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Start Fresh Today Magazine - New BeginningsTRANSCRIPT
new
Looking forward to theroad ahead. Page 8
I N A U G U R A L I S S U E
TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF OUR INSTANT
GREATSAVINGS!
See back page for details.
Back onPage3
beginnings
Track
LifelineYO
UR
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embark
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on a life towards debt freedom andfinancial independence.
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Dear Readers:
Aclient asked an interesting question the other day, “What’s the
secret that enables certain individuals to do such an excellent
job rebuilding their lives following bankruptcy, focusing on their
passion, defining, setting, and tracking their goals, while others seem to
have inconsistent results?” It’s been our experience that a key part of
the answer is getting focused on what you really want, reprogramming
your negative self-talk, setting goals and reinventing yourself. With the
assistance of your attorney, supportive friends and family, the
abundance of personal development and financial education material
available today, you’re not alone.
Each year millions of Americans struggle with the pressure of having
too much debt. It’s frustrating. It’s frightening. You imagine the worst:
Will I lose my house? Will my creditors take everything else? Will I
ever recover? You may feel alone, but you’re not. With the help of
your attorney and the information you will learn during your required
Credit Counseling Briefing and Debtor Education Course, you will be
guided on the path to financial recovery and better prepared for life
after debt.
Linking post-bankruptcy strategies with personal objectives doesn’t
need to be difficult; in fact, it’s easy and empowering. We believe the
right type of financial education can dramatically help individuals
successfully design an extraordinary life – regardless of your current
financial challenges. That’s why we thought this latest publication, NewBeginnings, would be of interest to you. The magazine will take only
10 minutes to read and in that time you’ll learn:
• What you can do to end the struggle and feel more alive. • How to fulfill course requirements and the options available. • Helpful tips for life after bankruptcy.
At Start Fresh Today, we help individuals fulfill current
bankruptcy requirements quickly and easily. That's why our
team of bankruptcy lawyers and technology professionals
designed Start Fresh Today's complete efficient and inexpensive
solution. Our methodology has successfully helped thousands
of people just like you.
A life of debt freedom can be yours. The bankruptcy laws are here
to protect you. In many cases, these laws give you a fresh financial start.
We wish you the best as you embark on a life towards debt freedom
and financial independence.
To your heart, your dreams and your exciting new journey,
Editor’s Letter
Table of
ContentsFulfill Your Requirements &
Learn About Finances........................................4
Marriage: When Love, Marriage
and Money Come Together...........................6
An Emergency Fund: Your Lifeline After
Filing Bankruptcy...................................................8
How to Vacation on a Budget ...................10
Article Page
newbeginnings 3
www.startfreshtoday.com4
&I
f you're planning to file for bankruptcy, you must complete a
Credit Counseling Briefing before you file, and a Debtor
Education Course before your discharge is entered. The
agencies who administer these courses must be approved by the
EOUST, and failure to file certification that these courses have
been completed at the appropriate time may mean that your
case is dismissed or your discharge denied.
Fortunately, Start Fresh Today makes it easy for you to complete
your pre-filing Credit Counseling Course and your pre-discharge
Debtor Education Course right in the comfort of your own
home – or anywhere else that you have Internet access. After a
brief telephone follow-up, your certificate will be delivered
electronically.
Bankruptcy LawRequires a CreditCounseling BriefingBefore You FileThe Credit Counseling Briefing is a 90-minute, interactive, web-
based course that provides customized graphics and feedback
based on the information you enter. The Briefing is the same low
price whether you're filing individually or with your spouse.
The law requires that you complete a EOUST approved Credit
Counseling Briefing before you file your bankruptcypetition. Your bankruptcy attorney will file the Credit Counseling
certificate that must be filed with your petition.
You may be confused about the bankruptcy requirements and
uncertain about where to turn to fulfill those requirements
without aggravating your financial problems. But don’t worry,
between your attorney’s guidance and Start Fresh Today’s quick
and easy process, your requirements will be done before you
know it!
