DEBT MANAGEMENT » Get out of Debt

President Barack Obama is expected to unveil a debt plan on Monday that will cut the national debt by an anticipated $3 trillion over the next decade. His plan reflects his vision for how the country can be placed on a more fiscally-sustainable course in the wake of the debt limit breach and high unemployment rates that have plagued the economy this year.

Debt Plan Proposals

More individuals with college degrees are finding themselves in bankruptcy, according to a new study released by the Institute for Financial Literacy. The financial crisis appears to be taking its toll on individuals who had previously been able to keep up on their debts.

College Grads Filing for Bankruptcy Increases 20 Percent

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Nearly everyone wonders about the long- and short-term effects of the recent U.S. credit downgrade. America’s Moody’s rating remained intact with a warning, while Standard and Poor’s actually downgraded the U.S. credit rating because of the national debt crisis. To understand what this credit rating downgrade means, it is necessary to explore more basic areas such as the meaning of credit ratings and sovereign debt in general.

By Jennifer Calonia

Fast-paced and convenient modes of communication such as the internet are quickly bullying traditional postal service methods into decline. In a world driven by instant gratification, it’s no surprise that the U.S. Postal Service is feeling a $9.2 billion bruise from the advances of modern technology and facing a huge debt that threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Post Office Cost-Cutting and Emergency Proposals

It’s getting harder every day for regular Americans to honor financial commitments, especially when we see our own Federal Government raising its debt limits higher. Every night on the TV news, Americans watch fiscally irresponsible oil companies, auto manufacturers and banks all erasing their debts and posting huge profits while we struggle to pay our daily expenses.

“Many Americans feel that the banks specifically have wronged them and so they feel legitimized in sticking it to the banks and walking away from their mortgage obligations,” says Luigi Zingales, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Just one day after the U.S. finalized a debt plan that spared the country from an embarrassing default, the Treasury Department announced that the national debt reached 100 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). According to figures released by the department, national debt jumped significantly after the ceiling was officially lifted on Tuesday.

Debt Increases by $238 Billion

After months of arguing between lawmakers, President Barack Obama finally signed a debt plan into law on Tuesday, helping the nation avoid default with only hours to spare. Now, lawmakers move on to the next step in the process, which is to set up a committee to tackle exactly how spending cuts specified in the plan will be implemented.

Senate Approves Plan, Obama Signs It Into Law

The ongoing debt discussions in Congress have finally resulted in the House of Representatives passing a bill that is now headed to Senate. In other financial news, a new report from Freddie Mac revealed that the majority of homeowners who refinanced in the second quarter of 2011 either reduced their mortgage loan amounts or kept them the same.

Senators to Vote on Debt Plan

President Barack Obama announced on Sunday night that lawmakers struck a bipartisan debt deal to help avert the first traditional sovereign debt default in U.S. history. While he admitted that the process took considerably longer than it should have, he believed the deal would pass in Congress, even with clear opposition from both political parties.

Basics of Debt Deal

The United States is only a few days away from what could be the first traditional default in the nation’s history. Many have predicted the already struggling economy would be turned upside down if the government allowed the USA debt to default on Aug. 2.

However, while default has never occurred in the U.S., it has happened in other countries around the world. In fact, according to This Time Is Different by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, in addition to the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand are among the few that haven’t defaulted. So which countries have met this dreaded fate?