ABC news is reporting that consumer bankruptcy filings have fallen to their lowest level in nine months. While encouraging, the increased spending associated with the holiday season may offset this trend.  Here’s what you need to know about incurring excessive credit card debt, filing bankruptcy, and avoiding both.

Holiday credit card debt: What the (bleep) did I spend?

The problem with credit cards is their convenience; we convince ourselves that paying with plastic for everything from groceries to gems is somehow easier than paying cash. In the rush to buy gifts for everyone on your holiday list, it can be easy to lose track of holiday spending until the credit card bills arrive. Tal

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MINNEAPOLIS FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced the results of its quarterly survey of bank risk professionals. Results of the survey, which is conducted for FICO by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), indicate the credit gap that has hindered U.S. consumer spending is likely to continue well into 2011, and lenders are also unlikely to meet the credit demands of small businesses in the near term.

Numbers behind the credit gap

The survey found 42 percent of respondents expect the amount of credit requested by consumers to increase over the next six months. However, only 31 percent of respondents expect the amount of new credit offered by lenders to increase. Furthermore, 39 percent of bankers surveyed expect approval criteria for consumer credit to become stricter, while only 13 percent expect approval criteria to loosen.

Results also indicate that credit will be tight for small businesses. O

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposals addressing debt collectors attempting to collect on debts of deceased borrowers may backfire by allowing debt collection agencies to pursue surviving relatives and associates of deceased debtors. Here’s what you need to know.

Consumer Debt Collection Practices: Survivors not responsible for deceased’s debts

Debt collectors have harassed bereaved families by sending collection notices indicating that the surviving family or executor “must” pay the deceased borrowers credit card bills and other debts. Unless you’ve co-signed for a credit card or loan held by the decedent, you’re not under any obligation to pay. Laws governing debt collection can vary from state to state, so it’s a good idea to seek legal advice if you’re being hounded by debt collectors.

Under the FTC proposal, debt collectors would have to identify the responsible party (if any) before attempting to collect debts of deceased individuals. In many cases,

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Are you in over your head with debt and aren’t sure which way to turn? Have you heard the commercials or seen the advertisements for debt Reduction and wondered if this is an option for you? It may be a great option for you and looking at all of the benefits of debt Reduction might help you decide if this is an option that you should pursue.

1. You are being proactive in handling your debt, which will make you feel better. This may sound odd, but when you have that debt hanging over your head and you aren’t doing anything about it, it feels like a weight that you just cannot bear. Taking that first step will give you immense relief from the stress and anxiety that you have been feeling.

2. Your debt reduction agency will handle all of the correspondence between you and your debtors so you don’t have to feel nervous about dealing with them. You don’t have to contact the debtors, you can allow all of the work to be done for you.

3. Debt re

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The Washington Blade, a newspaper by and for the gay community in Washington, D.C., seemed like it would be no more after its parent company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December of 2009.

But the paper has, in its own words, risen “from the ashes,” and continued to operate under a new set of owners: former employees of that parent company, Window Media.

In an article published in the Washington Blade itself, new details have emerged about the Window Media dissolution that concluded last December. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation meant that the Blade would close its doors after 40 years in the news business, and some feared that it wouldn’t be back.

But it turned out that Window Media’s liquidation opened the door for a group of Blade employees to form their own company and rebuild the paper from the ground up. This new company was even able to purchase the Blade trademark, as well as some other assets from the bankrupt parent company. They ev

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Success stories can be found where debt management is concerned with many consumers coming out the other side debt free and with a better understanding of their finances and what credit can and cannot do for them. While debt management is successful in many instances, who should really consider debt management? Are you a candidate or should you consider something else? Debt management is not one size fits all, so where do you go from here?

Debt management is a great option for those who can no longer make their minimum payments. If you cannot make minimum payments your debt will only increase. This is when the stress comes in with calls and letters from the creditors demanding payments that you are unable to make. Debt management is a way out of the stress for those who can no longer make their minimum payments.

If you have tried to make new payment arrangements with your creditors and they will not work with you, debt management is a wonderful option.

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Reality TV show star Kim Kardashian wants your teen to shop with a prepaid credit card. The Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard was recently launched at a New York nightclub, according to the ABC News. The prepaid credit card allows a parent to put money on the card and keep track of their teens’ spending via cell phone.

Prepaid cards can limit debt

Using a prepaid credit card can allow cardholders to avoid wracking up huge amounts of credit card debt. Prepaid credit cards are popular with people who have bad credit or no established credit history, as well as people with low to moderate incomes. O

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