Here’s what you can expect from yourCredit Counseling Briefing:
• A web-based credit counseling briefing followed by a short
telephone conversation
• An easy to navigate, interesting credit counseling briefing full of
useful information
• Animated counselors to walk you through the briefing
• The ability to stop the briefing at any time and consult with the
credit counseling agency, or just take a break – you can pick up
where you left off later
• Customized feedback based on the information you provide
• A printable summary of the course
• Electronic delivery of your certificate
Or, if you prefer, you can complete the requirement with a
telephonic credit counseling briefing and work with a certified
counselor over the telephone.
Fulfill your requirements
Learn aboutfinances
newbeginnings 5
Fulfill Your Requirements & Learn About Your FinancesEOUST Approved
Personal FinancialManagement –Debtor EducationCourseCurrent law requires that bankruptcy petitioners complete a Personal
Financial Management Course (Debtor Education Course) after filing,
but before discharge.
The Debtor Education Course is intended to help you plan your financial
future and avoid post-bankruptcy pitfalls. The certificate of completion
must be filed with the court before you receive your discharge.
This two-hour financial management course is easy to navigate and
easy to understand. You'll get printable forms to use in budgeting and
financial planning.
At Start Fresh Today, you can receive an online Debtor Education
Course or a telephonic Debtor Education Course delivered by an
agency approved to issue certificates evidencing completion of a
financial management course in compliance with the Bankruptcy Code.
Here’s what you can expect from yourDebtor Education Course:
• A interesting, informative educational course followed by a short
telephone conversation
• Easy to use program with clear prompts, whether you're working
online or over the telephone
• Clear, understandable financial planning information
• The flexibility to complete the course all at once or in segments
to suit your schedule
• Electronic delivery of your certificate by email and posting to your
Start Fresh Today account
• Online course available in Spanish!
At Start Fresh Today we focus exclusively on helping individuals and
families go through the sometimes confusing and complicated
bankruptcy process. That’s all we do, and we’ve been doing it
successfully since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and ConsumerProtection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) was enacted. As industry
leaders and pioneers in the field, we are committed to
serving consumers who are overburdened by debt
and have chosen bankruptcy as their solution. We
offer our courses in English or Spanish, 24/7
customer support and live chat for your
convenience. Also, we’ve included a special discount
coupon on the back of this publication to help you
get through these difficult times.
If you decide that bankruptcy is right for you, we have a secret and
some simple advice we want to share with you in closing. After
helping thousands of consumers with this process there is one piece
of advice that always helps. The advice is simple and if you follow it,
it may just help you greatly to recover from these difficult days. The
secret and the message is hope. Hope of brighter days and hope
that things will improve is the secret that helped many to find the
strength to make it across some dark and desperate times.
Now our offering of hope is not to say your life as you know it will
be unaffected by your money troubles. It is instead an acceptance
of your current reality and then an enthusiastic embrace that while
tomorrow may be difficult, the days that follow will be better and
take you one step closer to a better financial life.
Everyone we help has lived through painful times in their life and
yet they tell us that hope carried them through. Hope provides
energy to make it through today and tomorrow and it positively
encourages you to power yourself forward to the better times that
will come.
Things are getting better…just hang in there.
“This is a belated thank you to the staff at your agency thatwere extremely helpful to me in completing this process, inparticular a woman by the name of Connie and a gentleman bythe name of Justin. Both of these staff went out of their way toensure my complete customer satisfaction and I would like tocommend them for their professionalism and assistance.”KarenSacramento, California
“The course was easy and available online and once it was overI got to speak to a representative. In my 30-minute conversationwith the gentleman I learned how to budget better and plan foran unexpected disaster. I became even more familiar with thecomponents of my credit score and more importantly than allof that he let me know there will be life after bankruptcy. At theend of the call I felt like a person again and not just a lot of debt.I feel prepared to handle my fresh start and am so glad theywere there to help me.” ChristinaFort Lauderdale, Florida
“Thank you for your assistance and the great information thatwas part of the Start Fresh Today counseling program. Some ofthe information I was familiar with, but there was so much moreto absorb. I look forward to using the tips to get back my 740score! I have reviewed the information with my husband and gothis "buy-in" to making changes and focusing on our goals. ”StephanieOhio
testimonials
www.startfreshtoday.com6
When Love, Marriage andMoney Come Together
Marriage
newbeginnings 7
Marriage: W
hen Love, Marriage and Money Com
e TogetherY
ou know the old saying: "First comes love, then comes
marriage...." Unfortunately, however, many newly-married
couples start their new lives strapped with debt. Some
bring their own debts with them to the marriage; others start
racking up credit card bills as they plan their weddings and
honeymoons together.
