Even though paying bills is a mundane task, doing so on time results in several positive effects:

• You avoid late fees. You don’t have to part with more money than you should.
• You keep your lights on. If you don’t pay your bills, the companies will eventually cut off their service and you could be left in the dark.
• You keep your credit score in good standing.
• You get peace of mind. Save yourself from worrying about what will happen if you don’t pay your bills on time.

If you’d like to achieve these results, here are a few tips to help you get on schedule with your bill pay system.

Make a list of all your bills.

This will help you get organized and prioritize which bills you need to pay first.

Separate your bills from other mail and keep them in one place.

Regardless of whether your prefer email or hardcopy bills, you need you have a system in place that allows you to see how many bills you have to pay.

Make paying bills part of your routine.

If that means that you want to pay bills every Tuesday night, then do that. If you want to pay bills on a daily basis, make it part of your routine right after dinner to pay the invoices from that day. You should incorporate this activity into your schedule so that you do it on a consistent basis.

Know your due dates.

Have a good idea of when each bill is due. If your due dates are spread out throughout the month and you’d like to do bill payments twice a month, try calling a few vendors to see if they will change your due date. Not every vendor will, but the extra effort now might help you in the long run.

Leave reminders for yourself.

Put it on your paper or electronic calendar or set a recurring reminder on your phone. Sticky notes are also helpful.

Have all the necessary materials.

If you’re close to running out of checks or stamps, be sure to buy more before you need them. Even though the present time might not be convenient, later could be even more inconvenient.

Remember: When you’re down to a few stamps or checks, it’s time to hit the post office and re-order checks. You’re just making it harder on yourself if you run out.

Consider online bill pay.

Even if you’re not comfortable with automatic drafting, try using online bill pay for a month. You don’t have to pay for postage or go to the post office, which saves you time and money.

Put checks that need to be mailed by your keys.

If you have to mail any checks, be sure to put them by your keys, laptop bag or briefcase so you don’t forget to mail them. Better yet, drop them in the mail as soon as you’re finished writing all of the checks.

Make paying bills as fun as possible.

Of course it’s no fun to part with your money, but don’t underestimate the effect of small things like using colorful folders or pretty baskets to house your bills.

If you’re tech savvy, you might enjoy Manilla, a free service that helps you organize your bills in one place. Again, make paying your bills as fun as possible.

What do you do to help you track and pay your bills on time?

Questions about debt? Call the Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

But just like anything in life that people hope to avoid, there are a few misconceptions that the general pubic has about the process of repossession.

If you find one of your vehicles in danger of being repossessed, the best weapon is knowledge. With that, you will be able to make informed decisions.

Repossession Myth #1: My vehicle can’t be repossessed until I’m at least 2 months behind on payments.

This is absolutely untrue. While bill collectors generally wait until at two or three months worth of missed payments, they can take your vehicle away if one payment is one day late.

What to take away from this fact is that it’s never a good idea to upset your lenders. Yes, not paying bills on time will upset them, but don’t add insult to injury.

If you call to explain your situation, don’t lose your cool and chew out someone that isn’t sympathetic to your circumstances. Lenders opened shop to make money, which is the same reason that you go to work each day. Upsetting your lender will not help you cause.

Repossession Myth #2: I can’t do anything to stop it besides paying what I owe.

People have a tendency to feel helpless and distraught when facing repossession and are unsure of what to do next, if anything can be done.

The worst thing to do should you find yourself in this situation is nothing. If you wait until the lender has already repossessed your vehicle, then it may be too late to do anything.

One option to consider is filing for bankruptcy. Federal laws allow you to keep your car 100% of the time if:

1. You file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy,
2. You need the car,
3. The car is not an unreasonably high priced vehicle, and
4. You can afford to pay your required Chapter 13 plan payments.

If you just need more time to make your payments, then Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you, lowering your monthly payments.

Again, filing for bankruptcy is just one option. What you need to do is learn about your options and take action before it’s too late.

Questions about debt? Call the Fort Worth, Frisco and Dallas bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

Changing Money Management Habits

If you have some questionable money management habits, then the first thing you need to do is identify them.

Next, you must write them down. Committing these to paper does a few things. It creates a record of where you started, shows that you’re serious about altering your behavior, and adds accountability to your project to change.

Here’s an example list of poor habits that need to be changed.

