mortgage to stay out of foreclosure, for instance, this can be a huge setback for the consumers.

Because the financial meltdown turned into a huge recession with massive unemployment, the banks have been making record profits. But the record bailouts and bonuses are certainly not enough, and the lenders have begun to make changes in the way that they deal with car buyers and dealerships in order to boost profits even further.

Bailouts of the banks and the auto companies went together, although the banks took more taxpayer money by several orders of magnitude than the car manufacturers. Dealerships around the country have been shut down as the economy has sunk, despite the government's subsidizing of car buying and car destruction through the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

In the aftermath of the program, car buying came crashing back down to reality. Without government to subsidize car buyers, many people stopped buying them after the Cash for Clunkers program ended. The program was always a plan to hand over a few billion more dollars to the banks as people took out more loans for vehicles.

But now, lenders have begun to insert themselves more directly into the car buying transaction through the use of add-on sales and costs. As dealers have been starved for credit to offer borrowers, lenders have begun to get in on this action, especially because add-on costs can more easily be hidden from consumers and offer greater profit opportunities.

In the past, banks set an upper limit regarding how much money they would finance for add-ons. But these were add-on costs that were imposed by the dealers and car companies. With banks not getting into the add-on business, they are more willing to increase the amount that people can borrow to pay for these expenses.

In fact, some lenders have begun offering dealers more money if the dealer includes an add-on that is offered by the lender instead of a third-party. In the case of GAP insurance, for example, a bank may offer to finance $700 of their plan, while only offering $500 to finance a competitor's plan. For the bank and the dealer, it makes more sense to include the $700 policy.

Another issue may involve a bank refusing to finance a competitor's plan at all. Whether or not it is less expensive than the bank's plan or is better for the consumer or not, the lender may not be willing to finance the competitor's add-on at all. Thus, car buyers must be careful that they are not being forced to overpay for a service.

Finally, banks may go even further and require that their add-ons be included by the dealership, or else they will not finance the purchase at all. This is the most extreme way that banks have begun to include extra profits for themselves in car purchases, and buyers should be careful to watch out for evidence of such deals between the sellers and finance companies.

With all of the new involvement by banks in the add-on business, the deals themselves may expose the lenders to more liability under various laws. Truth in Lending laws will come into play if the add-on is required as a condition of financing, for example, and state UDAP statutes may prohibit creditors from such requirements.

As always, when it comes to the banks, buyers should be careful to make sure they are not being taken advantage of in any less-than-obvious way. With banks attempting to get a piece of the add-on action, it may be better for the majority of car buyers to purchase used cars from private sellers or pay for a vehicle with cash. Can we trust the banks to deal fairly in a car buying transaction?

Many Americans have fallen behind on their mortgage payments in the last year and are looking for ways to avoid foreclosure. If this sounds familiar, you have more options to choose from than you might have had even two years ago. There are many programs available to assist homeowners in retaining their homes. Using your tax refund to avoid foreclosure may be your best option in the short term. This will help you buy the time you need to help the recovery process. A Forbearance Agreement temporarily lets borrowers pay less than the full amount of the mortgage payment during an agreed upon period of time.

Lends may consider this an option if you can show that funds are coming in from an alternative source. Using your tax refund to avoid foreclosure will often encourage your mortgage holder to work with you. Depending on your individual situation, the forbearance agreement may allow you to go without making any payments for up to a year. If you are not getting a large refund, but can prove the financial issues that caused the non-payments in the first place are behind you, these agreements may also be successful. An example of this is if you missed payments while unemployed.

If you have recently found a new job, your lender may agree to reduce or suspend payments while you get back on your feet. Using your tax refund to avoid foreclosure will help pay them back faster and help you get to work on rebuilding your credit. The important part is to begin working with your lender or a third party organization as soon as you can. If you have missed only one or two payments your options will be different than if you have missed several. A loan modification has also been an option for millions of Americans at risk of foreclosure.

In this process, one or more of the original loan terms are changed. You may have reduced monthly payments due to a change in interest rates or an increased length of the loan. If you are using your tax refund to avoid foreclosure, your lender may agree to lower the payments without increasing the length of the loan. This will greatly depend on your situation. This is also helpful if your lender is willing to set up a repayment plan. With this type of alternative, the lender adds a specific amount to the original monthly requirements, or in the case of a tax refund, one lump sum.

If you have had the same job for many years and have recently found yourself “between jobs,” your resume probably needs to be updated. You may be surprised at how much the focus has changed. It used an accepted practice that your previous employers were listed along with your title and job function. There was one format that was good for everything. In today’s tough job market, resume writing and interview techniques are based as much on the type of job you are interviewing for as they are on experience. It is important to remember the primary function of a resume.

Its goal is to get you an interview. It is a personalized advertisement designed to be interesting and informative. Even if you are faced with significant competition for a job, a well-written resume will get you invited for an interview. Pointing out the features and benefits of hiring you will present you in the best light. This is instrumental in convincing the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in the position being offered. Resume writing and interview techniques should not only be focused around the positions you have held, but how well you performed the duties and what you accomplished.

Have a clearly stated objective. It shows potential employers that you have a sense of direction and goals that you want to achieve. The most common resume formats are chronological and functional. If you plan to stay in your current field, especially if you have been upwardly mobile, the chronological format should be used. If you are changing fields and have skills that are focused on your new industry, a functional resume will show off these skills to their best advantage. For many people, resume writing and interview techniques are more difficult if there are gaps in work experience.

Whether you were between jobs for an extended period of time or if you were a stay at home parent, put it on the resume. It is better than leaving a gap. If you do not have just one focus, you cannot have just one resume. Create a resume for each set of goals rather than have a generic format that does not showcase any. Resume writing and interview techniques have changed somewhat in the past few years. Go online or buy a book to find out the steps that are recommended for your industry or experience level. You could find your dream job as a result.

For millions of Americans, 2008 and 2009 were miserable years, and 2010 has not started well at all. The companies they work for had gone through several rounds of layoffs, a significant drop in business, and some have filed for bankruptcy or been taken over by the government or other corporate entities. Not only have merit raises not been given, many people have been offered a pay cut in lieu of being laid off. The sentiment is that, “at least I have a job.” Unfortunately, these jobs often do not pay the bills, or allow for any type of career advancement. It leaves millions wondering how they can find a better paying job in today’s poor employment market. The good news is that it looks like the labor market may be showing signs of life in the future.

The stock market is stabilizing so far, and businesses are seeing an increase in transactions. Salary freezes may come to an end and many of the positions that have been cut over the last few years will need to be filled. As demand for product and consumer confidence improves, new jobs will be created. However, to find a better paying job in today’s poor job market, you will not find the same opportunities in the same areas they were in before the recession. In some cases, an organization may convert part-time positions into full-time or they may opt to pay overtime rather than hire additional staff.

Regardless, job growth will be slow for some years, and pay raises will be few and far between (unless you work in the banking sector). Businesses will test the market and hire a few employees at a time, rather than have a major hiring phase. Experts predict that the health care industry will continue to grow as a result of the aging baby boomers and potential new legislation coming out of the Congress. There are several types of technology jobs and engineering jobs that may be in demand as well. However, if you wait for the market to bounce back before you begin your new job search, you may miss the opportunity to find a better paying job in today’s poor job market.

Not only do you need to be patient, you also need to be proactive in finding your new job. Put your time and effort into the areas that appeal to you. Apply to companies that you are interested in working for, regardless of whether or not they currently have openings. In the worst case, they will keep your resume on file and be able to go through them at the next job opening. Staying in touch will people you know in other industries and organizations can help you find a better paying job in today’s poor job market by networking. The more you can talk about yourself in a meaningful and powerful way, the more memorable you will be. Your perfect job could be just one interview away.

For the first time in their lives, many Americans are finding that they are unable to meet their financial obligations. Bills are beginning to pile up and there seems to be no end in sight to the current economic issues. Many are turning to home loan modifications, credit card consolidation and debt settlement programs to help them keep their homes and reduce their monthly expenses. Although these programs may cause a drop in credit score, there are several financial recovery tips that can help create security and rebuild personal financial stability. This turns the difficulties into a setback rather than financial ruin.

One of the first financial recovery tips most for many financial planners is for their clients to take a long hard look at expenses. Begin tracking everything your money is spent on, from snacks at the vending machine to the large coffee at your favorite cafe. After a few weeks or even a month, take a look at your list and begin reducing or removing unnecessary purchases. This could mean making coffee at home, taking lunch to work, or cutting back on the amount of snack food purchased. For some people, this adds up to hundreds of dollars of savings per month.

Among the most basic financial recovery tips is to create an emergency savings fund. This will help provide a cushion of security. Automatically putting a certain amount of savings away each month, whether it is five percent of each paycheck, or a flat dollar amount will help. Begin to set some short-term and long-term financial goals. Most people find it is easier to start small. Try paying an additional amount on one of the high interest credit card payments you have. This will help pay it down faster, yet will not cause a financial drain. Check your credit score to make sure it is accurate.

Dispute charges and correct errors. This may help improve your score. Depending on the issue, you may need to work with a credit agency for additional help. Using automatic payments is another of the financial recovery tips that many people do not consider. Making payments on-time helps increase your credit score, but it also prevents extra fees. For some people, these fees are the difference between being able to pay all of the monthly bills and falling behind. Once that happens, it is more difficult to regain the momentum they had for rebuilding their credit and becoming financially secure.

When you are facing foreclosure, a great aid to your unstable financial situation is the possibility of obtaining a mortgage modification. This is when the original terms of the mortgage on your home are altered so you can make more affordable payments on time. Obviously, for this to become a reality, both you and the lender must agree on the new modified terms before they can go into effect.

Before you even get involved in the mortgage modification process, see what you can do in your own life to better your financial situation. The more money you have to offer the lender on a monthly basis, the better chance a modification will be accepted. Do what you can to bring more money in each month and cut unnecessary expenses. There are non-profit counseling services to guide you in these endeavors.

If you determine that you can make no further cuts in your budget and you still cannot make your mortgage payments, you need to meet with your lender to negotiate terms. The fact that you have attempted to reduce your bills to the bare minimum may help to persuade the bank that you are serious about saving your home. Talk with them directly to discuss their specific mortgage modification requirements and whether you can qualify.

Inform them truthfully and completely about your predicament and ask what may be possible to help you in your tough situation. The more information the bank or servicing company has, the more likely it will be able to evaluate your situation and present a reasonable solution. Lenders would much rather help you reach more affordable circumstances and still get some money from you than foreclose your home and be done with it.

Before you go into the meeting with your lender, compile an income and expenses report. In this, you must be able to prove that you are not spending money frivolously and that your income to necessary expenses ratio is in the negative. Most often, the bank will want to examine your recent spending habits since the time you have not been paying your mortgage.

There are several requests you can make of your lender. You might ask them to postpone your payments until you get on your financial feet again. This is most likely to be granted to if you had unanticipated expenses like medical bills that will pass and be over with in the coming months. Other options may be making partial payments for a period of time, or putting the missed payments on the back end of the loan.

If your current mortgage is an adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM, and it currently has higher monthly payments than fixed rate mortgages, request that your contract be altered and your loan switched to the plan with a lower rate. To be approved, you must show your ability to pay the newly modified amount. Many of the current foreclosures were caused by resetting ARM payments, and lenders have been willing to reduce interest rates to more affordable levels for qualified loan modification applicants.

The most important point to remember is that a lender will not go through the trouble of changing terms if you will still be unable to make timely payments. However, with a little bit of work, you can reduce your monthly bills and then get to work lowering your mortgage so you can hold onto your house for the long term. Soon, with proper communication and negotiation skills, you will be out of your predicament and back on more stable financial grounds.

Payday loans can cause a lot of financial trouble when not used correctly. In general, these types of loans are meant to be a short term loan that can be paid back in full on your next payday. In this type of scenario, they can be very useful and potentially save a lot of money when you avoid late fees or other fees that could result from not paying other bills on time.

The problem with a payday loan is when you take out a loan that can not be quickly repaid. When the loan is not paid back immediately, most contracts allow the lender to charge huge interest rates and additional fees on a weekly or daily basis. If you fall into a situation where the loan can not be paid back, you will quickly find yourself in a load of trouble.

Payday loans can be used for basically anything you want. Many people use these loans to make payments that would be missed otherwise. In these cases, it is important to weigh the late fees versus the cost of the payday loan.

Many people do not realize this, but if you are late on one of your credit cards, just once, the card companies can immediately jack your rate up to almost 30% on all your cards, not just the one you were late on. This is such a problem that laws are being enacted to prevent this practice. In this type of scenario, missing a single payment could cost you (literally) thousands of dollars, so paying a small fee to borrow money now would make perfect sense.

Another scenario is when you are going to miss a house payment and cause your home to go into foreclosure. When this happens, usually on the third missed payment, your lender can make the entire loan due immediately. This is another case, where a small loan fee may be a necessary evil to avoid a huge disaster. With the new government foreclosure bailout plan, you can not miss any mortgage payments if you want to qualify. Keeping your mortgage on time in order to get a lower payment with a loan modification is a pretty good idea.