Young couples often assume that they can't have financial
problems because they're pooling their financial resources,
including income and debt payments. Wrong!
Just because you're pooling your resources doesn't mean that you
can pay for your debts any easier than before. Sure, your income
may go up when you get married, but so can your debt. When
one spouse takes on the debt obligations of the other, credit
problems can ensue. In fact, paying for debts incurred by others
(usually family members) is one of the most common reasons
cited by individuals seeking credit counseling and debt
management assistance.
One couple took the plunge and got married – right into $56,000
worth of debt. The husband had a rocky credit history, yet was
determined to pursue his dream of starting his own company.
Trying to be supportive, his new wife let him charge to the hilt on
credit cards held in her name only. The husband's financial history
proved prophetic. His business failed, and unfortunately their
marriage did as well. The wife was stuck with the fallout from
his shattered hopes – mountains of expensive debt, all in
her name.
When you're young and in love, it's only natural to
want to share everything. But be careful; the ties that
bind should be those of mutual love and respect, not
mutual debt.
What can you do to avoid added debt if you're
getting married? First, look at your existing
monthly financial obligations. If you can't add
another car payment, or you've worked
hard to keep your credit card expenses
to the minimum, just say so. Explain to
your beloved that it's better for both
of you to avoid taking on more
debt. In the event of a split down
the road, even a divorce decree
cannot change the fact that
your good credit rating is tied
forever to any debt you
signed or co-signed for.
As new families come together, each person needs to consider
his or her values. Money management is an important part of your
value system and will often determine whether or not you will
achieve your goals. Consider the following:
• How important is money in your life?
• Does money consume all your thoughts?
• Does someone else make financial decisions for you?
• Are you concerned about your debts?
• What effect does money have on your relationships with
family members and friends?
In a survey of 49 of Forbes Magazine's richest people, 37 percent
reported lower than average happiness levels, according to an
ABC-TV special report called "The Mystery of Happiness." It
seems obvious that money does not make people happy, nor does
it bring love, power, freedom, self-worth, or security. Money is just
that: dollars and cents.
So what can you do to ensure that you are both financially secure
and happy? Researchers say that it's more important to your
emotional well-being to be independent, have a purpose in life,
and maintain a good sense of humor than to focus on money.
Research indicates that married people are less likely to die from
strokes, accidents, flu, tuberculosis, and various forms of cancer.
Instead, look at how you perceive money. As you
begin your life as a married person, this could
be the perfect time to change how you look
at money.
The day you get out of bankruptcy will probably be a great one.
You will likely be free of most of your pre-bankruptcy debts
and you'll have the opportunity to get a fresh financial start.
Now your goal must be to conquer the challenges of rebuilding
your credit and establishing new financial goals. When you emerge
from bankruptcy, you will probably be left with few or no credit
cards.
Many of your pre-bankruptcy sources of credit will be gone, and
to maintain your commitment to financial well-being, you're going
to have to find other ways to cover any emergency bills that may
arise. To be ready for these emergencies, you need to set up an
emergency fund.
What is an Emergency Fund?An emergency fund is a reserve of ready cash that you will use to
cover emergency expenses while you are back on your feet after
filing bankruptcy.
Typically, you should place three months’ worth of your average
monthly expenses in your emergency fund.
LifelineYO
UR
After Filing Bankruptcy
An EmergencyFund:
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newbeginnings 9
Emergency Fund: Your Lifeline After Filing BankruptcyHow Do I Build an Emergency Fund?
You may well wonder how you're going to find the funds to start
an emergency fund when you're just getting out of bankruptcy.
Many people are forced into bankruptcy court because they are
unable to control their spending. For example, instead of saving
small amounts of money every week, they buy expensive gourmet
coffee, go out for lunch every day, or put money in the weekly
lottery. Although these types of expenses may be small individually,
when totaled up over a year, they can run into the thousands
of dollars.
For example, do you play the lottery? Do you religiously plunk
down 20 bucks every week on your favorite numbers with the
thought that you'll never really miss those 20 bucks if you lose,
and that if you win, all of your troubles will be over?