My Poor Money Management Habits

• I rarely save money.
• I splurge and spend money on things that I don’t necessarily need.
• I often pay bills after the due date.

Now that you’ve identified the habits you wish to change, you need to decide what corrective action you should take to counter these bad habits. Determine what you want your new habits to be and commit them to paper as well.

Following up on our example list, here is what the new habit list would look like.

My Goals for Good Money Management Habits

• I will pay myself first by moving money to a savings account when I get my paycheck. I will do this before I pay for anything else.
• I will always wait 24 hours before buying something that costs $40 or more so I can carefully consider whether I need it.
• I will create a calendar of when bills are due and begin to utilize online bill pay to minimize the chance of paying a bill late.

Incorporating all three of these new habits at once into your life will be overwhelming and difficult, which is why Leo Babauta of Zen Habits recommends tackling them one at a time.

“[N]o matter how much enthusiasm we have for all of these goals, taking on even just two habits at once is setting ourselves up for failure,” he says. “Devote all of your energy to [one] habit change, and once it’s on autopilot, move on to the next one.”

For further reading on what not to do when breaking a habit, Babauta has compiled a list of 13 things to avoid.

Tips for Creating Good Money Management Habits

Changing habits is not easy, especially if you’ve had bad ones for a while. Here are other tips to help you break them:

• Don’t start right away. Give your plan some time to sink in so you can prepare for the changes.
• Tell people about your goal. The more people you tell, the more accountable you’ll be.
• Leave reminders in relevant places. Maybe you need one by your computer if you’re an online shopper. Maybe you need to leave a Post-It in your checkbook so you don’t make any large purchases without thinking it over. Remember that reminders are your friend.
• Devise plans for the times when you’ll be tempted to fall back into old habits. Will you call a friend that will talk you out of your purchase? Will you take a walk instead of going to the mall? If you plan ahead, you’ll be much more likely to avoid your bad habit.
• Create rewards. If you form a good habit, you need to celebrate in a small way.
• If you fail, figure out what you did wrong and try again. Don’t give up because you stumble. Nobody’s perfect.

Questions about debt? Call the Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

That’s where we have good news. If you file for bankruptcy in Texas, the whole world won’t automatically know.

Who will know if I file for bankruptcy in Texas?

First, let’s discuss who will know if you’ve filed. First, your creditors and lawyer will know that you’ve filed. Second, anyone you tell will know. These people will, without a doubt, know your financial situation.

Just like someone’s dating situation is good gossip, so is someone’s bankruptcy filing. The surest way to keep your friends and acquaintances out of the loop is to keep this news to yourself.

But isn’t my bankruptcy filing public record?

Yes, your bankruptcy will be public record. But let’s take a look at many filings there were last year.

There were more than 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in the U.S. between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2011, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Almost 86,000 of those occurred in the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Those are massive numbers of filings. Unless you are a celebrity, politician, or high-profile person in your area, chances are good that no one is going to spend the time and energy to find out if you’ve filed unless they’re specifically trying to obtain information about you.

Worried about potential media coverage? Let’s ask this: Why would media outlets care if a non-celebrity filed for bankruptcy? They wouldn’t. Your filing is not news – too many people do it for it to be news.

It’s been our experience that most newspapers don’t include information about who has filed for bankruptcy. Even if they decided to print it, who would be interested enough to read it about a non-celebrity?

Filing for bankruptcy in Texas is an option

It’s time to put bankruptcy back on the table if your fear of everyone knowing is the reason why you’ve discarded it as an option for your financial situation.

If you’re still in doubt, contact Plano bankruptcy attorney Mark Rubin to express your concerns in a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

1. Eat at home.

Try to limit how often you eat out. This is where many people spend more than they think. If you spend $10 every weekday at lunch, that’s more than $2,500 during the course of the year. Limiting that to one day a week would save you a lot.

2. Trade in for a more fuel-efficient car.

This doesn’t mean you have to drive an expensive hybrid. If you currently own an SUV but rarely utilize all the interior space, consider trading it in for a mid-size sedan. Of course, you should always compare the gas mileage first before you go through the rigmarole of changing cars.

3. Cut back on your electricity and water usage.

Examine all of your habits and see if you can improve on them in any way. This is probably one of the easiest tips to implement on this how to save money list.

