FIXING FINANCIAL AFFLICTION
By Dr. John E. Russell
Failing finances are a common problem now-a-days. How does
one extricate himself from a heavy debt load? There are ads that
offer to do that ... for a price. It may be the answer for some.
However, there are things one can do for himself.
The first step to relieve debt is not to make any more.
There are very creative ways to save money. Ben Franklin said,
"A penny saved is a penny earned." Bill Gothard said several
years ago, "A dollar saved is a dollar sixty earned!" In other
words, taking into account the multitude of revealed and hidden
taxes, working expenses, etc., one then needed to earn $1.60 in
order to have $1.00 to spend! How much do we have left today?!
One of the best and most practical resources for saving money is
Dr. Alfred W. Munzert's book Poor Richard's Economic Survival
Manual (Franklinville, NY: Hemisphere Publications, 1982). Dr.
Munzert raised a large family on a teacher's salary and his
children received a college education. I am still amazed by many
of the strategies he used. Buy the book, or request it at your
library.
Making arrangements for a reduced payment to each creditor
is one alternative to get rid of debt. If you need help, call
the National Foundation for Consumer Credit at 1-800-388-2227.
Bankruptcy is another alternative. In their anguish, some
have chosen to use this law that provides protection from
creditors. You can file for bankruptcy yourself, but it is
probably best to hire a competent bankruptcy lawyer. I went
through a chapter 7 bankruptcy and did the filing myself, since I
could not afford a lawyer at the time. The best resource that I
found was Kenneth J. Doran's book, Personal Bankruptcy and Debt
Adjustment (New York: Random House, 1991). It is written in
plain English, with legal terms explained. Be sure to use up-todate
-forms (I had to re-submit some forms because of this). The
new forms were expensive, so I copied them from Clark, Boardman
and Callaghan, Bankruptcy Code, Rules and Official Forms (New
York: The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1991). A
friend paid my filing fee. I made it with God's help and you
can, too! Avoid bankruptcy if possible by solving financial
problems early on. Financial stress will make you sick--I know
from firsthand experience.
For a copy of my new book, essays exposing the myths of
political correctness, send me two dollars. Read it. Then, if
you want to keep it for reference, send an additional three
dollars. You will not see much of this documented material in
the media. This is IBM shareware written in ASCII and on 5 1/4
inch computer disk. Please refer to the name of this
publication. Your comments are welcome.
Best wishes in your mailorder endeavor!
Russell Communications
P O Box 27<>F Highway at Third
Garden City, MO 64747-0027