The key is using a payday loan when necessary and finding another solution when it is not. In my opinion, buying groceries to feed your family might be okay, but getting a loan for dinner and a movie, or a case of beer is not. Be smart about your purchases and only spend borrowed money when it is a necessity.

In any situation where you will be borrowing money, make sure you completely understand the terms of the loan and read all the documentation that goes along with it. Never agree to something you do not understand and never agree to borrow money when you do not know how you will be able to pay it back.

When it comes to identity theft, credit card numbers and bank account information stolen through electronic means is becoming more popular than the traditional check fraud schemes. It seems that there is a new press release every day indicating a corporation has had customers' financial information stolen. Check forgeries and alterations, however, are still a problem in the banking world and an issue that consumers should be aware of.

Especially in difficult economic times, the loss or theft and cashing of a single check can cause enormous financial difficulties for a family. Even if the money is eventually recredited back to the banking customers, the time period in which it takes to file a dispute can ensure that the consumers fall behind on other bills or monthly obligations. This is why homeowners facing foreclosure should be aware of the different types of check fraud, in case they become a victim.

The first type is when a thief forgers a consumer's signature on a check and then cashes is. In these cases, it is the bank that will be forced to take the loss. The general theory is that, because the bank making the payment has the customer's signature on file on a signature card, pointing out a forgery should not be difficult. Of course, in practice banks never scrutinize signatures.

A forged signature is considered ineffective and can not bind the banking customer. Banks are allowed to withdraw funds from a consumer's account only if the check is properly payable, and a check with a forged signature does not count as properly payable. And the bank is in the position of being able to examine the consumer's signature card to be able to spot potential forgeries.

Thieves that forge indorsements of checks are also a problem in the banking industry. This may happen in cases where the check is lost or stolen after the customer has signed it. As with a forged signature, however, a check with a forged indorsement is not properly payable. If the bank debits the checking account, it should later be recredited for the amount of the check.

A final type of check fraud is when a check is altered after it has been written. The most frequent alternation, not surprisingly, is when the amount is changed. For example, $5.00 becomes $500, and "five dollars" is changed to "five hundred dollars" written on the check. In cases where the alternation is made fraudulently, the consumers may have no obligation at all. However, in other cases, the banking customer may be debited for the original intended amount of the check. Of course, this makes it worthwhile for wrongdoers to alter checks, in the hopes of getting away with the larger amount.

Forged signatures, forged indorsements, and alterations of checks are the three prominent types of check fraud that consumers should be aware of. If there is any suspicion that any of these actions have occurred, the first action should be to begin disputing the account debits with the bank. Many of these issues can be resolved by working with the bank, but there are also strict statutes of limitations in which to begin the process.

Homeowners in foreclosure are often woefully uninformed about the aspects of the banking and payment systems that exist in the country, as well as the regulations which govern those transactions. Especially in the case of servicing companies that lose payments or collection agencies which draft money unauthorized out of a bank account, a lack of awareness of these issues can cost consumers thousands of dollars or their homes.

The following are a few terms used in consumer banking transactions that many homeowners have come across but may not have understood what the acronyms stood for:

• ACH refers to the Automated Clearing House, which is a network designed to process electronic money transfers.
• Check 21 is a federal law which helps facilitate the transportation of bank checks via electronic image; it is designed to eliminate the use of the paper check in transactions.
• ECC refers to electronic check conversion, which is when a merchant takes a customer's check as a source document in an electronic funds transfer. The check is not used as a check, but only as the source document of an electronic transfer. The original check is actually destroyed or returned canceled to the consumer. This is a growing practice among merchants.
• EBT stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer and refers to needs-based government transfers. A federal mandate required the states to provide food stamps and other benefits via electronic transfer. This system typically uses debit or smart cards to fund a welfare recipient's account.

In the world of consumer banking and payments, there is a vast number of different types of transaction, whether on paper, electronically, over a land line or cell phone, over the internet, or through the use of various types of cards. In many instances, different laws govern each type of transaction, with some types of payments being regulated by numerous federal statutes. Only a sampling of these are listed below:

• Uniform Commercial Code
• Check 21 Act
• Regulation CC
• FTC Telemarketing Rule
• Electronic Fund Transfer Act
• National Automated Clearinghouses Association
• Truth in Lending Act
• Electronic Benefit Transfer
• Social Security and Supplemental Security Income
• EFT 99 Act

The law that most directly governs check transactions is the Uniform Commercial Code, Articles 3 and 4. Although some variations exist by state, the UCC has been adopted by every state. The articles were written with the intention of facilitating bank transfers and processing of checks -- not to provide protections to consumers. Other sections of the law and other regulations are written to protect banking customers.

Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code deals with negotiable instruments, which includes checks. There are two types of negotiable instruments: notes and drafts. A note is a promise to pay a loan or installment sales contract and include the promissory note borrowers sign when purchasing a home. A draft, on the other hand, is an order by the consumer for the bank to pay and includes checks that are payable on demand and which draw on an account at a particular bank.

Despite the UCC's intention of facilitating the processing of checks by banks, the regulation does impose a duty on all parties to act in good faith. To meet this duty, there is a two-part test. First, a subjective test asks if the bank acted dishonestly. Then, an objective test questions if the bank followed reasonable commercial standards. This duty does provide a level of protection to consumers if the bank did breach its duty of good faith.

The typical parties to a check transaction are the drawer who writes the check; the drawee bank which is ordered to pay the check; the payor bank which is what the drawee bank is referred to once the check is deposited; the payee to whom the check is made out to; and the holder which is the person or institution that is in possession of the check.

Over the next few weeks, many more articles will be added relating to consumer banking and payments, including payments to mortgage companies and issues relating to negotiable instruments such as promissory notes on real estate transactions. There are a whole list of protections that are available to borrowers in instances where they are required to make payments either via check or electronic transfer, and knowing about the payment and clearing systems in use in the country can help them defend against foreclosure or mortgage fraud.

Too often, when homeowners begin to feel a financial squeeze, their first instinct is to keep everything as much the same as possible and just hope for the best. In some cases, this lack of planning actually works out, but for the majority of borrowers, responding to a financial hardship by relying on hope may not end in the results they are hoping for.

For the most part, the one action that homeowners can take when they begin to fall behind on bills to just to evaluate their current situation and plan for the future. This means looking at sources of income, monthly expenses, and how to increase or decrease each of these. But too many homeowners avoid making tough decisions and end up paying for it.

Creating a current budget should be the first priority for any consumer facing a change in their financial situation due to the recession or any temporary hardship. The most important point is to use realistic figures -- not inflating income, counting income that is not there, and estimating current expenses. Once this is done, the borrowers can then decide on a reasonable budget they can live on and keep on top of their bills.

There are a number of ways to increase income during a hardship, if the consumers have access to any extra resources. Taking on a part time job is always an option, although even these are becoming scarce during the tough economic conditions facing the country. But just taking additional tax credits and deductions can help, as well as halting as many automatic payroll deductions as possible.

Reducing expenses may be an even easier process to accomplish than increasing income. Many bills can be eliminated, especially luxuries. Others can be reduced or negotiated down, as companies would rather retain a customer and lower the monthly expense for a period of time than lose the customer completely due to an expensive bill.

In fact, every expense should be carefully examined by consumers to discover any areas in which the monthly bill can be cut. Again, there may be tax credits or deductions that can be taken (such as weatherizing a house) which will help to reduce expenses even more further on down the road. Of course, the current cost should not overburden the homeowners.

Many companies that are considered indispensable, such as the mortgage and the utility companies, should be contacted at the first sign of trouble. While most of them will do nothing if the bills are not currently behind, they will be more willing to work with consumers who contact them as early as possible to report a reduction in income.

For homeowners already behind on their bills, utility companies can offer affordable budget plans or reductions of payments for a period of time. Mortgage companies can also provide forbearance agreements or loan modifications to help families avoid foreclosure. The key for borrowers is to work within the budget they created and begin negotiating with these companies as early as possible.

With the fall and winter coming up soon, getting some of these bills under control will become more vital with each passing day. At least with utility companies, homeowners may be able to obtain a monthly payment plan that lets them pay the same amount throughout the entire year. This can drastically reduce the shock of going from a $100 gas and electric payment to a $300 payment.

As always, consumers should prioritize bills as much as possible. Food, the mortgage, and keeping the lights and heat on are typically the most important, while credit cards and cable television may fall further down on the list. Any bills that help provide income (such as expenses for a home business) will be prioritized depending on the borrowers' situation through a cost-benefit analysis.

Going through a financial hardship is never easy, and is often frustrating, depressing, and has lasting consequences. With the current recession, more people than ever will be facing difficult times. But at least some consumers can take action to make the best of a bad situation, creating a realistic budget, negotiating down bills, and realizing that they are not alone.

Recently, I took a class on providing medical care during an economic emergency or natural disaster. What was most eye opening was the realization that, if anything happens where specialized hospital care is not available, the quality of health services would decline to the level of the 1850s. Some of the information I learned in that class will be shared in this article, but consulting a doctor or the Red Cross about such emergencies is a great idea for more information.

One of the most important concerns any family has is of the health of their family, friends, and neighbors. But in a situation of economic collapse, rising unemployment, a decline in government services, and increasing health care costs, it may be necessary for homeowners to survive on their own with a lower standard of medical care. Unfortunately, many borrowers rely more on their insurance and the government than they may be able to provide in the future.

As everyone witnessed with the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, government services in the event of an emergency will more than cease to exist. Worse than that, people already receiving government welfare will use up the resources in a matter of hours and then the bureaucrats in the area of the emergency will protect their own friends and family long before they offer care to the average person.

Soon after a disaster strikes, the people who know where the government offices are and have the proper paperwork and experience will quickly suck up all of the public resources. After they have run out, the general population will be on its own to provide health care and medical services to neighbors and friends affected by the collapse of government services. This can be a very dangerous situation.

For example, in the case of hurricanes and many natural disasters, the electricity is the first to go. Hospitals may be able to continue operations, but only until the backup generators have also failed. And they will be operating at a much lower level than before the collapse. But the presence of a hospital is only assuming that anyone is actually able to make it that far from their homes.

Ambulance care will almost certainly disappear quickly, as the hospitals get full and patients are no longer admitted. Most ambulances have only enough gear and supplies to last a couple of trips back and forth between the hospital and emergency areas anyway. Once they are out of gas and medical supplies, an ambulance on the street is just a shelter on wheels, rather than a sign of health care.

It is these types of collapses that most people are just not prepared for, whether in terms of having extra over the counter medications at home or some extra bandages in case there is an accident. With the trend in the country of government taking over more and more services and industries by the day, people relying fully on these services will be truly in danger if they collapse because of economic or natural reasons.

The following is just a partial list of medical supplies that can safely be stored and home. Homeowners may want to have enough of them to last at least through a short term emergency:

Bandages
Over the counter medications (aspirin, ibuprofen, antihistamines, and so on)
Any prescriptions family members are on
Scissors
Materials to splint bone fractures or breaks
Bars of soap
Burn cream
Hydrogen peroxide
Rubbing alcohol
Bleach
Stethoscope
Blood pressure cuff
Latex gloves
Thermometer
Flashlight
Tweezers
Sponges
Towels
Sterile water
Band aids
Razors
Materials to use as a tourniquet
Plastic bags
Glucose tablets (for diabetics, if necessary)

Related
Tough Decisions - Planning Medical Care Rationing During an Emergency

For all of the bailout money being given to banks, it seems that more credit should be available to potential borrowers or, at the very least, huge Wall Street firms should not have gone out of business or converted to a different type of bank. But this has not been the case -- despite hundreds of billions of dollars directly handed over to the banking system, the only result has been fewer loans being made and more insolvent banks.

One reason for this seeming contradiction (taxpayers forced to make investments in banks, while lending is down anyway) is that many of the bailouts are being given to institutions that did not make direct loans to homeowners or borrowers anyway. These investment banks participated in a different part of the lending process than the commercial banks that typically make loans to consumers.

In fact, is is the commercial banks that most of us refer to when speaking about "the banks." But commercial banks can offer two types of services, called retail banking and commercial banking. Most large commercial banks participate in both types of financial transaction.

Commercial banking refers to dealing with large corporate or business banking transactions. Many of the largest banks are also the depositors for the largest corporations in the world and finance the construction of new locations for retailers, new plants for industry, or expansion plans.

On the other hand, retail banks make loans to and receive deposits from consumers. Of course, some of the same commercial banking giants are also retail banking giants. Many of these large banks have credit card and home lending divisions, as well as offering checking and savings accounts.

Most homeowners should be familiar with a commercial or retail bank, as these are the financial institutions they are most likely to pass everyday on the way to work or the grocery store. During the housing boom, these banks, depending on their size, were often more prudent in their lending decisions, as they were using their depositors' money to make mortgages and the risk of failure was increased for making bad loans.