Ways to save more money in regards to electricity and water:

• Turn off lights when you’re not in the room.
• Don’t let the water run while you’re brushing your teeth or doing the dishes.
• Unplug appliances that aren’t being used.
• Turn your thermostat one or two degrees higher in the summer, and one or two degrees lower in the winter.
• Take shorter showers.

4. Look at all of your bills for the past three months.

This tip on how to save money takes a little bit more time. Examine all of your bills for frees, unused minutes, etc. You might be able to avoid some fees if you pay attention to fine print. You can also save money by downsizing your cellular plan if you consistently have extra minutes. Other things to look for: extra cable packages with channels that you rarely watch, unused gym memberships.

Most services have less pricy alternative. You can exercise outside or pay a cheaper rate at your city rec center rather than go to the gym. Netflix might be a better option for you instead of costly cable. You can also mow your lawn and clean your pool. Look at this examination as a spring cleaning of your finances.

5. Shop around.

Look for coupons and compare prices in the sale papers of the newspaper. If you’ve gone digital, check Facebook and Foursquare for specials on your smart phone before heading to check out. Sometimes restaurants, stores and even doctors offer discounts or freebies for checking in with social media.

6. Find free entertainment or discount days.

Is your city hosting any festivals, parades, concerts or other free events? Check out the official website and you’ll probably learn that there’s a lot going on in your city that you didn’t know about.

7. Try buying store brand or off-brand.

This applies to everything, from food to medicine to toiletries to clothes. If your physician doesn’t require that you take name-brand drugs, then try the generic brand.

Oftentimes, store brand food tastes the same, and toiletries like contact solution and mouthwash have the same main ingredients, making them very similar to name-brand items – they’re just packaged differently.

When buying clothes, try department stores instead of shopping at couture or specialty stores. Or try the next tip to save money…

8. Buy resale items.

Craigslist, Ebay, used car dealerships and consignment stores are all great ways to buy gently used items for less. Are you an avid reader? Go to Half Price Books instead of Barnes & Noble. Even better, trade books with your closest friends to get more bang for your buck.

9. Shop with a list (and only buy what’s on it).

When going to the grocery store, for example, always make a list and only buy things that are on it. This will save you from impulse buying and filling up your cart with items you won’t need.

10. Institute a waiting period for large purchases.

Put a ceiling on purchases that should require more time. You could decide that anything more than $45 requires a 48-hour waiting period before you can purchase it. This is especially helpful for impulse buyers. Your shopping bug might disappear during the days that follow, indicating that you didn’t really need the item—you just wanted it.

Another alternative is making it mandatory to discuss purchases that cost more than $45 with your partner. That opens a dialogue and will help you decide if you need the item. If you don’t have a significant other, find a friend or family member that will keep you in check.

If you can learn how to save money, you’ll be more adept to handling unexpected expenses when they pop up and you’ll be more stable financially.

Questions about debt? Call the Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

Step 1: Determine your household’s monthly net income.

You must first determine the monthly net income for your entire household. Your net income, also called your take-home pay, is the amount of money you earn each month after taxes and other payroll deductions have been taken out

If you get paid twice per month, then your monthly take-home pay is the amount of one paycheck multiplied by two. For example, if your paycheck every two weeks is $1,000 after taxes, then it would look like this: $1,000 x 2 = $2,000.

If you get paid weekly, then your monthly take-home pay is the amount of one paycheck multiplied by 52 (for weeks in the year), then divided by 12 (for months in the year). If your weekly pay was $500 after taxes, then it would look like this: $500 x 52 = $26,000. Then: $26,000 / 12 = $2,166.67.

Don’t forget to do this for each member of the household that has a job. You’ll also want to add income from a second job, regular overtime, public assistance, child support, pension, social security and any other regular income. Once you’ve added up your household’s entire monthly net income, you’re ready to move on to the next step to determine if you’re going into further debt.

Step 2: Calculate your monthly expenses.

This includes anything that you spend money on – Internet, TV, car payments, student loans, medical visits, clothes, lottery tickets, etc.

Click here for a monthly household spending worksheet to print or click here if you’re more of an Excel person.

Step 3: Determine if you’re spending more than you make.

This is the step where it all comes together. To find out if you’re headed toward deeper debt, you will subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly net income. This will tell you about the current state of your finances and help you identify any areas that need to be addressed.

