Here at Van Horn Law Group, we hope that we never have to see you. Seriously, if you’re in our office, that means that something’s horribly wrong, and you need our professional services to make it right. In fact, we have some advice that can help you get back on track and get debt free in 2016 and beyond! No, it’s not the numbers for the next Powerball. In fact, that can cause more problems than it solves, but that’s another post.

DANGER SIGNS

You might not think that you’re in that much trouble, but there are some signs that you need to take seriously. It’s easy to get into bad spending habits, thinking that because you have credit cards that you have money.

1. You use credit cards to pay for items like groceries and personal care items that you previously paid with cash.
2. A large portion of your income goes to pay debts like credit cards, student loans, and car loans.
3. You’re paying for regular expenses from your savings or from your emergency funds.
4. You are only able to make minimum payments on your account balances.
5. You are near or at the limit on your credit cards and seeking new lines of credit to get some breathing room.
6. You take out payday loans, pay back the loan on payday, and take out another loan.
7. You are juggling loans. You take out a loan before the old one is due or take out a new loan to pay off another loan.
8. You are in collections for one or more accounts, or in danger of having your wages garnished.
9. You are uncertain about how much you owe, unable to keep track of how many lines of credit you have, and don’t pay some bills until you get a final notice.
10. You are in danger of having your vehicle repossessed.

There is not a single one-size method for paying your way out of debt, but as a rule of thumb I can make two statements.

1. If you are in any of the situations in 1 through 5, you do need some credit counseling and a debt management plan before things take a slide.
2. If you are in any of the situations 6 through 10, you need a lot of Van Horn Law Group’s kind of help because you are in a lot of trouble.

Don’t think that your only option is bankruptcy, because there are a lot of things that we can do before that option’s on the table. Instead, start getting your paperwork together, and make a list of everything you owe, to whom, the balance outstanding, the minimum payment, and the interest. If you weigh it against your monthly income and can make it with some belt tightening, get to a credit counselor and start working on a plan. If you think that’s not going to cut it, call us, then come in and let’s see what we can do to right your ship.

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