The largest commercial banks, though, such as Citigroup, while also offering loans directly to consumers, also participated in the subprime lending market or invested in the securities created by investment banks out of subprime mortgages. Once the downturn in the housing market came, these banks were suddenly experiencing huge losses due to foreclosure and the evaporation of value of these mortgage securities.

While commercial banks are typically referred to as "the banks,' investment banking firms have typically been referred to as "Wall Street," due to the presence of the largest firms right in the heart of the largest financial sector of country in New York. By now, all of the largest investment banks have been absorbed by other companies, filed for bankruptcy, or been converted into commercial banks.

The role of investment banks in the economy, though, has typically been to issue and sell securities. They do this in the equity (stock) and bond markets. These companies also help companies raise funds for mergers and acquisitions, or provide consulting advice to such companies attempting to engage in the types of transactions listed here.

During the real estate bubble years, Wall Street investment firms acted as middlemen, funneling money from investors to subprime lenders to consumers, and then buying back the mortgages created, securitizing them, and selling them back to investors. At each step of the way, the investment banks took a share of the transaction, which greatly increased profits for the institutions.

Unfortunately, Wall Street did not want to recognize that the loans being created by the lenders were built on very shaky foundations. In fact, the success or failure of these companies started to depend to a great degree on the performance of loans made to people who could never afford them. This was a recipe for disaster once the housing market took a turn for the worse, and has resulted in the collapse most people could have predicted.

Congress and the Federal Reserve have made available more than $12 trillion for the "banking system" by now. These funds have mostly gravitated towards the investment firms in order to paper over their huge losses in subprime and derivatives investments, rather than going to commercial banks. But this may be a good thing, as $12 trillion created by the Fed can translate into close to $120 trillion by the banks.

But this is also why homeowners and American consumers are witnessing stable or rising prices when they should be falling as a result of the recession. The politicians and economic planners are create huge amounts of inflation, which is propping up prices, but none of this newly created money is making its way to small businesses or consumers. So the people pay for the inflation tax and receive none of the benefits.

One of the mistakes that many homeowners facing a financial hardship often make is failing to prioritize their bills. Even after they fall behind on one or two monthly bills or debt payments, instead of abandoning the least important ones, they typically try to keep on top or just a little late with them all. This can often be a mistake.

Prioritizing bills and eliminating the least important ones is the first step that borrowers should take when they experience a medical catastrophe or a job loss. If they will not be able to pay all of their bills on time during the duration of the financial hardship, then some will have to be set aside while the most important are paid first.

Obviously, keeping food on the table and the lights on are the most important bills. Payments for basic necessities like groceries and utilities can often be lowered during a hardship, but no family can survive long without food, heat in the winter, and electricity.

Second in importance will usually be any bills the homeowners have that involve their job or business. Car maintenance and repair expenses along with gas to get to and from work are both important to keep up on. As well, if the borrowers operate their own business and are still receiving meaningful income from it, these bills may take priority over others.

In terms of debt payments, then, the mortgage and any car loans should be prioritized. Of course, this does not mean that homeowners should keep an expensive car or overvalued home if they can trade in either for a used but paid-off car or go from owning a home to renting, if the financial situation calls for such sacrifices.

Most borrowers will not want to take scarce resources away from their mortgage to pay credit cards, other unsecured debts, or low priority bills. In fact, many bills can be eliminated during a financial hardship, such as cable television, movie rentals, or gym memberships. Credit cards that go into default can be much easier to negotiate down than mortgage balances, as well.

Of course, one of the easiest ways to reduce both priority and unimportant bills to try attempt to negotiate them down. Cable companies may be able to offer introductory rates to current customers, while mortgage companies can provide borrowers with loan modification plans. Homeowners should take advantage of these opportunities to try to work out a solution to foreclosure before it becomes a problem.

Any family soon to be facing foreclosure should immediately begin to prioritize their bills, paying attention to the ones most important and which ones can be reduced or eliminated. It also makes sense to begin negotiating with every company to reduce rates or payments, even temporarily, which can help borrowers avoid foreclosure, bankruptcy, and a whole list of other financial troubles.

When facing foreclosure every penny really does count. Take a look at my article from yesterday: Tips for saving money at the grocery store. There you will find ways to possibly save up to 18,000 dollars a year. Today I’m going to share with you another money pit fall clothes and how to save money on them. If you are thinking that foreclosure is even a possibility for you in the future, I suggest learning all the saving tips you can.

Did you know that most clothes you buy, are marked up at least 75 percent. That means even when you see sale signs, your not going to really be getting a good deal. If you have a big family, you know a lot of money can be spent on clothes, which isn’t the best idea for avoiding foreclosure. You can save thousands of dollars on clothes if you know some of the trade secrets that I share with you today.

AVOID SALES
First of all, like mentioned earlier, sales don’t mean a thing. Most stores over mark and up sell everything. Even if there is a sale on an item, your probably paying retail price for it. For instance the other day I was in a store that was going out of business and it said 45% off everything. Well when I went in and shopped around, I realized everything had been marked up before being marked down so basically there was no sale at all. Remember sale means nothing, usually if there is sale sign in a window, it probably has dust on it, from being left up all year, trying to lure you in.

SHOP OUT OF SEASON
Another tip is to shop out season, yah its not exciting getting winter coat in the summer, but you really can save yourself some money here. There is nothing worse then going to the mall buying something new and a month later seeing on the sale rack.

COMPARE DEALS
If you see something you like, compare deals. Take down the name and model of a pair of jeans you like and look online to see if you can find it for a better deal. If it is the same deal as the store you may consider buying at the store, just to support local businesses or bring in the sale price you found online and see if they will match it.

BUY SECOND HAND
Most towns have a place where you can buy and sell used clothing. If you buy nice clothes to start with, most of these stores will purchase them from you and you can get cash for them. They don’t give you much money, probably only 10 percent of what it is you paid. But this is still a good place to shop around; usually you can find name brand and nice conditioned items. A bit more expensive then thrift stores, but usually nicer things, since the sales clerks are very particular about what used clothes they buy from people.

AVOID TRENDS
Watch how much you spend on “trendy” clothes. Most trendy things go out of season quickly. Try to spend your money on nice pieces that won’t go out of date or you can update the rest of your wardrobe around. This will save you money in the long run and give you some quality outfits to wear.

SHOP DISCOUNT
It is worth going to discount stores to see what they have, such as T.J Maxx, Nordstrom’s rack. Here you can find name brand items such as jeans or slacks for 100 dollars cheaper sometimes. Both places are good places to pick up, shoes, bangs and accessories as well, they will definitely be cheaper then if you went to a department store.

When trying to avoid foreclosure, do everything you can, cut back on those expenses. If you do it soon enough, you might just find that extra money in pocket is enough to pay your mortgage.

America is faced with troubled financial times, possible job loss and even home foreclosure. With all this being said, how do we deal with money issues? Well if you are like most Americans, you are trying to get the best deal for your buck. How do you know when you see a good deal though? This is a tough question that can drive people absolutely mad in a store. Are discount stores really saving you money? If you buy one, should you buy the other at half price? Do you need ten tubes of toothpaste, if it saves you a dollar? These all very important questions you should ask yourself before venturing out in the consumer world.

At the end of the month when you actually look at your finances, take all things into consideration. You have to think about the ratio of what you are spending to what you’re saving. If you are cutting back on your cell phone minutes to save five dollars a month, but then spending $7 more a month on long distance, the savings may not add up. Or driving 20 miles out of the way, to visit a discount store for only a few dollars in savings.

You must also think about your family’s needs; if you have a coupon for one dollar off of crackers, that may seem like a good deal, but ask yourself first if you would have bought those crackers, without the coupon. Coupons can actually have you spending more money on unnecessary items, which you probably would have never bought in the first place.

When you are feeling like most of your money is being spent on your 401K, Health insurance, or mortgage payments, it is easy to get nervous and start thinking about penny pinching. Just make sure you weigh the costs. One common thing that happens to everyone is brain rationalization. For instance if you buy an item at a discount “savings” store, your brain may think it is alright, no matter what that item may be. How many times have you gone into a big-boxed store and rationalized your purchases, because you were shopping at a discount outlet. When the matter of fact is, your probably only saving mere pennies and making unnecessary purchases. If you cart is filled with enough cereal to last you half a lifetime you might want to stop and think about your purchase.

Also think about how much driving you are doing to get to these big box discount stores. With gas prices this high, are you really saving much more money than if you would have just gone to the grocery down the street. I have a good friend who will be at the grocery store and buy most of her food there and then drive all the way across town to pick up a loaf of bread, because it is “cheaper.”

Another financial mistake we all make is to by pass a $10.00 lunch because it’s too expensive, but then go out and buy a new sofa at $2000. It is funny how we can trick ourselves out of a lunch, only to rationalize an expensive home furnishing (because it matches the paint). Some things just do not make sense and if you truly want to save money, you need to be aware of all your spending habits.

If you are struggling and having finance problems, then its time to make a budget for yourself and follow it. Be aware of what you are actually spending and crunch the numbers at the end of the month to see if you really are saving. Remember just because it says “sale” does not mean you have to buy it.

Homeowners who got caught up in the real estate boom over the past decade and a half have, for the most part, begun to realize that putting all of their eggs in one basket has put their entire financial situation in peril. From facing foreclosure right now and having a scarred credit report to owing more on the mortgage than the house is worth, borrowers across the board face declines in the values of their most important assets -- their homes. But for the elderly and those approaching retirement age, the housing crash has even more serve consequences.

For those who relied on low payments from adjustable rate mortgages or perpetually increasing home values to create equity, the subprime crash that occurred in 2007 has wiped out many of the motivations of these products and assumptions. Payment resets can not be avoided when a house is underwater, as owners have no ability to refinance with no equity, locking them into their loan which may double in monthly payment. And real estate does not appreciate by 20% per year forever; eventually, prices have to come back down to the level of affordability. But this wipes out equity for homeowners.

Some borrowers who face monthly shortfalls during retirement due to little investment funds or low Social Security payments may be able to rely on a reverse mortgage to provide extra income. With such a product, a bank will pay off the current loan on the house and give homeowners a set amount of money every month until they die, adding these payments to the loan balance which will be paid off with the estate or through sale of the house. But when house prices fall, there is less equity for such owners to tap into, and banks may not be willing to make this type of mortgage for a property that is underwater. This can remove potentially hundreds of dollars of income per month from retirees unable to qualify for such a loan.

The role of the Federal Reserve in creating, maintaining, and exacerbating the crash also plays heavily into the extra risks retirees will have to take on due to the housing crash. Low interest rates and essentially free money policies helped create a boom in the housing market, while these conditions were held for too long and ensured the boom turned into a bubble. But with the Fed bailing out investment firms and banks to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars and devaluing the dollar, the prices of nearly everything have risen for the average American.

Home prices were pumped up to unsustainable levels, oil prices seem to go up much higher than they ever come down, food inflation at the supermarket has hit over 10% per year, and currencies all over the world are collapsing against each other. Of course, because the government fudges the inflation numbers, Social Security benefits never keep up with the true cost of living, and those on fixed incomes lose more and more of their purchasing power with each day the government keeps spending and borrowing and the Fed keeps inflating. It should be no wonder if the elderly are unable to afford the fraudulent loan they were given, and can not find any other affordable housing due to rising prices everywhere in the economy.

While the effects of the banks' and the Federal Reserve's policies during the housing boom will effect every American, homeowner or not, the most severe consequences will be felt by retirees or those approaching retirement. Prices are rising in general, home values continue to drop off a cliff, the Fed is creating new "auctions" and "windows" to inflate the dollar, and the government keeps lying about the true rate of inflation. This means that life will get tougher for the elderly and their standard of living decline in proportion to their exposure to the real estate boom even as Social Security payments are kept artificially low and vanishing home equity makes refinancing or reverse mortgages impossible.

Most homeowners who experience foreclosure due to a medical disability often suffer from a physical accident or illness. While these are often serious and devastating, and can lead to permanent disabilities, finding out that the borrower is suffering from a mental problem can present even more unique challenges. But if a homeowner can be diagnosed as clinically insane, some family members may be tempted to try and have the original mortgage declared void now that it is in foreclosure.

It would be somewhat difficult for a homeowner to be declared insane and try to avoid foreclosure that way. Having been declared insane sometime after the original mortgage contract was signed, in fact, would typically have no effect on the mortgage company being able to declare foreclosure on the house. Insanity after the fact is not sufficient to have any kind of foreclosure proceedings dismissed, although the process may be drawn out or the family members taking care of the situation given more leeway by the courts to find a solution.

However, if the borrower was insane at the time of signing the original mortgage contract, then it may be possible to have it declared void, if the lender had cause to worry about the borrower's ability to enter into a contract in the first place. Having a legal and mental capacity to enter into a contract is a necessary element of signing for a mortgage. If the homeowner was mentally incapable of entering into a contract at the time the loan closed, then it may be possible to get out of the mortgage, although still somewhat unlikely.