If your income is higher than you expenses, then you have discretionary income, which you can save for a rainy day. Let’s say your take-home pay was $2,000 per month and your monthly expenses were $1,800. If you subtract your expenses from your income, it would like this: $2,000 – $1,800 = $200. You have $200 to put away. Since you have money in the bank when you’re through each month, you are not in immediate danger of heading into deeper debt.

But if your expenses are higher than your income or your expenses are equal to your income, then your family is spending more money than it’s earning, making it necessary to cut costs somewhere. If you don’t, you will end up deeper into debt, owing more money to more people, and possibly trying to prevent a foreclosure.

Questions about debt? Call the Frisco, Fort Worth and Dallas bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

When Foreclosure in Texas Begins

Foreclosures in Texas startswhen a mortgage lender has reasonable evidence to conclude that you will notpay or your cannot pay your mortgage payment. When you get behind in payingyour bills, most likely 60 to 90 days behind, the lender will begin theforeclosure process.

Before starting foreclosuresin Texas, the lenders usually send out one or more demands for payment. Ifstill without payment, the mortgage lender then turns to an attorney whospecializes in foreclosures in Texas. Sometimes, the attorney will give you onefinal chance to catch up on your mortgage.

If the lender still receivesno money, then you still most likely receive a notice explaining that thelender has exercised its right to “accelerate” your mortgage, which means thatyour entire mortgage is due insteadof just your overdue payments. Because of how foreclosures work in Texas, thisis a necessary step before the lender can start foreclosure.

At this point, the lender generally refuses to take any money from you because it does not want toaccidentally “waive” its rights to proceed with foreclosure.

The Next Steps of Foreclosures in Texas

If a power of sale clause isincluded in your mortgage, a lender cannot sell your home without propernotice. So the next step involves the mortgage lender posting and publishing aNotice of Foreclosure Sale or Notice of Substitute Trustee’s Sale, providingyou with 20 days notice of the pending foreclosure sale.

At the end of the 20-dayperiod, the lender sells the North Dallas or Ft. Worth home to the highestbidder in a public auction if you have not paid the necessary amount to keepyour house.

The money received from thehighest bidder is first applied to any outstanding property taxes and thenapplied toward you debt with the lender. If there is enough money, then it goestoward the costs involved in preserving the property and processing theforeclosure. In almost all of the foreclosure sales, the bid is not enough topay for all of these expenses.

Preventing Foreclosures in Texas

Filing for bankruptcy can stop foreclosures in Dallas, stop foreclosures in Plano, stop foreclosures inFrisco and stop foreclosures in Ft. Worth. Basically, filing for bankruptcy can save your home from foreclosure anywhere in Texas.

If your payments were up todate with your mortgage now, could you stay up to date? If you answered yes,then filing for bankruptcy could save your home. But you must file bankruptcybefore the final foreclosure deadline in order for it to work, which means youneed to contact a bankruptcy attorney immediately to see if this is thesolution for you.

Questions about how foreclosures work in Texas? Call the Dallas, Fort Worth and Frisco bankruptcy lawyers atRubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

“How can that be?” you might ask.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy or have sought out the advice of a bankruptcy attorney, your credit is most likely already down the drain. You’re in debt up to your ears and have several black marks on your credit report. If this is the case, then there’s no credit for a bankruptcy filing to hurt for the immediate future.

Plus, what really hurts your credit? Not paying your debts.

“But a bankruptcy filing stays on a credit report for up to 10 years.”

Yes, that’s true. A note about your filing can be on your report for 10 years, but that doesn’t mean that it will negatively impact your credit standing for that period. There’s a difference.

After filing, if you’ve practiced responsible money management – paid your bills on time and spent less than you’ve earned – you’ll slowly build up your credit to the point where the filing will matter less and less.

In fact, filing for bankruptcy can help your credit standing, which is why most people do it. Bankruptcy wipes away your current balances, giving you the opportunity to rebuild good credit. Think of filing as the first step to restoring credit.

Also, keep in mind that filing for bankruptcy is a frequent occurrence in today’s market. It’s so commonplace that banks and creditors can’t ignore everyone that’s filed for bankruptcy in the past. If they did, they wouldn’t have any customers.

The terms of loans or credit cards immediately following your filing might not be the most favorable – think high interest rates and higher down payments – but over time with good money habits, you can bring down those interest rates and restore lenders’ faith in your ability to pay them back.

Questions? Call the Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Contact us here.