Leaving aside the almost overwhelming odds against you that you
will ever win a significant amount of money in a lottery (according
to most experts, you're more likely to be struck by lightning than
to win the lottery), you should think about how your money
would grow, if instead of spending it on the lottery, you deposited
it in a savings account.
Instead of putting those 20 dollars in the lottery every week, if
you deposit that amount weekly in a savings account with 4
percent interest, and don't touch the money for 18 years, you will
have saved more than $27,000.
Meanwhile, during the first three months of
your non-lottery existence, you will have
saved $260 for your emergency fund.
This sacrifice may only be temporary, but
the peace of mind you will gain will have
long-lasting effects on your financial
outlook.
Where Do I Put My Emergency Fund?If you have small but recurring expenses for nonessential items
like these, you can start building your emergency fund by giving
up these expenses and placing the money into your emergency
fund.
Ideally, the money should be placed in a savings account or some
other account where you won't have ready access to it and won't
be tempted to spend it. You also will need the discipline to hold
on to the money until you have a real emergency. If no emergency
arises, you'll have a nice source of savings for that rainy day down
the road.
Once you build up about three months of expenses for your
emergency fund, congratulate yourself.
Not only have you established an important cash reserve for
emergencies, you will also have proved to yourself that you can
control your spending and save money – two very important skills
for your life after filing bankruptcy.
How to vacationbudgeton a
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newbeginnings 11
How to Vacation on a Budget
Whether you're rebuilding after bankruptcy or just trying
to save some hard-earned money, you've probably
come across the vacation question. That is, "how can
I afford vacation?" Turns out, it might be easier than you think.
Save as a FamilyIt's a good idea to decide how much you're willing to spend
before you start planning. That way, you can know where to make
compromises to get in under the line. Once you have the golden
number in mind, some economists recommend opening a savings
account exclusively for vacation funds.
Decide how much money you need to deposit each week (total
budget divided by weeks left until vacation) and put a "vacation
jar" in your house. Encourage everyone in the family to drop in
spare change and consider sacrificing small treats to contribute to
a much bigger one.
This allows everyone to contribute to the vacation and builds
anticipation. Saving for a concrete goal can be more fun than
saving in the abstract.
Develop a Travel BudgetA budget will require some sacrificing, but will pay off in the
end. If eating out is important to you, pick a dollar limit for
food you can eat out, or determine how many nights you'd
like to eat in restaurants. If you love souvenirs,
give everyone a souvenir budget. This way,
you're forced to choose things you
really like and can avoid impulse
buys that seem unimportant later.
You can save serious money
by making sure your lodging
has a kitchen, so that you
can prepare most of your
food. Staying in a furnished
apartment, a villa, a
condominium or sharing a
rental house with another
family are excellent ways to
save money on lodging.
Plan, Plan, PlanThis is the single most effective way to save money on the road.
Think of it this way: the earlier you start planning, the earlier you
can start enjoying your vacation!
• Book ahead: If you're planning to fly, make sure you book
your flights at least a month in advance, when fares are generally
cheaper.
• Look for bargains: Take advantage of your library's travel
magazine section, the Internet, your destination's Chamber of
Commerce - anywhere that might offer coupons for lodging,
food or attractions. And don't be afraid to ask outright about
savings and special deals if you don't see any!
• Scope out the area: Look at a map before leaving and find
the nearest grocery store, ice cream stand, gas station, etc.
When you know where you're headed, you won't have to
splurge for takeout right away or waste gas driving around to
find things.
• Bring the essentials: Pack the car with basic food, band aids,
allergy medicine - whatever you think you'll need on the road
(where essentials can be expensive) and when you first arrive.
If you know you'll be too tired for food shopping the first night,
consider a PB&J picnic or some other simple meal. Just arriving
will be a treat!
Know When to Save –and When to SplurgeSometimes, paying more up front is worth it. Lodgings close to
your attractions, for example, can save you on gas money. If you
must eat out on vacations, consider traveling in the off season,
when costs tend to be lower across the board.
Enjoying vacation is easier when you're not worried about ruining
your budget or pushing yourself toward (or back to) filing
bankruptcy. With a little planning, you should be able to relax
worry-free.
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