Even this, though, would be somewhat difficult to prove in an actual court, even with expert witnesses. People who take out mortgages have to sign numerous disclosures indicating that they understand the documents they are signing and that they are legally able to enter into a contract. If the borrower had a good job with stable income and could produce income documents showing a decent financial position over a period of years, then it may be difficult to argue for that person's insanity at the time of signing for the mortgage.

In general, people who can be declared clinically insane and are manifesting the condition at the time they are applying for a mortgage are usually incapable of showing the stable economic conditions that would pass the guidelines for being loaned a significant amount of money. Proving later on, once the homeowner has fallen behind on the mortgage, that he was incapable of entering into the contract due to insanity may seem like a shaky case to the courts. The attorneys for the bank will, of course, do their very best to attack these arguments and move ahead with the foreclosure process and sheriff sale.

Such issues should be taken care of as soon as possible, preferably before the homeowner has fallen behind or at least before the bank has filed the foreclosure lawsuit in court. Family members who may be caring for the newly declared insane borrower should take the mental state of the person into consideration when trying to help stop foreclosure. But if they are unable to show that the borrower was suffering from the mental defect at the time of the original mortgage, then having the contract voided will most likely be impossible.

Discovering that a family member or close associate is suffering from a clinically-diagnosable mental disability can be one of the most challenging experiences of one's life. Helping the borrower through present financial difficulties will also present numerous unique challenges, including the loss of a house to foreclosure. Unfortunately, simply knowing that a homeowner has become insane since the time of entering into the mortgage does not guarantee that the contract can be voided now that the payments have fallen behind.

Many times, it seems help arrives too late in a foreclosure situation to be of much service to the homeowners faced with the loss of a house. A new job, higher salary, lottery winnings, or long-lost inheritance may be welcome gifts, but if they come too late to save the house, they can be very bittersweet. Especially in the case of repairing the financial situation and overcoming the hardship by obtaining better employment, homeowners may expect more from their improved position than is realistic.

Just having a higher salary after the initial hardship leading them into foreclosure is not going to be good enough to qualify for a foreclosure refinance or to purchase the house back right after foreclosure. Since the homeowners just got the new job with a good salary, they can not show any stable job history with the current employer, which is one of the main requirements for a mortgage loan. So just having a better job, although it is a positive, is not enough to qualify for a new mortgage right after foreclosure.

This makes it absolutely essential that the homeowners also have some assets or savings plan, which may be unrealistic if their financial hardship was sever. However, if they have some money saved up to use as a down payment or to apply to the defaulted mortgage, they might be able to persuade a foreclosure bailout lender or a hard money lender to give them a new loan, regardless of their unstable income and low credit score. But these types of lenders usually do not give loans on properties with less than 30% equity in them, so the owners will have to put down a good amount of money to qualify for the loan.

Sometimes after a sheriff sale, the bank will be willing to sell the house back to the homeowners for much less than they originally bought the property for. The fact that the bank is willing to sell the house back for half of what was originally paid for it, though, is somewhat irrelevant to the homeowners being able to get a foreclosure loan. The house may now be only worth half of what they originally paid for it, if property values have fallen. In that case, the loan the foreclosure victims get on the property will be for 100% of its new market value, unless they put something down, and 100% loans are really not available to anyone at this point due to the credit crisis and subprime mortgage fallout.

Having a good salary after facing foreclosure definitely works in favor of the homeowners, but it is not enough on its own to get a new loan to stop foreclosure. If the owners have any savings or assets that can be turned into a significant down payment, then they might be able to get what they are looking for. Otherwise, it may be a good idea to try a few different foreclosure lenders, but homeowners should not be surprised if they are turned down several times in a row. It may be better to consider other solutions to foreclosure.

One alternative way to get the loan would be to have someone with better credit purchase the house and lease it to the former owners. If a friend or family member could do that, then the foreclosure victims might be able to keep the house and pay an affordable interest rate. Then it should be easy enough to just keep up on the payments and work on their credit histories for a few years until they can refinance into their own name. There are also companies that specialize in this type of arrangement and can offer reasonable deals to homeowners in financial trouble.

There is never a good time to fall into a financial hardship, but recovery often comes just a little too late to be of much good. Once the damage has been done and the credit score is destroyed and the house is sold at a sheriff sale, homeowners may feel as if their ability to overcome adversity will be worth little or nothing in their efforts to stop foreclosure before being evicted. While a new job or sudden cash windfall can certainly help in a foreclosure situation, homeowners always need realistic expectations as to how their current financial situation can assist them and what weaknesses they must still work through.

Medical problems are the second most cited cause of homeowners falling behind on their payments and facing foreclosure (loss of income is first). The fact that so many people in the country are uninsured almost guarantees that they will face financial doom if faced with a sudden medical catastrophe. Even the ones who have insurance have to fight for coverage, and far too many conditions can be excluded under dozens of clauses and excuses used by insurers to maximize profits. So it is not surprising the problem with insurance is contributing to the foreclosure crisis.

People facing a medical emergency do not even really have a choice about paying for healthcare or keeping up on the mortgage. If an untreated emergency will result in their being severely disabled, disfigured, or unable to work, then there is a strong possibility they will not have the resources to continue paying the mortgage. For many homeowners who have an accident or need cancer treatments or just come down with a bad case of the flu when their immune system is least able to cope with the stress, it is not a matter of paying for the house or for their health -- health always comes first.

But the healthcare system in the country is in serious need of reform. No one quite knows whether to categorize it as socialized medicine or privatized insurance out of control. This system of government managed care and semi-socialized, semi-privatized insurance companies have caused tens of millions of productive workers to be uninsured and tens of millions more to have effectively no coverage even though they pay for nominal "insurance." Once they actually face a crisis, they realize how many exclusions were written into that expensive policy, especially if they are self-employed or covered under a personal plan instead of through their employer.

So the choice about health insurance as it stands right now is really between not paying for insurance, or paying for useless insurance that does not cover any actual catastrophic medical problem. Either way, if someone in the family gets sick or has an accident that requires intense medical care, the possibility is very low of making it through the medical and financial hardship without loads of debt, massive stress, and possible financial ruin.

Completely privatized care might not be good. Corporations have a tendency to run right over the people, especially if they are politically powerful, as the drug companies and insurance companies tend to be. Business is usually more efficient than government and competitive industries tend to lower prices; there is no reason healthcare and health insurance should be any different. But now all we have is huge corporations that work with government to keep prices high and exclude people from the system.

Completely socialized care might be even worse. Imagine sitting in a hospital run like the post office or the local Social Security Administration. Most government-run bureaucracies are filled with unhappy people doing as little as possible to get their paychecks, since they have no incentive to do a good job and provide better service than a competitor. Even the buildings these agencies are located in after often filled with nothing but walled-off locations so people can not see what their government workers are doing. The walls, on the other hand, often spew out loads of regulations and prohibitions, from no smoking, no drinking, no guns, and how to apply for food stamps. Hospitals should not be unhappy places filled with unhappy workers exhibiting unhappy messages.

But a combination of large insurance corporations working with large state and federal bureaucracies is corporatism, where the people only lose. This most resembles the situation we have now, and it is no wonder a medical emergency can lead to bankruptcy and the inability to stop foreclosure after recovery. People lose their health from the initial hardship and the stress of dealing with the insurance company for months after recover, they lose their money to the insurance companies and the healthcare providers whose services are not covered by the supposed insurance, and they far too often end up losing their homes to the banks that could care less.

It is not difficult to notice the connection between big government, big business, and the health insurance company fraud which makes having insurance even more expensive than not having it. Homeowners should be able to save up at least 3-6 months of their income to make it through a job loss or layoff period. If the mortgage and other debt makes this level of savings impossible, then selling the property and moving into more affordable housing should be considered. But it is the very rare homeowner who can afford several hundred thousand dollars to pay a catastrophic emergency or for long-term care. The fact that assumed insurance may not be there due to the profit maximization goals of insurers should not, however, be one of the leading causes of homeowners facing foreclosure and financial ruin.

Unfortunately, many people lose their home to foreclosure because they simply do not make enough money to afford their home. Sometimes there is a hardship that forces a loss of income, or requires money to be spent on something other than a mortgage payment, but ultimately, lack of sufficient income is the main problem.

Sometimes it takes a wake up call (like foreclosure) to make someone realize that they are not making enough money to survive. If you are barely scraping by each month and you don’t put money away for savings, retirement, or emergencies, then it is time to start looking for a new job.

Many people think that just because they have been at the same job for most of their life, that leaving would be too much of a risk. But in reality, finding a new job can be the best decision you have ever made. If done correctly, you can earn more money, have a more fulfilling work day, and get better benefits.

Here are a few simple tips to make finding a job easier:

• Update your resume and have several people review and critique it. Your resume is meant to provide enough information to the perspective employer to contact you and schedule an interview. It should include a cover letter and your resume should only be one page long. If you have a long list of previous employers, then only include the most recent, so you don’t exceed one page.
• Once you have an interview, make sure you are dressed appropriately for the appointment. I always recommend wearing a suit to an interview, regardless of the company attire. However, dress slacks and a white button up shirt should be fine if the company attire is jeans and t-shirts. Always press your shirt and slacks before going on an interview; a wrinkled shirt is the first sign of someone who does not care about the quality of work they do.
• Be prepared to answer questions about your previous jobs. Most interviewers will want to ask questions that can reveal how well you will perform in their work environment. Answer questions without rambling, or getting too far off the subject of the initial question. Try to be as honest as possible, without revealing your negative traits and without speaking negatively about previous jobs, co-workers, or bosses.
• At the end of an interview, they will most likely ask if you have any questions for them. This is where you will have a chance to ask a few questions of your own, but make sure you are asking intelligent questions. Don’t ask something like “What happens when I am late to work” or “How long is the lunch break.” Ask questions that will show your work ethic and ability, like “Do you allow us to work overtime” or “What opportunities do you have for advancement.” It is important that you ask questions, because if you are serious about taking a new job, you should know as much as possible about your new perspective employer.

When you are facing foreclosure, there are many ways to save your home, such as refinancing, loan modification, or a repayment plan. But finding a better job will not only help with your immediate problem, but it can improve every aspect of your life.

The day after Christmas is traditionally one of the hottest shopping days of the year, and for good reason. Retailers attempt to unload items by offering once-a-year deals through hefty discounts and offers. Consumers, on the other hand, try to find the lowest price for those goods that they desire, but do not with to pay full price for. Obviously, the success of the sales of the day after Christmas for so many years illustrates an important point of the free market system.

There are no government interventions, with bureaucrats ordering which items should be purchased, who may buy what, and then robbing the consumers of the rest of their money on the way out the door. Simply lower the prices of certain goods, and retailers and consumers will be able to meet and exercise their right to freely choose which items and goods are best for them.

While we would never discourage any person from purchasing anything he or she thinks it in the best interest to obtain, a little caution should be used when shopping, when good deals are present or not. With the past year of high foreclosure rates and a housing market slump, financial prudence may be a more important habit to establish at the end of 2007 than continuing a habit of over consumption.

Homeowners who have been financing their lives with credit cards and taking out larger and larger mortgages every few years to pay off mounting bills should absolutely take stock of their current situations. The credit trap is a deadly one to fall into, which can lead to an inability to save money, bankruptcy, or foreclosure. Especially if an unexpected financial crisis hits, a family relying too heavily on credit will be unable to sustain their current quality of life, however overblown it may be.

This, obviously, leads us to a strong recommendation that saving money, rather than borrowing or spending, may ensure homeowners and consumers in general enjoy a prosperous 2008, without the worry of losing their homes or living with a scarred credit. Spending money and enjoying the fruits of one's labor is one of the great joys of life, of course, but having a substantial savings account ensures financial security. It is a much happier life than the one lived by many families, who overspend and borrow money to acquire more "stuff," but are always wondering if their next paycheck will be their last, and what they would do if something unexpected came up.

The holiday season is a good time for homeowners to engage in the free market system with retailers and acquire some last-minute deals on necessary. But taking the spending spirit too far should be warned against, and consumers who drain their finances too far may not be prepared for the events that inevitably disrupt one's life. No amount of "stuff" is any consolation when facing the loss of it all due to bankruptcy or a foreclosure auction. Nothing that we say will discourage consumers from consuming, of course, but a little extra caution to look out for one's finances in every season, and plan for the future instead of simply enjoy the present, should be taken into consideration by every homeowner.

During this busy holiday weekend, many homeowners will be out finishing up Christmas shopping, taking advantage of great deals, and enjoying the atmosphere of holiday cheer and the joys of the season. But it is equally important to focus on the what is truly important: sharing one's home, family, and community with others and having peace of mind for at least a few days out of the year. For homeowners who are simultaneously worrying about shopping lists and the possibility of facing foreclosure, this peace may be difficult to come by. Restraining one's consumer-driven impulses can help save money that can be used to keep up the mortgage, while focusing on the real meanings of the holidays by getting closer to friends and family, regardless of gifts or extravagant celebrations, can make a great deal of difference.

