… doomed to repeat it.  An article in Investopedia.com highlights the most recent lessons from our recession.  Lisa Smith lists five basic principles that should be garnered from this financial crisis:

1.  Risk matters…but protecting what you have is just as important as trying to get more.

2.  Experts don’t know everything…blind trust is a bad idea.

3.  You can’t live on averages… if the train is about to crash…get off.

4.  You shouldn’t buy what you don’t …

Tags: Bankruptcy Credit card Financial crisis Personal Finance Recession

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Bankruptcy is  important source of relief as job recovery still lags.

I still remember the recession when Jimmy Carter was president.  I would go to the houses of family friends and literally hear parents cursing Carter for their economic stress.  Families got through that recession doing the same things that many people are doing right now.  Parents diluted the milk to stretch a gallon.  They figured out how to make a family meal for under $5.00 with buttered noodles or beanie …

Tags: Michigan Recession United States

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… Even under the best of circumstances, things happen that can strain the best of marriages.  The recession hasn’t helped the strain.   Most news reports focus on debt relief as some type of numbers game…what you have to do to get out of debt and a bottom line analysis of your personal budget.  But keep in mind, that a high debt burden has a deeper consequence that just a bouncing checkbook.  It stresses spouses to the brink.  According to many non-profit groups, the recession has …

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… which warm the heart.  The July 2009 edition of Woman’s Day highlights what are called “Recession Angels.”  They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others.  One particular recession angel is from Rockwall, Texas.  Marilyn Mock didn’t wake up and just decide to don angel wings.  While at a foreclosure auction, she met a single mom whose foreclosed home was up for sale.  On impulse, she bid on and won the home, and then allowed the single mom to continue …

Permalink: /economy/local-recession-angel-highlighted-in-womans-day-2/

… events which warm the heart. The July 2009 edition of Woman’s Day highlights what are called “Recession Angels.” They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others. One particular recession angel is from Rockwall, Texas. Marilyn Mock didn’t wake up and just decide to don angel wings. While at a foreclosure auction, she met a single mom whose foreclosed home was up for sale. On impulse, she bid on and won the home, and then allowed the single mom to continue making …

Permalink: /fort_worth_lawyer/local-recession-angel-highlighted-in-womans-day/

… to an article in the Star-Telegram, the healthcare industry is facing hard times as the recession creates massive losses across the board.

The article said:

“Consider Texas Health Resources, the top hospital provider in the region. From 2004 to 2008, the Arlington nonprofit system earned almost $1 billion in “excess revenue” — what regular companies would call net profit. Then the recession hit last year, and THR, with 13 local hospitals, lost nearly $428 million. That …

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… of medical debt afflicting Americans is on the rise as the number of job losses mount and the recession worsens. That’s why many Americans facing mounting medical debt are filing bankruptcy for relief.

The article said:

“A new national study showed that more than 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies in the country were related to medical problems and most of the people were middle-class and well-educated and had medical insurance.”

Many of those who are insured eventually …

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… have the income and may not find another job within timely a manner. The means test during a recession may be particularly devastating for the self-employed who often experience widely changing income levels especially during economic hard times.

The other issue with the means test is that if the economy declines enough there may be a point where the state’s median income declines putting more debtor’s above the median income threshold. For example, if a debtor is earning $25,000 …

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The U.S. has lost more than 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007 and job losses are continuing as we enter the new year. The biggest and most recent job losses are coming from defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. which is implementing 1,200 job losses and shipping giant UPS which is implementing 1,800 job losses.

Shipping giant UPS Inc. will cut 1,800 management and administrative jobs, less than 1 percent of its global …

Tags: Job Loss Lockheed Martin Corp Recession UPS

… and Jane, low savings could mean financial disaster after a job loss.  If we plan to stop this recession we need to seriously consider expanding the eligibility requirements of unemployment insurance so that more Texas workers can qualify and benefit from this safety net. For Texas workers who are waiting to hear if they qualify for unemployment insurance, please take the time to find out if you should file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can discharge many debts, giving you more income that can be …

Tags: Employment Insurance Recession Texas Trust Fund Unemployment

… really fully addressed by our lawmakers and politicians.  As many pundits declare an end to the recession, many unemployed workers face bankruptcy because they cannot find a job and they cannot receive unemployment benefits that will pay their bills.  This is the flipside of declining initial unemployment claims.  We cannot pretend that the economy is improving when we have more individuals (and businesses) filing for bankruptcy than immediately after the 2005 reforms.  And these workers …

Tags: Bankruptcy Labor Department Recession Unemployment United States

… According to an article in the Star-Telegram, the government and many economists claim that the recession is in its waning days; but job losses tell a different story.

The article said:

“The government releases third-quarter Gross Domestic Product figures on Thursday. Many forecasters say they will show GDP growing at an annual rate of about 3 percent, validating a widely held belief among economists that the recession ended in June or July. But try telling that to the more than 15 …

Tags: Recession Unemployment United States