There has been a lot of interesting discussion recently of the possibility of the economy being in a recession currently, or soon sliding into one. The causes are primarily seen as a drying up of credit and the toxicity of subprime loans floating throughout the market. Combined with a weakening dollar pushing up the cost of many goods, imported and exported, along with large increases in the price of oil and gold, homeowners are going into a winter season with nothing but the expectation of rising expenses, through a resetting mortgage, higher transportation costs, and higher home heating bills. Such arguing and discussing of these larger issues misses the fact that many homeowners are facing foreclosure for the same reasons as they always have, but they now have no spare resources to use to save their homes. This does not mean they will lose their homes to foreclosure, but they will need to trust more in their own abilities than in any other source of help.

The most common reason for homeowners to fall into foreclosure that we have been exposed to for years is a sudden job loss or loss of relied-upon income. A factory may be shipped overseas, or overtime dries up as the economy has slowed down. In either case, homeowners who have been relying on leveraging their current incomes to finance even more extravagant lives of consumption soon find that their lack of savings and huge debt burdens were held up with nothing but a hope and a prayer that their current fortunes would continue. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case, and homeowners need to save as much as reasonable for a rainy day. Life is always unexpected, but when families place all of their trust in their jobs providing a stable enough income to keep on top of their mortgage and credit cards, instead of trusting in their own financial stability, foreclosure or bankruptcy may be the likely results if that income flow is disrupted.

The second most common experience that pushes homeowners over the edge and puts them in danger of losing their homes is a sudden medical expense, disability, or illness. With hospitals now charging all patients the maximum allowed by law, knowing the government will pick up the tab in many cases, and with insurance companies doing everything possible to avoid paying out claims, which would cut into their profits, even a moderately-serious medical problem can quickly balloon into thousands of dollars of expenses, lawsuits, judgments, and wage garnishments. The homeowners, already struggling to make their payments before the illness or accident, now must contend with finding some way to pay these extra expenses as soon as they are back on the job.

The real danger comes when a sudden medical expense leads to an inability to work, or when a sudden job loss begins a spiral of shame and depression, ending in the need for medical attention, due to a weakened immune system or a drop in the quality of the family's nutrition and ability to feed themselves with lower income. These possibilities have occurred countless times with homeowners that we have talked to, who are just now coming off of their own personal "bottom" and wish to save their homes and put their lives back together. In many cases, it may just be too late to find some option to stop foreclosure, excluding a bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure or giving the bank a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Homeowners who are now ready to take on their banks and fight to avoid being homeless can often end up keeping their homes and beginning to repair their credit and stabilize their finances.

It is the homeowners who overcome their financial hardships that provide true portraits of hope and inspiration. Foreclosure victims who have survived their own personal catastrophe could be excused for giving up on the homes and simply moving on with their lives. Many of them take this exact route, leaving their properties to foreclosure, vandalism, or worse, while they move into an apartment and seek out new jobs or wait for social security to assist them.

For the foreclosure that have contacted us throughout the years and done everything possible to save their homes and have overcome every hurdle the bank or their attorneys have sent their way, their experiences should provide a measure of hope to every other family facing the loss of their homes but who are willing to do whatever possible to avoid foreclosure. Finding a realistic, affordable method to stop foreclosure once the process has begun is never easy, and going through with the method more difficult still. Countless homeowners have saved their homes despite these problems and others, and countless more will continue to do so, if they are simply willing to face reality and begin taking the necessary steps to learning how foreclosure works and how it should be stopped in their situation.

Obviously, the drawbacks of losing a home to foreclosure are much greater and more numerous than any benefits. However, homeowners may experience some positive aspects of facing foreclosure. A financial crisis which leads to the possible loss of one's property provides a number of opportunities for the foreclosure victims to learn important lessons about their current financial conditions and the future of their families' lives. Attempting to survive a foreclosure situation without being aware of these more positive aspects is overlooking the real lessons to be learned, even when homeowners are unable to find a way to stop foreclosure and keep their homes.

First of all, homeowners in foreclosure can begin saving money, whether they are able to get their mortgage back on track or not. They will, of course, not be making the mortgage payments any longer. In the midst of a financial hardship, it is questionable how much of the homeowners' monthly income is freed up by not sending in the mortgage payment, but usually this payment can take up to 55% of their income before taxes. If homeowners need that money to begin recovering from the crisis, and there is no possible way to pay the mortgage on time, then it is better to start saving as much of their income as possible and recover from the financial hardship. Borrowing more money from credit card or payday loans to make the payment will only increase the burden later on.

With the mortgage payment freed up, homeowners should begin saving as much as they can for two reasons. First, this money can be used to begin a repayment plan with the lender to get the mortgage current again. Once the homeowners are behind by several months, the bank will not accept the regular payment. They will require a significant portion of the arrears in order to work out any arrangement. The second reason to begin saving money is in the event the homeowners are unable to stop foreclosure. This new savings account will allow them to pay for the moving costs and the expenses in renting an apartment after foreclosure.

A further benefit of the foreclosure situation is the financial binds it places on the homeowners' ability to borrow money. With the devastating credit ramifications of foreclosure, it will be nearly impossible for homeowners to get a new credit card, car loan, or mortgage at a decent interest rate. This will force them to begin living within their means, not borrowing money to finance purchases of extravagant, unnecessary items. Homeowners will need to learn how to become more self-reliant, as opposed to credit-reliant. Distancing themselves from the lure of credit, while reestablishing an on-time credit history with low balance credit cards will allow homeowners to prevent falling into the credit trap when it is next offered.

Homeowners who have recently faced foreclosure and were unable to save their homes will also not have to worry about all of the responsibilities of home ownership. By renting a new place to live, the landlord will be responsible for major repairs or maintenance of the property. Often, it is a furnace that needs replacing or a roof that begins to lean that leads to the financial constraints that lead to foreclosure. By eliminating some of these potential pitfalls, homeowners can focus on their own savings plan and raising their families to a more stable financial condition.

Finally, losing a home to foreclosure is not the end of the world. In fact, deciding to sell the house or through a short sale, or giving it up through a deed in lieu of foreclosure and then moving out can open up new worlds to homeowners. A new neighborhood and a fresh start can and should be somewhat liberating to the previous foreclosure victims. The most stressful situation of their lives has now passed, and they can focus on building a stable, sustainable future. This possibility would not have prevented itself if the homeowners had continued struggling to make payments in the old house, living paycheck to paycheck and worrying about the next illness or layoff.

Thus, there are a number of benefits of foreclosure, and reasons to feel good about oneself, even if the home has been lost. While it is the objective of most homeowners to avoid foreclosure and get back on track with their mortgage, this does not always happen. And in the cases where foreclosure is unpreventable, homeowners need to begin looking for the silver lining and realize some of the new opportunities they will be able to take advantage of, now that the foreclosure is over. While foreclosure is always a negative situation almost by definition, the foreclosure victims' reactions to it can provide them with new hope and a positive course for their futures.

This is both a review of the book How to be Invisible by author J.J. Luna, as well as a brief discussion of some of the issues the book raises. The concept here will be to review the book briefly before responding to some of the general criticisms of the work that I have come across while reading reviews of the work. I find many of these criticisms are unwarranted and indicative of a wanting attitude in regards to implementing many of the recommendations of the book.

In essence, Luna describes numerous ways of protecting or increasing one's privacy. Issues discussed include using passports instead of other forms of ID, computer privacy, accepting mail at home, titling vehicles, and other matters. All of the suggestions and theories in the book are designed to help a person become more invisible, get out of thousands of corporate and public databases, and make it difficult, if not impossible, for stalkers to find a victim who has decided not to be found. Refreshingly, the book does not in any way recommend any illegal or unethical reasons for increasing one's privacy, such as avoiding taxes or child support obligations. Luna makes a point to focus on integrity and obeying the law. A few examples of some of the specific tactics are examined here.

For example, the book recommends not to carry a drivers license around and not show it to anyone who is not a police office or titling your vehicle. The reason for this is that drivers licenses often show the carrier's home address and, often, social security number. Anyone who views the drivers license has access to the private information, and can write down, memorize, or photograph the information at will. For this reason, a passport is recommended, as it does not give any address at all.

The entertainment factor of pulling a passport out is almost as beneficial as the privacy factor. Bank employees, concert security, bouncers, and other identity-checkers usually look quite strangely at the passport, since most of them are used to reading everyone's drivers license all day. The cost of this small protection is minimal, and the person using the passport will never have to give anyone their home address unless they deserve it, or want to give it away.

The book contains many other examples of protecting privacy, such as setting up ghost addresses, titling vehicles in LLCs, and not relying on borrowing money to live, finance a home, or pay bills.

The small information on using credit is potentially the most important part of the book and extremely relevant to the rest of this blog and website that discusses the uses of borrowing money and why bad credit can be better than good credit in certain situations. There are daily horror stories of people in debt or who have relied on credit to get them through life. When they come upon a hardship, they lean even heavier on credit to get through the hardship, while waiting for the future to get better. Unfortunately, hardships last longer than a few days or weeks, usually, and continuous leaning on credit will eventually cause the crutch to break. This can cause bankruptcy, collections, or even foreclosure, all of which causes the person's name to end up on even more records, public databases, and in the hands of collection companies.

The ideas that are presented in the book are all a cause of conversation and reflection upon the current state of privacy in America. However, for some readers, they will merely read the ideas and develop a thought pattern of saying "I can't do that, it's a lot of work." They will then deem the book impractical, outdated, or useless. In fact, many of the steps needed to protect privacy do involve just as much work as saving a home from foreclosure, but the added layers of protection may be well worth the effort. Obviously, the extra privacy will not be worth the effort of someone who puts no effort into protecting himself, while a serious advocate of personal privacy will find that the added peace of mind is worth the work involved.

And while many people have reviewed this book online or otherwise, most of these reviewers are misguided when reading the book. In fact, their arguments sound like they read the concepts of the work and assumed the practice would be too difficult, or they read the practical suggestions and did not have the creativity to use the examples as a starting point, not an ending point.

Apparently, one of the most visual and easily remembered examples in the book is Luna's suggestion of renting an empty broom closet in an office building for a ghost mail address. The argument that using an unoccupied broom closet as a mailbox is outdated or impractical is absurd. It is inconceivable that one could not be tracked down and rented, and the fact that several readers of the book have found suitable ghost addresses proves that this argument against renting a small room or closet is lacking in substance. Furthermore, renting a closet as a mailbox is an example of creativity in protecting one's privacy, not a direct order from the author. Step One is not "Rent a broom closet and receive mail there," it is "Stop receiving mail at home." The end is more important than the means. The broom closet and other examples are suggestions to motivate readers to begin thinking of uncommon ideas to protect their privacy.

In fact, that is precisely the point most low-rating reviewers seem to miss: the examples are examples of creativity in making a difficult activity (protecting one's privacy) slightly easier. Of course it would be easier just to rent a box from a local UPS Store, but then the renter has to show ID, give the company an actual home address, and their names go into the company database, to be sold or rented to anyone.

It would be even easier to continue using an actual home address to receive mail. But again, the book was not written to tell people how to do what they are already doing. It was written to provide ideas and suggestions on how important protecting privacy is, and how a little work can significantly increase one's protection from identity theft or worse.

And the argument that someone can not see any other option besides giving out their Social Security number, birth date, and other extremely personal information to employers or for a background check for a job is just as misguided. One may as well argue that they are no better than a cow being herded for slaughter, to be cut up, creatively packaged, and sold off piece by piece. Actually, it might be preferable than to working some jobs, which many people only take because they feel they do not have any other option than finding a "good company" to work for.

More than just becoming invisible, the major theme of the book is creativity, and the book is targeted to creative people who are willing to work to change their lives and protect their privacy. For the uncreative, who are stuck with no other options than working for an employer and lacking the skills and motivation to protect their own identity, maybe the government will pass a law allowing people to become "invisible" by filing a simple form at the post office. Just give them your SS#, home address, phone number, and two pieces of picture ID every few months, and they will put you in a database to keep you invisible. That'll be easy enough for everyone to do, right?

In conclusion, this is a great book for anyone who wants to protect his privacy. But it is important that readers know to use the work as a starting point and as a reference for future ideas. But the book itself will not provide protection; and this is a dangerous assumption to make. Only the reader can protect himself or herself by actively implementing the ideas and pursuing a program of incrementally increasing privacy and disconnecting from the thousands of consumer databases, corporate lists, mailing lists, advertising campaigns, and public records databases, which are becoming more and more searchable online by the day.

As one final note, many of the author's recommendations are meant to be put into effect one step at a time, from small steps like using a different form of identification and renting a more secure mailbox, all the way to advanced techniques such as renting and owning a home anonymously and using mail drops in other countries. But for a current foreclosure victim, a moment of personal financial crisis can be used to start implementing a comprehensive plan all at once. Especially because foreclosure may necessitate renting an apartment after foreclosure and not being able to open a new bank account, many of the author's ideas can be used to great effect by foreclosure victims in order to protect their finances in the future and keep away from the lure of debt. The book is highly recommended to every person facing the loss of a home, regardless of their ability to end the foreclosure process with their home intact or not.

The current foreclosure crisis in America threatens to make many more homeowners helpless victims of the banking industry and of their own mistakes or greed. As a result, large sections of the country will end up in the hands of multinational banks unwilling to sell these homes to potential buyers. Most homeowners will not end up completely homeless, but there will be a lot more renters located in far less geographic space, while the multinational banks end up owning vast portions of the country. The fact that the mortgage companies will be unable to sell these properties and uninterested in renting them out will not matter -- they can add trillions of dollars of real estate holdings to their bottom lines, deduct depreciation every year, or sell the properties for very little in order to make more bad loans. But there are a lot of things homeowners can do to protect themselves from this fate.

There are a number of questions that every homeowner who bought or refinanced a house in the past few years should ask themselves. Did you know you had an ARM that would increase in price, or are you talking about refinancing your loan with a fixed rate that turned out to be too high to begin with? We run into numerous foreclosure victims who are losing their homes because of the simple fact that they did not even know they had an adjustable rate mortgage, and could not afford the rate increase.

What about your emergency fund? Most financial advisers, news commentators, and anyone who has been in a financial bind before knows that it is recommended that you have 3-6 months of income stashed away in an emergency fund (preferably in an interest-bearing savings account, money market account, or other liquid account), just in case you need help paying bills. Did you run out of funds and is this why you are now forced to look for ways to stop foreclosure before you run out of time?

And how about lowering your monthly expenses to the bare minimum? Get rid of the cable TV, air conditioning, keep the heat down to a very low temperature, cancel the cell phone, don't take extra trips with the car, grow your own food (even a little bit helps), etc. All of these are modern luxuries, some which did not exist even as little as 50 or 100 years ago, and human were able to survive for several tens of thousands of years without them. If there is a serious choice between watching 24 or saving your home, then you may want to reconsider owning a home at all.

Could you sell any unnecessary assets, like CDs, DVDs, old books, useless items, or otherwise? A garage sale can bring in a month's worth of mortgage payments or more, depending on how much your payment is, or you can unload some items to keep on top of other bills and keep your credit score just that much higher for an extra month or two. That might be all it takes to find a lender that can refinance the loan out of foreclosure. Many individuals tend to buy useless things that they do not need, then sell or give them away for pennies on the dollar. You can take advantage of other peoples' bargain-shopping instincts and sell items that are not as important as keeping your home out of foreclosure.

Of course, if you would have to go without every convenience and sell everything just to make the mortgage payment, then it makes sense to ask if it is worth saving this particular house. If all of your income would have to go towards just paying the loan, then you may be in a loan that is simply not right for you, and it may make sense to sell and move to a more affordable house, even if it is smaller and in a less-desirable neighborhood. Scaling back, in combination with selling unimportant items and lowering your expenses, can have positive effects on your financial stability far into the future, and will help you stop foreclosure now.

It seems that a lot of homeowners were relying solely on "hope" for things to get better or stay normal. But we all know that life happens sometimes, and a financial crisis will hit at the most unexpected moment. There is no way to plan for some hardships, but there are numerous ways to make them less difficult to get through. Hope alone is a pretty flimsy support, though, and it rarely comes through when it is most needed. But homeowners can take back control of their finances and reevaluate their financial habits as a whole, and protect themselves much better from the greed and bad habits that can be developed in a consumption-oriented society.

In many cases, homeowners face foreclosure due to a very temporary financial setback. But, because of their lack of a savings account or emergency fund, they find themselves falling further and further behind after just a few months. In a lifetime of seventy to eighty years, a small financial crisis lasting a month or three or four months should not be devastating enough to prevent these homeowners from owning a house or being able to qualify for a loan for nearly a decade after the foreclosure. With some creative planning, homeowners can improve their finances in several areas while working out a plan to stop foreclosure.

As soon as any homeowner suffers a financial breakdown, either through the loss of a job, divorce, medical expenses, or any other cause, one of the first priorities should be relentlessly cutting out unnecessary costs. This may mean some sacrifices on the part of foreclosure victims, and seems antithetical in our current consumption society, but canceling the 475 TV channels and not going out to eat every week or lowering the heat or air conditioning will all go a long way to saving money every month for homeowners facing foreclosure. People have lived their whole lives without the benefits of comfortable heat and cable television, so it is not unreasonable to assume that the average foreclosure victim can make these same sacrifices to avoid losing the house to foreclosure. Even satellite TV and the air conditioner need a home to work in.

Foreclosure victims in the middle of a financial crisis may also want to consider obtaining a second job, even on a part-time basis. An extra $100 every week, along with saving $50 a week on non-essential services, may give these homeowners just enough of a head start in overcoming the present difficulties. Especially when the loss of a job is the main cause of the foreclosure, a part-time position can provide enough income to keep on top of the mortgage or start saving for a potential repayment plan, as well as give the homeowners much-needed time to seek out a more permanent, full-time job or go into business for themselves. Having a temporary position to bring in some income and cutting out the fat in the budget will solve many problems for homeowners in danger of losing their homes.

Another idea for homeowners to consider is the sale of various assets that they own, either through local newspapers, a garage or yard sale, or online venues such as eBay. Selling a second car may provide the funds necessary to stop foreclosure, but even smaller assets can be gotten rid of. Many consumers today are trained to purchase the newest gadget, phone, video game system, or DVD/CD, while forgetting about the old "stuff." Everyone has walked into that neighbor's or family member's house that is so completely filled with unnecessary items from top to bottom, none of which are being used, and all of us are guilty of such practices at some time. Selling old books, movies, or other collectibles may not provide foreclosure victims with a steady income, but it may help get them through one more month while they put together a longer-term solution to foreclosure.

Every little thing that homeowners can do to cut their expenses or increase their income will help in the long run when trying to save their homes from foreclosure. Granted, they may not work forever to prevent from falling further and further behind, but these ideas can be used by foreclosure victims to get through an extra month or two and still keep on top of the mortgage. But homeowners who implement some of these techniques now will have a much better chance of being able to stop foreclosure from taking their homes, and will establish very important habits that may very well keep them out of the consumption culture and keep up with a savings plan. Homeowners should use their experience in foreclosure to evaluate the causes that resulted in their falling behind and begin new ways of living to prevent the next financial crisis.

Foreclosure is one of the most stressful events that can happen to a family; however, it does not happen independently of other financial issues, such as taxes and inflation, as we have discussed earlier. Homeowners, regardless of how far into the foreclosure process they find themselves at the present, should take some time to research the deeper reasons why they feel they are unable to get ahead or get caught up on their mortgage enough to stop foreclosure.

Although nearly every American pays some sort of taxes, very few have actually studied what makes this enormous tax system work. Even fewer have a working idea of how the largest tax works, namely, the federal income tax. In this documentary, called Theft By Deception, homeowners can learn how the tax system works and what its purpose is in this country. With a working knowledge of taxes, many foreclosure victims may find that they can reduce their own taxes just enough to be able to get out of foreclosure and find a solution to their current financial difficulties.

An even larger issue, though, is how money works in the economy; how it is created, distributed, and concentrated. A highly informative documentary called Money As Debt examines these concepts and puts them in very easy to understand terms. It is the hidden inflation tax that eats away the most at homeowners' incomes, and it would be wise for any homeowner to learn how the mechanisms are created that slowly eat away at their own abilities to pay for basic necessities and other bills.

Foreclosure should be considered by its victims to be a symptom of a much larger problem, both in the homeowners' private financial lives, as well as a social problem with clear causes. Just learning about how money works or how homeowners can save on taxes may not contribute directly to the ability to stop foreclosure, but understanding these concepts will help the homeowners gain a financial education that they can hold onto far into the future. This will help prevent them from facing foreclosure ever again, and may also assist them in using money wisely by understanding its true role in their lives.

The lack of financial education is one of the main causes of so many homeowners taking on far too much debt and then facing foreclosure. There are many reasons for schools not teaching students how to manage their finances, but regardless of these reasons, homeowners who take on the responsibility of borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars should take a couple of hours out of their lives to learn how to manage their money. Banks know how money works and use their knowledge to manipulate homeowners; homeowners who understand how the banks do this can avoid being taken advantage of and can avoid ever facing foreclosure.

The review in this post is on Part I of the audio seminar "Where Would Jesus Bank? (And Other Good Folks, too)," by Catherine Austin Fitts. The program is available from Fitts' website, Solari. Her e-book/series, Dillon, Read & Co., Inc. and the Aristocracy of Prison Politics, has been reviewed on our site before. The audio seminar, though, is a much broader overview of the entire banking industry.

The main functions of a bank are to hold deposits that customers bring in, process transactions between customers of banks, and lend money. A high degree of centralization exists in the banking industry, with banks being regulated by both national and international bodies.

In the US, the banks essentially finance the government, with the New York Federal Reserve Bank acting as the main depositor of the US government. Fitts sees disturbing problems in the fact that, over the past few years, various departments have stated that they have lost nearly $4 trillion. Fitts sees this as financial corruption of the government, and it is hard to explain away that much money as anything else. These $4 trillion in "undocumented adjustments" could be identified and the money accounted for, but there have never been audited financial statements provided by the government to explain to the American people how their government lost so much of their money. Because the large banks of the country control the Federal Reserve System, they control the government's money and play a role in this corruption.

In this first part of the seminar, Fitts focuses mainly on how the large national and multinational banks are destroying our financial lives. She states that they are leading the corruption that controls the government, due to the current deficit position.

And by using and supporting these banks, we are all financing this corruption directly which is leading to our own financial misery. We are, in fact, financing our own destruction and the destruction of our communities, even as the banks make money whether times are good or bad.

The large national and international banks also further the decay of communities by their complicity in the global drug trade, with $500 million to $1 billion per year coming from this trade being laundered through these large banks. Drug traffickers sell their product to the people who sell drugs to our children, brothers, and sisters, and then invest their dirty money in the large banks, who finance the government. Is it any wonder corruption is so widespread?

Even more disturbing is Fitts' explanation of how the big banks have participated in the current debt trap that many consumers find themselves in. Banks have financed the moving of jobs abroad to Third World countries while at the same time creating a credit environment that has increased debt levels of every major area: government, household, and housing debt have all increased, even as banks have made more profits from financing jobs abroad and lending money.

Banks who did this willingly may have been engaged in the practice of "fradulent inducement of debt," according to the seminar, which may make these debts worthless. This concept states that debts are not valid when the lender loans the money knowing in advance that the debt can not be paid back. However, it will be left up to future court decisions to decide on this issue.

One final method that banks use to take money away from communities is in the skimming of credit card fees from businesses. For every purchase made by a consumer with a credit card, a certain percentage is taken out to pay the cost of using the credit card. This takes profits away from the local business every time a credit card is used. Although it may be a small amount on each transaction, it is one more way that the large banks have set up to take more profits away from communities and put it back in their own pockets.

The seminar goes into more detail on all of these issues, as well as others that are just as interesting, although more technical. For the average consumer who is not aware of how the banking system works in this country, listening to the audio presentation is an eye-opening experience. Best of all, the seminar is offered for free on Fitts' website right now.

In the end, Fitts recommends using a local bank that prides itself on providing the community with essential banking services and has a vested interest in keeping the health of the community alive and growing. In order to take our money from the tapeworm economy, we need to support local banks that, in turn, support local businesses and the community and make their money on productive interests, rather than profiting from the financing of the destruction of communities.

Part II of the seminar will be reviewed on this blog soon, so stay tuned! Better yet, download Fitts' seminar and learn how the banking system works and how to escape the tapeworm.

The book that is the topic of our most recent ForeclosureFish.com book review is Work from Home at any Age, by J.J. Luna, author of another classic practical book called How to be Invisible. The book is a short, although informative, examination of the author's arguments for one's desire to take control of his or her income and begin their own small, private business. The book is important for homeowners, because many homeowners end up in foreclosure because they put their faith in a job that turned out to be much more temporary than they had originally planned.

The first sentence of the book is "If you are older than 11, younger than 85, and are unhappy with your present circumstances, then this is the book you've been waiting for." For homeowners who have seen their job outsourced to China, downsized, or replaced by a computer, this feeling of being unhappy can be compounded with the fear of being unable to provide for one's family and even the fear of eventually losing the home to foreclosure.

And the book goes on to provide the reader with many of the most basic, but often-forgotten rules of running a successful home-based business. From having integrity, to making a first good impression, to having a "start to steer by," WFHAAA is meant to help its readers open their eyes to the possibilities that await them if they simply choose to take back control of their own lives. It is not so much a step-by-step instruction manual of how to start a business, but a much-needed, motivational primer for anyone who is thinking of beginning to work from home in their own business.

However, there are also many practical ideas in the book, including some of the author's own home-based businesses. He has sold his former businesses for an average of $250,000, according to the book. He also details how people can make their businesses private. Perhaps the most important chapter in the book is the last chapter on the author's exhortation for every person to find their own personal star to steer by. Mr. Luna recommends the Bible, but he explains that everyone should have their own personal relationship with a higher power, whatever it may be.

The book, in conclusion, is a great little read for anyone who is tired of their job, has just lost a job, or is contemplating having to take a job and being away from their children or family. Starting a home-based business is not easy, but the rewards are much greater than just punching a time-clock and trading one's valuable hours for some employers nearly worthless dollars.

As we have talked to literally thousands of homeowners who are facing foreclosure because their "safe, secure, good" job was not there for them, we have learned that most foreclosure victims would be better off considering their own business. This is because most of the homeowners who contact us to stop foreclosure are determined to save their homes and protect their families, prudent enough to examine various options to avoid foreclosure, and willing to put in the work necessary to save their homes. It is almost a tragedy to see so many fine human beings voluntarily put on the chains and shackles of having to work for someone else, rather than working for the good of their own families and themselves.

Most of our posts are about how homeowners can get out of the foreclosure process by any means possible. We also focus a lot on helping foreclosure victims realize how they can use the resources they already have to reduce their expenses without having to take on a second job (although taking a second job while in foreclosure is a very good idea). One of the best ways to decrease high housing expenses is to find ways to improve the overall energy efficiency of a home.

One of the great books that goes into this very topic is The Home Energy Diet, by Paul Scheckel. The book is described as, "With rising energy costs, homeowners are beginning to examine the energy efficiency of their own homes, asking questions about where energy comes from and how much it costs, how to choose new appliances and what options exist for renewable energy. The Home Energy Diet answers all these questions and more while helping readers take control of their personal energy use and costs so they can save money, live more comfortably and help the environment." There are basic overviews of how energy is used in a house, how specific areas of energy are used, such as electricity, hot water, and heating and air conditioning, and very helpful lists of how to put a home on the "energy diet."

If nothing else, the book helps everyone who lives in a house understand how much money is actually being spent for such luxuries as keeping the computer turned on all day, not unplugging seldom-used appliances, and how much hot water really costs. Some of this information could be absolutely vital for homeowners facing a financial hardship that may lead to foreclosure. Especially with rising heating and electricity bills throughout the winter, saving a few hundred dollars a month on energy bills can positively impact many foreclosure victims, even to the point of being able to save enough money to stop foreclosure before they lose their homes.

And obviously, a home energy diet is just one area that homeowners can look into when attempting to lower their overall housing costs and monthly expenses. Some of the information in the book is more technically advanced, but the majority of it is simple, easy to follow guidelines that can help anyone save some extra money each month. Other areas that homeowners can examine include transportation and food costs, and there are many other books and websites that provide helpful information on lowering these expenses.

Of course, the two largest expenses for most homeowners are taxes and inflation, which have only a small chance of going away. However, there is some hope for everyone who does not like paying taxes or seeing the value of their dollar drop further and further. But until these changes actually become a reality, it is much wiser for homeowners who want to stop foreclosure to save on the little things until they have saved their homes. But saving money in any area of life is much better than losing a home due to the unwillingness to make any sacrifices.

One of the most overlooked ways for homeowners to help stop foreclosure on their homes is to take back control of their incomes. With a regular job, the control is squarely in the hands of the employer -- not the employee. For homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments, this means that they may find themselves with no income at all once the next crisis hits the stock market in whatever sector of the economy is underperforming. Starting a business that is not completely dependent on one sector or one idea is probably the most effective way for any consumer to regain control of their income and their future.

The main reason that jobs do not provide any sort of security for homeowners is that the employee is simply trading hours for a set amount of money. If the business has no more need of that employee's hours, then the trade of money for work will be terminated, leaving the homeowners to face an uncertain future with the possibility of going deeply into debt, declaring bankruptcy, or facing foreclosure. The agreement between employers and employees is shaky, at best, and arbitrary, at worst. And, even worse, the employee has no say in the employer's decision to begin laying off workers.

Owning a business, though, puts the homeowners back in control of their lives, and ends the necessity of spending one-third to one-half of their lives performing a task that they hate for a boss that they can't stand who can't stand them. Most managers, unfortunately, are misinformed amateurs who only progressed up the corporate ladder by proving to their managers that they were the best at following orders, no matter how tedious, unnecessary, or counter-productive the orders were. Numerous years of college also prove the ability of a worker to sit for long periods of time in the face of extreme boredom, without developing the capacity to voice reasonable dissent or novel opinions. In fact, owning a business is one of the only ways for most consumers to escape from living a dreadful life of tedium and stagnation.

For even more reasons why owning a business is a much better idea than trading time for money, this article entitled "10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job" is quite informative. Jobs keep consumers bored enough to consume more and feel exhausted to the point of receiving no satisfaction from their overconsumption, because they have nothing to look forward to, besides more work. Homeowners who have learned how unstable the job market really is now have to choose between becoming independent in a business they control, or voluntarily shackling themselves to another employer who will fire them at will when the going gets tough.

For homeowners who are facing the loss of their homes due to foreclosure, there is an even greater need to make a better life. As stressful as the experience can be, foreclosure can also teach its victims many important lessons about becoming financially stable without the need for an inhuman corporate master to ration out as few dollars as possible every few weeks. In its simplest form, the choice comes down to giving up control of the future and their income, or keeping hold of it and developing their personal skills to the point of reaching their potential.

Homeowners in danger of losing their homes need a wide range of solutions to have any chance at being able to stop foreclosure and make a reasonably safe recovery afterwards. We've discussed short-term solutions to foreclosure such as our Ways to Stop Foreclosure and long-term solutions such as putting together a revised financial plan, but there are a number of ways that homeowners can begin saving money immediately, in an effort to prevent the bank from putting them into default right away.

Obviously, the very first thing homeowners should do when they are facing a financial hardship is to call the lender and let them know they will be late on their payment for the month. Banks will not want to hear this, but they may be willing to grant their clients more time, initiate a forbearance agreement, or accept a partial payment. These arrangements are somewhat uncommon among lenders, but they are possible if the homeowners ask about them. Far too often, though, homeowners facing the loss of a job or medical problem will neglect to call the mortgage company and, once they begin to be behind on their mortgage payments, the lender will be less willing to work out a plan if the homeowners never informed them of the situation.

When facing a hardship, homeowners should seriously examine their monthly budgets and try to save money in as many areas as possible. It may not be feasible any more to eat out every week, keep 2-3 cars beyond what is necessary, or pay for luxuries like 700 TV channels. Although cutting down expenses to the bare minimum still may not be enough to get back on track and avoid foreclosure, these cost-cutting methods will give the homeowners more money every month that they can save to be able to start a repayment plan with their lender, once they have overcome the financial hardship. But altering spending habits is one of the best ways homeowners can find extra money that they didn't know they had.

Cashing out or selling assets is a third immediate solution. Selling that collection of CDs or vintage Bibles on eBay may not be pleasurable, but being evicted in front of neighbors and friends is quite a bit more painful. Besides personal collections, homeowners may also have life insurance policy cash values, investments, or savings accounts that they can get some cash out of. Although there may be fees associated with cancelling these accounts, they probably do not even come close to the fees that lenders charge once foreclosure proceedings are initiated. Legal fees, late charges, and accrued interest on late payments can increase the total cost of paying off a mortgage by 25-50%, in some instances.

A short-term second job is another option for many homeowners. Even working part-time at a lower-paying job can help, especially if the only other option is not working. If the job is flexible enough, then the search for a full-time job can continue with no real interruptions. And the job may create just enough income to pay the mortgage or begin a savings strategy to get back on track with the mortgage at a future date. Depending on the position, the homeowners may learn more about an industry that they never knew existed or find out more about themselves and the world around them. They also meet a whole new group of people who may become friends who may know other people who can provide them with foreclosure advice, legal counsel, or other mortgage help services.

Homeowners facing a financial hardship should focus on finding both immediate and short-term solutions to stop foreclosure. The immediate steps they may take are informing their lender of the situation, cutting expenses from their budget, selling or redeeming assets, or taking a part-time job to generate steady income. By taking these steps, or a combination of them, they can give themselves a much better chance of qualifying for a short-term solution that will decrease the possibility of losing the home to foreclosure. At that point, the homeowners can begin to put together a longer-term plan to stabilize their income and build an emergency plan to avoid ever having to face foreclosure again.

The biggest reason that homeowners fall behind on their mortgages is due to their financial plan. Every family has a plan, whether they have sat down and detailed it, or are just acting "on instinct." And it is the failure of this plan, or its incompleteness or inadequacies, that causes homeowners to become foreclosure victims, frantically seeking out some option that will help them stop foreclosure. The most common reasons homeowners face foreclosure can all be prevented by a more substantial planning process.

When a spouse loses a job and the family almost immediately begins to fall behind on bills, there is a glaring lack of any kind of emergency fund. Every homeowner, with no exception, should have as much saved away as possible in case they suddenly find themselves with no income and no way to make income for several months. It is unfortunate, but businesses shut down, factories are moved out of the country, and companies downsize -- and the worst part is that most workers will be unaware of the problems facing the company until a series of layoffs are announced. But if the family had a plan for this possibility, they would not end up having to decide between feeding their children and paying their mortgage. They wouldn't need to seek foreclosure advice and mortgage help, because they would still be on track.

A death in the family, especially one that leads to a loss in income, is also an occurrence that does not have to end up in foreclosure. An emergency fund can provide some short-term relief, but a sound financial plan should include more income protection. Life insurance, trust funds, and other estate planning tools can be used by the family before a death occurs to make sure that the remaining spouse and children do not have to take second jobs, give up their chances of going to college, or sell valuable assets. We've seen too many families give up their dreams because of a death to realize that not planning for the worst is simply irresponsible. No one should want their family to suffer financially if they are no longer around to provide for them.

These hardships are all too common among homeowners who end up getting behind on their mortgage payments and find themselves looking for a way to stop foreclosure before it is too late. Even for foreclosure victims who find a solution to their problem, many of them end up in similar or worse situations within a year. And after they worked out one plan to save their home, and then need mortgage help again, the lender is much less willing to provide them with foreclosure assistance. This is why homeowners need to have a long-term outlook and start planning for unanticipated hardships, because once a hardship is planned for, it is no longer anticipated -- and it will most likely not even be a hardship at that point!

This is one of the reasons that we have created our ForeclosureFish.com membership option for homeowners. We have relationships with some of the most professional foreclosure loan providers, loss mitigation specialists, private real estate investors, and largest financial education company in the world. This lets us help all of our clients in more areas than any other company that only specializes in foreclosure help. We want to take a long-term approach with foreclosure victims and find a solution to Stop Foreclosure Now -- but, we also want to put all of our clients on the right track so that they do not call us in 6-8 months and request our services again to stop foreclosure again. Also, this long-term commitment with our clients assures them that we want them to work with us long after we have helped them save their home, regardless of the outcome. To learn if you are qualified for our ForeclosureFish.com membership program, please fill out a foreclosure evaluation form on our website today.

ForeclosureFish.com members have access to a unique Five-Step program to completely stop foreclosure and repair their credit and begin a long-term financial plan. This program is accompanied by unlimited telephone and email support and gives foreclosure victims the resources to pursue every single known way to save their homes. If they end up facing foreclosure and have to rebuild, it will not be for lack of trying every method possible. And even if the worst happens, the ForeclosureFish.com program is designed to clean up their credit and put them back into a house within a year after foreclosure.

The firs step in this process is to reverse the foreclosure process. Homeowners who have not been paying their mortgage need options to stop foreclosure and they need to be working on as many options at once. This may include looking for a private investor, working with the mortgage company to put together a repayment plan or loan modification, or going through our list of foreclosure loan specialists. But the first goal for homeowners is to stop the foreclosure process from running them over before they are out of options and out of time.

Recovery from the devastating affects of foreclosure is the second step for homeowners. This includes putting together a short-term plan to begin an emergency fund and a long-term plan to make sure that any financial emergency can be survived without a disaster. Regardless of being able to stop foreclosure or not, families who have faced the loss of their homes should have a comprehensive financial plan and budget that outlines their spending habits and provides structure to their monthly budget. That way, they may never fall behind on their debts again.

Cleaning up negative information on their credit reports is another important step to repair their finances completely from the foreclosure situation, and is the third step in the ForeclosureFish.com process. Homeowners have the chance to repair their good names and credit histories by using the resources our members have access to. This includes removing negative information from their credit reports, as well as establishing a positive, on-time payment history again, regardless of past history. Within a few months to a year, previous foreclosure victims can raise their credit scores by 50, 100, or more than 100 points, allowing them to qualify for competitive interest rates without relying on confusing Adjustable Rate Mortgages or interest-only loans.

By the end of a year or so, the fourth step in the ForeclosureFish.com process will be ready. This involves refinancing the current home or repurchasing a new home. After a year of sticking to a budget, planning for any emergencies, and repairing their credit, the foreclosure victims will be in a situation where they can qualify for some of the best rates for home mortgages. They may end up lowering their payments by several hundred dollars a month, or they may qualify to consolidate all of their monthly debt payments into one cheaper, more manageable mortgage obligation. This is when homeowners transition from the short-term financial recovery phase into the long-term financial independance plan.

The fifth and last step in the process to be rewarded with the feeling of having become financially independant. This may mean having established a significant emergency fund and consolidating all debts into one payment, and it may mean having paid off the house completely and being able to retire early due to a wise retirement plan. But at this point, homeowners will never have to worry about any financial hardship again, as they will have the tools and knowledge that will allow them to survive any emergency. Whether it is a loss of job, medical disability or death, or divorce/separation, the family's emergency fund will be able to get them through any problem.

Completing these five steps, from the plan to stop foreclosure to the plan to become independantly wealthy and financially stable, should be the mission of any homeowner currently facing foreclosure due to a financial hardship. All of our ForeclosureFish.com members are currently in some phase of this process, and all enjoy unlimited support from the ForeclosureFish.com team. From learning how to stop foreclosure, or how credit repair works, or how to retire early and never work another day in their lives, homeowners can come out of their current financial difficulties with a long-term solution and start living the life they've always dreamed of!

It's no news that foreclosure are at record highs, continuing to increase, and will keep getting worse until there is a shift from homeowners with ballooning adjustable rate mortgages to more stable fixed-rate loans. But this shift will come at a cost of many homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure, banks owning much more real estate than ever before, and a general disappearance of wealth from people who borrowed money, and those who invested in the loans made to these homeowners. In an effort to keep their homes and stop foreclosure, though, some homeowners have begun to fight back against their banks and realize that there is no one besides themselves who is willing and able to help.

One of the problems with fighting back against the lender to prevent the foreclosure from going through is that homeowners who do not understand the loans they are getting usually end up signing all of the paperwork anyway. They may be lied to, promised the world, given unrealistic expectations, and sold loans based on low "teaser rates," and fail to read any of the loan paperwork they are given before their loans close. However, it is no one else's responsibility to know what is going on with the loan, if the homeowners themselves do not understand what is happening. Brokers and lenders will be glad to sell the benefits of the low rate, low payments, and low closing costs, without mentioning all of the specifics of the loan that will cause the homeowners to fall behind in the event of any financial hardship. But, because the homeowners sign the paperwork, even if they never read it, they will have little legal defense when they realize the loan the bought was not the loan they were sold.

This is one of the main reasons that homeowners absolutely need a financial education that encompasses their entire lives. From mortgages to budget planning, insurance and investments, there is a seemingly endless list of areas that consumers should be aware of. It may seem almost impossible for the general homeowner to put together a real plan to make sure they are doing everything possible to prevent financial emergencies, stop foreclosure right now, or plan for the future of sending kids to college and retiring comfortably. However, this is exactly what homeowners need to do in order to have any reasonable chance to hold onto their homes in the event something unexpected happens.

Consumers surely can not count on their lender, broker, or the government to help them understand what they are actually getting into when they get a mortgage or other financial product. According to one article on Yahoo! News, "As a housing slowdown puts millions of subprime borrowers at risk of default, debate is shifting to whether lenders should be required to ensure their loans are suitable for their customers." There is actual debate whether homeowners should be given loans that they can pay back -- rather than given whatever loan they want and allowing them to lie to qualify for larger and larger amounts of money. Regardless of the outcome of this irrational debate, the fact that there is disagreement on the issue should point out to homeowners that they have only themselves to trust or blame when they end up with a mortgage they can not afford.

It does not take much education or research to gain a general awareness of how the mortgage industry and other financial products really work. Homeowners can and should take time and find a reputable company or broker to work with when applying for a loan, and make sure that there are no hidden traps that may cause them to face foreclosure or fall behind in their mortgage payments sometime in the future. By fitting the mortgage into an overall financial plan, homeowners will have a better chance at being able to weather any storm that may come. And if they one day end up in a situation where they must stop foreclosure to avoid losing their homes, they will hopefully have developed enough self-sufficiency at that point to be able to avoid being taken advantage of again and will be able to recover from the hardship in the most effective way possible.

Recent news from around the nation and the world points to the possibility of worse short-term economic conditions for consumers in general and homeowners in particular. With the recent downturn in stock markets across the globe, and the downturn in home sales that are casuing more homeowners to consider simply giving up on their homes, it is becoming essential for homeowners to have total financial plans both before and after foreclosure. Putting together a complete financial picture will provide homeowners with mortgage help, budget planning ideas, and various cost-cutting measures that can be implemented.

Obviously, the first step for homeowners who are behind in payments right now is to stop foreclosure as soon as possible. This can be done in a number of ways, including a foreclosure loan, repayment plan, hard money loan, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure, among other methods. The task is to determine what it is that the homeowners qualify for, and what the most affordable solution to foreclosure may be for their specific situation. (For a more comprehensive list of ways to avoid foreclosure, please see our list of "Eleven Ways to Stop Foreclosure.")

A complete financial plan, however, can assist the homeowners in saving their homes from foreclosure, or even find ways that would allow them to save enough money so that they never even miss a mortgage payment. There are always areas in which consumers can cut back costs, lowering their monthly expenses by several hundred dollars a month, in some cases. What is really necessary is just sitting down and tracking when every dollar comes in, and where it goes. Obviously, a plan is not a comprehensive defense against foreclosure, or mortgage fraud, or a complete financial meltdown, but it can make certain situations more bearable, or, at the very least, surviveable.

Once the foreclosure situation has ended, it is arguably even more important to put together a financial plan to get out of debt, own a home outright, or have multiple streams of income with fewer expenses. This can be done by slowly paying off credit cards and car loans, applying extra money towards the principal of a mortgage and other debt, eliminating unnecessary bills, and cutting down on consumption. As well, there are a vast number of home based businesses or internet businesses that can be done in one's spare time, and that revolve around a hobby or interest. Extra income does not have to be generated solely from a 9-5 position with a large company or part time job on nights or weekends.

Homeowners who need assistance with a mortgage payment or are facing foreclosure should have immediate goals and long term goals. Obviously, in the short term, the aim is to stop foreclosure and end up in a beneficial situation, either with the current property or a more affordable home. Long term, though, homeowners should make plans to become financially indepenent and have more than one leg to stand on by eliminating their reliance on just one job. A complete, realistic financial plan will help them go a very long way towards meeting these goals, and may even provide them with the budgetary framework they need to avoid any foreclosure situation now or in the future.

One of the main reasons that homeowners fall behind on their mortgages and face the danger of foreclosure is that their bills suddenly become much higher than their monthly income. This could be due to a financial hardship, such as loss of job, medical problems, or family issues like divorce or a death in the family. Although there may be very few options available to stop the financial bleeding, many foreclosure victims can save a substantial amount on the monthly bills by becoming a little more creative. Even this woman has decided to live and go to college on an income of $12,000, per year, so it is very possible for homeowners to put themselves in a slightly better financial position, if the need arises.

The first tip is to start buying more items used, as opposed to new. Many items can be bought used in "Just Like New" condition, including books, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, and more. MSN Money has an article by Liz Pullman Weston on things that can be purchased used at steep discounts. For example, "Most books don't get read more than once, if that, and they're astonishingly easy to find used at steep discounts -- if not absolutely free." These can include books that teach you how to put yourself in a better financial position, books that contain vital information for foreclosure victims, and books that will just help anyone learn more about the world that we all live in, regardless of any foreclosure situation.

Another great list of tips is published on OASWatch.com, a guide to high interest online savings accounts. A few of the many good points they present is to buy food locally from a farmer's market, haggle with sellers for anything, and use various internet resources to lower other bills. Haggling for a lower price can be done at any store for any item: the worst the manager or owner can do is refuse to sell for any amount less than the full price. However, many store owners may be willing to sell an item for less than its asking price, especially if cash is offered. Also, the internet has many resources available to lower phone bills, watch television programs or movies without having a cable bill, and ordering items for cheap and having them delivered.

The entry also has some ideas about consumers opening up their own businesses and generating extra money through the use of a blog, online tutoring, or making an item and selling it. Homeowners facing foreclosure should examine both ways to lower their bills, as well as potential sources of extra income. These may only be bandaid-type approaches, especially if there has been a serious loss of income that is causing the foreclosure hardship, but they may allow the homeowners to survive an extra month or two and continue making the mortgage payment and other bill payments.

A final tip might be just to stop using credit and loans altogether for any purchases besides major ones. Major purchases may include buying a home, but that is about it. Cars can be purchased used for a lot cheaper than new cars from a dealership, and even college tuition can be paid for through the use of scholarships and grants, as opposed to student loans. Remeber, every time a credit card is used, it's like taking out a loan for that purchase. Someone who feels the need to take out a loan to puchase a cup of coffee or basic necessities, such as food or transportation, may want to examine how they can save money in numerous other areas.

For homeowners in foreclosure, though, the first step in terms of finances should always be to reduce monthly bills and try to keep on top of the mortgage payment. That way, there will less of a danger of losing the home to a foreclosure situation. Also, it would be prudent to examine various options to stop foreclosure, just in case the temporary financial hardship lasts longer than expected or costs more than anticipated. Such options to save a home from foreclosure may include foreclosure refinance programs, repayment plans, loan modification, or hard money loans, depending on the circumstances of each foreclosure situation.

Possibly the best idea would be to download the free foreclosure e-book offered on our site, to learn more about the foreclosure process and what options homeowners may have available.

The tip "Don't go into foreclosure again" may seem obvious, but there is much more to the issue than just paying your mortgage on time every month.

Far too often, we come across people who have caught up on their mortgage payments only to have another emergency put them right back into foreclosure again. This may happen two or three times, each time the client borrowing money from friends of family, or taking out car title or payday loans. But without solving the real problem that caused them to fall behind, these clients run into another hardship and fail to pay their mortgage again. Then the cycle starts all over, only this time the homeowner's already ruined credit is destroyed even further. Also, their lender and the court system is much less willing to work with them after going back into default.

Obviously, your first goal if you are in foreclosure should be to stop the foreclosure process as soon as possible. But once you have been successful at stopping the foreclosure of your home, you should analyze why you fell behind in payments to begin with. Was it due to loss of job? Medical problems? Death and/or disability in the family? A difficult separation/divorce?

If the cause of the foreclosure was a loss of job and you are now caught up in payments and have a new job, then evaluating your monthly budget should be a top priority. Are you making enough money with your new job to be able to afford the mortgage payment, pay all of your other bills, and establish an "emergency fund?" If you can not establish this emergency fund, then what will you do if you lose your job again? Setting aside enough money to pay your expenses for at least a month should be your number one priority (3-6 months is even better, and should be set aside as soon as possible). Also, can you find a better job that offers higher pay and is more stable?

If medical problems were the reason you fell behind in payments and went into foreclosure, then evaluating your situation after stopping foreclosure is absolutely critical. A major medical crisis can change your life drastically and raise many important questions. Are you able to work your regular job, and will you be able to work it for long years? Can the medical issue recur, and if so, what will you do then? If you are unable to work your former job, then can you receive help from the government to provide training for a new job? Again, setting up an emergency fund should be of major importance to you at this time. A sudden relapse or secondary illness can put you right back into foreclosure, and, as you may have noticed the first time you were behind in payments, lenders have little sympathy for your condition if you can not pay your mortgage on time.

A death or major medical problem in your family can have much the same effect as experiencing the crisis yourself. Losing an income in your household or having to take significant amounts of time off work to care for a loved one can leave you scrambling around for money to make your mortgage payment, if you can make it at all. Once you have stopped the foreclosure, the same rules and questions apply in this situation as in the last two. Evaluate your income situation and make sure you can pay your mortgage bill, other household expenses, and save for a rainy day.

If a divorce or separation was the cause of your foreclosure, then you also have many questions to ask yourself and others after you have cured the default on your mortgage. Do you need the house now that there are fewer people living there? Is selling an option, or do you want to keep it? Are you due any extra money every month in the form of alimony, separate maintenance, or child support? You may want to consult with a family law attorney if you do not know the answers to some of these questions. However, once you have analyzed your income situation, make the effort to pay all of your bills and create an emergency fund in case something unexpected happens (and we all know it will).

In addition to the all-important emergency fund, there are a number of other changes you may want to consider. While no single change is guaranteed to prevent foreclosure, by making some necessary changes, you can protect yourself for a much longer period of time if another emergency occurs.

Are there any bills you can do away with completely? Paying a credit card, selling your new car and purchasing a used car, and canceling unnecessary services are all good ideas to implement until you have established your emergency fund.

Of the bills that are necessary, can you reduce any of them? While refinancing a car or mortgage may not be an option at this point, the potential for lowering other household bills is almost endless. Again, evaluate your budget, figure out where your money is going, and see where you can make changes that allow you to keep more of your money for yourself.

Evaluating the reasons that caused you to become a victim of foreclosure is one of the best ways to make sure you never end up in that situation again. While nothing can protect you from an endless string of bad luck and/or uninformed decisions, analyzing your current situation after foreclosure and building a cushion around yourself can allow you to keep your head above water for much longer next time there is an emergency.